Author: Mónica Elena Da Silva Ramos
Programme: Doctoral Programme in Education and ICT (e-learning)
Language: Spanish
Supervisors: Dr Adriana Ornellas
Faculty / Institute: Universitat Oberta de Catalunya. eLearn Center (eLC)

Key words: ICT, collaborative appropriation, fifth dimension
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Summary

The present research focuses on the processes of appropriation of information and communication technologies (ICT) during childhood from the development of the educational and collaborative Fifth Dimension (5D) model in a context of social vulnerability in Uruguay. The objective of the doctoral thesis is to design, implement and analyse the 5D model in order to generate processes of appropriation of ICT in a locally constructed sense. It seeks to transcend the dimension of use and the instrumental look of the technological domain in order to produce knowledge about the processes of appropriation through a proposal in the town of Canelones, Uruguay. The 5D model is a tool for the management of diversity and social inclusion, which promotes collaborative learning, using ICT, through the creation of a community of practice oriented at social and educational inclusion. The theoretical framework of the study includes proposals from Community Social Psychology and Historical-Cultural Psychology. These approaches are integrated into subject conception and human development with intentional actions that arise and develop in the culture. This research deepens the critical and reflective perspective of Community Psychology and the comprehensive and interpretative perspective, from the Cultural Psychology approach, through the notions of context, community, sense of community, intersubjectivity, appropriation and collaborative processes, among others. The context of the research is addressed, presenting the locality where the study was carried out and including the opinions of neighbours as well as the perceptions of the university students who are part of the research and of the children and the participating families. The 5D model has allowed the creation of strategies for the integration of the local culture, a meaningful use of ICT based on needs and problem solving that involved the participation of the local population. To carry out this qualitative research, a research design has been followed ¿ collective collaborative action (IAC), built among the community and adaptable to the needs of the specific context. The research respected a cyclical process, constructing two holistic phases based on the natural contexts where the study was developed, having the field of work as the main engine for research updates throughout the process. The techniques used are based on the perspective of the dialogical production of information. Individual and group interviews, questionnaires, ethnographic records, audio-visual aids and training and reflection workshops are used. The results are organized around the objectives of the study, where the process of constituting the research is detailed, the perceptions of the different participants are integrated, taking into account local needs and characteristics. It addresses the processes of interaction, learning and ownership, and analyzes the impact, limitations and potentialities of the 5D model. It concludes on the importance of thinking from the dimension of the processes of collaborative appropriation of dual-natured technological artefacts (material and symbolic) during childhood and the creation of spaces where interests converge and build belonging, trust and affective ties This research, based on a proposal centred on a situated narrative, with challenges and collaborations, comprises a proposal that is based on and respects "community funds", and is part of an area in progress, enabling the construction of meanings and the transformation of those involved. Finally, the thesis proposes some prospective lines for future research.