Abstract
The present paper presents a systematic review of the last 30 years that concerns records on Smart Toys and focuses on toys regarding early childhood and primary education children (3–12 years old). This paper aims to analyse and categorise smart toys (50 articles) in terms of their technological and educational affordances. The results show that the toys are designed based on four main technological affordances and their combinations. The educational affordances of smart toys are studied in terms of different use modes and their learning objectives aimed to identify specific objectives in different subjects and objectives based on transversal competencies such as problem solving, spatial thinking, computational thinking, collaboration and symbolic thinking. Finally, with the multiple correspondence analysis, the correlations between smart toys’ individual technological and educational affordances are grouped with the evolution of affordances related to their development date. In conclusion, in recent years, smart toys concern special sciences (programming) and some 21st-century skills (STEM and computational thinking). In contrast, in the first 20 years, the interest focused more on transverse skills, such as collaboration, emotional thinking, symbolic thinking, story-telling and problem solving.
Highlights
IntroductionThe child’s involvement with play is vital in early childhood as this has a significant role in the child’s physical, psycho-emotional, social and cognitive development [1]
Play as an activity has always been an essential and integral part of the human culture.The child’s involvement with play is vital in early childhood as this has a significant role in the child’s physical, psycho-emotional, social and cognitive development [1]
The present paper aims at the systematic review of non-commercial smart toys that have been developed or can be used in early childhood and primary education in the last 30 years or so
Summary
The child’s involvement with play is vital in early childhood as this has a significant role in the child’s physical, psycho-emotional, social and cognitive development [1]. Children can act freely and express their feelings, communicate, explore the world around them and learn in a fun way. The pedagogical value of play is acknowledged by international organizations teaching children of early childhood and primary education [3]. Such organizations offer educational programs whose quality depends on the stimuli obtain from the environment, which should enhance their physical and socio-emotional development. We can direct children to fun and creative paths that enhance learning and convey the joy of discovery through easy-to-implement projects
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