Play Makes the Thing: Introducing Technological Play Theory

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Roundtable Session: Theoretical and Empirical Investigations in Learning With Digital Tools

Abstract

The study’s purpose is to investigate how and why children construct meaning for computer technology through play. To examine this purpose, the study introduces an original theory called, "Technological Play Theory," which emerged from comparative and international research studies on the social construction of technology in elementary schools. Technological Play Theory is a conceptual lens for how children learn to use computer technology as well as how technology can be utilized as an agent for change. The paper reports on findings from case studies in five countries (England, Cuba, India, South Korea, and the United States)in order to develop an empirical basis for Technological Play Theory.

Author

• Erik Jon Byker, University of North Carolina - Charlotte