Should toddlers and pre-school children master technology? The industry thinks so. Look, little ones are an untapped sector. Parents will do anything to get their infants college-ready.
“New research from RAND Corporation and PNC Grow Up Great aims to define developmentally-appropriate technology use in early childhood education by taking into account the technology and content used, the reason they used and how they are used, and how often they are used.”
How about some guidelines for developmentally appropriate use of technology? Here is my favorite:
“Weaving technology into active play, such as exercise-based activities or exploring new environments, can reduce some of the negative health effects associated with excessive technology use in young children, the authors note.”
Exercising actively with a computer. An oxymoron?
Diane Ravitch's blog 
YES, indeed re: “Exercising actively with a computer. An oxymoron?”
What are these yahoos on to cause such delusions and hallucinations?
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OOPS, the answer: $$$$$ and power.
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“A No Brainer”
If (Ayn) RAND corporation
Would exercise their brain
The fitness of the nation
Would surely be less lame
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Duane,
I agree with you on the vast majority of administrators. I would venture to guess that the degree to which your comments are well thought out is well above average on this blog.
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Dr. Ravitch – I think it would be of great benefit if you would explain how the the Montessori and Waldorf school methodologies are so effective without technology. If these were looked at in a public settings as in Yonkers and many other locations – this would further enlighten educators and make us all more effective WITHOUT smart-boards and all the unneeded tech “junk” found at the lowest grade levels.
David Di Gregorio
Father of a six year old and school administrator
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“. . . school administrator”
Sorry to hear you have gone to the dark side. There is still hope for you if you were to renounce the dark side now.
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Duane…why do you call ddigregoris’s comments “the dark side”….I have observed, as a professional educational researcher, both Montessori and Waldorf schools early ed programs, and have them very effective. 5 year olds learn from doing more than watching a screen, and also by using their imaginations. How can you call that ‘the dark side’?
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The “dark side” is doing administration without thinking through the mandates that are imposed upon you.
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typo…meant of course….have found Montessori and Waldorf very effective…
And Duane dear, how can any organization run without an adiminstrator? Chaos…anarchy???
I do not see any indication here that dd is on the dark side.
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For the most part most administrators, the vast majority only do what they are told and do not question the policies that they are charged to implement.
I have been certified to be an administrator and figured out right away I couldn’t just “follow orders” and do things that were harmful to students.
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I agree with Ellen.
Ellen, sometimes Duane just points and shoots without thinking, I have noticed.
I think Di Gregorio is sincere in his question. (I’ve gotten where I always indicate if I’m sincere or earnest, David, because on this blog people can interpret things different ways). If you are curious, indicate that you are or it will be assumed that you have the same background knowledge as the responder. Also, if you do have that background knowledge and still want to just ask a question, indicate that. That’s what I do and it generally gets good results. AND sometimes people assume that if you address Dr. Ravitch directly that you are mocking her.
Just a few cues for getting around this blog without feeling crushed. (Except when someone thought I was a troll. And that wasn’t fun. And Dienne took a while to get used to me. But we’re all good now).
🙂
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Joanne,
No, I don’t “point and shoot” without thinking. Everything I post here has been thought out to the nth degree. Now sometimes my humor fails to connect, but I always think it though, more so than you might imagine. I do try to “challenge” those, especially those, who have the authority to do a whole more than us peons, the teachers.
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Great advice Joanna…made me smile.
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Dear Duane,
It appears you do.
Also my name is Joanna. Not Joanne.
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It is good to see another poster commenting on the virtues of Waldorf and Montessori schools
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I figured you would like that. 🙂 I was waiting for your comment.
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Dear School Administrator,
I wish that you were an administrator at my school. While there are some things that I like about technology, I am tired of the idea that my 1st graders should be using it for the most part of the school day. As for the faculty, my principal seems to think that we should live on devices 24/7 like she does. Enough is enough!
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http://www.educationnews.org/technology/silicon-valley-tech-execs-sending-kids-to-tech-free-schools/
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I certainly agree that giving the parents the ability to choose a school will result in a variety of approaches to education.
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for your consideration, the NAEYC position statement on Technology and Young Children, specifically this section re infants and toddlers
http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and-young-children/infants-and-toddlers
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While one can agree with the statement of the NAEYC that our youngest children should be interacting with people, the rest of the statement is not strong enough in stating that these infants and toddlers should have no screen time. One cannot help but wonder about the influence of one of the “platinum sponsors” of their national conference, Pearson. Yes, the same Pearson that is shoveling developmentally inappropriate computer-based testing and curriculum on our youngest learners. And, further, at the same event, I am sure plenty of techno-junk will be for sale as well.
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Check the Campaign for Commercial Free Childhood. They are doing great things.
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Instead of weaving technology into active play, how about just weaving. Forget the Rand Corporation and instead look up “Early Weaving” on Pinterest. Free advice from professional educators who actually work with young children.
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yes! Or weaving as a dance step. Right over left, and around and back.
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Weaving activity into technology use is an act of defeat by a parent. Limit technology time, and you won’t have to weave in activity, there will be available time for natural activity to take place.
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Check out the TRUCE website truceteachers.org (Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment). Free, downloadable family play plans that encourage “putting down screen devices” for the entire family, especially the little ones
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So far, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has not been bought by tech billionaires. The AAP screen time recommendations are: no more than 2 hours per day for children and adolescents and NONE for children under age 2:
http://www.aap.org/en-us/advocacy-and-policy/aap-health-initiatives/Pages/Media-and-Children.aspx
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People, what is your beef? As a retired ECE sped teacher (& preschool administrator), doncha’ know that tech.-for-tots can only improve eye-hand coordination & fine motor skills?* PLUS, it will help them to be “college & career ready!!!” Yes, sarcasm is indeed the devil’s weapon.
*& let’s not forget that sitting at computers or with i-pads for hours instead of playing on a playground or gym will help curb childhood obesity?
Truly, we are living in Bizarro World!
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They can become drone operators right out of preschool.
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Technology is a tool that can be helpful or hurtful. The tech. CEOs will claim that what they offer is better than other experiences. Children learn by doing through their senses using their natural curiosity. A small amount of exposure to technology won’t harm a child, but I don’t see preschoolers sitting for too long in front of a screen. They long for gross motor activities as well. Also, we don’t really understand enough about the impact on brain development and hand and eye coordination that long, continuous computer use will have. My daughter got ABC Mouse for my grandson to use on an IPad. My grandson, who’s four, sits for about fifteen minutes with it, and ,then, he’s off and running.
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Infants are enchanted with screen-based imagery. If you thought Sesame Street was educational fare on TV, there is even more out there to explore and BUY, BUY.
Tripped on this today. “Apps for preschoolers can open up a world of possibilities and fun (not to mention keep them occupied in waiting rooms, traffic jams, or long lines!). Our app reviews for preschoolers will guide you toward the best apps out there, so you don’t waste time on the stinkers. Here are some great educational preschool apps that teach the ABCs, 123s, colors, shapes, and much more.”
I am not a techie. I know the appeal of artfully contrived imagery, choreographed with soundscapes, and narratives that demand attention. I know how the “attention” metrics work in developing the “software” for screen-based delivery of content. I know enough about the appeal of games to appreciate the skills in designing them.
As a teacher working in the arts, my preference would be for limited access to screens and many of the screen-based software programs for drawing, painting, collage, filmmaking, “fashion” design, and so on. “Apps” are a dumb and misleading way to “learn colors, shapes…” What is typically wanted are little more than a name for things blue, and green and so on…implanting those stereotypes — the sky is blue, the grass is green. Truncated thinking is not authentic perception—the nuances in things blue, connotations of blue; colors visible in skies and clouds, and so on are not reduceable to a correct answer. “It all depends” is a great lesson to learn early on.
I think low-tech or no-tech is better for the early years. Dual competence is a great combination as students mature, especially if affinities are allowed to flourish into skills and by choice. Easy examples are Maya Lin who designed the Vietnam Memorial among other accomplishments. Lin knows how to program a computer but relies on clay and simple drawing media for ideation. Or consider that Steve Jobs credited his collegiate study of calligraphy (non-credit course) to the early success of Apple products–a decade after taking the course. That stent you may have acquired for an artery is a by-product of serious play with origami, so are many of the fold-out functions of robots, including those roaming in rooms in homes and warehouses, hovering here and there with cameras, traveling on other planets, one aptly named “Curiosity.”
So, if you have to make an economic argument on behalf of the low-tech or no-tech gadgets inside of the crib, in pre-school and kindergarten, and the early grades that case can be made, but there is more that life offers and requires than testing-tikes-til-they drop, whether by keyboards and screens or paper and pencil tests.
The sensibilities and good sense that this generation needs cannot be developed without learning of possibilities and limitations in real life and in imagined worlds they construct, not those given to them read-made. They need to be in touch with real things, real materials, experience the unpredictable in ideas and interactions with others. These things are learned through play—face-to-face, eye-to-eye, all available senses active—and projects with responsibilities attached including social skills, such as negotiating fairness in the absence of adult-determined rules. There is so much that is being shortchanged in the press for early mastery of “academics”—academics all the time—as if being “an academic” should be the first career choice of this generation, preferably by Kindergarten.
I want to see water and sand tables in classrooms, aquariums and terrariums, yarn and looms, fabric scraps and gear for sewing. Add musical instruments, hammers, saws and wood scraps, and clay, and mirrors and dress-up gear. Add stackable big empty boxes for constructions, time to make and study shadows, invitations to learn the difference between feeding at snack time and dining with a bit of flair.
I want to see teachers who are not afraid of teaching a jig to students or learning some new moves from them. There is nothing new here. Generations of great teachers and many parents have wanted their children to have variants of the lessons available from Froebel, Dewey, Montessori, Waldorf, Reggio Emilia, and dancers, and musicians, and actors, and poets…we need more poetry in schools.
Rationalists, wearing square hats, Think, in square rooms, Looking at the floor, Looking at the ceiling. They confine themselves To right-angled triangles. If they tried rhomboids, Cones, waving lines, ellipses – As, for example, the ellipse of the half-moon – Rationalists would wear sombreros.
Wallace Stevens, Six Significant Landscapes and an image that Maxine Greene, philosopher of education loved to invoke when speaking to teachers.
Gates, Duncan, et al.: College and career readiness determined by academic tests-for-tikes and this generation is a pathetic vision of “quality” in education.
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and we need more dancing!
We dance every day in my music classes. They increased my class time to 50 minutes so the classroom teachers could have more time to analyze data, so I use the extra time to do more dancing. It’s keeping me on my toes! I love it. The kids like it too.
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Joanna…my 5 year old grandson would adore you. Singing and dancing is the best.
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Your comment is beautifully written Laura!
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Thank you Laura for bringing all this professional and reasoned info to the conversation. Excellent report.
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Laura H. Chapman: learn to do real things in the real world so you can be really fulfilled and happy and be a real life-long learner?
Where’s the $tudent $ucce$$ in all that? How about distancing yourself from real human interaction and real world objects? How about learning how to filter all your learning through the bought-and-paid-for technologies that will make you a stranger to yourself and others? Now there’s cage busting achievement gap crushing thinking and creative disruption for you!
😱
With, er, one teensy weensy little exception to this rosy Rheeality.
😧
All those edumagic elixirs and silver bullets and pixie dust not to be applied to the schools where the children of the leaders and major enablers of the self-styled “education reform” movement are found.
😡
For example, here’s a startling dive into a disturbing situation, courtesy of Lakeside School [Bill Gates and his children], the athletic calendar for Oct. 27-Nov. 2, 2014. [One function cancelled, not included.]
24 mind- and body-wasting events, ranging from soccer and swimming & diving and cross country to volleyball and crew. Variously for boys and girls of different ages and levels.
Link: http://www.lakesideschool.org/athletics/calendar?rc=0
Why aren’t they sitting still in front of computers, iPads and smart phones keeping real life at arms length while they vicariously savor experiences that dull past generations had to unfortunately learn how to deal with firsthand?
Where and when are they going to learn teamwork and perseverance and creativity and forge lifelong friendships when they’re busy avoiding pixels and 0s and 1s?
😏
I guess privilege isn’t so privileged, begin advantaged isn’t so advantageous…
Or is it?
😎
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http://www.educationnews.org/technology/silicon-valley-tech-execs-sending-kids-to-tech-free-schools/
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Thanks for sharing Laura. It is one more example of those with means choosing educational settings for their children that are not marketed to the masses.
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Everything in moderation. My grandsons have been using the iPad since the age of two.
It can be a great instructional and entertaining tool plus an instant baby sitter.
When caregiver’s attention is needed elsewhere especially if it is close to a catastrophic
event it’s like the old fashion playpen – the caregiver knows where the child is.
When the child is cranky, under the weather, or just plain obstinate which grips some in
their “terrible twos,” Elmo becomes a great distractor. It’s a great motivator to use the potty – as long as he doesn’t lock the door.
When caregivers sit and supervise the iPad activities it can be a phenomenal learning tool. When reading a story to the youngsters and they come to a new word, they will say, “Let’s Google it.” Or if they asks a question the caregiver can’t answer, they “Google it.”
Toddlers listening to stories about their trains; viz, “Thomas.” If they hear an unfamiliar word such as viaduct, the iPad instantly shows numerous viaducts and from the text they have to deduct which viaduct the author is talking about.
After reading a story to the child, a similar story or a story by the same author can be brought up. After listening to that story, the child can compare the two stories or draw his own a sequel with his finger as he tells his story. Lack of confidence won’t squelch him because he knows that if he makes a wrong line – it is so easy to erase either the entire picture or or just a section.
He can practice writing numerals and letters in an interesting way instead of trying to control a pencil. He can illustrate stories without becoming frustrated- so easy to erase.
And the list goes on.
Youngsters can easily become addicted to the iPad such as when everyone is outside playing and someone sneaks back into the house to use the iPad
Common sense dictates that the time on the iPad needs to be limited. Nothing can take the place of a delightfully illustrated hard bound book. Children needs to get involved with manipulative and get out in the sun and run around
A negative: they learn to tune out instead of learning how to become actively involved.
It’s a phenomenal tool for teachers. When a primary teacher is working with a reading group, another group uses the iPad to reinforce a skill taught- endless learning activities are available. It can serve as a great teaching tools via the overhead or LCD projector. It would be very problematic to have every student on an iPad in lieu of the teacher’s
demonstration/presentation/ teaching.
Later on when student do collaborative work- group projects such as writing plays, reports, or stories- its a great facilitator to hear/see everyone’s ideas and comments.
No way should iPads be allowed to go home. When I sent home backpacks of books I knew I was taking a chance of losing a few but iPads are more tempting. Just as the kids at home learned how to tape over stories with their music or voice, so too, kids will learn quickly how to access the Internet without controls. Plus, the iPads can so conveniently get, “lost.”
iPads are better than sliced bread but you don’t need one for every student – you may need one for each sibling at home. And the two year old may still try and take his brother’s because that is what two year olds do – try and take everything someone else has.
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Please read my response to this article: “New Jersey education chief pushes Common Core” at this link:
http://www.pressofatlanticcity.com/education/new-jersey-education-chief-pushes-common-core/article_daa96b5e-5ef9-11e4-9e88-0f3d326e7323.html
below.
I would be terribly remiss not to add that a teaching method that all educators should know – in fact there is a seminar coming up this week in NYC – the Aesthetic Realism Teaching Method – http://aestheticrealism.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/12/EDUCATION-WHAT-FOR-2014.pdf
I would not be true to myself as a father and an administrator if I did not say what is on my mind. I am an administrator willing to do about anything to support those I work with (fellow educators) – and one that cares very much for what is going on “on the ground” – I am not afraid to respectfully disagree with our NJ commissioner – as I welcome the opinions of those that disagree with me . . . .
_________
David Di Gregorio · Top Commenter
I respectfully disagree with the commissioner. My son is already on computers in first grade, before he can even form letters properly. Push a key for a perfectly formed letter and forget about developing fine motor skills or attention to detail. The children play “learning games” on computer instead of learning face to face, playing face to face – what is remembered are the game’s bells and whistles, not the beauty of what they are learning as presented by the teacher. The children sit in front of a smart board instead of learning through manipulatives – experiencing reality with depth. I could go on.
Then, there is the huge investment by districts in technology so the tests can be taken by computer to collect data on my son and other children. Is this necessary? I suggest walking through a school building and collecting information, observing, and feeling, rather than gathering cold data electronically – what are schools anyway? Factories? Walk through an affluent district – walk through a poor district – it is not that difficult to figure it out.
What is driving this? Is it profit for a very few? Or is it good will? Motivating educators and students will not happen through the data driven micromanagement – it will come through someone who can show how wondrous and beautiful the world is – and that it is the most worthy endeavor to be part of the process of learning and teaching about it.
David Di Gregorio
Father of a six year old and a school administrator
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David Di Gregorio,
Thanks for your common sense approach to Common Core and data collection. I appreciate that you are standing up for New Jersey teachers and the centrality of human interaction in education.
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Thank you NJ Teacher –
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“Tech for Tots”
Tech for Tots
And jobs for bots
And lots and lots
Of testing dots
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One needs to define technology. If you observe pre-K children on a playground with access to sticks and old muffin tins, they are experiencing technology. If they want to build a lean-to and realize that sticks do not stand up straight, but rather tend to rest on a sturdy element, the child will change course and adapt. When the child has this realization of this limitation, alters her technique, and successfully gets the logs to lean, and builds a house worthy of her peers curiosity, she is experiencing technology.
Technology is creating a systematic, logical treatment of a problem…from the Greek, denoting science from the arts and crafts. Pre-programed technology [read: software] is actually the anti-theses of true technology…for if there is a right answer, it is not serving the children with the opportunity to make observations, test ideas, and creatively problem solve. We have to elevate our definition of technology, to something beyond rats in a maze.
How far off the path we have strayed. The Forest Schools, as presented by Sarah Knight in her excellent books, is a pedagogy closer to children experiencing a technological education than anything that comes from the bowels of Apple or McGraw-Hill. The greatest technological feat is nature acting out its pure ecology and balancing systems…until of course, we humans disturb and destroy it and then have to invent technology to mitigate the damage.
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