Early childhood is a crucial period for the physical and cognitive development of children. A child's exposure to nature is proven to be beneficial in this period of human life. The aim of the present research was to investigate children’s play and physical activity on a traditional playground and on a forest (natural) playground. Twenty-five observations took place on the traditional playground, and twenty-five observations were recorded on the forest playground. Twenty-five participating preschool children were observed in both playgrounds, but not necessarily in the same order. Research findings confirmed important qualities of natural playgrounds that provide children with a wide range of playing and learning opportunities not available on other playgrounds. Children were playing more with different natural materials in the forest playground and they more frequently played different chasing games and hide and seek in the forest playground. Participating children were also more physically active on the forest playground, and boys were more active on the forest playground than girls. The research concludes that it is important for preschool teachers to use natural playgrounds frequently and with regularity. Research design in this article is also an example of how GPS trackers can be beneficial for educational research.

Information and Communication Technology (ICT) brings modern learning approaches, forms and methods to education, and with them new opportunities for learning and teaching. The use of ICT in the classroom motivates students, enables them to participate, provides individualisation and differentiation, interactivity, and encourages creativity and critical thinking. Teachers play a very important role in this, as they are the ones who can provide students with a stimulating learning environment, including through the use of ICT. As Slovene (first language) is the subject with the most teaching hours in public primary schools in the Republic of Slovenia, we conducted an empirical study on the views of general and subject teachers of Slovene (N = 190) on the integration of information and communication technology in teaching. Teachers’ opinions were investigated through quantitative research. We found that teachers frequently use ICT in Slovene lessons, namely for repeating and consolidating learning material and for presenting new learning material, and that ICT is used most often in frontal forms of learning. Teachers mostly use LCD projectors, computers, interactive whiteboards, e-workbooks, audio recordings and videos. We also found that teachers are moderately satisfied with the available ICT equipment and e-materials, and that they feel moderately competent when it comes to using ICT in Slovene lessons. Teachers also used ICT during the COVID-19 epidemic. We also found that there are no statistically significant differences in the use of ICT between teachers teaching Slovene according to their teaching level, age and years of service.