By Michael Hilkemeijer
Build Confidence with Technology in Early Years Through Evidence-Based Practice and Ongoing Support
Technology in early childhood education is no longer optional—it is essential. Yet many educators still ask: What does technology integration really mean in early childhood? Why is it important? How can I make it meaningful in my setting?
This blog is written to provide detailed, thoughtful answers to those questions. Whether you’re just beginning to explore technology in early childhood classrooms or are looking to deepen your practice, this is where learning begins. As you reflect, you’ll see how our membership offers the ideal environment to grow your professional confidence in using technology with purpose.
Why Is Technology Important in Early Childhood Education?
When educators understand why technology is important in early childhood education, they shift from viewing it as “screen time” to seeing it as a rich, creative tool for:
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Expression: Children draw, compose music, or tell stories through apps like Book Creator or Paint 3D
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Investigation: Children explore real-world objects using digital microscopes or augmented reality apps
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Connection: Children use digital storytelling to communicate their ideas, feelings, and discoveries with others
The Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) encourages children to become confident and involved learners. Thoughtfully chosen technologies—aligned with children's interests and developmental stages—can powerfully support that goal.
For example, in a digital nature walk, children use tablets to photograph and discuss textures, patterns, and colours they find in the environmentDigital nature walk and…. This combines science, language, creativity, and digital literacy in one joyful activity.
What Is Technology Integration in Education?
Technology integration in education refers to the meaningful use of digital tools to support and enhance curriculum goals—not to entertain or replace educators.
In early learning settings, this could look like:
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Drawing with programmable toys: Children use Bee-Bots to create artwork, learning about direction, cause-and-effect, and designProblem solving activit…
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Interactive storytelling: Children record sounds and narrate their own digital stories using tools like iMovie or Book CreatorOutdoor digital storyte…
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Digital games for problem-solving: Carefully chosen adventure games build reasoning and planning skills when scaffolded by an adultProblem solving activit…
True integration means educators plan, support, reflect, and differentiate—not just use a device.
What Do We Mean by ‘Technology in Early Childhood Classrooms’?
When we refer to technology in early childhood classrooms, we’re talking about a range of tools and experiences designed to support foundational learning through play.
These tools include:
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Tablets and touchscreen devices for digital drawing or simple software exploration
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Programmable robots like Bee-Bots and Cubetto for developing sequencing, spatial awareness, and language
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Audio recorders for capturing sounds or children’s own storytelling
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Interactive whiteboards or projectors for group collaboration and visual demonstrations
Importantly, it also includes how we introduce, scaffold, and reflect on those tools with children. In a well-designed lesson, even learning about computer parts becomes hands-on and playful—such as drawing your own laptop or identifying digital devices in everyday lifeLearning about computersProblem solving activit….
What Is the Impact of Technology in Early Childhood Education?
The impact of technology in early childhood education can be wide-reaching—if used intentionally. When educators guide children to use digital tools creatively, the benefits include:
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Improved communication and literacy: Narrating a digital story or using a recording app to reflect on nature experiences
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Enhanced collaboration and problem-solving: Working in pairs to code a Bee-Bot through an obstacle course outdoorsCoding with nature and …
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Development of critical thinking: Making predictions, testing code, debugging errors, or editing soundscapes
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Increased engagement and motivation: Children see themselves as creators, not just consumers, of digital content
However, without structured professional learning, educators can feel unsure of how to align tech with EYLF outcomes or scaffold learning effectively. That’s where our membership becomes a powerful tool for transformation.
Why the ICT in Education Teacher Academy Membership?
Understanding the theory is important—but applying it consistently is what transforms practice. That’s why the ICT in Education Teacher Academy was designed as a learning and doing space.
Here’s how the membership helps you implement your learning, step by step:
| What You Learn | How the Membership Helps You Apply It |
|---|---|
| What is technology integration in education | Follow a clear Technology Success Path based on your current confidence and skill level |
| How to plan engaging and purposeful tech activities | Use the Academy Workbook templates for lesson planning, reflection, and EYLF links |
| How to assess learning and differentiate tech experiences | Select observation guides and peer feedback tools for documenting and improving your practice |
| How to adapt technology use for different learning needs | Share your lesson ideas in the member forum and get suggestions from experienced peers |
| How to build confidence and consistency with ICT use | Access new resources monthly, attend webinars, and connect with a supportive learning community |
Sample Activity to Try: “Bee-Bot Turns Butterfly”
Activity Focus: Combine creativity, coding, and problem-solving with a nature theme.
Children decorate a Bee-Bot as a butterfly and code it to visit flowers around a mat, collecting counters. This brings STEM to life through movement, art, and collaborationProblem solving activit….
📘 Best-Suited Workbook Tools:
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Lesson Planning Template (pg. 114)
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Observation Guide (pg. 101)
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Community Reflection Prompts (pg. 182)
Progression Note: This activity helps educators move from Adoption to Adaptation—learning how to adjust programmable toy tasks to support specific learning outcomes, from communication to numeracy.
Final Thoughts: Build Understanding and Confidence—One Step at a Time
ECE educators often tell us:
“I want to use technology more meaningfully, but I’m not sure where to start.”
“I don’t want to use tech just for the sake of it—I want it to support real learning.”
This blog was written for YOU.
By deeply understanding concepts like technology integration in early childhood education, recognising the impact of technology, and exploring what technology in early years looks like in practice—you now have a foundation to build from.
And with the ICT in Education Teacher Academy, you don’t have to build it alone.
Defining Technology Integration in ECE
Technology integration is an instructional choice by teachers that requires collaboration and careful and considerate planning.
This instructional choice involves integrating technology in early childhood education as a tool to support content-area instruction and not simply as an add-on to the curriculum.
Throughout this process, the use of technology in a meaningful context should always be ‘transparent’ to the point the children become so focused on using ICT as a tool to achieve other outcomes that they hardly notice that they are using technology itself.
In the early childhood context, children begin to become independent users of ICT as well as being able to understand ICT appropriately and creatively in its social context.
The subsequent development of ICT capability in early childhood education is achieved through either a thematic approach that delivers the curriculum through projects or topics, and/or an approach that is based on the breadth and depth of the Early Years Learning Framework and its Early Learning Goals.
Meaningful technology integration in early learning environments should not only follow the eight guiding principles set out in the DATEC project but should also aim to develop each component of ICT capability in early childhood classrooms.
Your understanding, therefore, of ICT capability development in early childhood learning activities is crucial to the successful integration of technology in early childhood education.
For the children in your care to become effective lifelong learners, you will need to ensure that they become literate in the communication modes of their culture.
For example, they need to make sense of ‘texts’ whether it be print-based, electronic or image-based. They also need to develop skills in the use of images and sounds to convey information, ideas and feelings.
However, the most important thing that you need to remember is that technology integration in early childhood education is about developing a child’s ICT capability and this involves becoming more responsive to a child’s own expertise in ICT.
The end result is that you are going beyond just integrating technology in childhood classrooms to enhance learning but to develop 21st century skills where the children not only know how to use an ICT technique but to “know that they know” an ICT technique and are thus able to decide if it is appropriate to use the ICT technique for a solution to a problem or task.
Technology Integration Guidance
As ICT becomes more embedded into young children’s lives and environment these technologies are having a profound effect on all aspects of people’s lives and they are being ‘taken for granted’.
Young children will continue to enter your early learning environment with varying degrees of ICT capability already knowing how to keyboards, touch screens and other digital technologies. This stresses the importance of technology in preschool education and in choosing developmentally appropriate technology to be response to a child’s expertise in ICT.
To be full and capable participants in their environments it is important that young children develop their ICT capability by successfully integrating key examples of technology in early childhood education.
Supporting social-emotional development
There is much debate about whether ‘screen time’ is good or bad for social interaction and this does inherent conflict for your decisions. However, concerns are sometimes linked to unease that software developers may see young children, their parents, or early childhood education settings as lucrative markets for “educational” programs and games that might not deliver the educational benefits they promise. As an educator, it is essential that you do introduce young children to new technologies while at the same time ensuring that children interact with each other.
It is for this reason that instead of fighting technology as a distraction, you plan to use it as a tool to enhance and support learning. For example, young children may find it easier to use a touch screen than a mouse or keyboard due to their developing fine motor skills.
Following multi-step directions
The use of digital technology in early childhood education can aid in young children following multi-step directions. Being able to listen, recall and complete series of directions is critical to completing many early learning activities. Despite being difficult to master, young children can if teachers spend a great deal of time working on them.
Teaching core academic skills
Another most noticeable uses of digital technology in early childhood education are in teaching and reviewing core academic skills. For example, a simple activity designed for a computer or tablet can help a student practice shapes or colours. Each of these activities can be adapted to fit the learning needs of young children more efficiently. This makes learning more personalised for young children and this further emphasises the significance of digital technology to enhance early years curricula in the classroom.
Bringing It All Together: Technology Integration in ECE Starts Now
Over the course of this page, we’ve explored what technology integration in early childhood education truly means—from understanding the definition, to using digital tools to support social-emotional learning, multi-step thinking, and even core academic skills like literacy, numeracy, and science.
What’s become clear is this: Technology in early childhood classrooms is not a distraction—it’s a powerful extension of play-based learning.
Whether it’s guiding a Bee-Bot through a story map, recording nature sounds for a collaborative project, or teaching children to follow directions with interactive drawing apps, the use of technology in early childhood education offers real opportunities to:
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Strengthen digital literacy
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Foster problem-solving and collaboration
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Promote inquiry-based thinking
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Support social-emotional expression through digital storytelling
The impact of technology in early childhood education lies in how intentionally it's used—and how well educators are supported to implement it.
What’s your next step?
Now that you’ve explored key ideas—from what is technology integration in education to how it supports developmental outcomes—ask yourself:
Am I ready to apply ICT tools in ways that enhance engagement and learning in my early years setting?
If yes, you’re ready for structured professional growth in technology integration in education.