Digital Child x ACMI Seminar: Australian EdTech for Better Digital Childhoods

The Centre for the Digital Child brings stakeholders together from all sectors of society to help create healthy, educated and connected futures for all Australian Children.

This seminar, held during Australia’s National Children’s Week 2022, brings EdTech developers and businesses into our conversation. Childhood is now digital by default. Families and children are using digital devices and are often online at play, in the home, in early years centres, communicating with family members, learning, shopping, getting advice, monitoring growth and interacting with welfare services. All of these interactions use apps and technologies developed here in Australia and elsewhere. Our conversations will explore:

Markets and opportunities for edtech and edutainment for an often-neglected age group (0-8 years old)
Understanding family use of digital technologies
The uses and purposes of EdTech in early years settings
Balancing learning, play and fun in the home
Technological innovation and opportunities
Ethical uses of digital technology

The global COVID-19 pandemic has noticeably accelerated the penetration and influence of educational technologies in all educational settings. In the early childhood education and care sector, service providers have increasingly partnered with edtech providers to integrate technological solutions in learning documentation, family communication, organisation and staff management, program planning, and so on. Others have pondered over how. At home, parents and caregivers are faced with a gigantic pool of ‘consumer edtech’ products, rendering informed decision-making difficult.

Conversation frequently questions how ‘educational’ are educational apps? What pedagogical approaches are embedded in platforms? How is the quality of digital play and learning assured? How do we know if our data are not being misused? At the same time, developers and company owners want to know how their products can meet the educational needs of early childhood educators, parents and most importantly, children, in different settings.

In this event, we hope you will join us to address these questions and bring together stakeholders for an open conversation and informal networking.

The seminar will run from 5.00pm – 6.30pm, with refreshments served afterwards from 6.30pm – 7.30pm for attendees interested in networking. For those unable to attend in-person, a Zoom option will be available.