How to best understand digital play in preschool now?

Digital play in the early years is just as important as play without digital technology today. There are many types and this in article you will learn from these excerpts of our play based learning professional development key early childhood pedagogies that you can apply now.

Types of digital play based learning

There are lots of different digital play based learning in early childhood education. Below, you can read ll about the different types of play-based learning that there is, including some resources that you can use. 

Socio-dramatic Play (Role Play)

Socio-dramatic play with the use of digital technology provides contexts for children to share representations and to articulate their thinking, bringing to consciousness ideas that they are still only beginning to grasp and intuitively. 

Good quality role play gives children the opportunity to make sense of their technological world in which they live in. It also provides them with the opportunity to handle digital tools that they see in the world around them, experiment and take control of them.

Some ideal props are real technologies, toy technologies and hand-made technologies. 

Physical play

There is some literature that argue that creating digital play experiences that are active is not enough to counter the problem of unhealthy lifestyles among children. However, there is now a wide variety of digital technologies that involve children’s physically active engagement.

One of the most simplest approaches to digital play involves using digital technologies that easily accessible such as the use of digital photography, or engagement with story-making apps that enable children to take photographs and make audio and video recordings. 

Exploratory play

We need to provide activities that encourages children to explore the technological affordances of a variety of digital technologies and to encourage them to apply them – playfully in the early years – for a range of different purposes. 

Outdoor play

There is an argument that children are less likely to go outside because digital play has such an important role in their leisure time, that parents encourage their children to stay indoors and play. However, there are two overriding reasons that I would argue compel us to incorporate digital technology into outdoor play. The outdoors is where come children learn best and digital technology can offer motivating, captivating and new ways into that learning.

When should children start to engage in digital play?

There are a number of factors that you need to consider in relation when determining if a young child can interact with digital technology in early childhood education. According to sources, they are to do with the development of the physical, cognitive, linguistic and social and emotional competencies. 

Some important facts that you need to remember include:

• Infants cannot engage in meaningful ways with screens as they are not able to learn well from two-dimensional media or transfer what they see to real life.
• Research has shown evidence that infants and toddlers can’t use information communicated to them through symbolic media such as images, models and video.
• It is also important to remember that there are also evidence findings that suggests there are negative effects of screen viewing for cognitive development.

As young children get older, for example at around 2 and a half, their developmental needs changes and it is important that they develop their fine motor skills that can be used for the precise movements involved in using a mouse or track pad.

Even scrolling through pages, pressing buttons or remote controls and phones can aid in the development of fine motor skills. Later, both hands coordination is needed to operate game consoles.

In relation to cognitive, socio-emotional and physical development this varies for each individual child and for some young children, additional support is needed. 

The key points to consider here is:

1. While we may dub young children as ‘digital natives’, not all children are drawn to using digital technology nor will they understand how to interact with a digital device without additional help.
2. And this may be due to the poor design of the digital device or app, or it can be as a result of individual preferences and differences in skill development.

How to incorporate digital play based in the early years

So what exactly should a digital play based learning environment look like? As with traditional play, there is no set of rules or definition for what makes a successful digital play-based area. However, adults are encouraged to co-play with young children as with normal play without digital technologies. So ensure that you have plenty of child-led digital play activities and continuous provisions that encourage a versatile range of learning. 

This might look like a classroom with specific areas that are designed and differentiated for digital play-based learning, such as:

• Role play area
• Inquiry area
• Sensory exploration
• Construction play area

Planning and implementing learning through play

While digital play-based learning in early childhood education should be child-led and open-ended where possible, adult-led play is highly beneficial when it comes to planning ahead and targeting specific early learning outcomes.

The key to effective planning and implementing learning through play is to outline a solid approach, with defined EYLF/EYFS learning outcomes and goals.

This can be achieved through a detailed plan that outlines what the digital play based learning will look like and what it will achieve.

A good plan for play based learning in early childhood education will include all the following information:

• A thematic approach or an approach based on the breadth and depth of the EYLF/EYFS.
• A specific learning intention.
• Organisation details.
• Key questions and technical vocabulary that you will use or explain during the activity.
• Details of the adult role, with easy-to-follow steps
• Any digital resources needed.
• Ideas for extensions into continuous provision.
• Differentiation and opportunities for extra challenges.
• Opportunities for observation and assessment.

Try our digital play based learning professional development 

How to support play based learning in early childhood education with digital technology now

Cost: $460 AUD

You will learn how to support play based learning digital technology that will respond to a child's digital capabilities and learning needs. This course is NOT about understanding digital play research but IS about providing you with the 'practical and immediately actionable" strategies and steps that you can APPLY today and which is derived from the current research on digital play in the early years.

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