Y oung children interact with a wide range of digital technologies in their everyday lives and become competent users of computers, tablets, etc. The purpose of this study was to investigate preschool teachers’ practices regarding ICT-supported early language and mathematics learning. The participants were eight teachers and data were collected via semi-structured interviews, inGreece. The most commonly reported purposes for ICT usage in preschool classes were searching for information, as a supplementary-supportive tool and for displaying educational video/pictures. The learning activities carried out in early language learning via ICT included displaying of pictures/ drawings, writing a word/name/date, practicing letters, connecting words to their sound/image and phonological awareness (for familiarization with the written word, oral language, enhancement of vocabulary etc). The learning activities carried out in early mathematics with the support of ICT included serialization-sorting of objects, learning of time and space concepts, familiarization with numbers, classification, matching, as well as activities with shapes, colors, and memory cards. Teachers’ practices have implications for teacher professional development.
Aberg, E., Lantz-Andersson, A., & Pramling, N. (2014). “Once upon a Time There Was a Mouse”: Children’s Technology-Mediated Storytelling in Preschool Class. Early Child Development and Care, 184, 1583-1598. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2013.867342
Clements, D. (1994). The Uniqueness of the Computer as a Learning Tool: Insights from Research and Practice. In J. Wright, & D. Shade (Eds.), Young Children: Active Learners in a Technological Age (pp. 31-49). Washington DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Clements, D., & Sarama, J. (2003). Strip Mining for Gold: Research and Policy in Educational Technology—A Response to “Fool’s Gold”. Educational Technology Review, 11, 7-69.
Creswell, J. W. (2012). Educational Research: Planning, Conducting, and Evaluating Quantitative and Qualitative Research (4th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.
Dorouka, P., Papadakis, S., & Kalogiannakis, M. (2020). Tablets and Apps for Promoting Robotics, Mathematics, STEM Education and Literacy in Early Childhood Education. International Journal of Mobile Learning and Organization, 14, 255-274. https://doi.org/10.1504/IJMLO.2020.106179
Furman, M., De Angelis, S., Dominguez Prost, E., & Taylor, I. (2019). Tablets as an Educational Tool for Enhancing Preschool Science. International Journal of Early Years Education, 27, 6-19. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2018.1439368
Gray, C., Dunn, J., Moffett, P., & Mitchell, D. (2017). Mobile Devices in Early Learning: Evaluating the Use of Portable Devices to Support Young Children’s Learning. Report commissioned by Irish Education Authority.
Herodotou, C. (2017). Young Children and Tablets: A Systematic Review of Effects on Learning and Development. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 34, 1-9. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12220
Kucirkova, N., Messer, D., Sheehy, K., & Fernández Panadero, C. (2014). Children’s Engagement with Educational iPad Apps: Insights from a Spanish Classroom. Computers & Education, 71, 175-184. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2013.10.003
Ljung-Djarf, A. (2008). To Play or Not to Play—That Is the Question: Computer Use within Three Swedish Preschools. Early Childhood and Development, 19, 330-339. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409280801964069
Lu, Y.-H., Ottenbreit-Leftwich, A. T., Ding, A.-C., & Glazewski, K. (2017). Experienced iPad-Using Early Childhood Teachers: Practices in the One-to-One iPad Classroom. Computers in the Schools, 34, 9-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/07380569.2017.1287543
McKenney, S., & Voogt, J. (2012). Teacher Design of Technology for Emergent Literacy: An Explorative Feasibility Study. Australasian Journal of Early Childhood, 37, 4-12. https://doi.org/10.1177/183693911203700102
National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), & Fred Rogers center (FRC) (2012). Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8. http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and-young-children
Neumann, M. M. (2018). Using Tablets and Apps to Enhance Emergent Literacy Skills in Young Children. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 42, 239-246. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2017.10.006
Neumann, M. M. (2020). Social Robots and Young Children’s Early Language and Literacy Learning. Early Childhood Education Journal, 48, 157-170. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00997-7
Neumann, M. M., Merchant, G., & Burnett, C. (2018). Young Children and Tablets: The Views of Parents and Teachers. Early Child Development and Care, 188, 1654-1664. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1278215
Nikolopoulou, K. (2007). Early Childhood Educational Software: Specific Features and Issues of Localization. Early Childhood Education Journal, 35, 173-179. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-007-0168-5
Nikolopoulou, K. (2010). Methods for Investigating Young Children’s Learning and Development with Information Technology. In A. McDougall, J. Murnane, A. Jones, & N. Reynolds (Eds.), Researching IT in Education: Theory, Practice and Future Directions (pp. 183-191). London: Routledge.
Nikolopoulou, K. (2014a). ICT Integration in Preschool Classes: Examples of Practices in Greece. Creative Education, 5, 402-410. https://doi.org/10.4236/ce.2014.56050
Nikolopoulou, K. (2014b). Educational Software Use in Kindergarten. In C. Karagiannidis, P. Politis, & I. Karasavvidis (Eds.), Research on e-Learning and ICT in Education: Technological, Pedagogical and Instructional Perspectives (pp. 39-57). New York: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6501-0_4
Nikolopoulou, K. (2018 new enhanced edition). Information and Communication Technologies in Early Childhood Education: Integration and Use. Athens: Patakis. (In Greek)
Nikolopoulou, K. (2019). Mobile Technologies and Early Childhood Education. In M. Tsitouridou, J. A. Diniz, & T. Mikropoulos (Eds.), Technology and Innovation in Learning, Teaching and Education. TECH-EDU 2018. Communications in Computer and Information Science (pp. 444-457). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-20954-4_33
Nikolopoulou, K. (2020). Preschool Children’s Use of Tablet at Home and Parents’ Views. In S. Papadakis, & M. Kalogiannakis (Eds.), Mobile Learning Applications in Early Childhood Education (pp. 209-229). Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1486-3.ch011
Nikolopoulou, K., & Gialamas, V. (2015). ICT and Play in Preschool: Early Childhood Teachers’ Beliefs and Confidence. International Journal of Early Years Education, 23, 409-425. https://doi.org/10.1080/09669760.2015.1078727
Nikolopoulou, K., Akriotou, D., & Gialamas, V. (2019). Early Reading Skills in English as a Foreign Language via ICT in Greece: Early Childhood Student Teachers’ Perceptions. Early Childhood Education Journal, 47, 597-606. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10643-019-00950-8
Ofcom (2019). Children and Parents: Media Use and Attitudes Report 2018. Making Sense of Media.
Outhwaite, L. A., Gulliford, A., & Pitchford, N. J. (2017). Closing the Gap: Efficacy of a Tablet Intervention to Support the Development of Early Mathematical Skills in UK Primary School Children. Computers & Education, 108, 43-58. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2017.01.011
P.I (2011). Nursery School Program, Part 1, Pedagogical Framework and Principles of the Nursery School Program. http://archive.is/20121218094948/digitalschool-5.minedu.gov.gr/info/newps.php
Papadakis, S., & Kalogiannakis, M. (Eds.) (2020). Mobile Learning Applications in Early Childhood Education. Hershey, PA: IGI Global. https://doi.org/10.4018/978-1-7998-1486-3
Papadakis, S., Kalogiannakis, M., & Zaranis, N. (2016). Comparing Tablets and PCs in Teaching Mathematics: An Attempt to Improve Mathematics Competence in Early Childhood Education. Preschool and Primary Education, 4, 241-253. https://doi.org/10.12681/ppej.8779
Papadakis, S., Kalogiannakis, M., & Zaranis, N. (2018). The Effectiveness of Computer and Tablet Assisted Intervention in Early Childhood Students’ Understanding of Numbers. An Empirical Study Conducted in Greece. Education and Information Technologies, 23, 1849-1871. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10639-018-9693-7
Parette, H., & Blum, C. (2013). Instructional Technology in Early Childhood: Teaching in the Digital Age. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.
Reeves, J., Gunter, G., & Lacey, C. (2017). Mobile Learning in Pre-Kindergarten: Using Student Feedback to Inform Practice. Educational Technology & Society, 20, 37-44.
Romero-Tena, R., Lopez-Lozano, L., & Gutierrez, M. P. (2020). Types of Use of Technologies by Spanish Early Childhood Teachers. European Journal of Educational Research, 9, 511-522. https://doi.org/10.12973/eu-jer.9.2.511
Stephen, C., & Edwards, S. (2018). Young Children Playing and Learning in a Digital Age: A Cultural and Critical Perspective. London: Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781315623092
Stephen, C., & Plowman, L. (2003). Information and Communication Technologies in Pre-School Settings: A Review of the Literature. International Journal of Early Years Education, 11, 223-234. https://doi.org/10.1080/0966976032000147343
Zaranis, N., & Valla, V. (2019). Tablets in Learning Mathematics for Kindergarten Students. In L. Daniela (Ed.), Didactics of Smart Pedagogy (pp. 267-284). Cham: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-01551-0_14