Everyday learning to build young children’s digital technology skills
About this resource
This webinar explores how early childhood professionals (e.g., educators, directors, managers, tertiary students) can support children’s conceptual understandings of, and skill development with, digital technologies.
Age range for this resource
For early childhood professionals working with children aged 12 months to 8 years.
Goal of this resource
To promote young children’s confidence, understandings, and skills whilst using digital technologies.
To build young children’s understandings of the purpose, function, and workings of digital technologies.
How might educators use this resource?
View this webinar to support your professional learning about using digital technologies in the early years. The webinar is comprised of six short videos which can be shared with colleagues to encourage reflection and discussion about practices.
How might families use this resource?
View this webinar to learn about how you can support your child’s conceptual understandings of, and skill development, with digital technologies in the home.
How might organisations use this resource?
Provide a link to this webinar in a newsletter or in communication with early childhood professionals. Highlight how learning with digital technologies is a requirement of Belonging, Being, and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2.0 (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022).
What learning might we see?
Early childhood professionals using effective strategies to embed play-based digital practices at their services.
Parents and carers understanding how to support young children’s understandings of, and skill development with, digital technologies in the home.
Young children beginning to exhibit digital skills (e.g., independently taking a photo with a tablet device).
Practice
Integrating
Children and adults integrate digital technologies with non-digital media and/or experiences.
Area
Play and Pedagogy
Young children have opportunities for play and pedagogy in digital contexts. Play and pedagogy involve children using a range of digital devices for exploration, meaning-making, collaboration, and problem solving. Educators engage in active decision making about the use and non-use of digital technologies for learning.
Connection to relevant standards
Belonging, Being, and Becoming: The Early Years Learning Framework for Australia V2.0 (Australian Government Department of Education, 2022)
Outcome 1: Children have a strong sense of identity
Children develop knowledgeable confident self-identities, and a positive sense of self-worth (e.g., Children share with others how they have learned to use digital technologies; Educators promote in all children a strong sense of who they are and their connectedness to others – and a shared identity as Australians; Educators demonstrate deep understanding of each child, their family, and community contexts in planning for children’s learning, development, and wellbeing).
Outcome 2: Children are connected with and contribute to their world
Children develop a sense of connectedness to groups and communities and an understanding of their reciprocal rights and responsibilities as active and informed citizens (e.g., Children use digital technologies, with assistance, to explore solutions or assistance to community issues; Educators use digital technologies and the internet with children to explore solutions or assistance to community issues).
Children respond to diversity with respect (e.g., Educators use digital technologies to find answers to questions and document discoveries).
Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Children become strong in their social, emotional, and mental wellbeing (e.g., Educators discuss and model appropriate use of digital technologies and discuss how to keep children safe online with children and families; Educators update their own learning of digital and cyber safety for children).
Outcome 4: Children are confident and involved learners
Children develop a growth mindset and learning dispositions such as curiosity, cooperation, confidence, creativity, commitment, enthusiasm, persistence, imagination, and reflexivity (e.g., Educators build on the funds of knowledge, languages, and understandings that children bring to their early childhood setting).
Children develop a range of learning and thinking skills and processes such as problem solving, inquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching, and investigating (e.g., Educators model the use of digital technologies and media to assist children to investigate and document their findings).
Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, and natural and processed materials (e.g., Educators select and introduce appropriate tools, technologies, and media and provide the skills, knowledge, and techniques to enhance children’s learning; Educators develop their skills and knowledge with digital technologies and media in their curriculum to use them confidently with children).
Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
Children use digital technologies and media to access information, investigate ideas, and represent their thinking (e.g., Educators integrate technologies across the curriculum and into children’s multimodal play experiences and projects; Educators teach skills and techniques and encourage children to use technologies to explore new information and represent their ideas; Educators have opportunities to develop their own knowledge and understanding of appropriate digital technology use and safety with children and families).
National Quality Standard (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, 2019)
Quality Area 1: Educational program and practice (e.g., Each child’s current knowledge, strengths, ideas, culture, abilities, and interests are the foundation of the program; Educators are deliberate, purposeful, and thoughtful in their decisions and actions; Educators respond to children’s ideas and play and extend children’s learning through open-ended questions, interactions, and feedback; Each child’s agency is promoted, enabling them to make choices and decisions that influence events and their world).
Quality Area 2: Children’s health and safety (e.g., At all times, reasonable precautions and adequate supervision ensure children are protected from harm and hazard)
Quality Area 3: Physical Environment (e.g., Resources, materials, and equipment allow for multiple uses, are sufficient in number, and enable every child to engage in play-based learning).
Quality Area 5: Relationships with children (e.g., Responsive and meaningful interactions build trusting relationships which engage and support each child to feel secure, confident, and included; Children are supported to collaborate, learn from, and help each other).
National Principles for Child Safe Organisations (Australian Human Rights Commission, 2018)
Principle 7: Staff and volunteers are equipped with the knowledge, skills, and awareness to keep children and young people safe through ongoing education and training.
Principle 8: Physical and online environments promote safety and wellbeing while minimising the opportunity for children and young people to be harmed.
Explore More
If these ideas are new to you, explore these related resources:
What does your child understand about the internet?
This article supports parents and carers engage in conversations with young children about the internet.
This website aims to help parents, carers and educators teach young children how to stay safe online.
For more ideas, explore these related resources:
This ABC Kids Play School episode features the countdown to Kiya’s big birthday party where Kiya and her Play School family go online to make the arrangements. The program highlights how parents, carers, and educators can model online safety behaviours to young children.
Using digital technology with children: Tips
This Raising Children Network article offers useful tips on using digital technologies with your child.
If you would like to read some research, explore these related resources:
Gibbons, A. (2010). Reflections concerning technology: A case for the philosophy of technology in early childhood teacher education and professional development programs. In S. Izumi-Taylor & S. Black (Eds.), Technology for early childhood education and socialization: Developmental applications and methodologies (pp. 1–19). https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-60566-784-3
Grieshaber, S., Nuttall, J., & Edwards, S. (2021). Multimodal play: A threshold concept for early childhood curriculum? British Journal of Educational Technology, 52(6), 2118–2129. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.13127