Nanotechnology and mobile learning: perspectives and opportunities in young children's education

Abstract

The adoption of digital technologies in early childhood settings attracts the attention of an increasing number of researchers and scholars throughout the globe. Despite the proliferation of investigations focusing on learning through digital technologies in preschool and early-primary education, there are fields of knowledge in which the impact of digital technologies has yet to be explored. A typical example is that of Nano-Science and Nano-Technology (NST). NST is a new interdisciplinary field with products and applications (apps) that utilise the cutting-edge technology and is increasingly penetrating into today's everyday life, promising to solve global challenges. The objectives of this paper are to (a) examine, based on relevant literature, whether digital technologies could enhance the teaching of concepts related to NST in early childhood settings (b) present the perspectives of mobile devices and their educational apps in young children's learning procedure. The study concludes with a theoretical analysis of the research findings and a brief proposal for future research.