Share the exploration of electronic technologies with infants and toddlers. Sit with them --- on the same level with them and the screen --- and talk through what they are doing and how the computer responds. Children just learning that they are people are delighted to find that they have the power to cause something to happen. If what they cause by pushing a button is an animated sequence illustrating counting or pre-reading skills, they will gain an early positive association with academics.
Allow older toddlers to explore interactive software controlled by touch screens or solid-state keyboards without adult direction, but encourage them to work in small collaborative groups and discuss what they experience. With very little introduction to controls, they may be fascinated by live cameras in bear dens, birds' nests, wildlife trails and watering holes, or virtual tours of national park sites. Some of these sites and portals to them are listed as resources to this article.
Capture children's creative products in digital form by scanning their artwork or recording performances, and by documenting block buildings and sandcastles in video. Explore the relationship between the two-dimensional world of a crayon drawing and the screen and the three dimensions of a sculpture.
Help children to create the elements of multimedia presentations --- audio tracks, video or slide shows --- to retell story books, interpret stories from pictures, or tell stories from their lives or imaginations. Let them participate and advise as you assemble the presentations, adding titles, transitions and special effects. One of the advantages of developing technology is the opportunity to try out effects and then "revert to original" if it isn't as good as you expected it to be.
Children may enjoy experimenting alone or in small groups with cameras built into computer monitors that allow them to see themselves live. Experiment with videoconferencing, over Skype or other services, with pen pals or family members anywhere from downtown to across the world. Intercontinental conferencing allows 21st-century preschoolers to experience and begin to understand complex concepts such as time zones, as well as cultural and social differences.