Early Childhood & Technology:
Avoiding the Screen Time Trap
Lindsay Gigous, M.Ed
lindsay.gigous@gmail.com
What are we going to do today?
1)
Learn a little more about the concept of screen time
2)
Figure out what all of these researchers are saying
3)
Discuss some positive ways to use technology in an ECE classroom
4)
Determine how to know which tools are good for your classroom
Screen Time
The definition: the good, the bad, and the ugly
Let’s hear from you!
• What is screen time?
If you had to put a definition to it, what would you
say “screen time” consists of?
What is screen time?
Screen time is any period of
time that a child is well, in
front of a screen. That
includes:
• TV watching
• Video game playing
• Computer time
• iPad time
• Personal device time
Screen time refers to…
• A period of time in which children are not
engaging interactively with the screen in front of
them or not for an educational purpose
• Things we are not “concerned” about: using
technology to communicate (Skype, phone calls)
or digital photography (not considered screen
time because they are actively engaging in their
world and documenting it at the same time)
Video:
How
much
screen
time
is
too
much?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bRiRAXP_ufw
The Statistics
• On any given day, 29% of babies under the age of 1 are watching TV
and videos for an average of about 90 minutes. 23% have a television
in their bedroom.
• Between their first and second birthday, on any given day, 64% of
babies and toddlers are watching TV and videos, averaging slightly
over 2 hours. 36% have a television in their bedroom.
• Children between the ages of 2 and 5 average 2.2 hours per day.
• Other studies show that preschoolers spend as much as 4.125 to 4.6
hours per day using screen media
• 8- to 18-year-olds consume an average of 7 hours and 11 minutes of
screen media per day—an increase of 2.5 hours in just 10 years
Why do we worry
about screen time?
Well, because we know that developmentally,
children should be engaging in play and making
real-life connections to what they are learning
in school.
American Academy of Pediatrics
Recommendations
• No screen time for children under 2 years old
• No more than 1 to 2 hours a day for older children (3-5 years)
• What do you think of these numbers?
• What barriers do we face as teachers with these numbers?
• So why do we even want to use technology at all?
Because we don’t know what technology will
look like in the future!
• We need to make sure that they have basic skills so that we can
foster their innovation and technology ideas. Our students will
become the leaders in a few years, and it is up to us to let them
know what the possibilities are!
• We need to focus on letting them feel comfortable with
technology without allowing them to let it control their lives.
• As educators, we know that we are working towards the ultimate
goal of creating world-ready citizens, but in order to do that, we
need to make sure that they are developmentally getting all that
they need, which isn’t something that they can get from watching
a screen all day.
Whatever happened to learning through play?
Well, our definition of play has started to get a little hazy…
What do we have to consider?
• “What is most effective for children at this age is to be
engaged with their whole body – three-dimensional
learning like Play-Doh or painting letters,” she said. “In
general, the flat-screen approach, however elegantly
presented, is using fingertips instead of the whole hand
and whole body. We want learning at this stage to go all
the way down to their toes.” Joan Almon, cofounder and
director of programs for the Alliance for Childhood, a
nonprofit research and advocacy group
• Heather Staker, a senior research fellow at the Clayton
Christensen Institute,: “Technology can be used
strategically and intentionally with time limits.”
Effects: The “Bad” Stuff
• Technology in which a student is simply choosing between a
predetermined set of options does not truly allow children the chance
to think critically or become interactive; these types of games actually
diminish creativity
• Exposure to violent media is linked in aggression, desensitization, and
a lack of empathy for victims
• Fast-paced screens have the ability to contribute to decreased
executive function skills, like attention, self-regulation, problem
solving, and the ability to delay gratification
• Other issues: sleep disturbance (screen irritation), social problems
(can’t connect to others)
So, how do we address those negative effects
of screen time?
• We teach children how to use technology effectively and efficiently.
• We allow them to engage in multimedia that stimulates creativity,
imagination, or active play.
• We find a balance between learning through play and learning with
technology.
Easier said than done!
Fitting Technology into Your Day
and Your Curriculum Appropriately
(or I’ve got it; now what do I do with it?!)
Blooms’ Taxonomy &
Technology
First of all, how do we just what is “interactive”?
• Well, you have to play it yourself!
• As educators, we need to know exactly what it is that we
are asking our students to engage in.
• Just because something new comes out doesn’t mean that
it is the greatest thing since sliced bread. We need to be
aware of what we are giving to children.
• Preview technology much in the same way that you
preview books before a read-aloud or plan a lesson.
If you are having them do an activity that is not
interactive…
• Develop a class “screen time chart”
• Require that each student set a timer when they start that will go off
after your set time (10-15 minutes, usually no more than 20 minutes—
which is the time shown that children cannot pay attention to
anything for longer than---true for group times too)
• Have your students put a check mark next to their name when they
have done their time
• So, for programs like Delaware Stars, that ask if you monitor screen
time, your goal would be to not have your students have any more
than 2 or 3 turns a week
Sample Screen Time Monitoring Chart
Name
Monday
Christa A.
X
Eric B.
X
Zaniah C.
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
X
X
Janelle D.
X
Jordan L.
X
X
Greggory M.
Thomas N.
X
X
Cara S.
X
Molly S.
Christian T.
Ellie T.
Alex W.
Friday
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Ideas for what to do with…younger students
(under 2’s)
• Add technology to the dramatic play center (play cell phones, play
computers
• Show them what you are doing with the technology…talk them
through it! This will limit their curiosity and your annoyance if they
touch what you were touching.
(Teachers and their phones…set those limits if you don’t want them to
touch it! We know that children this age learn by mimicking, and if they see
you touching something, it is only natural that they would want to touch it
too!)
Ideas for what to do with…older students (3-5
years)
• Add familiar technology to the dramatic play center (old cell phones,
old laptops or computer mouse)
• Add pretend technology to the dramatic play center (play cell phones,
play computers, old computer keyboards)
• If you are going to use videos, they should be interactive and require
the children to engage with their whole body (example: workout
videos, Wii or Kinect physical activities)
• Allow students to be in charge of turning on devices, etc. This
teaches them responsibility and increases self-worth. If you need to
monitor them, this is completely okay! We all know our children better
than an outsider. You know which students you can trust.
Safety Tips
Things to think about:
-Do a lesson about safety
and care of the technology
before you let students use
it independently.
-Investing in extra memory
cards (digital cameras)
-Having multiple cameras or
devices
-Safety cases
-Keep visual reminders of
safety rules in the room
-Verbally remind them
of what you expect
Ideas for what to do with a…..digital camera
• Take pictures of students dressed as
what they want to be when they grow
up and make a book or wall display (a
great place for this is the dramatic
play area)
• Have students measure the growth of
a plant or other living thing in your
classroom by designating a student
picture monitor as a class job
• Math: Have students take pictures of
geometrical shapes that they see. You
can even make this a competition!
• Create storybooks!
• Emotions
• With a stuffed animal
protagonist
• Body parts
• Sequence of events
• All About Me books
• Dictating a story they made up
during dramatic play
Ideas for what to do with…an iPod or mp3 player
• Books on “tape”-record
yourselves or have family
members recorded reading
books that you have in your
library. Students can follow
along as they listen…this isn’t
using ANY screen time!
• Short instructional videos: have
children watch to complete a
task
• Have students MAKE the
short videos
Things you can do with…
Video cameras (can be from an iPod, iPad, webcam, etc.)
• Have them record themselves reading
• Encourage creativity to have them make a movie, which engages them
in open-ended thinking
• Have students use it in dramatic play to act things out-this doesn’t
use ANY screen time
• Great ideas include: recording students doing a science experiment, having
them pretend to do a news broadcast have them give the weather report,
etc.
Ideas for what to do with…a laptop or desktop
• Art programs- old fashioned Paint program
• Reading comprehension games
• Math games
• Science games
• Browse designs for structures they want to make in the block area
• Teacher approved videos
• Make sure that you are engaging parental control locks on videos
and if allowing them to use internet unsupervised, using content
control
Ideas for what to do with an…iPad
Choose games that are
developmentally appropriate
Things to think about:
• Generally steer clear
of commercialized
characters…these
games are often
geared toward making
children want to buy
other products to
promote business
Ideas for what to do with an…E-reader/Kindle/Nook
• Have books available on your e-reader for students
throughout the free play time
• As long as they are reading the book and not playing games
on these devices, these are perfectly okay to use as a
substitute for books and don’t use up any screen time
How to Determine if Using a
Piece of Technology is “Good”
Not all technology is created equal…
There are multiple factors to consider
• SELECTION
• USE
• INTEGRATION
• EVALUATION
SELECTION
• Is the technology being used intentionally? Does it have a
purpose?
• Is the material stereotype-free & age-appropriate
(content-wise)?
• Does it have clear instructions and prompts?
• Is it free of commercial messaging?
• Does it encourage open-ended thinking and creativity?
• Does it allow the children to engage in the outside
world?
• Does it focus on an area of child development?
• Cognitive, motor skills, social skills, emotional skills
USE
• Does it accommodate individual, small group, and whole group
instruction?
• Can it be used in multiple learning areas in the classroom/does it
cover more than one dimension of learning?
• Does it explore real world issues/does it lend itself to authentic
learning?
• Have you modeled appropriate use of the technology and laid
your ground rules?
• Does it expand upon concepts learned about in other activities?
INTEGRATION
(for directors or curriculum coordinators to consider)
• Does the educator have access to online or offline communities of
support for the technology?
• If they run into issues, do they know who to contact or will the
technology sit there not in use?
• Does staff know proper technology etiquette at your center? What
are your procedures for “checking out” products? Is it equal access
for all staff?
• Do you allow your teachers to have a say in what new technology you
purchase?
• Are you offering training or technical assistance on the new
technology?
EVALUATION
• Do you have a system to track the use and impact of the technology?
• How can you tell that your learners are meeting objectives with the
technology?
• Do you integrate the technology into the other assessments you do?/ Do you
consider what they do on the computer in addition to what performance
tasks you see?
• Do you use the technology to provide documentation of progress and class
activities?
• Are you keeping an open line of communication with parents regarding
technology?
• Are you looking at the technology and reflecting on the success of it?
• Can you use it to share with parents what their progress is?
Questions?
Wanna know more?
• http://www.joanganzcooneycenter.org/wpcontent/uploads/2014/01/jgcc_learningathome.pdf
• http://www.allianceforchildhood.org/sites/allianceforchildhood.
org/files/file/FacingtheScreenDilemma.pdf
• http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/media/resources/Framework_
Statement_2-April_2012-Full_Doc+Exec_Summary.pdf