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My Thoughts on Children and The Use of Technology, A Response To Position Statement
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After reading through a joint position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College, I started to develop one of my own (so far, at least).
The journal entitled Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8 speaks about finding a position amidst all the positive and negative outcomes found when children use technological devices (they look at both within the classroom and outside the classroom)
In very simple terms, it is expressed that when used wisely, technology and media can support learning and relationships.
If I can say one thing that directly correlates to this statement is that all the wonderful outcomes are only outcomes if hard work are put into using devices WISELY. Yes, devices when used are wonderful and fun but the moments before the first button it touched by the child, the parent of caregiver needs to find the most fulfilling content.
Speaking of parents exploring the devices/apps/learning strategies first, enjoyable and engaging shared experiences optimize the potential for children’s learning and the development can support children’s relationships. Picture the beneficial outcomes to reading a bed-time story with your child before they head to sleep. With shared experiences like that, every level of the game on the iPad is almost like every bed time story they demand you help them read! Just because it is not a physical book, does not mean that you cannot engage with your child on a mobile device for example.
Interactive media should be built upon a solid developmental foundation, brought on by traditional means and theories. We cannot deny that there is a technological app or product for everything now. We can trust in application developers, tv show writers and children’s product researchers that they have the background knowledge to create worthwhile content. In this journal the two words “interactive media” arise on almost every page. Interactive media refers to digital and analog materials, including software programs, applications (apps), broadcast and streaming media, some children’s television programming, e-books, the Internet, and other forms of content designed to facilitate active and creative use by young children and to encourage social engagement with other children and adults (2012).
This interactive media search is not solely reliant on the parent or caregiver. It is the role and responsibility of the educator to make informed, intentional, and appropriate choices about if, how, and when technology and media are used in early childhood classrooms for children from birth through age 8. The educators that open the minds of young children for the most part of their day also need to believe in the fact that the possibilities are endless when it comes to finding content related to technology.
One thing I should mention throughout this position piece is not the use of technology in the classroom/the home but the teaching of WHAT technology is to young children. In a previous blogpost I mentioned that the future is filled with technological currents running a mile a minute and every child learning about what technology is now will be expected to know how to work with it, relying on it for almost everything. The position I do take is to indeed take the time, like any other subject, to teach children about technology and how to use it.
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It may seem like a simple thing to have occur in a classroom, but we need to remember that all around the world the situations of children are very different. Boards, funding and beliefs of the higher power may or may not be for this tech-positive position. What will those children do? What can a child thats family is below the low-income-cutoff rate do when they are required to type an book report in the fourth grade and can’t get to any type of keyboard. Like other subjects like history, philosophy, religion and etc., that need a lot of attention to detail and abstract thought, technology units should also be explored thoroughly and in a positive light.
The position I take as I type this blog post on my laptop, my cellphone beside me and iPod keeping me company is that I do believe that technology and devices are just as powerful and intricate as their parts. The way that we move with technology is by keeping up with the latest innovations, doing our research and taking the time to provide the best possible education for children. It is our job to introduce and uphold the power.
Julia
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Position Piece: http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/file/positions/PS_technology_WEB2.pdf
