Treading softly in the enchanted forest: exploring the integration of iPads in a participatory theatre education programme

While it is commonplace to argue that technology integration in educational contexts should be pedagogically appropriate, in some contexts, the notion of “appropriate” integration can be slippery. This is the case in the context of educational theatre, which builds on the experience of “liveness” and of being together in a shared space. In this article we report on a collaborative qualitative study of one iteration of a participatory theatre programme delivered to 7–9 year olds at a primary school in England, through which artist/practitioners worked with researchers to investigate the integration of iPads in ways that were appropriate to the programme’s underpinning pedagogy. Drawing on a sociomaterial analysis of what happened moment to moment in practice, we describe three aspects of the experience that appeared to amplify, shift and/or dissipate as iPads came into play, particularly with respect to the iPad’s video function: narrative complexity; multiplicity; and togetherness. Considering these in relation to the programme’s established principles and practices, we argue that part of “appropriateness” in this context involves responding to the unexpected pedagogical possibilities that open out as digital technologies combine with other people and things.