Using information and communication technologies for playing and learning in the information age

This research explored young children’s (aged 4 to 8 years of age) expertise with information and communication technologies (ICT) both in school with their teachers and in out of school contexts. We worked with early childhood teachers to observe young children from diverse socioeconomic backgrounds to see how they used ICT, how many forms they used and to what extent ICT related to other forms of play and learning in literacy and numeracy. We collaborated with teachers to document the children’s use both in school and in their homes in an attempt to encapsulate the impact and use of ICT in their lives. The concept of a techno tour is introduced in the context of the home use of ICT, whereby the children showed us what they do with ICT at home. Further a framework for considering children’s interactions and learnings with ICT was created so that we were able to explore the ways in which children’s knowledge, understandings and use of technologies occur and if they change over time.