Today's children and young adults learn best by playing, often with digital gadgets. As new technology, particularly multi-touch tablets, has brought interactive media and games to infants barely able to sit up by themselves, oday's children and young adults have different expectations from their toys and media. These digital natives expect to share information on social media, collaborate, and create their own content.
These technology and demographic changes mean that interactive media and educational toys need to be designed with the idea of "playful learning," or using technology combine entertainment and educational content. Having devices with an intuitive multi-touch interface, such as the iPad or smart phones, opens up many more possibilities than were possible with a PC.
