About ELSA Families

Early Learning STEM Australia (ELSA) is a program to inspire curiosity and engagement in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) for preschool and Foundation-year children.

Children engage in STEM through play every day when they are, for example:

• creating patterns
• drawing designs
• building structures
• filling containers

ELSA includes a collection of integrated resources for educators, families and children. This connected collection promotes hands-on activities for children through digital, play-based learning experiences rich in STEM Practices, delivered through a series of mobile applications (apps) for tablet devices.

The ELSA apps for children support learning through play and act as a springboard for children to explore the natural world. The apps go beyond the screen to encourage active play that supports the development of STEM Practices.

The ELSA apps for children are aligned with the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) and the Australian Curriculum for Foundation (as well as other state-based syllabi). The apps support child-directed, play-based learning in a variety of preschool and school settings.

Integrated educator resources and suggestions for families will support and assist children to make connections between their preschool/school and learning experiences at home.

ELSA was developed by the STEM Education Research Centre (SERC) at the University of Canberra, with funding provided by the Australian Government Department of Education, Skills and Employment (DESE) through the National Innovation and Science Agenda. Visit the ELSA website for more information about the history of the program.

ELSA is now administered by SPLAT-maths, a company run by the same team of passionate experts who created the ELSA Program.

There are many ways that families can be involved in the ELSA program. Here are just a few:

• Families may like to bring materials from home for children to use in activities. For example, families could bring in a few different leaves from the garden for a sorting station.
• ELSA activities can be adapted to involve your local community and celebrate culture. Many of the on-app activities allow children to take photos or record sound through the microphone. Families may like to share their ideas on how to adapt ELSA activities to their context.

A child-centred design has been used to develop the ELSA apps and experiences for children.

The design of ELSA represents three learning components.

Experience

This is what children already know. Children’s lived experiences are used as the foundation for concept development through social engagement and language.

Children will participate in a range of play-based, off-app experiences that provide opportunities for them to use language in ways that connect personal experiences with new understandings.

Represent

Children will play a variety of games on the apps to engage with, and represent, STEM concepts. These representations will include creating images, interpreting pictures, visualising and using symbols.

Children can create their own representations to use within the apps via the microphone and camera tools.

Apply

Children will build on their learning from the on-app activities through a range of off-app activities, guided by their educators and families. Engagement with the visual and symbolic representatives on the app will also promote new child-centred, play-based experiences.

ERA Framework

The following diagram shows the way this child-focused learning design is represented in the ELSA Experience, Represent, Apply (ERA) cycle to support rich, deep experiences that develop STEM Practices:

Using this model, children will Experience a concept first. This concept is then Represented on the app in a game format. This engagement can then be followed with opportunities to Apply this idea to their own environment.

For example, children can Experience copying a pattern in a story read by the educator about patterns in nature. They Represent this on the tablet by copying the pattern generated by an ELSA character. They Apply this by putting down the tablet and copying a pattern one of their friends has made using blocks. This application then feeds back into the next ERA cycle as children experience extending a pattern based on a new story.

Each of the ELSA apps for children has accompanying information for educators. This includes ideas and experiences for learning using this ERA cycle.

ELSA will allow young children to explore the practices that underpin everyday uses and foundational practices of STEM. These include ideas, methods and values.

Below is a diagram of the STEM Practices used in ELSA.

There are opportunities to develop STEM ideas, methods and values throughout the day. Engaging with children through shared observing and noticing, asking questions and discussing ideas can help them make sense of STEM.

Digital literacy is important in our increasingly digital world. It can be defined as a set of knowledge, skills and behaviours that allow children to thrive in a rapidly changing world.

ELSA is aligned with the outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF), which includes children gaining confidence in the use of digital technologies or digital media for information, communication and entertainment.

Apps are an increasingly common component of a child’s digital experience. Apps can open up new worlds to explore and take children on adventures in ways that may be difficult or time consuming to do as real-world experiences.

Using play-based educational apps in preschool and Foundation Year can be a powerful tool for learning. Playing with the apps in pairs and in small groups helps the children develop their communication and social skills as they share their discoveries with each other.

Educators can help children explore apps by being active observers, asking questions and giving context to the experiences. Educators also play an important role in connecting the on-app learning with activities in the preschool/school environment and beyond.

ELSA encourages best practice when using the apps, including:

• active play in a supportive environment
• social play in groups that promote sharing, communication and teamwork
• safe play that ensures a good posture and plenty of breaks away from the screen

ELSA recommends children spend a maximum of 40 minutes per week engaging with the ELSA apps. This can occur across multiple shorter sessions, and in small groups to promote teamwork.

The apps have been designed to support active play, and we encourage educators to do a variety of off-app ELSA activities before and after using the apps.

When digital technology is used well, it can open up new worlds and spark enriching conversations.

The ELSA apps for children have four characters – Piper, Remy, Elliot and Amy – who accompany the children on STEM adventures. They encourage and assist children as they play.

Below is a description of each character’s personality, as pictured above from left to right.

Piper

Dreaming to be an astronomer, Piper always asks questions about her world and wonders why things are the way they are. Piper’s wheelchair has a cool science pack that she carries with her.

Piper says: ‘I love to experiment with my science kit to mix and make things react. Looking up at stars and the moon at night are my favourite things.’

Remy

Having fun with music, rhythm, shapes and moving his body to hip hop is what Remy enjoys most. His shoes even change colour as he moves and dances!

Remy says: ‘I love music and art and I spin my body to any beat. Making shapes is my favourite thing.’

Elliot

Especially interested in technology, Elliot likes to inspect things and has a desire to understand how technology works.

Elliot says: ‘I love building things. Making robots with Lego and my machine building kit, that’s my favourite thing to do.’

Amy

A nature lover and outdoor explorer, Amy loves birds, Australian flowers and seed pods.

Amy says: ‘I love all animals but birds the most. My family takes me on bushwalks so I can see and learn more about the natural world. Exploring is my favourite thing.’