Role play and technologies in early childhood

This chapter offers an understanding of children’s role-play with technologies, objects that simulate technologies and new innovative internet-connected toys (IoToys). Data is drawn from an international research project, which explores the ecological factors that shape the characteristics of children’s play with IoToys. Data is largely observational, gathered via both video and narrative observations and offers a rich and dynamic discussion of children’s experiences. Focusing specifically a socio-cultural and Vygotskian theorisation of play and particularly on the importance of imagination, we offer vignettes of children’s play with tangible and tactile technological artefacts. Our data demonstrates that children use their developing imagination to support their play with technologies.