Interactive Digital Media in Preschool Age

The scientific and technological revolution has found the way to preschool institutions, and the proof for this claim is the increasing use of media content - computer games in educational work with children of preschool age. Nevertheless, the lack of research on the effectiveness of this digital tool binds the pedagogical necessity of carrying out scientific research that will serve as a confirmation of their educational value. That exact practice was the initial motive for the realization of the research aimed at examining the attitudes of the preschool teachers on the computer science and technical knowledge and competences necessary for the implementation of computer games in educational work. The research involved 188 preschool teachers whose attitudes were analyzed in relation to their age, years of service, place of work and professional education. The research was done by the RIUPU instrument scaler, specially designed for this research purposes. In the presentation of the obtained research results, a quantitative approach and a qualitative analysis of the obtained results were used. The results of the survey show that the highest percentage of examined educators consider that they possess a solid level of the IT knowledge and that they are able to quickly master the computer software needed for working with children of preschool age. The average value of the answers shows that preschool teachers do not have a fully defined image of their IT skills and abilities, and that they feel that their studies did not help them prepare for the successful integration of computer games into educational work. The results also show that most preschool teachers consider themselves to be successful in the use of technology, such as DVD, Internet and computers. The optimistic outcome of the research is reflected in the fact that the lack of the IT knowledge does not prevent preschool teachers from applying computer games in everyday practice. Therefore, they are ready for a permanent improvement and mastering modern media tools, if it is in the service of the development of preschool age children.