The integration of the internet of toys in early childhood education: a platform for multi-layered interactions

The study investigates kindergarten teachers’ and children’s use of the Internet of Toys and the pedagogical effects that occur when this is integrated into kindergarten teaching. The research questions are: 1) What types of interactions occur when the Internet of Toys is integrated into teaching? 2) Can the Internet of Toys become a mediating artefact to promote play and learning?

The results show that the Internet of Toys served as a platform for multifaceted, multidimensional and multimodal interactions in all countries. The researcher calls for pedagogy that implements the Internet of Toys to promote children’s exploration, creativity, collaboration and problem solving.

The data material was collected from five countries: Australia, Austria, Norway, Scotland and England between August 2017 and December 2019. The methods used are individual interviews and focus group interviews with kindergarten teachers, observations of interactions with the Internet of Toys, digital images, videos and short reflections written down by the children’s parents and informal conversations with kindergarten children. The observed children were between three and five years old.

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.