Students 8 and younger have access to screens everywhere--on smartphones, tablets, handheld games, and laptops, to name just a few places. How do you know if students are using these tools effectively? Are the students participating in digital environments in ways that encourage critical thinking, active engagement, and contribution, or are they simply passive consumers? Are they using tools that support their development, or are they trying to use tools that were not designed for them? These questions highlight why it is important to make a distinction between interaction and participation. Selecting and evaluating tools that encourage participation can be difficult. Researchers Colin Lankshear and Michele Knobel conducted a literature review of early childhood literacy and new technologies. They created a framework to categorize the few studies conducted on educational technology intended for students 8 and younger. Though designed as a model to categorize existing research, their framework provides a way to think about digital tools for young students. This article describes the framework by using examples of digital tools that encourage literacy participation among young children.