Article

Digital technologies play and learning

Authors:
To read the full-text of this research, you can request a copy directly from the authors.

No full-text available

Request Full-text Paper PDF

To read the full-text of this research,
you can request a copy directly from the authors.

... Parents play a crucial role in children adopting digital technologies and developing digital literacy [4]. Although each social system (such as peers and educational settings) can determine whether children adopt technology-enhanced toys, family context is the key to understanding how children engage with their use [5,6]. ...
... Parents play a crucial role in determining their children's access to technology, enabling children to develop essential skills that contribute to their future academic achievements [34]. Other studies have explored parents' concerns regarding how to support their children's technological initiatives, promote learning, and balance between traditional and modern digital play [6,7,26,35]. ...
Article
Full-text available
New technology has brought about a novel approach to play termed digital play. Digital play shares many characteristics with traditional play but also presents new possibilities (e.g., building concepts and skills about STEM, opportunities for physical, outdoor activities). Despite new toys with technological characteristics being popular, there is limited research on this specific area for children under four years old and their parents. This study explored parental perspectives and was part of a larger investigation that examined 68 (38 boys and 30 girls) very young children’s (1–4 years) engagement with technology-enhanced toys (TETs) in early childhood settings. A sequential explanatory design was employed, wherein parents completed questionnaires before and after their children engaged with TETs. Statistical and thematic analysis revealed that family demographics play an important role in children ‘s use of TETs and digital technologies (e.g., on the quality of engagement with their children during playing with TETs). Parents noted improvements in their children’s skills, including fine motor skills, language, and creativity. This study underscores the importance of considering parental backgrounds in digital technology initiatives for early childhood development. Policymakers and educators may benefit from these insights to tailor digital integration and support children’s digital competence effectively.
... Play remains a powerful path for learning with technologies (Mehta et al., 2020;Resnick, 2018), and guided interaction from adults has been established as a critical support for young children's leaning with technologies in both home and preschool settings (Plowman & Stephen, 2005;Plowman et al., 2008). Although definitions of technology in early childhood settings have adapted to the ubiquitous nature of computing, tangible interfaces, anthropomorphic toys, and emerging robotics (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 2020), the crucial role of practitioners' direct and indirect guidance has remained essential to supporting children's play and positive engagement with technology (Stephen & Plowman, 2013). ...
Article
Computational thinking (CT) is considered an essential literacy skill for all children to develop, yet conceptual, practical, and empirical work with preschool-age children is scarce. A particular gap in the research is how CT instruction should be enacted (e.g., free play, guided play, levels of scaffolding, degree of child-initiated activities, and structure of programming tasks). Therefore, we aimed to describe what preschool children’s CT experiences are like when button-operated robots are introduced into their guided play. This interpretive phenomenological study applied the Mosaic Approach to explore the emergence of CT skills during guided play with a button-operated robot (Bee-Bot). Participants were 29 preschool-age children from an early childhood education center in the northeastern United States. Data sources included audio-visual recordings, observations, child focus groups, and child-generated artifacts. The findings suggest children constructed meaning across the CT dimensions, connected with others through dialogue and negotiation, and used guidance from adults to extend their learning.
Article
Full-text available
Digital media is becoming increasingly prevalent in households and classroom settings lowering the age of fi rst exposure to technology; however, little is known about how children experience digital media and how their experiences relate to learning and social engagement. In this case study, we followed a 28-month-old boy in a naturalistic setting for 5 weeks, videotaping the process of his interactions with the iPad. Using a combination of video coding, screen recordings, and a formal academic assessment we evaluated the effects of digital media on specifi c learning outcomes, child affective states associated with gains in digital literacy, and the role of social interaction in the process of digital media exposure. We found that the number of errors predicted a signifi cant amount of the variance in the child’s levels of frustration, attentiveness, help-seeking behaviors, and persistence. Two main types of affect, confusion and attentiveness, predicted gains in his iPad profi ciency, providing important insights into the role of emotions in digital learning. With increased levels of iPad profi ciency, we observed an inconsistent pattern of child social engagement. This study is the fi rst, to our knowledge, to use a combination of qualitative observation data, standardized assessment, and quantitative analysis of a child’s behavior in the process of digital literacy learning.
Article
Full-text available
Touchscreen technologies have become an important part of many young children’s lives. While kindergarten teachers’ perceptions of the use of touchscreen devices have been investigated across many countries, empirical research on the topic remains scant in mainland China. In an exploratory study, the lead researcher interviewed six teachers from an exemplary kindergarten in Nanjing and analyzed relevant documents to further explore the teachers’ beliefs around children’s use of touchscreen technologies. The Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge (TPACK) model was used to understand the rationale behind teachers’ perceptions and self-reported practices. Findings showed that participants generally perceived touchscreen devices as useful tools for catering to children’s interests, believing they could provide active learning experiences. Teachers made decisions about children’s use of touchscreen technologies based on their understandings of learning, pedagogy, subject content, and the affordances of these technologies. Implications for future research on kindergarten teachers’ use of touchscreen technologies are also presented.
Article
Full-text available
There are many digital technologies available to support teaching and learning. Historically the focus has tended to be on computers, but this has extended to include interactive whiteboards and tablets. As well as these technologies, which were originally designed for adults, there are devices specifically designed to support teaching and learning in the early years. These tend to be overlooked in the literature. This project aimed to find out if this reflected practice in early years settings. Participants from 20 early years settings in the North East of England were asked about ‘educational technologies’. This term was deliberately not defined, the aim was to find out what they thought it meant. They were asked about the technology they had, and how it was being used. This provided an opportunity to explore whether their use of technology fit with their beliefs about teaching and learning. Findings suggest that technology is seen as more than computers and that technology is being used to support a broad range of activities in line with practitioners’ pedagogical beliefs.
Article
Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on how early years practitioners worked with the ORIM Framework to support work with parents to promote early literacy experiences. Design/methodology/approach – Co-produced Knowledge Exchange (KE) was used to develop and evaluate work with parents to facilitate their young children’s literacy. Information was gathered in discussion groups, interviews with parents and practitioners and feedback from all the parties involved. Findings – Practitioners and families engaged with each other in the further development of an established literacy programme, and families demonstrated “ownership” of the co-produced knowledge after the end of the project. Research limitations/implications – Project design in co-produced research and KE is necessarily flexible. The focus is on practitioners’ knowledge and ownership of the process, sharing knowledge with parents and enhancing children’s experiences. Practical implications – Practices that can enhance parental engagement in their children’s early literacy are varied and multiple and ORIM can be used flexibly to plan, develop and evaluate innovative and community – (and family –) specific practices. Social implications – Where parents have more knowledge of children’s early literacy development they are in a better position to support them; for learning communities there are implications in terms of future development of work with families to support early literacy development. Originality/value – This paper contributes an original approach to the co-production of research with early years practitioners. It also identifies specific issues around the ethics of ownership in co-produced research.
ResearchGate has not been able to resolve any references for this publication.