Internet of Toys and Forms of Play in Early Education: A Longitudinal Study of Preschoolers’ Toy-Based Learning Experiences

In the contemporary digitalizing environment, toy-play is undergoing a transformation. As playthings are emerging with ‘hidden’, connected technologies, the stakeholders interested in creating new content for play are on the increase. For example, the Internet of Toys (IoToys) offers new possibilities to be used as ‘edutainment’ in both informal and formal learning. Understanding children’s play in this newly emerging hybrid and connected context presents questions about how to best bridge the gap between pedagogical understandings of hybrid play with connected toys combining physical and digital features. This longitudinal study examines how educators have adapted two IoToys (Fisher-Price Smart Toy Bear and Wonder Workshop’s Dash Robot) as part of early education in the preschool environment, and how children experienced these toys as a learning tool. The study was a 6-month long experiment with altogether 20 children based in two Finnish preschool groups. The research included three play-tests and group interviews with pre-schoolers. Preschool teacher interviews were also conducted in two phases. The main goal of the study was to explore how connected toys could be used as a part of an early education curriculum.