Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Summer 2021
Abstract
Adding technology to the preschool classroom without interfering with social interactions is a dilemma for educators. Peer interactions are an important developmental goal in preschool age students. Increased pressure to include technology in education at earlier ages is often viewed as a hindrance to social interactions in play-based curriculum, with many educators feeling unprepared in the methods to incorporate technology. The goal of this literature review is to analyze current research to discover methods that can increase social interactions among peers with the addition of technology tools in the preschool classroom. This review looked at forty-seven studies of social interactions in children and technology uses in classrooms. Examination of this research showed the importance of social interactions, the barriers for adding technology in early childhood classrooms, and techniques in which technology use been used to show social benefits. The research demonstrates that technology has the potential to increase social interactions among preschool peers. Based on these findings, it is recommended that educators receive ongoing professional development in methods of adding technology into the social curriculum. Further research is needed to develop the most effect procedures for educator education.