Teacher practices for building young children’s concepts of the internet through play-based learning

Young children aged 4-5 years are online in rapidly increasing numbers. This is due to the accessibility of the internet afforded young children via touchscreen technologies. In Australian, the United Kingdom and United States of America, calls have been made for cyber-safety education to be provided for young children in their early childhood settings. However, little knowledge exists regarding the pedagogical provision of this education. This paper reports on study conducted with three Australian early childhood teachers focussed on the development of cyber-safety education for young children.