Play in a digital world: Ideas and tips
About this resource
This video presentation describes how parents and carers can utilise native mobile applications (apps) to spark children’s engagement in imaginative and investigative play. Native apps (e.g., camera, calculator, voice recorder, compass, magnifier) are pre-installed on most smartphones.
Age range for this resource
For parents, carers, and educators of children aged 2 to 8 years.
Goal of this resource
To provide opportunities for children to engage in imaginative and/or investigative co-play activities with their adults, peers, and/or siblings using native apps.
To foster children’s imagination and curiosity.
To support development of children’s digital literacy skills.
How might educators use this resource?
Share this video with colleagues to stimulate discussion about how you might use native apps on shared devices (e.g., iPads) in your classroom to scaffold imaginative and/or investigative co-play activities between educators and children and among child peers. Explore possibilities for supporting development of children’s digital literacy skills by encouraging them to independently use native apps with adult supervision.
How might families use this resource?
Watch this video presentation then use native apps to engage in imaginative and/or investigative play activities with your child. Encourage your child’s independent use of native apps (with adult supervision) to help build their digital literacy skills.
How might organisations use this resource?
Include a link to this video in your organisation’s usual communication to families and educators. Prepare a short statement for sharing such as: ‘Children benefit from using digital technologies, such as native apps (e.g., smartphone camera, calculator, voice recorder, compass, and magnifier app), for co-play activities with their adults, peers, and siblings.’ Highlight how the provision of play-based learning activities involving 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?
Educators, parents, and carers using native apps to engage children in imaginative and/or investigative co-play activities.
Educators, parents, and carers using native apps to support development of children’s digital literacy skills.
Children including native apps in their imaginative and/or investigative co-play activities meaningfully and purposefully.
Children independently using native apps for co-play activities with adult supervision.
Practices
Using
Children use digital technologies to access and share information and to communicate with others.
Discussing
Children, their peers, and adults discuss, consider, and reflect on digital content and/or the use and application of technologies in context.
Area
Relationships
Young children in digital contexts interact, engage, access, and learn how to use digital technologies in relationships with other people, including the adults (e.g., family members, parents, kinship members, educators) and peers (e.g. friends, siblings, extended family members) in their lives. These relationships facilitate and influence children’s engagement with digital technologies.
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 their emerging autonomy, inter-dependence, resilience, and agency (e.g., Children approach new safe situations with interest and confidence).
Children learn to interact in relation to others with care, empathy, and respect (e.g., Children co-use and collaborate with others when using digital technologies).
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 cooperate with others and negotiate roles and relationships in play episodes and group experiences; Educators support and build children’s skills to participate and contribute to group play and projects).
Outcome 3: Children have a strong sense of wellbeing
Children become strong in their social, emotional, and mental wellbeing (e.g., Children increasingly cooperate and work collaboratively with others; Educators challenge and support children to engage in and persevere at tasks and play).
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 create responsive learning environments that promote shared sustained thinking; Educators model inquiry processes, including wonder, curiosity, and imagination, try new ideas, and take on challenges).
Children develop a range of skills and processes such as problem solving, enquiry, experimentation, hypothesising, researching, and investigating (e.g., Children explore their environment through asking questions, experimenting, investigating, and using digital technologies).
Children resource their own learning through connecting with people, place, technologies, and natural and processed materials (e.g., Children explore the purpose and function of a range of tools, media, sounds, and graphics; Children use digital technologies and media to investigate and problem solve; Children express and respond to ideas and feelings using a range of creative media including photography and digital technologies; Educators select and introduce appropriate tools, technologies, and media and provide the skills, knowledge, and techniques to enhance children’s learning; Educators provide opportunities and support for children to engage in meaningful relationships that provide positive learning opportunities).
Outcome 5: Children are effective communicators
Children use digital technologies and media to access information, investigate ideas, and represent their thinking (e.g., Children incorporate real or imaginary technologies as features of their play; Children develop simple skills to operate digital devices, such as turning on and taking a photo with a tablet; Children engage with technologies and media for fun and social connection; Children adopt collaborative approaches in their learning about and with digital technologies; Educators acknowledge technologies are a feature of children’s lives and, as such, will be a feature of their imaginative and investigative play; Educators encourage collaborative learning about and through technologies between children, and children and educators).
National Quality Standard (Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority, 2019)
Quality Area 1: Educational program and practice (e.g., 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 4: Equity is upheld and diverse needs respected in policy and practice.
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:
Using technology to build relationships and social skills
This article invites parents, carers, and educators to use digital technologies with children to strengthen relationships, build trust, and learn new things together.
Using apps and websites to support children’s skills and interests
These tip sheets provide ideas for using mobile applications (apps) and websites to support young children’s interests and skill development.
For more ideas, explore these related resources:
Using digital technology with kids: Tips
This Raising Children Network video presentation (2.17 minutes duration) provides tips for parents and carers about using digital technologies in meaningful ways with children.
Technologies used in play
This infographic provides illustrative examples of how educators can use different technologies to support children’s digital literacy learning.
If you would like to read some research, explore these related resources:
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
Nolan, A. & Moore, D. (2024). Broadening the notion of peer-to-peer interactions when young children engage with digital technology. Early Childhood Education Journal. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-024-01662-4