The framework
PLAYS: A Framework for Digital Play™ adopts a child development lens for understanding, designing and evaluating digital play experiences.
The interactive PLAYS model
The five principles encourage us to look beyond the technology itself and consider the child's developmental stage, strengths, interests, agency, relationships, learning needs and context.
P
Give play a reason.
Digital experiences should have a meaningful purpose and offer opportunities for children to explore, create, discover, communicate or solve problems rather than simply keeping them occupied.
Explore PurposefulSelect a letter to explore each dimension of the model.
P · L · A · Y · S
Give play a reason.
Experiences with a meaningful purpose and opportunities to explore, create, discover and solve problems.
Let the child lead.
Opportunities for children to exercise agency, make choices and follow their curiosity.
Bring people in.
Conversation, co-play, encouragement and reflection with caring adults.
Take play beyond the screen.
Connections between ideas on the screen, relationships, physical environments and everyday learning.
Make every child belong.
Respect for developmental stages, individual differences, privacy, safety and well-being.
Putting the principles together
PLAYS is intended to support thoughtful examination and continuous improvement. Its principles should be interpreted in relation to the age, needs, context and intended use of the child or experience.
A child development lens
We need to look beyond the technology itself and consider the child's developmental stage, abilities, interests, relationships and context.
Does the experience recognise the child's developmental stage, abilities and interests?
Does it offer opportunities to explore, create, discover and make choices?
Does it encourage participation, interaction and meaningful relationships?
Does it connect with children's learning and experiences beyond the screen?
Does it respect children's safety, well-being and individual needs?
From principles to practice
The principles can inform reflection by families and educators, design decisions by product teams, professional learning, product reviews and research. The PLAYS Assessment is being developed to translate the principles into structured dimensions and observable indicators.
Explore the assessmentVideo coming soon
The framework and its application
Short videos explaining the framework and its application.
Connect
Get in touch about working with PLAYS.
