By Michael Hilkemeijer
When Hannah, a passionate early childhood educator, joined the ICT in Education Teacher Academy, she was searching for one thing: clarity. She had heard terms like play-based pedagogy and digital literacy thrown around but struggled to find professional development that showed her how to integrate digital tools into play based learning in early childhood education.
She didn’t want more theory. She wanted guidance that worked. What she discovered inside the membership didn’t just answer her questions—it transformed her teaching practice.
Start by Understanding What Play-Based Learning Really Means
Play based learning in early childhood education is a pedagogical approach that centres the child’s natural curiosity and joy. It allows children to explore, experiment, create, and problem-solve through hands-on experiences and open-ended play. In high-quality early learning environments, play is not a break from learning—it is the learning.
But many educators still ask: Can play-based learning include digital technology?
The answer is yes—when digital tools are used intentionally to enhance exploration. Through play-based learning activities involving digital storytelling, drawing apps, coding robots, and digital documentation, children can engage in rich, meaningful experiences that meet their developmental needs.
For Hannah, the shift began here: understanding that technology didn’t have to replace play—it could support and deepen it.
Use Practical Examples That Inspire and Guide You
Inside the ICT in Education Teacher Academy, Hannah discovered a wide range of play based learning examples that integrated technology seamlessly and meaningfully. These were not random tech activities. Every resource aligned with the EYLF and was supported by reflective tools, observation strategies, and clear planning steps.
She started by implementing one activity—Outdoor Digital Storytelling—where children recorded nature sounds and turned them into stories. The response was immediate: engagement, excitement, and meaningful communication.
Here are 10 popular play based learning activities available in the membership, each supported by intentional pedagogy:
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Outdoor Digital Storytelling – Children record natural sounds on a tablet and use apps like Book Creator to tell a story, supporting communication and environmental awareness.
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Drawing with Programmable Toys – Children attach markers to Bee Bots and code them to draw paths and shapes, encouraging early coding and creativity.
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QR Code Nature Hunt – Educators hide QR codes in an outdoor space. Children scan and follow clues to complete a nature-based inquiry, building digital literacy and teamwork.
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Augmented Reality Animal Exploration – Children use AR apps to identify animals or insects, enhancing science learning through immersive play.
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Digital Puppet Theatre – Children script and record puppet performances using tablets, reinforcing narrative structure and expressive language.
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Shape Design with Paint 3D – Children use 2D shapes to design real-world objects, building geometric awareness and digital drawing skills.
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Sorting Animals with Digital Tools – Children categorise animals using an image library and digital drag-and-drop templates, enhancing reasoning and classification.
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Bee Bot School Bus Role Play – Children navigate programmable robots along pretend roadways, developing spatial reasoning and understanding directionality.
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Speech Bubble Storytelling – Using classroom photos, children add speech bubbles to express thoughts or dialogue, promoting language and emotional intelligence.
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Nature Coding Challenge – Children code robots to navigate natural obstacles outdoors, combining environmental interaction with algorithmic thinking.
Each of these activities is accompanied by:
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A lesson plan template that identifies the role of the educator
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Clear links to EYLF outcomes
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Observation and assessment suggestions
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Differentiation ideas to adapt the activity for all learners
These hands-on activities are backed by some of the top play-based strategies embedded across the membership:
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Scaffolded exploration – Gradually increasing challenge and responsibility
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Intentional observation – Using child cues to guide learning extensions
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Open-ended questioning – Encouraging reflection and deeper thinking
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Co-playing and modelling – Engaging with children during play to demonstrate techniques or prompt new ideas
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Child voice and agency – Prioritising children's ideas, choices, and creativity within the play
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Integration of digital tools – Selecting technologies that enrich rather than distract from the play
These pedagogical strategies are reflected in every activity. For Hannah, this consistent exposure to high-quality planning helped her understand how to link theory with practice—and gave her the confidence to lead digital play with intention and joy.
Apply Play-Based Pedagogy with Confidence
Understanding digital play-based pedagogy was a turning point for Hannah. She no longer felt like she was just using technology—she was using it with purpose. She realised that play-based pedagogy is not just a method—it’s a mindset and a professional skillset that positions the child as a capable, curious, and active learner.
Play-based pedagogy in early childhood education is about:
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Environments that invite discovery, problem-solving, and wonder
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Activities that emerge from children's interests and ideas
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Intentional teaching moments where the educator observes, extends, and scaffolds learning
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Opportunities for children to revisit, reflect, and reframe their experiences
In the ICT in Education Teacher Academy, Hannah didn’t just read about these ideas—she saw them in action. The membership is filled with play-based pedagogical strategies—from real-world examples and expert-led presentations to lesson plans that model how to facilitate play with digital tools.
Each lesson plan inside the membership includes explicit references to:
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How the play is structured—Is it open-ended, guided, or educator-facilitated?
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The pedagogical role of the educator—Are they observing, questioning, co-playing, or documenting?
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Reflection prompts—What were the children's learning cues? How was the play extended?
Through this lens, Hannah learned to:
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Move beyond the idea of 'using technology' to 'inviting learning through digital experiences'
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Incorporate digital tools into dramatic play, inquiry-based learning, and creative expression
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See her role as one of facilitator, collaborator, and researcher alongside the child
The Membership Workbook guided her through each of these shifts in thinking. It posed critical reflective questions like:
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What pedagogical strategies did I use in today’s play-based digital activity?
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How did I extend children’s learning through open-ended digital tools?
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In what ways was the play child-led, and how did I respond?
Most importantly, play-based pedagogy in the membership is never isolated—it is integrated. It flows through every activity, case study, and professional reflection. This made it easier for Hannah to align her teaching with the EYLF, improve her TPACK, and gain confidence in explaining why her digital play-based learning decisions mattered.
Through the ICT in Education Teacher Academy, Hannah discovered that play-based pedagogy is not a fixed framework. It is a responsive, evolving practice—and the membership gave her everything she needed to apply it with confidence in the digital age.
Invest in Targeted Professional Development
To truly support her growth, Hannah enrolled in the membership’s 10+ hour play based learning course: How to Support Play Based Learning in ECE with Digital Technology. But unlike many one-off professional development workshops, this course was just one key part of her journey—a vital stepping stone within a much larger learning ecosystem.
This play based learning professional development course was deeply informative and practical. It gave Hannah:
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A strong foundation in the theory behind digital play-based learning
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Confidence to overcome barriers that often hold educators back from using digital tools in play
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Real strategies to implement digital storytelling, creative play, coding, and numeracy through play
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Insights into how to design outdoor digital play experiences
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Practical ways to align High Impact Teaching Strategies (HITS) with play-based digital learning
However, what made the difference was knowing this wasn’t a one-and-done experience. The course connected directly to everything else in the membership:
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The hands-on digital activities helped her put theory into immediate practice
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The Membership Workbook prompted her to reflect on each application and plan her next steps
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The Wisdom Tool helped answer specific questions, allowing her to adapt activities in real time
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The community discussions brought her into collaboration with other educators, enriching her understanding
Most importantly, the course was embedded within the Membership Success Path—a structured professional learning framework. It wasn’t about ticking off a PD requirement. It was about:
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Progressing from foundational understanding to confidence and leadership
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Applying learning consistently over time
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Making real improvements to her TPACK (Technological Pedagogical and Content Knowledge)
The course also directly supports the Australian Professional Standards for Teachers, including:
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1.2.2 – Understanding how children learn
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2.2.2 – Organising and sequencing content effectively
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2.6.2 – Integrating ICT to support student engagement
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3.4.2 – Selecting and using resources that enhance learning
Through this course, Hannah didn’t just learn about digital play—she became the kind of educator who could confidently lead it. And because it was part of an ongoing, integrated learning journey, her knowledge and skills didn’t fade after the workshop. They deepened. They evolved.
That’s the difference the ICT in Education Teacher Academy offers. It’s not just a course. It’s a living, breathing professional development model designed to build mastery, support reflection, and ensure long-term success in integrating digital technology in early childhood education environments.
Use the Membership Workbook as Your Roadmap
Hannah’s journey wouldn’t have been complete without the Membership Workbook. This workbook is more than a reflection tool—it is a structured professional growth roadmap.
It helps members:
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Design their own custom path to ICT integration using the Success Path framework
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Begin with a self-assessment to identify their current teaching practices with ICT
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Set professional goals and milestones with guidance from the workbook
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Align their teaching to the EYLF and APST using planning, reflection, and collaboration templates
The Success Path takes educators through a clear transformation:
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From Adoption—trying one digital tool for a lesson
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To Adaptation—building consistent digital play-based practices
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To Infusion—embedding digital tools across all learning areas
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To Transformation—leading ICT use, mentoring peers, and redesigning experiences
And at every step, the workbook supports TPACK development:
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TK (Technological Knowledge) – Knowing which tools to use and how to use them
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TPK (Technological Pedagogical Knowledge) – Selecting the right strategies for different learners
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TCK (Technological Content Knowledge) – Connecting ICT to specific subject areas
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TPACK – Bringing all three elements together in balanced, integrated lessons
With built-in reflection prompts, APST-aligned evidence tracking, and community guidance, the workbook gave Hannah the structure and confidence to take her next step—and then the next. It ensured she wasn’t learning in isolation but building momentum through every action.
Join a Community That Supports Your Journey
Hannah’s story is not unique. What truly accelerated her growth—and kept her moving forward—was becoming part of a supportive and professional community of like-minded educators inside the ICT in Education Teacher Academy.
The membership community is not an optional extra. It is a critical component of the Success Path. In fact, the Membership Workbook refers educators to the community at several key stages—including during reflections, professional goal setting, and when educators reach points of uncertainty or curiosity. Members are explicitly prompted to seek feedback, share progress, and discuss adaptations within the community space.
This community is where educators:
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Ask questions and get immediate feedback from fellow members and digital learning experts
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Share how they’ve implemented play based learning activities and gain new ideas for variations
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Reflect publicly on their journey—normalising challenges and celebrating milestones
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Discover how others interpret EYLF outcomes using digital tools, helping deepen their own practice
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Build confidence by seeing real examples of transformation
For members working through the Success Path, the community provides:
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Encouragement and validation at the Adoption stage ("I tried this Bee Bot activity—has anyone done it differently?")
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Collaboration during the Adaptation stage ("Here’s how I changed it to suit non-verbal learners—what else could I try?")
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Feedback and refinement at the Infusion stage ("I’ve embedded digital storytelling across our term plan—any suggestions to assess learning?")
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Leadership opportunities at the Transformation stage ("I’ve created a new coding mat—can I share it in the library?")
It is through this shared space that educators improve not just their technical knowledge, but their TPACK—the blending of technology, pedagogy, and content—by learning from real experiences, diverse contexts, and creative adaptations.
The community helps turn learning into action, and action into growth. For Hannah, the encouragement she received and the feedback she offered others didn’t just deepen her understanding—it gave her a sense of professional belonging and momentum that kept her learning.
As a member, you gain:
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A full library of digital play based learning activities
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The play based learning course for deep, structured PD
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The Membership Workbook to guide your reflection and planning
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A thriving educator community and expert support that powers your growth
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Resources aligned with EYLF, APST, and high impact strategies
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Resources aligned with EYLF, APST, and high impact strategies
You don’t need to be tech-savvy. You just need to be willing to try, reflect, and grow.
Will your story start today—just like Hannah’s?
