Changing everyday pedagogical practices with digital technologies

Adapting or changing pedagogical practices to incorporate digital technologies is notoriously challenging in early childhood education and care (ECEC). While digital technologies are part of the everyday lives of many children and educators, some educators remain concerned about too much screen time, the appropriateness of using digital technologies in ECEC settings, and how to integrate digital technologies to enhance learning for young children. This chapter explores some of the approaches that educators adopted when using technologies in the classroom, and some of the opportunities for children’s learning that occurred. It describes experiences that educators trialled when engaging children with digital technologies and identifies and explains how technologies can be used to enhance children’s play, including the practices of acknowledging, interpreting, and integrating. Examples of how children engaged with digital technologies reflect imaginative encounters where learning opportunities were plentiful. The results of an environmental scan (adapted from the Inventory for Early Years Settings – see Marsh et al., 2005) in classrooms at three timepoints depicted how educators made changes in their use of digital technologies.