A4 Refereed article in a conference publication
The Internet of Toys, Connectedness and Character-Based Play in Early Education: Volume 1
Authors: Pirita Ihamäki, Katriina Heljakka
Editors: K. Arai et al.
Conference name: Future Technologies Conference
Publication year: 2019
Book title : Proceedings of the Future Technologies Conference (FTC) 2018
Series title: Advances in Intelligent Systems and Computing
Volume: 880
First page : 1079
Last page: 1096
Number of pages: 18
ISBN: 978-3-030-02685-1
ISSN: 2194-5357
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-02686-8_80
The concept of the Internet of Things defines the idea of the Internet – a global, interconnected network of computers connected to everyday objects, products, and other objects in the surrounding environments. Again, at the heart of the concept of the Internet of Toys lies the idea of playthings that are capable of information processing and communicating with children, with other connected toys and their environment, and even autonomous decision taking. This study aims to understand smart and connected toys potentialities in the context of toy-based learning. We have conducted a study with 20 preschool-aged children from ages 5 to 6 years by using a group interview and playtests with three Internet of Toys’ playthings. Our main conclusions are that although these toys as ‘edutainment’ cater for opportunities for toy-based learning, one of the key factors for preschoolers is the creative play patterns that they come up with these character toys. This imaginative form of play may even overshadow the toys educational potential unless they are used in the context of guided play.