Purpose: This study aims to explore the implications of a recent case in spring 2022 where the novel "Dracula" went "viral" as tens of thousands of Tumblr users participated in a serialized re-reading and discussion of the text through the hashtags #dracula and #dracula daily. Design/methodology/approach: The authors use a…

For education to be revolutionary, it must first be evolutionary. To ensure that our students are learning the lessons that will help them reach their full potential and make positive contributions to society, it is imperative that we don't just reflect upon what we are teaching, but also how we are teaching them. This article describes how…

Language play is a key component of many children's popular graphic novels. The authors analyze the sound and word play in Dav Pilkey's illustrated Captain Underpants series. They argue that Pilkey's literary devices fall into two main areas of hyperbole and linguistic creativity and that Pilkey's language shifts the reader into a carnivalesque…

This paper reports on UK primary school teachers' and children's app developers' views about the potential of using personalized digital resources to promote young children's reading and play with 'smart toys'. Many existing digital resources are 'personalised', that is, the content of a story or game is tailored to an individual child, and the…

Policy makers around the world increasingly mandate play-based learning in kindergarten classrooms, a pedagogical approach backed by research espousing not only the developmental appropriateness of play-based learning for this age group but also the benefits to students' academic achievement. Despite these mandates, researchers continue to see a…

Whilst a lot is known about the digital environments of preschools, less is understood about the emerging digital pedagogies of teachers. This paper presents the findings of a cultural-historical study of pedagogical practices of teachers as they implemented a digitally enhanced play-based programme where the MyCreate app was used to make an…

This review will explore the importance of play and its impact on the health and well-being of children of all ages. Evidence that supports the importance of play will be highlighted. Additional resources will be provided to assist parents, caregivers, and professionals on how to utilize play strategies in the everyday experiences of children.

This study investigated the practice of two early-childhood educators and their interactions with 24 children (mean age 5.2 years) in an inner-suburban Australian preschool setting. The study specifically examined the nature of how educators 'intentionally teach' concepts to young children in a child-centred programme. Six hours of educator-child…

Cyberbullying during English teaching involving Information Communication Technology (ICT) is an exciting topic to study. Seeing how new language learners share their thoughts and feelings through blogs as alternative learning media and how they engage in cyberbullying in their online interactions may reveal the motives beyond cyberbullying acts.…

Early literacy is often over-simplified as a set of skills for beginning reading, an approach which overlooks the ways that children play their way into cultures, using play as a literacy that accesses popular media as rich literary repertoires of characters and storylines. This article examines how children's play reveals their participatory…

Many young children receive developmental screenings because they do not perform basic self-regulation skills needed in preschool and home environments. Previous research on Literacy-Based Behavioural Interventions (LBBI) shows promise for promoting acquisition and maintenance of skills and routines; however, research has not yet examined the…

This study explores children's narratives of their curiosity and imagination through innovative use of an information technology app--Our Story. Novel use of the app allowed children to express and record their opinions they considered significant to them. The research captured children's approaches to everyday situations through their play.…

This article reviews the design and implementation of a game as an instrument for dialogue, both as a social tool and a shared interface for music performance. Beyond describing the design of "Game Remains," the article shares the details of an impact story of how an installation in Guelph's Musagetes Boarding House Arts in Canada has…

This research examines a multi-year investigation of preschoolers' experiences participating in a media-driven exploration of informal play experiences as a means to engage children as artists, researchers, and documenters of their own worlds. In this writing, I will explore the ethical issues that arise for adult researchers engaged in…

Building on existing research applying app maps (Israelson, 2015), the authors take an ideological orientation to broaden app evaluations and consider participatory literacies, social and communicational practices relevant to children's everyday digitally mediated lives. Drawing from their North American elementary classroom studies on children's…