Screen Time and the Young Child: Strategies for Balance

Anastasia M. Trekles, Ph.D.

Clinical Professor of Instructional Technology

Purdue University North Central

atrekles@pnc.edu

Your Kids and Screen Time

• How do you balance “high-tech” and “low-tech” or “no-tech” activities?

• Share, share, share!

You Can’t Just Say No Anymore

• Media and technology are everywhere• Just saying no can create a wedge

between kids and parents as well as other kids

• Kids need tools to understand and make decisions

What do we do?

Conflicting Messages• Conflicting research abounds in technology and early

childhood• Pay careful attention as you read about this subject –

many studies and articles have agendas• NAEYC, AAP hold positions that no child under 2

should be exposed to a screen; children 2-5 should have very limited access

• But, at the same time, NAEYC acknowledges that not all screens are the same

Conflicting MessagesOpponents

• Screen time can:– Cause obesity– Influence children with

negative messages and models

– Compromises attention and psychological well being

– Limits creativity and true play activities

Advocates and “Moderates”

• INTERACTIVE types of “screen time” can:– Enhance problem solving

and creativity– Provide new platforms for

play and social interaction– Provide foundation for

media literacy necessary for success in a modern world

Who’s right?

Digital Natives

• Marc Prensky argues that the digital world is a new extension of the playground – a world full of possibilities for inquisitive minds

• Some studies in neuroscience back him up• Growing up with technology changes the way kids think –

multitasking “hypertext” minds• Result is more information literacy, quicker adaptation and

mental model construction• In other words, they’re not distracted – they’re just bored

with traditional ways of doing things

Technology and Intellectual Development

• When guided, technology can stimulate thinking for children

• Immersive, open-ended games and apps can be great ways to enhance development while kids have screen time

• A “good game” is:– Interactive– Social and collaborative– Open-ended with no set outcome– Not too highly structured

Sounds promising?

The Downside

• Kids may be losing their reflection and self-evaluation skills in our twitch-speed, achievement-focused world

• Our worlds move too fast to provide for this kind of thinking time

• Guidance from adults is key to this critical piece in intellectual development

Play for Development

• In early childhood, children are preoperational (Piaget)

• Academic skills for young children are often seen as in direct conflict with Piaget’s theories

• Agency and individualized learning must be part of any child’s play activity

• Academic skills put children in a very highly structured environment that goes against their developmental needs

Independent Learning• “Too much” structured time?• When directed by what they see in the media or

through academic activities, kids lose out on developing important skills for independent learning

• Kids need time to learn, play, explore, and make mistakes on their own

• Regardless of the activity or tech used, we can’t get rid of unstructured playtime

What can we do?

NAEYC Guidelines for Early Childhood Educators

• Select, use, integrate, and evaluate technology and interactive media in intentional and developmentally appropriate ways

• Balance activities, recognizing that technology and interactive media can be valuable tools when used to extend and support active, hands-on, creative, and authentic engagement

• Prohibit and discourage the passive use of television, videos, DVDs, and other non-interactive technologies for kids

NAEYC Guidelines, cont’d.• Limit any use of technology and interactive media in

programs for children younger than 2 to those that appropriately support and strengthen adult-child relationships.

• Carefully consider screen time recommendations from birth through age 5 to determine appropriate limits on technology and media use

• Provide leadership in ensuring equitable access to technology and interactive experiences for kids and families

Working with Kids and Technology

• Supervise and help kids select appropriate media/toys/play experiences

• Balance between technology and the physical world

• Guide but do not force any particular beliefs and inclinations on the child

• Ask questions and be part of the experience• Moderation is key for ANY activity, tech or no-tech

Some Scenarios• Your little one grabs

your iPhone and begins experimenting– How can you turn the

situation into a learning experience?

• Your child throws a tantrum when you turn off the TV– What now?

Apps for Creative Play• Avoid apps that do not let kids explore openly and only

give one way to use them – many “kids’ learning games” are this way

• Great apps for kids– Montessori Crosswords– Williamspurrrg HD– iCreate– Voice Record (comes with iOS)– iPhoto (or any picture-taking app)– iMovie (or any movie-capture app)

Resources

• ICT in the Early Years: http://ictearlyyears.e2bn.org/resources.html

• Website of Diane Levin, author of many useful books on early childhood and screen time concerns: http://dianeelevin.com

• Article on the role of tech in ECE: http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=302

Resources• Chapter 3 of The Best Schools (Armstrong, 2006):

http://www.ascd.org/publications/books/106044/chapters/Early-Childhood-Education-Programs@-Play.aspx

• Co-viewing – Joan Ganz Cooney Center: http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/publication/the-new-coviewing-designing-for-learning-through-joint-media-engagement/

• Merits of SmartBoards for ECE: http://tnt.asu.edu/files/Smartboards_Newsletter_Aug.pdf

• Research and statistics on Games for Learning: http://www.sri.com/work/projects/glasslab-research

Resources• Marc Prensky’s research: http://www.marcprensky.com • Early Childhood Education and Technology – Fred

Rogers Center: http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/blog/how-early-childhood-educators-use-technology-in-the-classroom/

• NAEYC Technology Guidelines: http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/PS_technology_WEB.pdf

• Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood: http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/screendilemma

Thank you!

• Slides available: http://www.slideshare.net/andella

• Email me: atrekles@pnc.edu• Twitter: @instruct_tech and @PNCOLT