Shift to the Future

Digital tools are reshaping how young children learn and what childhood looks like today. In Western countries especially, children now have access to kinds of play and exploration that were out of reach only a few years ago. This book asks how such changes can be explained and understood, and what they mean for teaching in the early years. It also looks at how these technologies affect children's personal and social lives.

Drawing on childhood specialist Nicola Yelland, the book surveys the technologies children actually encounter and what children themselves say about them and how they use them. It reviews research showing how information and communications technologies can support learning and deeper engagement with ideas through creative interaction. It also considers how these tools have widened children's world and their ability to build social connections.