Learning through digital play in the australian context of early childhood education and care

Early childhood pedagogy recognizes the importance of social interactions and imaginative play; however, the recent proliferation of digital tablet technologies has stimulated young children to engage increasingly in digital play. In this chapter, we use the sociocultural theorization of imaginative play, and the concept of sustained shared thinking, to explore whether (and how) digital play provides similar developmental benefits to traditional imaginative play. We show that while digital play is largely shaped by the content and design of the apps, adult-child interactions are critical for extending children’s thinking through digital play.