Language acquisition in a digital age

Abstract

Information technology (IT) incorporates the use of equipment which can store, retrieve, transmit and manipulate data. This may include screen-based media such as computers, tablets, and other equipment such as whiteboards, digital cameras and recorders. Digital technology can make it easier to assess children's creative thinking processes through recordings of their creative activity. Creative thinking will often arise when a child is engaged in an activity. The guiding principles of the Early Years Foundation Stage Curriculum (EYFS) require that early year's practitioners respect a child's uniqueness, and foster their natural ability to learn and create. Practitioners in early year's settings in the UK are required by law to follow the EYFS. The success of developing creativity in the early years through the use of digital media is reliant upon a targeted selection of tools allied to appropriate pedagogical approaches taken by teachers.