Digital Play, Thoughtful Innovation in the AI Era

How can early years and primary leaders support children to navigate a world increasingly shaped by digital technologies and AI, while keeping play, relationships and children’s own experiences at the heart of practice?

Join Dr Lorna Arnott from the University of Strathclyde for a thoughtful exploration of children’s digital lives. Drawing on the ESRC-funded Toddlers, Tech and Talk research, Lorna will share examples of how digital experiences can support play, communication, creativity and connection, challenging us to look beyond screen-time debates and consider what makes an experience meaningful and worthwhile.

With space for reflection and discussion, this Time to Think session will invite school leaders to think critically and constructively about how digital technologies, including emerging AI, sit alongside other aspects of children’s learning and play.  From a lived experience perspective, capturing children's world, we consider what thoughtful, balanced practice might look like in early years and primary settings, and how children’s own views help shape our decisions.

About the speaker

Dr Lorna Arnott is a Reader in the Strathclyde Institute of Education, specialising in early childhood lived experiences and play. Her research explores young children’s digital play, their interactions and creativity, and approaches to ensuring their voices inform research and practice. She is the Scottish lead and a co-investigator on the ESRC-funded Toddlers, Tech and Talk project.

This session is for AHDS members, is free to attend and will run from 4 - 5pm. 

3 February 2027 - Online - MS Teams