ABSTRACT
The shift to remote learning due to COVID-19 has impacted all areas of education. In Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC), this impact has been felt most acutely in the shift from face-to-face, play-based learning to remote learning with technology. In this chapter, the notion of critical constructivism from within the field of philosophy of technology is used to consider how educators were able to shift from a technologically determinist perspective on technologies towards using technologies to create digitally mediated contexts for children’s learning. This chapter reports on the findings from a study conducted with ECEC educators from Melbourne, Australia during two periods of lockdown. Findings suggest that by the second shutdown, educators were orienting towards using technologies that aligned with their teaching and learning values, as opposed to viewing technologies as a tool for learning. Values-informed technology use enables educators to create digitally mediated contexts for children’s learning.
