“Children spontaneously inquire, asking questions and exploring, to understand the world; it is an important key to their lifelong development that should be cultivated and nurtured […] technology enables inquiry learning that could not be otherwise accomplished by reducing some of the unnecessary, lower-level procedures involved in these tasks.”

– Wang, Kinzie, McGuire, & Pan

In this article, Wang, Kinzie, McGuire and Pan outline how the use of technology in early childhood education prepares students for IBL learning in later years. In their arguments, they give examples of various applications and programs that are age appropriate (like Learning with Nemo, Math Missions, Sammy’s Science House) and explain how they can help with the development of problem solving skills, cognitive and metacognitive processes and utilization of resources. It’s not asking that technology replace teacher facilitation, but to aid it instead. They emphasis that teachers are a critical feature in inquiry-based learning, since they provide the structure and guidance of inquiry throughout their schooling.

Wang, F., Kinzie, M.B., McGuire, P., and Pan, E. (2009, December). Applying Technology to Inquiry-Based Learning in Early Childhood Education. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37, p. 381-389. doi: 10.1007/s10643-009-0364-6