Digital Play with Innovative Technologies for Engaged and Effective Learning
A special issue of Education Sciences (ISSN 2227-7102). This special issue belongs to the section "Technology Enhanced Education".
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 15 July 2026 | Viewed by 101
Special Issue Editors
Interests: digital play; early childhood education; artificial intelligence; extended reality
Special Issue Information
Dear Colleagues,
- Background and importance
Digital play, powered by innovative technologies, has become a transformative force in contemporary education. From immersive augmented and virtual reality environments to AI-driven learning platforms, robotics, gamification, and interactive simulations, these innovative technologies are reshaping how learners engage, interact, and construct knowledge across different sectors. The integration of digital play into pedagogical practice offers unique opportunities to foster creativity, critical thinking, problem-solving, collaboration, and social-emotional development across diverse learning contexts.
While numerous studies explore specific interventions or emerging technologies, research in this area remains fragmented. There is a growing need to synthesise evidence, share best practices, and critically examine pedagogical approaches to digital play. Contributions that consolidate findings, whether through empirical studies, systematic reviews, meta-analyses, or conceptual frameworks, can provide valuable insights for guiding these learning environment practice and future research.
This Special Issue is important because it brings together interdisciplinary research to examine how innovative technologies can support engaged and effective learning through digital play.
- Aims and scopes
This Special Issue aims to consolidate knowledge, stimulate scholarly dialogue, and inspire future research and practice at the intersection of digital play, innovative technologies, and educational effectiveness. It seeks to identify research gaps, propose directions for technology-enhanced playful learning, inform educators and policymakers about effective strategies and design principles, and advance pedagogical understanding of digital play across innovative learning environments.
- Themes
Pedagogies of digital play: Teaching strategies and learning designs that leverage innovative technologies.
Learning through play: How digital play fosters creativity, critical thinking, collaboration, and social–emotional development.
Technology-enhanced play environments: Use of AR/VR, AI, robotics, gamification, and simulations in learning.
Teacher professional practices/development: Supporting educators/teachers to design, adapt, and reflect on playful digital pedagogies.
Student agency and participation: Empowering learners through co-creation, personalisation, and playful inquiry.
Equity and inclusion: Designing accessible and culturally responsive digital playful learning environments.
Assessment in digital play: Innovative approaches for evaluating engagement, progress, and learning outcomes.
Systematic and scoping reviews: Synthesising research on digital play and innovative technologies to inform theory, policy, and practice.
Prof. Dr. Gretchen Geng
Dr. David Hosken
Guest Editors
Manuscript Submission Information
Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 250 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for assessment.
Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Education Sciences is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.
Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 1800 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.
Keywords
- early childhood
- digital play
- technology enhanced learning
- teacher professional development
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