TECHNOLOGY FOR YOUNG CHILDREN?

Technology is a hot topic. Add children to the mix and we will never run out of research, opinions, and perspectives that influence educational and social trends and policies. What should we consider before we accept and embrace the latest technological wonders for our young children?

To help you answer that question, let's look at two articles I mentioned in the last post, a recent NPR story on computer science for kids and the NAEYC "Young Children" article, "Using Tablet Computers with Toddlers and Preschoolers," to see what's in the popular and professional media and check them against what we know about how young children learn.

Computer Science Learning for Young Children, Silicon Valley Style? 

I listened to NPR's story, "A Push to Boost Computer Science Learning, Even at an Early Age," with concern, but not surprise. Here was a report on venture capitalists gathering in a Silicon Valley hotel to pitch educational technology, including a program to teach basic computing to preschool children. Of course, this would be fun and games. Their rationale for starting young makes no sense to me. Lamenting the inadequacy of quality computer science education for middle and high school students, this company's brainstorm is "the younger, the better." Very young! Besides thinking this is developmentally inappropriate, I ask, "why start with preschoolers? If the concern is poor curriculum for older school-age children, who can benefit from computer science education, why not start with them? Read the NPR Computing Education Blog for listener comments, which are generally against the early introduction and education of computer education.

Tablets for Toddlers and Preschoolers? 

A few days later, I opened my March 2014 issue of "Young Children, the Journal of the National Association for the Education of Young Children," and turned to the article, "Using Tablet Computers With Toddlers and Preschoolers," by Eugene Geist. Featured is a lesson that included a live university marching band visiting the school and playing for the two to four year olds in a Head Start classroom. Tablet apps and YouTube video follow-up activities were part of the lesson, with a description of the children's interaction with each other using the tablets. There is no question that the lesson was well-crafted. However, wouldn't the follow-up activities be more appropriate for older school-age children,  who will do more than swipe, push buttons and quickly memorize predictable results?  The latest commercial apps for toddlers and preschoolers are featured on a sidebar.

Later in the article, a quote from NAEYC and Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media reminds readers that "media and technology should not replace activities… that are important for children's development. (from the Technology and Interactive Media Joint position statement of NAEYC and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at Saint Vincent College). 

What if the follow-up activities left out the tablets? 

Bring real instruments to school again, use the variety of music-makers that sit on the shelves in early childhood classrooms, ask parents and community members to share their musical talents. After inspecting and handling real instruments, young students can make their own. Inside or outside, children can march, playing their hand-made creations and take them home to share.

Child development professionals and research tell us that preschoolers learn best when engaged in activities that are supported by hands-on, direct and real experiences. The joy of music, movement and dramatic play that follows listening to the marching band and meeting the musicians, will engage all the senses with the real world, respecting children's stages of development with appropriate curriculum and experiences.

Children have one childhood, a limited number of waking hours to play, discover, wonder, observe, experiment, interact, practice, learn sharing, empathy and compassion, build relationships with people and nature.  How do we make sure our children experience that irretrievable gift of time?

The Future? 

When it comes to children and technology, I often hear, "this is the way life is today and we have to support our kids, so they'll be ready for the future." Read well-respected child development expert, author ("Taking Back Childhood") and Professor Emerita, Nancy Carlsson-Paige's article that appears on Valerie Strauss's blog, "The Answer Sheet: Is technology sapping children's creativity?"for inspiration, advice, research, facts and stories. 

What do you think? When is the best time for beginning computer science teaching/learning for children? How do we speak up and advocate for young children? 

Thanks for visiting. Please share this blog and leave a comment, so we can hear your voice about this important topic.  Keep thinking "Beyond Borders." 

SCREENS, MACHINES AND HUMANS

TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN INTERACTION

While recovering from my broken ankle, I didn't have a ROBOT to keep me company. But I did read…"THE MOST HUMAN HUMAN: What Artificial Intelligence Teaches Us About Being Alive," by Brian Christian and then listened to NPR's TED Radio Hour about Robotics and AI (Artificial Intelligence), "Do We Need Humans?" 

and read more… ideas for future blogs are the NPR story,"A Push to Boost Computer Science Learning Even at an Early Age," and the article, "Using Tablet Computers with Toddlers and Young Preschoolers," in the latest National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) journal, "Young Children."

RED FLAGS, TECHNOLOGY AND YOUNG CHILDREN

These titles were red flag topics to me and immediately caught my attention, because our connection with technology and children is not just a concern, but a reality that has been steadily changing the way we educate and raise children in our society. This has been one of the key issues I've worked on as an educator and member of CEASE (Concerned Educators Allied for a Safe Environment, see February 11 Blog). 

Keeping the dialogue open and staying current with movements and policies that need to be considered, analyzed, challenged or supported, are goals moving us toward positive change.

HUMAN CONNECTIONS

I had time to think how my recovery would have been different if my connection with other people had been primarily through computers, phones and artificial intelligence, instead of face to face, in person with friends and family, real people, real social interaction.  How would I feel after eight weeks of interacting with screens and machines and not humans? I'm lucky I didn't need to find out, because special people in my life shared their time with me while I was healing. The "Tend and Befriend" impulse is powerful in my circle of friends. (See March 2 blog on FRIENDSHIP).

Those questions are added to my concerns about how technology is impacting infancy and childhood through the teen years, as well as society as a whole.  How much is human interaction replaced by computerized devices? What difference does it make if interaction is real or artificial? How intelligent is artificial intelligence? 

Evaluating Technology Needs

I'm writing this blog on a computer and it appears on the Internet; I'm using modern technology, but what's good for adults is not the template to follow when we evaluate what's good for young children. A child's healthy development requires adults to know what they need at different stages and provide an appropriate learning and growing environment. 

The use of tablets, hand held devices, phones, apps and computerized toys for young children has proliferated and has become a marketing tool that continues to target our children as consumers, while limiting the human interaction and playtime needed for healthy development. 

Where does technology fit into balanced and healthy lives for infants, children and adults? We'll explore that question in future blogs.  

I hope you will leave a comment and let us hear your voice about this important topic. See you next time and keep thinking BEYOND BORDERS.  

FRIENDSHIP

Tend and Befriend

"A landmark UCLA study suggests friendships between women are special. They shape who we  are and who we are yet to be. They soothe our tumultuous inner world, fill the emotional gaps in our marriage, and help us remember who we really are. By the way, they may do even more."

Friendship makes our lives manageable, fulfilling, and spiritually and emotionally healthy, which means we are better able to cope with the stresses and challenges society hands to us daily. Our children, grandchildren and students, the kids in our world neighborhood, need us to function well in order to provide them with even their basic needs. As we age, friendship enriches our lives in countless and immeasurable ways. 

I first read the study, "Tend and Befriend," after completing a Master's Thesis, "The Role of Creative Expression in Women's Rediscovery of Identity After Loss" (Pacific Oaks College, 2002).  I interviewed and studied women whose recovery included active engagement with writing, the arts, music, photography and other creative endeavors. They experienced physical and emotional changes that promoted healing and growth. What I also found in my research, however, was reinforced by the UCLA study: during the initial stages of loss or grieving, before picking up a pen, camera or brush, the women felt supported and began healing through their relationships with friends and family. We need each other. 

The UCLA Study on Friendship Among Women, (2002) describes an alternative to fight or flight that has been long attributed to both men and women's reaction to stress. Women have another response, "Tend and Befriend," releasing the hormone oxytocin, when they gather together, helping and sharing, through friendship. 

Researchers in this study suggested that men do not feel this calming response, because their levels of testosterone reduce the effects of oxytocin. I think most of us agree that friendship makes our lives better and nourishes on both the receiving and giving sides. You may recognize this hormone as the one released during childbirth, nursing and tending our young. 

Years ago, during an educational workshop, a wise woman reminded the overworked and tired audience of teachers, women and men,  that we all need friends, as well as work, in order to fly with both wings and not limp along on one. Yes, we needed to hear such elemental wisdom.  While some of the research above is based on women's studies, friendship, of course, is not gender specific. Everyone benefits from kindness and friendship.   

You can check out the links below for two more studies on oxytocin: 

American Psychological Association report on "Tend and Befriend" (2008) on the APA website, "The two faces of oxytocin…"

"The Biology Behind the Milk of Human Kindness,"   a New York Times article (2009) continues the discussion, reporting that the brain's supply of oxytocin in both women and men, plays a part in the development and feelings of kindness, trust, empathy and compassion. 

Stay tuned for the next post on Friendship and the Broken Ankle Update! Here's a peek at my newest fashion statement.   See you next time.

New boot: out with the purple, in with the red. 

ACTS OF KINDNESS

When we feel love and kindness toward others, it not only makes others feel loved and cared for, but it helps us also to develop inner happiness and peace.                     ~ The 14th Dalai Lama (1935)

RANDOM ACTS OF KINDNESS WEEK  February 10-16!

It's no coincidence VALENTINE'S DAY shares the stage with the ACTS OF KINDNESS observance. Love and compassion are expressed through acts of kindness, but the Random Acts of Kindness Foundation  reminds us to be kind every day. Teachers take advantage of the traditional holiday to encourage love, friendship and kindness. We know that kindness and compassion can be taught through modeling, example, and even formal and informal lessons.

But what about Acts of Kindness that are not random? Last week I wrote about the amazing people in my life who demonstrate kindness through their everyday actions, who have stepped up to help me heal from a fractured ankle. Almost everything I do daily, on my own two feet, has become a challenge that I am able to meet because of their generosity. I think I'm being showered with Valentines every day! I'll be so grateful when I can walk on both feet and "pay it forward."

KINDNESS AND SOCIAL CHANGE

We recognize the kindness of individuals. Now, consider the context of this quote, attributed to Margaret Mead: 

Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed it's the only thing that ever has.

I belong to CEASE, a network of early childhood professionals, advocates and activists, parents, teachers and other individuals.  CEASE's Statement of Purpose illustrates how they take action by seeking to remove the root causes of violence in our society by advocating for peace, justice, economic opportunity and sustainability. This group demonstrates KINDNESS and makes a difference to children and families. When I write "demonstrate" I mean to live what they believe, through all the different ways people work, in their professions and volunteer life, activism, advocacy, writing, art for social change, their example.  Isn't this kindness, to care about the world's children through action? Random Acts of Kindness Foundation gives kudos to activists who "walk the talk" like CEASE members do daily, locally and globally. 

Check out the CEASE website and links that tell the story of this dedicated group of people.  Then check out the links on the sidebar, to learn about other groups that Make a Difference. 

See you next time with more on teaching and learning KINDNESS, plus the kindness-spirituality connection. Thanks for visiting and thinking BEYOND BORDERS.  

IMPERMANENCE

My BEYOND BORDERS Blog is back from vacation.  I've been busy with adventures here and abroad and will share stories throughout the year, but this season we'll explore journeys of mind and space,  a way to consider how life changes over time. My inner-philosopher/poet is active and I invite you to engage yours and continue the conversation through the comments after each post.  Please join me in creating an interactive blog, a place where we can hear everyone's voice.  

IMPERMANENCE

It is a little over a week since I broke my ankle, only five more weeks until I am cast-free, I hope. BUT, I know that plans are easily broken, often take detours and fall away,  only to be replaced by the energy of Impermanence.  

A friend and I decided to check out the record low water level of Folsom Lake, which is receding rapidly because of drought conditions. Impermanent levels altered by humans and nature.  

When I began my hike, I had no idea that by the end of the day, with only one misstep,  I would end up on crutches and a non-weightbearing cast. I have never had to think about not walking on my two feet. It's automatic, right? I hadn't considered that I could lose some of my independence or that the  kindness of others would be needed to help me with daily tasks. Now I'm taking lessons to learn to graciously give and receive.  

Isn't this how we live? Our identity, beliefs and ideas are constantly challenged. Does Impermanence feel more present in your life, as the time between birthdays seems shorter and shorter? 

I began to think about the meaning of Impermanence and how it connects to the losses and changes we all experience, as I watched the Gaden Shartse Tibetan Buddhist Monks create a stunning sand Mandala and then, in the sweep of a feather, destroy it and toss the colored sand into the currents of the wild river. My friends will laugh (I hope) and agree that I frequently say, "I wrote a poem about ..." for many experiences we share. Here it is, written after the Monks' visit in Northern California, in 2012. 

Impermanence

Remember that not getting what you want is sometimes a wonderful stroke of luck~Dalai Lama

Six days creating a mandala, a sand

painting colored with healing prayers.

On the seventh morning, a dissolution

ceremony. The Monks destroy

their creation, brush the grains

to the center, pour them into a brass urn

no bigger than a hand. In the blessing,

they ask the deities to heal the earth.

Afternoon at the river, the Geshe

scatters wisdom of non-attachment,

north, south, east, west, releasing

sacred sand to the flowing water.

Witnesses observe, wishing

to reverse so many words

and deeds, as easily as sweeping

them away with a feather and casting

them to the currents.      ~Irene Lipshin 

  

(Previously published on Medusa's Kitchen)

Photos © Irene Lipshin

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