ABSTRACT

This chapter presents some findings from second year of an iPad project that explored the potential of the tablets for learning and meaning-making in the early years. The findings from kindergarten four-year-olds and preparatory class five- and six-year-olds are presented and discussed. The chapter then explores the issues with reference to a two-year study of the implementation and use of iPads in two particular educational contexts: one in the non-compulsory preschool years four-year-olds in kindergarten and one in the first year of compulsory schooling five- and six-year-olds in prepatory. The chapter then elucidates each of these as focal points for organising the data and then discusses the findings in terms of how useful the apps were and how the teachers were encouraged to use them as part of their programs. The children in this study were highly motivated to learn with the iPad apps, and the teachers extended their pedagogical repertoire by incorporating their use in their early childhood programs.