Digital technology in the early years: A reflection
Keywords:
early learning, digital literacy, multimodality, digital childhoods, screen timeAbstract
This paper reflects on the tensions that exist for early years practitioners who are unsure of how to navigate digital childhoods while being confronted with contradictory information. Provincial curriculums and early learning frameworks recognize the need for children to develop digital literacy skills while the Canadian Paediatric Society recommends limiting screen time. Thus, early learning practitioners are left without best practice guidelines that would help them embed digital technology into early learning environments through pedagogies that align with play-based learning. We describe age-appropriate and playful uses of digital technology that could naturally fit in early years classrooms
References
American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Public Education. (1999). Media education. Pediatrics, 104(2), 341–343. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.104.2.341
American Academy of Pediatrics, Committee on Public Education. (2001). Children, adolescents, and television. Pediatrics, 107(2), 423–426. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.107.2.423
American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on Communications and Media. (2016). Media and young minds. Pediatrics, 138(5), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2591
Arnott, L. (2016). An ecological exploration of young children’s digital play: Framing children’s social experiences with technologies in early childhood. Early Years, 36(3), 271–288. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2016.1181049
Aubrey, C., & Dahl, S. (2014). The confidence and competence in information and communication technologies of practitioners, parents and young children in the Early Years Foundation Stage. Early Years, 34(1), 94–108. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2013.792789
Bernhard, J. K., Winsler, A., Bleiker, C., Ginieniewicz, J., & Madigan, A. L. (2008). “Read my story!” Using the Early Authors Program to promote early literacy among diverse, urban preschool children in poverty. Journal of Education for Students Placed at Risk, 13(1), 76–105. https://doi.org/10.1080/10824660701860458
Binder, M. J., Sorin, R., Nolan, J., & Chu, S. (2015). Multimodal meaning-making for young children: Partnerships through blogging. In S. Garvis & N. Lemon (Eds.), Understanding digital technologies and young children: An international perspective (pp. 92–111). Routledge.
Braverman, B. (2016). The digital divide: How income inequality is affecting literacy instruction, and what all educators can do to help close the gap. Literacy Today, 33(4), 16–20.
Bredekamp, S. (2019). Effective practices in early childhood education: Building a foundation (4th ed.). Pearson Education.
British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2016). BC’s Curriculum. Province of British Columbia. https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/
British Columbia Ministry of Education. (2018). Revised British Columbia early learning framework: Draft 4 – Field test version. Province of British Columbia. https://www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/early-learning/teach/earlylearning/draft_early_learning_framework_2018.pdf
Brown, A., & American Academy of Pediatrics, Council on Communications and Media. (2011). Media use by children younger than 2 years [Policy statement]. Pediatrics, 128(5), 1040–1045. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-1753
Burnett, C., Merchant, G., Pahl, K., & Rowsell, J. (2014). The (im)materiality of literacy: The significance of subjectivity to new literacies research. Discourse: Studies in the Cultural Politics of Education, 35(1), 90–103. https://doi.org/10.1080/01596306.2012.739469
Canadian Paediatric Society. (2017). Screen time and young children: Promoting health and development in a digital world. Paediatrics & Child Health, 22(8), 461–468. https://doi.org/10.1093/pch/pxx123
Chai, Z., Vail, C. O., & Ayres, K. M. (2015). Using an iPad application to promote early literacy development in young children with disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 48(4), 268–278. https://doi.org/10.1177/0022466913517554
Chaudron, S. (2015). Young children (0–8) and digital technology: A qualitative exploratory study across seven countries. Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2788/00749
Chaudron, S., Di Gioia, R., & Gemo, M. (2018). Young children (0–8) and digital technology: A qualitative study across Europe. Publications Office of the European Union. https://doi.org/10.2760/294383
Chen, Y., Carger, C. L., & Smith, T. J. (2017). Mobile-assisted narrative writing practice for young English language learners from a funds of knowledge approach. Language Learning & Technology, 21(1), 28–41. https://doi.org/10125/44594
Common Sense Media, & Rideout, V. (2011). Zero to eight: Children’s media use in America. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/zerotoeightfinal2011.pdf
Common Sense Media, & Rideout, V. (2013). Zero to eight: Children’s media use in America. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/zero-to-eight-2013.pdf
Compton-Lilly, C. (2006). Identity, childhood culture, and literacy learning: A case study. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 6(1), 57–67. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798406062175
Cope, B., & Kalantzis, M. (2009). “Multiliteracies”: New literacies, new learning. Pedagogies: An International Journal, 4(3), 164–195. https://doi.org/10.1080/15544800903076044
Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2008). Getting clear about developmentally appropriate practice. Young Children, 63(1), 54–55.
Crompton, H., Gregory, K., & Burke, D. (2018). Humanoid robots supporting children’s learning in an early childhood setting. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 911–927. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12654
Cummins, J. (2001). Bilingual children’s mother tongue: Why is it important for education? Sprogforum, 7(19), 15–20.
Danby, S., Evaldsson, A., Melander, H., & Aarsand, P. (2018). Situated collaboration and problem solving in young children’s digital gameplay. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 959–972. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12636
Dias, P., Brito, R., Ribbens, W., Daniela, L., Rubene, Z., Dreier, M., Gemo, M., Di Gioia, R., & Chaudron, S. (2016). The role of parents in the engagement of young children with digital technologies: Exploring tensions between rights of access and protection, from ‘Gatekeepers’ to ‘Scaffolders’. Global Studies of Childhood, 6(4), 414–427. https://doi.org/10.1177/2043610616676024
Dunn, J., Gray, C., Moffett, P., & Mitchell, D. (2018). ‘It’s more funner than doing work’: Children’s perspectives on using tablet computers in the early years of school. Early Child Development and Care, 188(6), 819–831. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1238824
Dunn, J., & Sweeney, T. (2018). Writing and iPads in the early years: Perspectives from within the classroom. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 859–869. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12621
Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (Eds.). (1993). The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia approach to early childhood education. Praeger Publishers.
Edwards, C., Gandini, L., & Forman, G. (Eds.). (2011). The hundred languages of children: The Reggio Emilia experience in transformation (3rd ed.). Praeger Publishers.
Edwards, S. (2011). Lessons from ‘a really useful engine’™: Using Thomas the Tank Engine™ to examine the relationship between play as a leading activity, imagination and reality in children’s contemporary play worlds. Cambridge Journal of Education, 41(2), 195–210. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2011.572867
Edwards, S. (2013). Post-industrial play: Understanding the relationship between traditional and converged forms of play in the early years. In A. Burke & J. Marsh (Eds.), Children’s virtual play worlds: Culture, learning and participation (pp. 10–26). Peter Lang.
Ertmer, P. A., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T., Sadik, O., Sendurur, E., & Sendurur, P. (2012). Teacher beliefs and technology integration practices: A critical relationship. Computers & Education, 59(2), 423–435. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2012.02.001
Fleer, M. (2017a). Digital role-play: The changing conditions of children’s play in preschool settings. Mind, Culture, and Activity, 24(1), 3–17. https://doi.org/10.1080/10749039.2016.1247456
Fleer, M. (2017b). Digital pedagogy: How teachers support digital play in the early years. In L. Arnott (Ed.), Digital technologies and learning in the early years (pp. 114–126). SAGE Publications.
Fleer, M. (2018). Digital animation: New conditions for children’s development in play-based setting. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 943–958. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12637
Flewitt, R., Messer, D., & Kucirkova, N. (2015). New directions for early literacy in a digital age: The iPad. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 15(3), 289–310. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798414533560
Friedrich, N., Teichert, L., & Devadas, Z. (2017). The techno-literacy practices of children from diverse backgrounds. Language & Literacy, 19(3), 21–34. https://doi.org/10.20360/G2GM35
Gee, J. P. (2003). What video games have to teach us about learning and literacy. Computers in Entertainment (CIE), 1(1), 20. https://doi.org/10.1145/950566.950595
Geist, E. A. (2012). A qualitative examination of two year-olds interaction with tablet based interactive technology. Journal of Instructional Psychology, 39(1), 26–35.
Gestwicki, C. (2011). Developmentally appropriate practice: Curriculum and development in early education (4th ed.). Thomson Delmar Learning.
Gillen, J., & Kucirkova, N. (2018). Percolating spaces: Creative ways of using digital technologies to connect young children’s school and home lives. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 834–846. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12666
Gillen, J., Aliagas, C., Bar-lev, Y., Flewitt, R., Jorge, A., Kumpulainen, K., Marsh, J., Matsumoto, M., Morgade, M., Pacheco, R., Poveda, D., Sairanen, H., Sandberg, H., Scott, F., Sjöberg, U., Sundin, E., Tigane, I., & Tomé, V. (2018). A day in the digital lives of children aged 0–3. DigiLitEY ISCH COST Action IS1410 Working Group 1 “Digital literacy in homes and communities.”
Gilster, P. (1997). Digital literacy. Wiley.
Harrison, E., & McTavish, M. (2018). ‘i’Babies: Infants’ and toddlers’ emergent language and literacy in a digital culture of iDevices. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 18(2), 163–188. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798416653175
Hughes, B. (2002). A playworker’s taxonomy of play types (2nd ed.). PlayLink.
Hutchison, A., & Reinking, D. (2011). Teachers’ perceptions of integrating information and communication technologies into literacy instruction: A national survey in the United States. Reading Research Quarterly, 46(4), 312–333. https://doi.org/10.1002/RRQ.002
Ioannou, A., Andreou, E., & Christofi, M. (2015). Pre-schoolers’ interest and caring behaviour around a humanoid robot. TechTrends, 59(2), 23–26. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11528-015-0835-0
Jones, S. (2013). Critical literacies in the making: Social class and identities in the early reading classroom. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 13(2), 197–224. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798411430102
Kabali, H. K., Irigoyen, M. M., Nunez-Davis, R., Budacki, J. G., Mohanty, S. H., Leister, K. P., & Bonner, R. L. (2015). Exposure and use of mobile media devices by young children. Pediatrics, 136(6), 1044–1050. https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2015-2151
Kewalramani, S., Palaiologou, I., Arnott, L., & Dardanou, M. (2020). The integration of the internet of toys in early childhood education: A platform for multi-layered interactions. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28(2), 197–213. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2020.1735738
Kress, G. (2003). Literacy in the New Media Age. Routledge.
Kucirkova, N., Littleton, N., & Cremin, T. (2017). How to choose apps. National Literacy Trust. http://literacyapps.literacytrust.org.uk/how-to-choose-apps/
Kumpulainen, K., & Gillen, J. (2017). A review of literature on young children’s digital literacy practices in the home. DigiLitEY ISCH COST Action IS1410. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1ubvw42zVrcnpyaJ4C1uxILwyFUwn2dTF/view
Lankshear, C., & Knobel, M. (2008). Introduction: Digital literacies — Concepts, policies and practices. In C. Lankshear & M. Knobel (Eds.), Digital literacies: Concepts, policies and practices (pp. 1–16). Peter Lang.
Li, G., Jee, Y., & Sun, Z. (2018). Technology as an educational equalizer for EFL learning in rural China? Evidence from the impact of technology-assisted practices on teacher-student interaction in primary classrooms. Language and Literacy, 20(3), 159–184. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29415
Marklund, L., & Dunkels, E. (2016). Digital play as a means to develop children’s literacy and power in the Swedish preschool. Early Years, 36(3), 289–304. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2016.1181608
Marsh, J. (2004). The techno-literacy practices of young children. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 2(1), 51–66. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X0421003
Marsh, J. (2006). Emergent media literacy: Digital animation in early childhood. Language and Education, 20(6), 493–506. https://doi.org/10.2167/le660.0
Marsh, J. (2014). Online and offline play. In A. Burn & C. Richards (Eds.), Children’s games in the new media age (pp. 109–131). Ashgate.
Marsh, J. (2016). The digital literacy skills and competences of children of pre-school age. Media Education: Studi, ricerche, buone pratiche, 7(2), 178–195. https://oaj.fupress.net/index.php/med/article/view/8759
Marsh, J. (2020). Researching the digital literacy and multimodal practices of young children: A European agenda for change. In O. Erstad, R. Flewitt, B. Kümmerling-Meibauer, & Í. S. P. Pereira (Eds.), The Routledge handbook of digital literacies in early childhood (pp. 19–30). Routledge.
Marsh, J., Kontovourki, S., Tafa, E., & Salomaa, S. (2017a). Developing digital literacy in early years settings: Professional development needs for practitioners. DigiLitEY ISCH COST Action IS1410. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1fc-4ewLEUPlPnu6feE8R_yaLA4Ah2PVu/view
Marsh, J., Mascheroni, G., Carrington, V., Árnadóttir, H., Brito, R., Dias, P., Kupiainen, R., & Trueltzsch-Wijnen, C. (2017b). The online and offline digital literacy practices of young children: A review of the literature. DigiLitEY ISCH COST Action IS1410. https://drive.google.com/file/d/1FbCPSMYhu738AoBMugX8vaSwLgvhrlkc/view
Marsh, J., Plowman, L., Yamada-Rice, D., Bishop, J., & Scott, F. (2016). Digital play: a new classification. Early Years, 36(3), 242–253. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2016.1167675
Marsh, J., Plowman, L., Yamada-Rice, D., Bishop, J., Lahmar, J., & Scott, F. (2018). Play and creativity in young children’s use of apps. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 870–882. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12622
McGlynn-Stewart, M., MacKay, T., Gouweleeuw, B., Hobman, L., Maguire, N., Mogyorodi, E., & Ni, V. (2017). Toys or tools? Educators’ use of tablet applications to empower young students through open-ended literacy learning. In M. Mills & D. Wake (Eds.), Empowering learners with mobile open-access learning initiatives (pp. 74–96). IGI Global.
Mertala, P. (2017). Wag the dog — The nature and foundations of preschool educators' positive ICT pedagogical beliefs. Computers in Human Behavior, 69, 197–206. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2016.12.037
Millard, E. (2006). Transformative pedagogy: Teachers creating a literacy of fusion. In K. Pahl & J. Rowsell (Eds.), Travel notes from the new literacy studies: Instances of practices (pp. 234–253). Multilingual Matters.
Moll, L. C., Amanti, C., Neff, D., & Gonzalez, N. (1992). Funds of knowledge for teaching: Using a qualitative approach to connect homes and classrooms. Theory Into Practice, 31(2), 132–141. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405849209543534
National Association for the Education of Young Children & The Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Child Media at Saint Vincent College. (2012). Technology and interactive media as tools in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8. https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/topics/PS_technology_WEB.pdf
Neumann, M. M., Finger, G., & Neumann, D. L. (2017). A conceptual framework for emergent digital literacy. Early Childhood Education Journal, 45(4), 471–479. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-016-0792-z
Nova Scotia Department of Education and Early Childhood Development. (2019). English Language Arts Primary. Province of Nova Scotia. https://curriculum.novascotia.ca/sites/default/files/documents/curriculum-files/English%20Language%20Arts%20guide%20P%20%282019%29.pdf
O’Hara, M. (2011). Young children’s ICT experiences in the home: Some parental perspectives. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 9(3), 220–231. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X10389145
Palaiologou, I. (2016). Teachers’ dispositions towards the role of digital devices in play-based pedagogy in early childhood education. Early Years, 36(3), 305–321. https://doi.org/10.1080/09575146.2016.1174816
Plowman, L., Stephen, C., & McPake, J. (2010). Growing up with technology: Children learning in a digital world. Routledge.
Przybylski, A.K., & Weinstein, N. (2019). Digital screen time limits and young children’s psychological well-being: Evidence from a population-based study. Child Development, 90(1), e56–e65. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13007
Rideout, V., (2017). The Common Sense census: Media use by kids age zero to eight. Common Sense Media. https://www.commonsensemedia.org/sites/default/files/research/report/csm_zerotoeight_fullreport_release_2.pdf
Rowsell, J., & Burke, A. (2009). Reading by design: Two case studies of digital reading practices. Journal of Adolescent & Adult Literacy, 53(2), 106–118. https://doi.org/10.1598/JAAL.53.2.2
Rowsell, J., Morrell, E., & Alvermann, D. (2017). Confronting the digital divide: Debunking brave new world discourses. The Reading Teacher, 71(2), 157–165. https://doi.org/10.1002/trtr.1603
Schlembach, S., & Johnson, M. L. (2014). Parents’ beliefs, attitudes and behaviors concerning their young children’s screen media use. Dialog, 17(2), 95–104.
Shapiro, J. (2018). The new childhood: Raising kids to thrive in a connected world. Little, Brown Spark.
Singer, L. M., & Alexander, P. A. (2017). Reading on paper and digitally: What the past decades of empirical research reveal. Review of Educational Research, 87(6), 1007–1041. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654317722961
Statistics Canada. (2017). 2016 Census topic: Language. https://www12.statcan.gc.ca/census-recensement/2016/rt-td/lang-eng.cfm
Stranger-Johannessen, E., Doherty, L., & Norton, B. (2018). The African Storybook and Storybooks Canada: Digital stories for linguistically diverse children. Language and Literacy, 20(3), 121–133. https://doi.org/10.20360/langandlit29413
Straker, L., Zabatiero, J., Danby, S., Thorpe, K., & Edwards, S. (2018). Conflicting guidelines on young children's screen time and use of digital technology create policy and practice dilemmas. The Journal of Pediatrics, 202, 300–303. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jpeds.2018.07.019
Street, B. (1984). Literacy in theory and practice. Cambridge University Press.
Street, B. (2000). Literacy events and literacy practices: Theory and practice in the New Literacy Studies. In M. Martin-Jones & K. Jones (Eds.), Multilingual literacies: Reading and writing different worlds (pp. 17–21). John Benjamins Publishing Company.
Street, B. (2003). What’s “new” in New Literacy Studies? Critical approaches to literacy in theory and practice. Current Issues in Comparative Education, 5(2), 77–91.
Sulaymani, O., Fleer, M., & Chapman, D. (2018). Understanding children’s motives when using iPads in Saudi classrooms: Is it for play or for learning? International Journal of Early Years Education, 26(4), 340–353. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2018.1454303
Tecce DeCarlo, M. J., Grant, A., Lee, V. J., & Neuman, D. (2018). Information and digital literacies in a kindergarten classroom: An I-LEARN case study. Early Childhood Education Journal, 46(3), 265–275. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-017-0857-7
Teichert, L. (2017). To digital or not to digital: How mothers are navigating the digital world with their young children. Language & Literacy, 19(1), 63–76. https://doi.org/10.20360/G22P5W
Teichert, L. (2018). An examination of young children’s digital literacy practices in the home before and during the transition to kindergarten [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. University of British Columbia.
The New London Group. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard Educational Review, 66(1), 60–93. https://doi.org/10.17763/haer.66.1.17370n67v22j160u
Verhallen, M. J. A. J., & Bus, A. G. (2010). Low-income immigrant pupils learning vocabulary through digital picture storybooks. Journal of Educational Psychology, 102(1), 54–61. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0017133
Vidal-Hall, C., Flewitt, R., & Wyse, D. (2020). Early childhood practitioner beliefs about digital media: Integrating technology into a child-centred classroom environment. European Early Childhood Education Research Journal, 28(2), 167–181. https://doi.org/10.1080/1350293X.2020.1735727
Viner, R., Davie, M., & Firth, A. (2019). The health impacts of screen time: A guide for clinicians and parents. Royal College of Paediatrics and Child Health. https://www.rcpch.ac.uk/sites/default/files/2018-12/rcpch_screen_time_guide_-_final.pdf
Wohlwend, K. E. (2010). A is for avatar: Young children in literacy 2.0 worlds and literacy 1.0 schools. Language Arts, 88(2), 144–152.
Wohlwend, K. E. (2013). Literacy playshop: New literacies, popular media, and play in the early childhood classroom. Teachers College Press.
Wohlwend, K. E. (2015). One screen, many Fingers: Young children's collaborative literacy play with digital puppetry apps and touchscreen technologies. Theory Into Practice, 54(2), 154–162. https://doi.org/10.1080/00405841.2015.1010837
Wohlwend, K. E., Vander Zanden, S., Husbye, N. E., & Kuby, C. R. (2011). Navigating discourses in place in the world of Webkinz. Journal of Early Childhood Literacy, 11(2), 141–163. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468798411401862
Wolfe, S., & Flewitt, R. (2010). New technologies, new multimodal literacy practices and young children’s metacognitive development. Cambridge Journal of Education, 40(4), 387–399. https://doi.org/10.1080/0305764X.2010.526589
World Health Organization. (2019). WHO guidelines on physical activity, sedentary behavior and sleep for children under 5 years of age. https://apps.who.int/iris/rest/bitstreams/1213838/retrieve
Yelland, N. J. (2018). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Young children and multimodal learning with tablets. British Journal of Educational Technology, 49(5), 847–858. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjet.12635
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2022 McGill Journal of Education / Revue des sciences de l'éducation de McGill

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Those wishing to reproduce all or part of any material published on this website are asked to email mje.education@mcgill.ca for permission and to acknowledge the McGill Journal of Education as the original source.
Authors must transfer copyright of their article to MJE. Authors may use all or parts of their work in any future publication with the article's origin in MJE acknowledged in the customary manner.
A copy of our standard form may be requested from mje.education@mcgill.ca