ABSTRACT
Children continuously reinvent digital technologies in ways that serve their purposes and passions. Natalie Coulter starts the collection by considering a range of ways in which social and cultural discourse constructs the notion of the child, children, and childhood. Children’s informal learning around digital media often takes place within the home. Eschewing one-dimensional and one-way research, where the power is almost entirely in the hands of the researcher, the chapter demonstrates that not only is it possible to build reciprocal inclusive research partnerships with children and their families, but it leads to better research and more reliable outcomes. Willett and Richards's chapter explores the value of combining reflective observation and interviews with children on the one hand and working with children as participant researchers on the other. Discussions of marketing, commodification, and privacy inevitably raise the issue of children's rights, and particularly their rights in the context of digital environments.
