Engl. transl.: Digital media: the students as didactic designers

From around the year 2000, Danish children really got access to the Internet at home and at school. School-age children have grown up with the Internet, and from before school age they are participants in and users of the Internet. Children have their debut on the internet early, and Denmark, together with Sweden, has the youngest internet users. According to EU-Kids Online (2011), children in Denmark and Sweden are seven years old when they make their internet debut. A report from the Media Council in Sweden, from 2010, comprising Swedish children, Toddlers & Media - Facts about young children's use and experiences of media, shows that the age of onset is even lower, namely four years, where in 2005 it was nine years (Media Council, Sweden 2010). In five years, there is a decrease in the age of five. There is reason to believe that this also applies to Danish children, as several studies show that Danish and Swedish children are similar when it comes to media use. If we look at children's use of social media, a study from the Media Council for Children and Young People in Denmark shows that more than every fourth child aged 9-10 has a profile on the Internet, and that Facebook is the most preferred (Media Council for Children and Young People 2009). In other words, the children find it important to translate their reading and writing skills into creating and using a profile on one of the social media. Touch technologies - especially with the larger screens, such as the iPad - seem to be particularly useful for the youngest children, as the user interface is intuitively structured so that the children can transfer previous experiences and knowledge to the use of e.g. iPad. The hand / finger-operated screen also increases accessibility for the youngest children because it is less motor-intensive than a mouse and keyboard. The youngest children also immediately use the built-in camera and sound recorder. As a whole, these technologies offer a nuanced use with the possibility for children at an early age to produce digital productions themselves.

The project shows that IT-integrated student production in connection with the developed didactic designs can facilitate both the students' learning processes and qualify their academic learning results.