How to use digital role play in early childhood with ease?

By Michael Hilkemeijer

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Understanding the Importance of Role Play

Role play helps children make sense of the world. Therefore, it must also reflect the technological world in which we all live in. If well-planned, it can encourage cooperative play and gives the children opportunities to use language, develop literacy and numeracy skills. Incorporating ICT into role play can give children the confidence they need to use new ICT tools with which they are familiar with and this helps even those who might otherwise be reluctant to do so.

When planning role play, it is important to consider what technology the children have at home but to understand whether the children are allowed to use the technology and for what purpose.

 

Important things to consider when planning role play with ICT includes:

• As an early childhood teacher, that you value and understand these developing competencies in ICT – this will help you to plan for challenging and stimulating role play with clear learning intentions that build on what the children already know and do.

• Planning will be informed by discussions with other teachers and parents and by ongoing observations and assessments of the children.

• Develop a clear understanding of children’s ICT competencies, in particular in relation to the vast range of technologies with which children come into contact.

• Appreciate the links between home use of ICT and children’s ICT competencies in order to further develop competencies in the early childhood setting.

 

 

We all develop our competencies in ICT differently due to access we have to ICTs at home. If you are to understand these competencies in ICT you will also need to:

1. Ask parents and carers more than just what ICT is available at home.
2. Ascertain what access children have had to ICT devices.
3. Understand the nature of ICT activities children have had at home.

 

 

So when you start to plan to use ICT in role plays it is best that you consider:

• The life experiences and knowledge of children;
• If the children will be involved in the setting up of the role play and what will they do;
• What the attitudes of the adults involved the role play will be;
• What spaces you have available;
• Will it be indoors or outdoors?
• How much time is available for the setting’s daily routine?
• Is there the opportunity for the role play to develop over time?
• The quality and appropriateness of the resources.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reasons why Role Play is Important

 

There are many benefits of role playing for early childhood. Role playing is fundamental in enhancing skills for healthy development. It is not only fun but using imagination can improve creativity and promotes better performance in school. The importance of role play in early childhood education has a lasting impact on learning throughout a child's life.

 

To answer the question ‘what is role play in early childhood education’, it is to do with developing strong problem-solving approaches in children when dealing with issues, it allows them to take up characters out of real life, and in terms of technology use, it helps them make sense of the world, and therefore, must reflect the technological world in which we live.

 

Let’s take a closer look at the importance of role play in early childhood education.

 

 

Encourages Creativity and Imagination

Research shows that a child’s capacity for cognitive flexibility and creativity are linked to playing. Playing therefore, helps them exercise their brain and trains it to practice using imagination at an early stage.

 

Why is this important? This is great for problem-solving not only in the present, but also in the future. For example, later in life they will use their imagination to enjoy a good book etc.

 

 

Enrich Language and Enhance Communication Skills

My young daughter is very quick to pick up new words. All young children are like this so coupling that with a character they love will word wonders for them. As a result of their new vocabulary, they will gain confidence with their communication and will learn to convey messages by picking their words carefully. This also helps them to learn to listen and this can be transferred to times when they are learning to read and write.

 

 

Develop Social and Emotional Skills

Role playing involves socially interacting with other children and they typically experiment with different roles and characters they would like to be. During the course of this process, role playing, therefore:

1. Helps them to empathise with someone else and understand why these characters or people do what they do. They can relate to their emotions and gain control over their behaviour.
2. Helps your child learn conflict resolution. For example, arguments may occur during role playing, however, this is great for learning about teamwork.
3. It is a good stress reliever and it has a soothing effect on a child.

 

Enhances Physical Development

Yes, believe it. They also gain a lot physically when role playing. They run around, climb ladders or even applying make-up. Think of all those fine motor skills development!

What is role play in early childhood education? It is about you as the early childhood teacher encouraging cooperative play and opportunities to develop language, literacy, and numeracy skills to learn without failure. This is where the importance of role play in early childhood education lies today.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Digital Tech for Role Play opportunities in ECE

Role play in early childhood education provides learning without failure for all young children. It is a fun way for them to learn about themselves, others and their environment. Throughout this period of time, they also acquire important skills that aid their cognitive and physical development.

 

It can:

• Encourage imagination and creativity
• Enrich language and enhance communication skills
• Develop social and emotional skills
• Aid problem-solving and
• Help in the physical development of young children.

 

As discussed earlier, role play brings a vital element to the early learning environment as it engages children in play which reflects their lives and gives them the opportunity to experience, what they need for their learning and development.

 

So, what does good quality role play look like in relation to the use of digital technology?

 

It should give the children the opportunity to make sense of the world in which we live.

Give young children the opportunity to handle the digital tools that they see in the world about them, experiment and take control of them and learn about these objects and their place in the world.

 

 

Here are some ideas for role play in the classroom in which you can integrate digital technology in early childhood education today.

 

• You can also talk about what the red and green lights mean at a pedestrian crossing. Role play crossing a road.
• The children can enjoy making and using model laptop computers in a role play office or on a role play train.
• Leave a selection of story CDs for children to play with independently. Provide dressing-up clothes and resources for the children to enjoy role playing the characters within the stories.
• Set out in the role play area as a car with satellite navigation. Invite pairs of children to enjoy going for drives
• Use cardboard boxes such as cereal packets to make model laptop computers for a role play office or to take on a role play train journey.
• Role play being programmable robots.
• Show children a television weather forecast. Look carefully at the computer-generated weather maps. Then set up a role play area as a weather station and encourage the children to make up their own symbols and maps.
• Use settings that the children are familiar with such as libraries, doctors’ surgeries and any kind of office to create a powerful context for imaginative play. Here the computer reinforces the ‘reality’ of the situation for the child. It is also a powerful stimulus for the inner speech and the outer dialogue in the zone of proximal development.
• Set up the computer in any kind of role play context if it is possible. Then observe children working with the software over a period of a few days for a few minutes each day. Collate your observations.

 

 

Using Real Technologies

By using real digital technology in the role play the children will have the opportunity to grow their confidence and competence and as the role play develops over time, they will be able to use these digital technologies for a real purpose within the context of the role play situation.

 

A photographic studio is a good example of this occurring when it can be enhanced by the introduction of a real digital camera that allows the children to take photographs of other children. One child could be the photographer while the others pose for the photos. As the teacher, you can intervene and ask whether the photographer is happy with the photos.

 

 

 

Toy Technologies

If you cannot use real technologies, then a good substitute for role play can be toy technologies. This can have its advantages like ensuring that the children do not become too focused on getting the technology to work rather than role playing. Toy technologies can have few or no working parts and can enhance the role play and prompt actions and reactions from the children.

 

A role play scene at a café can make a great setting for something like this where a child could make a pizza out of play dough and uses the microwave oven to pretend, they are cooking it. It can also be a great way to develop problem-solving skills as the turntable needs to be able to rotate and this means that the food item needed to be small enough for it to achieve this.

 

 

 

Made Technologies

What about hand-made technologies for role-play? This is often the best type as the children are more motivated to use their own creations and they make excellent props for role play. Earlier I discussed the idea of making a laptop computer out of cereal boxes.

You could visit a local nursery where the children can take digital photos of various pieces of technology. Then use these photos to decide what technology to include in the garden centre role play area as they set it up. The children can use the photos to construct their own technologies.

 

The use of ICT can support talk in the EYLF and EYFS by providing starting points and stimuli for the inner dialogue and talk in the zone of proximal development, for example in imaginative and role-play scenarios.

Placing the computer in, for example, a role-play situation, building a small office play environment around it and running open-ended software on it could be a starting point for stimulating much of the inner dialogue and talk in the zone of proximal development.

 

It is important that you plan challenging and stimulating role play that builds on a child’s own digital expertise is. The setting needs to be secure with sensitive and effective adult support in which they can take risks and make mistakes. This is what role play is – learning without failure. Give them the time that they need to explore any new piece of digital technology that you have introduced to the setting and set up a simple scenario that allows the children to develop their confidence and competence in using digital technology in early childhood education.