Technology is becoming increasingly prevalent in the world today. In the article Beware the quick tech fix when… by Nancy Carlsson-Paige, the there is a shocking statistic that stuck out to me: “72 percent of iTunes’ top-selling ‘education’ apps are designed for preschoolers and elementary school children.” In the same article, Carlsson states that kids learn through direct play and hands-on experiences with people, materials and nature. Through research we know that kids need first-hand engagement. Children are spending more and more time engaged in passive play, using a keyboard or electronic device. There are significant benefits and drawbacks of technology on the fine arts and play. Many parents today rely on screen time to soothe and occupy their kids. Children tend to develop better hand-eye coordination with the use of technology. Another benefit includes children having a higher capacity for visual attention.
Kimberly Wonderly’s article, The Importance of Physical Play in Child
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The ages of the boys are 10 and 14. Andrew and Anthony are addicted to video games. Over the summer I am at their house from 8am to 5pm Monday through Friday. Before I started working for the family, the parents told me the boys were only allowed to play video games one hour a day. At first it was definitely a challenge to keep them occupied for the other eight hours of the day they weren’t playing video games. Luckily, they had a pool and there were parks nearby. When I first started watching them, the youngest Andrew loved reading. Each summer that went by, Andrew wanted to read less and less. As the years went on, the boys became bored with outside activities and wanted to stay inside all day. The boys play provocative and violent games. If I weren’t there to entertain them, they could easily play their video games for nine hours straight. This is just one example I have had with children and screen
As the number of technological devices increases dramatically in the U.S. so does the arguments for and against these devices being placed in little kids hands (Hanes). Even if these iPads and Tablets have “educational apps” the impact they make on children shouldn’t be praised. UCLA scientists found that sixth-graders who went five days without a digital screen did tremendously better at reading human emotions than sixth-graders who continued to spend hours each day looking at their
The organization Alliance For childhood (2012) is concerned with the rise of and overuse of screen technology especially on very young children. According to the Alliance For childhood (2012), technology is interfering with “young children’s active and hands-on creative play, time with nature, and their face-to-face interactions with caring adults and other children” (p. 5). The Alliance For childhood (2012) believe that because technology is moving at a rapid rate educators do not have enough time to fully understand the ramification it has on education, developmental, ethical, and social aspect of their design and use. Additionally, the Alliance For childhood (2012) are concerned with the decline of creative play that technology has on
This technology revolution sparked a debate on children’s use of technology. Children are constantly using iPads, iPhones, tablets, and other computerized devices. By over exposing children to technology, they are being robbed of the mental stimulation that comes from doing real, non computerized, activities. It has gotten to the point where one can see a two-year-old navigate an iPhone with ease but struggle to speak. Sixty-nine percent of children aged two to five can use a computer mouse, but only eleven percent can tie their own shoelaces (Generation Tech More Kids Can Play Computer Games than Ride a Bike). Also, children are at an all time low in the creativity department
Did you know the definition of “playing” means “To participate in an activity or exercise for amusement or recreations.” As a child exploring the streets of Philadelphia I loved to play. I could spend hours outside or inside of my house playing. The scraps and bruises from playing outside taught me essential life lessons of the physical world we lived in. On the other hand sore eyes and cramped fingers from hours of surfing the World Wide Web, taught me about a new era of the internet that was taking over the world. Looking back over my childhood years, I am thankful for my traditional and technological way of “playing”; these two tools guided me through a successful childhood. I had always felt that traditional learning and technological learning equally played a huge part in my life, until I came across an article called “Babes in a
In the article The Impact of Technology on the Developing Child, pediatric occupational therapist Cris Rowan asserts that the rise in the usage of technology is having a negative effect on both mental and physical development. Rowan points out that “Young children require 2-3 hours per day of active rough and tumble play to achieve adequate sensory stimulation...” With today’s technology, and the effect it has on placating children, it takes away from the 2-3 hours necessary for growth. Without said active play, children do not receive the physical contact they need which is imperative for their maturation. Rowan also raises the concern of video games overstimulating children causing them to be constantly overstressed resulting in shaking and
Children are exposed to all sorts of content online ranging from educational content, to aggressive and sexual material. Violence and cyberbullying have been linked to spending too much time on electronics (“Pediatricians,” 2013). Palo Alto Medical Foundation, too much screen time has been linked with children engaging in more aggressive behaviors such as fighting with their peers and arguing with their teachers. Furthermore, according to an associate professor of psychology at Iowa State University by the name of Douglas Gentile, “Teens with mental health issues may turn to video games for relief, but then become addicted to playing, causing social, academic and emotional problems that may last well into adulthood” (Roberts, 2015). In other words, addiction to electronics may lead to depression and isolation, when there are other options for the relief these children need. By taking preventative measures and keeping a closer eye on screen time, the child will not be as prone to becoming more
The article discusses several strategies to balance technology with more traditional play experiences to assist parents and teachers. 1) Provide children a balanced play experience. For every 30 minutes a child plays with technology, provide them the same amount of time to play with traditional non-digitized toys. Also, mix in outdoor play experiences. If outdoor play isn’t always a daily option; make sure to plan some time for the children to play outside or go to the park. 2) Look for games and apps that are appropriate for your child. Play the games with them. Scaffold learning during this time the same as you would when your participating in non-technology play. 3) Don’t be afraid of technology. Technology offer a lot to children and, when used in moderation along with other forms of play, it can be very educational. That’s why it’s important for teachers and parents to understand how the children are using the technology so they can use it to help scaffold their
Screen use can be an essential learning tool for our children. Things such as computers and tablets have many things to offer. One argument people may make, is that there is bad content that children may be exposed to online. The screen use; however, is not the problem. It is the content. More media
Research shows that the majority of screen time has a negative effect on children of all ages. Children ranging from ages two to 11, on average, spend anywhere from 25 to 35 hours a week in front of the television, or other forms of screen time. At such young
According to Huff Post Education, part of the Huffington Post internet newspaper that caters to the world of education, companies such Google, Verizon and Microsoft are pouring in million upon millions of dollars to provide schools with the latest in new gadgets and devices. The schools are in return, are looking for technology to revive student performances in the classroom (Contributing writer to the Huffington Post, 2010). As I mentioned earlier, my goal is to produce lifelong learners. I want my students to be just a captivated in my class as they are to latest music video by their favorite artist. Engagement is the true issue here, and begs the question, “Does technology foster engagement or inhibit it?, (Ain, 2011). I for one, believe that technology can do what is it purposed to do, and that is to foster engagement and enable critical and creative thinking (Ain,
As a young child, I wasn’t allowed to watch my favorite TV show every time I wanted to, because I was told it would turn my brains to mush. Nowadays screens are everywhere in young children’s lives. The American average of video games played and devices used by children on a normal school day is over four and a half hours! Is all of this technology helpful to young children? With some kids shows like Sesame Street, kids can learn from the film almost as well as preschool can.
Technology has so quickly taken over our lives without questioning the affects, especially in Early Years as children begin to learn about the social world, away from the home environment. As the modern world develops an ever increasing reliance on technology, the affects on children and their learning are unknown. Technology has made our lives easier and enabled us to do things generations before us would have never even dreamt of, despite this, questions as to whether technology could have adverse affects on young children's learning need to be asked. Many people would suggest that allowing children to spend
Education has found its way into the loop of technology. Teachers are using ipads and laptops during class time to help conduct experiments, or share a presentation. This is allowing the students to gain instant access to the information they are seeking. Students also receive the opportunity to complete their homework online and print off their assignments instead of just using paper and pencil. Another pro for Technology in Education, there are countless sources out there which help enhance learning. In one research conducted, they compared the performance of teaching kids how to read a clock. One group was coached by an online app, another was shown by a toy clock, and the last group was trained by a drawing example. The results revealed that the children that were taught by the toy and app exceeded the paper drawing group (Galetzka).
The issues that arise from society 's dependency on technology begins with the individuals that are now entering our world. The market for app designers has begun to shift, and now they are targeting today’s youth with games that are accessible through phones, tablets, and computers. Most parents have noticed their children adopting an interest with technology and are openly giving their children these devices, instead of having them play hands-on with real objects such as play dough or three-dimensional blocks. Research has
Omer Faruk Sozcu, Smail Ipek, Erkan Taskin all agreed that "The establishment of preschool children's classroom environmental setting needs to be able to guide children in to participating in active play, silent reading, music, drawing, blocks ...ECT. for motivating children's interests." Which brings up the impact of technology on teaching and learning; in my classroom we use an app on the ipad called speakazoo which is an interactive zoo experience; the friendly speakazoo animals will ask you questions and respond appropriately. Although I personally feel that, since we downloaded the app our children have increased the amount of talking they do, not only with the app animals but with their friends and teachers; There are others that feel using these electronic learning devices takes away from important human interaction that children need at that age.