Navigating technology in the classroom: a scoping review of technology use during peer collaboration in early educational settings

Abstract

ABSTRACT Early educational settings such as early childhood education and care and kindergarten (i.e. formal schooling) are important contexts to foster children’s peer collaboration, an important skill for the twenty-first century. The prevalence of technology in early educational settings has continued to increase rapidly in ways that can support the development of peer collaboration. The purpose of this scoping review, therefore, was to identify the types of technology used to support peer collaboration in early educational settings. The search was conducted in ERIC, PsycInfo, Education Source, and Child Development and Adolescent Studies. This scoping review is based on 24 articles that incorporate use of technology during peer collaboration in educational settings with at least one child between the ages of zero to six years of age. The results of this review found six types of technology hardware (iPads, computers, robots, Microsoft Kinect, multi-touch tables, and cameras) and seven software types (video games, digital drawing, media capture, mixed reality, tangible programming, multimedia editing, and content delivery) that were used to support the development of collaboration in early educational settings. While interacting with these hardware and software types, children were observed engaging in the following collaborative skills: exchanging ideas, turn-taking, negotiating, sharing, joint understanding of goals/processes, joint action, and other behaviours. Findings from this review synthesise empirical evidence that can serve as a tool for educators and researchers when considering the integration of technology in the classroom to foster early peer collaboration skills.