Screen Time and Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

BACKGROUND

Research is increasingly raising concerns regarding the negative consequences of children's use of screens.

SUMMARY

This article reviews the literature on the benefits and risks of screen time with attention to explaining possible reasons that children with autism are more at risk for the negative effects of screen time. Based on the science of learning literature, a framework for choosing appropriate digital media for children with autism is described. The 3-component framework considers the characteristics of the child, the context in which digital media are used, and the content of the media. Key Message: Using the framework, the speech-language pathologist will be better able to select appropriate digital media content for children with autism that is engaging (while not being distracting), encourages the child to be actively involved with the media, is meaningful in the child's life, and incorporates social interactions with others.

Reducing the prior-knowledge achievement gap by using technology-assisted guided learning in an undergraduate chemistry course

There have been many practical obstacles for teachers to implement evidence-based educational technology, especially in STEM classrooms. By implementing learning principles related to Cognitive Load Theory, we developed an innovative Technology-Assisted Guided Learning (TAGL) approach and its web-based instructional tool, combining expertise from educational research and best teaching practices to enhance guided student-centered learning in chemistry. A total of 185 community college students were randomly assigned to learn stoichiometry through either TAGL or one of two active control interventions, traditional direct instruction and Khan Academy, a widely used web learning platform. We found that the TAGL group significantly outperformed both active control groups immediately after instruction, and furthermore, despite the fact that all groups received additional instruction in stoichiometry, the beneficial effects of TAGL compared to the control groups were maintained a month later. Notably, TAGL was able to eliminate the achievement gap between students with low prior knowledge and students with high prior knowledge. Furthermore, prior-knowledge activation was found to be especially beneficial for students with low prior knowledge. Our work contributes to existing research in learning theories and provides new insight toward the development of more effective and adaptive instructional designs. By translating research into practice, this study demonstrates the great potential of using innovative computer-based technology to improve student learning for all.

Secondary Benefits to Attentional Processing Through Intervention With an Interactive Maths App

Previous research has shown that a specific interactive app, designed to support the development of early mathematical skills and delivered on hand-held tablets, is effective at raising mathematical attainment in young children in low-and high-income countries. In the countries where this app has been deployed, teachers have consistently reported improved concentration skills in children who have received intervention with this app. To investigate the legitimacy of these claims, we conducted secondary data analyses of children’s performance on core cognitive tasks to examine if additional benefits are observed in children who received intervention with the interactive maths app compared to those that did not. We drew on data from a three-arm randomized control trial conducted in a primary school in Malawi (Pitchford, 2015). In addition to assessing mathematical skills, children’s visual attention, short-term memory, and manual processing speed were examined at baseline, before the introduction of the maths app intervention, and at endline, after the intervention had been implemented for 8 weeks. A group of 318 children (73–161 months) attending Standards 1–3 of a Malawian primary school were randomized to receive either the new maths app (treatment group), a non-maths app that required similar interactions to engage with the software as with the maths app (placebo group), or standard teacher-led mathematical practice (control group). Before and after the 8-week intervention period, children were assessed on mathematics and core cognitive skills. Results showed that the maths app intervention supported significant and independent gains in mathematics and visual attention. Increases in visual attention were attributable only to interactions with the maths app. No significant benefits to attention were found from using the tablet device with non-maths software or standard class-based mathematical practice. These results suggest that high-quality interactive, educational apps can significantly improve attentional processing in addition to the scholastic skills targeted by the intervention.

An Exploratory Analysis of the Implementation and Use of an Intelligent Platform for Learning in Primary Education

Smile and Learn is an intelligent platform with more than 4500 educational activities for children aged 3–12. The digital material developed covers all courses of primary education and most of the subjects with the different topic-related worlds with activities in the field of logics and mathematics, science, linguistics and tales, visual-spatial and cognitive skills, emotional intelligence, arts, and multiplayer games. This kind of material supports active learning and new pedagogical models for teachers to use in their lessons. The purpose of this paper is to explore the usage of the platform in three pilot groups schools from different regions of Spain, outlining future directions in the design of such digital materials. Usage is assessed via descriptive analysis and variance analysis, with data collected from users interacting with the intelligent platform. The results show a high use of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Maths) activities among all the activities that could be chosen. Cross-curricular activities are also used. Continuation in the development of such materials is concluded necessary, focusing integration of different fields, accentuating games over quizzes, and the value of teacher training for improving their use in schools.

Human-Computer Interaction Problem in Learning: Could the Key Be Hidden Somewhere Between Social Interaction and Development of Tools?

Homo sapiens is not just a tool-using species, they also can invent and develop tools. This is the feature that distinguishes humans from other species. It is necessary to get rid of the perceptual dominance of the present state of the material to invent and develop a tool. It is based on a mental process: designing. So how was that possible? In this article, I propose an evolutionary hypothesis in response to this question: the referential triangle. Accordingly, the relationship that people establish with things is mentally indirect, but the relationship they establish with each other is mentally direct. The hypothesis claims that the mental solutions of people have naturally established with each other are also used to invent and develop tools. The latest and most interesting product of this mechanism is artificial intelligence. Because artificial intelligence also acts as an inorganic system. What distinguishes it from other machines in this context is its social behavior. Artificial intelligence can generate social signals. So can artificial intelligence be both a tool and a partner at the same time in the referential triangle established with the tools by the human? In other words, can children, for instance, socially interact with artificial intelligence, just as they do naturally with people around? The article draws attention to that this problem should be included in the cultural psychological research agenda.

Characteristics of Children's Media Use and Gains in Language and Literacy Skills

Media use could be detrimental to children's language and literacy skills because it may displace other language-enhancing activities like shared reading and caregiver-child interactions. Furthermore, the extent to which children use media with adults (joint media engagement), the extent to which they use interactive media (apps/games), and the time of the day and week during which media use occurs may attenuate any negative effects. The current study examines the relation between characteristics of children's media use and gains in first graders' language and literacy skills. Children (N = 488) completed direct assessments of language and literacy skills in the spring of kindergarten and the spring of first grade. Parents reported how many hours children used both interactive and non-interactive media during different times of the day on the most recent weekday and weekend day and responded to items about the extent to which they engage with their children during media use. A quadratic relationship between media use and language gains showed that a moderate amount of media use was related to larger language gains, whereas high use was related to smaller gains. For literacy, an interaction between media use and joint media engagement showed a small negative effect of media use at low levels of joint media engagement and little to no relation between media use and literacy gains at higher levels of joint media engagement. Children's language and literacy skills were not predicted by either the proportion of media time that was spent with apps/games or morning and weekday media use. These results show that moderate amounts of media use may not be a negative influence on children's developing language skills, whereas high levels may displace other language-enhancing activities. Additionally, joint media engagement may play an important buffering role in the relation between media use and early literacy skills, aligned with current recommendations encouraging co-viewing.

Comparison of Imitation From Screens Between Typically Developing Preschoolers and Preschoolers With Autism Spectrum Disorder

Typically developing (TD) children exhibit a transfer deficit imitating significantly less from screen demonstrations compared to a live demonstrations. Although many interventions for children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) include video materials, little research exists comparing the effectiveness of video demonstration over live instruction. The current study compared imitation learning from live and screen-based demonstrations of how to make a puzzle by 3- to 4.5-year-old TD children (n = 68) and children with ASD (n = 17). Children were tested on either on a three-dimensional (3D) magnet board (MB) with magnetic puzzle pieces or a 2D touch screen (TS) with virtual puzzle pieces. Neither TD nor ASD children exhibited a transfer deficit suggesting that for this task, the transfer deficit ends around 3 years of age. Children with ASD were less efficient overall than TD children on the task and performed worse than their TD counterparts when they were tested with the 3D MB puzzle. These findings suggest that children with ASD have greater difficulty acting on 3D objects than 2D TSs. Future studies should investigate if TSs can be used to teach children with ASD other tasks (184 words).

Technology-Based Tools for English Literacy Intervention: Examining Intervention Grain Size and Individual Differences

Technology plays an increasingly important role in educational practice, including interventions for struggling learners (Torgesen et al., 2010; de Souza et al., 2018). This study focuses on the efficacy of tablet-based applications (see Word Reading, Grapholearn, and an experimental word-level program) for the purpose of supplementing early English literacy intervention with primary grades 1 and 2 children. The children were identified for learning support programs within Singaporean schools, which follow a bilingual policy, meaning children were learning reading in English plus an additional language. One hundred forty-seven children across seven schools participated (Mean age = 6.66). Within learning support classrooms, triplets of students matched on basic reading skills were randomly assigned to one of three groups: (1) phoneme-level, (2) rime-level, or (3) word-level focused interventions. All groups performed reading skills activities on iPads, across two phases over a 14-week period. Assessments for word reading accuracy and fluency, pseudoword decoding accuracy and fluency, and spelling were administered at four time points, pre- and post-intervention. Additional baseline measures were taken to assess individual differences in phonological awareness, orthographic awareness, general cognitive ability, statistical learning, and bilingual vocabulary knowledge. Mixed model analysis was conducted on the pre- to post-test measures across the two phases of the intervention (focused on accuracy then fluency). All groups made gains across the different literacy measures, while the phoneme-level intervention showed an advantage over the rime-level intervention, but not the word-level intervention, for decoding. There were also moderating effects of individual differences on outcomes. The general pattern of results showed an advantage of the word-level intervention for those with poorer phonological awareness for reading fluency; and a phoneme-level intervention advantage for those with poorer statistical learning ability. Children's bilingual group (English plus Mandarin, English plus Malay, or English plus Tamil) also showed differential effects of the type of intervention (e.g., phoneme- or word-level) on different outcome measures. These results, along with data collected from the tablets during the intervention, suggest the need to examine the interplay between different types of technology-based interventions and individual differences in learning profiles.

Learning While Playing: A Randomized Trial of Serious Games as a Tool for Word Mastery

Objectives

The aim of this study was to determine whether college students build their vocabularies by playing a serious game that incorporates principles of learning and memory.

Design

This study used a single-site, prospective, randomized trial with 2 branches: immediate and delayed treatment. Outcome measures were obtained after a 1-month intervention and, for the immediate group only, after a 1-month retention interval.

Setting

College students from the University of Iowa were recruited via mass e-mail. The intervention took place in the participants' homes; the testing took place in a university laboratory.

Participants

Forty undergraduates (32 women, 8 men) who planned to take the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE; Educational Testing Service, 2018 ) within the year following the treatment participated in the study. Participants were allocated to 1 of the 2 treatment branches via biased coin randomization.

Intervention

The treatment consisted of vocabulary training on Vocabulary.com for a minimum of 20 min (dose) 4 times per week (frequency) for 4 weeks (treatment duration), for a total cumulative treatment intensity of 320 min.

Outcome Measures

The prespecified primary outcome measures of word learning were the number of words mastered during Vocabulary.com play and the percentage of mastered words accurately defined. The depth of information included in the definitions was a secondary outcome. The prespecified primary outcome measure of functional impact was change in the verbal GRE practice test scores from pre- to posttreatment. The examiners scoring the definitions were blind to treatment assignment. All other outcomes were measured automatically by the relevant computer program so blinding was moot.

Results

The participants averaged 5.33 hr of play during the treatment interval and mastered 124 words. Amount of play and mastery were highly correlated. Accuracy of definitions was 55% or 59% (depending on treatment branch) after treatment and 55% 1 month later, an insignificant decline. The game itself did not result in GRE gains, but participants who mastered more words per minute of play had higher GRE scores than other participants.

Conclusion

Vocabulary.com , an evidence-based game, showed promise as a way to build vocabulary knowledge, but at the intensity of treatment provided, it did not result in gains in high-stakes test performance.

Trial Registration

This trial was not preregistered.

Supplemental Material

https://doi.org/10.23641/asha.9936374

Pediatric Speech-Language Pathologists' Use of Mobile Health Technology: Qualitative Questionnaire Study

BACKGROUND

While technology use in pediatric therapies is increasing, there is so far no research available focusing on how pediatric speech-language pathologists (SLPs) in the United States use technology.

OBJECTIVE

This paper sought to determine if, and to what extent, pediatric SLPs are using mobile apps, to determine what purpose they are using them for, and to identify gaps in available technology to provide guidance for future technological development.

METHODS

Pediatric SLPs completed an online survey containing five sections: demographics, overall use, use in assessment, use in intervention, barriers, and future directions.

RESULTS

Mobile app use by 485 pediatric SLPs in the clinical setting was analyzed. Most (364/438; 83.1%) pediatric SLPs reported using technology ≤50% of the time in their clinical work, with no differences evident by age group (<35 years and ≥35 years; P=.97). Pediatric SLPs are currently using apps for intervention (399/1105; 36.1%), clinical information (241/1105; 21.8%), parent education (151/1105; 13.7%), assessment (132/1105; 12%), client education (108/1105; 9.8%), and other uses (55/1105; 5.0%). Cost (46/135; 34.1%) and lack of an evidence base (36/135; 26.7%) were the most frequently reported barriers. Most SLPs (268/380; 70.7%) desired more technology use, with no difference evident by age group (P=.81).

CONCLUSIONS

A majority of pediatric SLPs are using mobile apps less than 50% of the time in a pediatric setting and they use them more during intervention compared to assessment. While pediatric SLPs are hesitant to add to their client's screen time, they would like more apps to be developed that are supported by research and are less expensive. Implications for future research and app development are also discussed.

The information needs of children having clinical procedures in hospital: Will it hurt? Will I feel scared? What can I do to stay calm?

BACKGROUND

Children often have unmet information needs when attending hospital, and this can cause them anxiety and uncertainty. If children are prepared and informed about what will happen during a procedure, they tend to have a better experience. Finding out what children want to know before they attend hospital for procedures could provide significant benefits for children, their families, and healthcare professionals. This study set out to investigate children's perspectives of what information is important and valuable to know before attending hospital for a planned procedure.

METHODS

A "write and tell" activity sheet underpinned a semistructured qualitative interview with children attending hospital for a planned procedure. The interview focussed on the information children thought was important to know before a procedure. Data were analysed using content analysis techniques.

RESULTS

One hundred six children aged between 8 and 12 years old participated in the interviews. The children identified 616 pieces of information they thought would be of value to children attending hospital for procedures. These were inductively coded into three types of information: procedural, sensory, and self-regulation. Children want to know detailed procedural and sensory information to actively construct a script of a procedure and then build on this with information about specific strategies to help them cope with and self-regulate the situation.

CONCLUSION

This study has identified three types of information children recognize as important in preprocedural preparation. Children construct an understanding of a planned procedure through actively scaffolding procedural, sensory, and self-regulation information.

What helps children learn difficult tasks: A teacher's presence may be worth more than a screen

AIMS

What helps children learn: is it a presence of a live teacher or an interaction with the learning materials? Addressing this question, we manipulated a teacher's presence (on-screen vs. present) and activity (observing vs. doing) while teaching children about the properties of geometric shapes.

METHOD

Five-year-olds (n = 215) completed two shape-sorting tasks in which they distinguished between typical, atypical and non-valid shapes. In between these tasks, they took part in one of four training sessions: doing teacher-present, observing teacher-present, doing teacher-on-screen and observing teacher-on-screen.

RESULTS

Although children's shape knowledge improved across all training conditions, learning showed an interaction between teacher presence and task difficulty. In a teacher's presence, children learned more about the most difficult (atypical) shapes, irrespective of activity. It may be the social interaction, associated with a teacher's presence, that enhances learning. Conversely, physically taking part in interactive touchscreen training did not result in more learning than passive screen viewing.

“The screen shows movement – movement is interesting!” exploring effects of multimedia stories on preschool children’s story comprehension and enjoyment

Purpose

Using multimedia and print storybooks, the purpose of this paper is to compare preschool children’s reading engagement with and without adult support.

Design/methodology/approach

A within-subject design is used to explore the effects of multimedia stories in supporting preschool children’s story comprehension and reading enjoyment. A total of 24 children aged five to six years old from a local preschool in Taiwan participated in the experiments.

Findings

A statistical analysis revealed the (non)differences in story comprehension between multimedia and print storybooks, with and without adult support. A content analysis revealed several important themes affecting children’s reading enjoyment. These included multimedia elements (particularly motion and sound effects), haptic perception and the pause function.

Research limitations/implications

Native Chinese speaking children participated in one-to-one sessions in Taiwan. To ascertain the generalizability of the findings presented in this study, further research is encouraged in other cultural contexts and settings.

Practical implications

The paper provides insights into how multimedia and interactive features affect and enhance children’s enjoyment. Recommendations are made to assist library professionals to incorporate digital media into children’s programs.

Originality/value

Children’s reading motivation and engagement are often linked with improved reading attainments. This study elicited a range of perspectives and themes relating to what the children themselves felt influenced their enjoyment when reading print or multimedia storybooks. Findings were analyzed in a theoretical framework of facets of engagement.

Digital Media and Autism Spectrum Disorders: Review of Evidence, Theoretical Concerns, and Opportunities for Intervention

As the digital media landscape becomes more complex, individualized, and interactive, pediatric providers often find themselves asked to be the source of guidance for children with developmental and behavioral conditions such as autism spectrum disorder (ASD). In this brief report, we review the current literature that exists regarding the use of traditional media (e.g., TV, video games) in children with ASD. We then outline a conceptual framework to describe the interaction between ASD-specific developmental and behavioral vulnerabilities and the aspects of new media (e.g., mobile devices, interactive apps, streaming video services) that could lead to problematic media use. This conceptual framework is then applied to clinical implications for how to prevent and manage problematic media usage in ASD and how to use modern media as tools to support optimal development.

Interactive apps prevent gender discrepancies in early-grade mathematics in a low-income country in sub-Sahara Africa

Globally, gender differences are reported in the early acquisition of reading and mathematics as girls tend to outperform boys in reading, whereas boys tend to outperform girls in mathematics. This can have long‐term impact resulting in an under‐representation of girls in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics subjects. Recent research suggests that sociocultural factors account for differences across genders in the acquisition of these foundational skills. In this study, we investigated whether a new technology‐based intervention, that included activities accessible to both boys and girls, can reduce gender differences from emerging during the early primary school years. The novel instructional method used in this study employed apps developed by onebillion© delivered individually through touch‐screen tablets. Over a series of experiments conducted in Malawi, a low‐income country in sub‐Sahara Africa, we found that when children were exposed to standard pedagogical practice typical gender differences emerged over the first grade (Experiment 1). In contrast, boys and girls learnt equally well with the new interactive apps designed to support the learning of mathematics (Experiment 2) and reading (Experiment 3). When implemented at the start of primary education, before significant gender discrepancies become established, this novel technology‐based intervention can prevent significant gender effects for mathematics. These results demonstrate that different instructional practices influence the emergence of gender disparities in early mathematics. Digital interventions can mitigate gender differences in countries where standard pedagogical instruction typically hinders girls from acquiring early mathematical skills at the same rate as boys.

A video abstract of this article can be viewed at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=55x-6hhAY9M&feature=youtu.be

Equivalence of using a desktop virtual reality science simulation at home and in class

The use of virtual laboratories is growing as companies and educational institutions try to expand their reach, cut costs, increase student understanding, and provide more accessible hands on training for future scientists. Many new higher education initiatives outsource lab activities so students now perform them online in a virtual environment rather than in a classroom setting, thereby saving time and money while increasing accessibility. In this paper we explored whether the learning and motivational outcomes of interacting with a desktop virtual reality (VR) science lab simulation on the internet at home are equivalent to interacting with the same simulation in class with teacher supervision. A sample of 112 (76 female) university biology students participated in a between-subjects experimental design, in which participants learned at home or in class from the same virtual laboratory simulation on the topic of microbiology. The home and classroom groups did not differ significantly on post-test learning outcome scores, or on self-report measures of intrinsic motivation or self-efficacy. Furthermore, these conclusions remained after accounting for prior knowledge or goal orientation. In conclusion, the results indicate that virtual simulations are learning activities that students can engage in just as effectively outside of the classroom environment.

Backward design as a mobile application development strategy

Backward design is a well-established design strategy that has been used to produce educational curriculum for decades. While traditionally used to plan and create classroom-based curriculum, in this paper we explore the use of backward design as a design strategy for the development of an educational mobile application, BiblioTech™ "CityHacks: In Search of Sleep." We discuss the process from initial conception to launch and updates, as well as plans for future research.

The Development and Evaluation of 'Farm Animal Welfare': An Educational Computer Game for Children

Many children growing up in urban areas of Western countries have limited contact with and knowledge of farm animals and food production systems. Education can play an important role in children's understanding of farm animal welfare issues, however, most education provided focuses on pets. There is a need to develop new farm animal welfare interventions for young children. This study examines the process of designing, developing, and evaluating the effectiveness of a new theoretically-driven digital game to teach children, aged 6⁻13 years, about farm animal welfare. 'Farm Animal Welfare' aimed to promote children's knowledge about animal welfare, promote beliefs about animal sentience, and promote positive attitudes and compassion. A quasi-experimental design was carried out, using self-report questionnaires that children (n = 133, test = 69, control = 64) completed in the classroom. Test and control groups were from different schools and the control group did not engage in the intervention. Findings indicate a positive impact on beliefs about animal minds, knowledge about animal welfare needs, and knowledge about welfare in different farming systems, but there was no change in compassion or attitudes about cruelty. This study presents the first evaluation of a digital animal welfare education intervention for children, demonstrating the benefits of incorporating 'serious games' into farm animal welfare education. The findings will inform future practice around farm animal welfare education interventions for primary school children.

Leveraging technology: A multi-component personalized system of instruction to teach sight words

Technology-enabled personalized systems of instruction (PSI) could streamline resource-intensive instructional strategies, potentially easing their delivery and accelerating student learning. This study evaluated the effectiveness and efficiency of a PSI that incorporated adaptive assessment, incremental rehearsal, and peer-assisted learning to teach sight words. Participants in grades 1-3 were randomly assigned to either a control condition or treatment condition. In the treatment condition, participants engaged in the PSI in dyads, working at their instructional level with minimal adult supervision. Compared to the control condition, target learners engaging in the PSI acquired previously unknown sight words, then maintained and generalized the words 30 days post-intervention with a moderate main effect (β = 0.28). On average, participants rated the PSI as positive or very positive. The potential for PSIs to make instructional activities more efficient, effective, and individualized is discussed.

Taking Advantage of Students’ Passion for Apps in Sustainability and CSR Teaching

The main aim of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of using mobile apps combined with traditional methods for teaching sustainability and corporate social responsibility (CSR) to undergraduate students. Although previous papers stated the importance of apps, they showed no conclusive results, and there are few studies analyzing their importance in management training, and particularly in sustainability management. To achieve our main goal, drawing upon the action learning system, we designed and implemented several training sessions combining traditional methods and apps. The effectiveness of teaching methods was assessed with two surveys (pre- and post-training) with questions about sustainable consumption, lifestyle, and CSR management. The results demonstrate that students found this type of learning beneficial, showing an increase in their commitment to social and environmental issues. These findings underline the potential for apps in teaching sustainability at undergraduate levels in combination with more traditional methods.

Advertising in Young Children's Apps: A Content Analysis

OBJECTIVE

Young children use mobile devices on average 1 hour/day, but no studies have examined the prevalence of advertising in children's apps. The objective of this study was to describe the advertising content of popular children's apps.

METHODS

To create a coding scheme, we downloaded and played 39 apps played by children aged 12 months to 5 years in a pilot study of a mobile sensing app; 2 researchers played each app, took detailed notes on the design of advertisements, and iteratively refined the codebook (interrater reliability 0.96). Codes were then applied to the 96 most downloaded free and paid apps in the 5 And Under category on the Google Play app store.

RESULTS

Of the 135 apps reviewed, 129 (95%) contained at least 1 type of advertising. These included use of commercial characters (42%); full-app teasers (46%); advertising videos interrupting play (e.g., pop-ups [35%] or to unlock play items [16%]); in-app purchases (30%); prompts to rate the app (28%) or share on social media (14%); distracting ads such as banners across the screen (17%) or hidden ads with misleading symbols such as "$" or camouflaged as gameplay items (7%). Advertising was significantly more prevalent in free apps (100% vs 88% of paid apps), but occurred at similar rates in apps labeled as "educational" versus other categories.

CONCLUSION

In this exploratory study, we found high rates of mobile advertising through manipulative and disruptive methods. These results have implications for advertising regulation, parent media choices, and apps' educational value.

Brain Training for Kids: Adding a Human Touch

Editor's Note: Google "brain games for kids" and you can find apps, board games, puzzles, phonic fun, improvisational games-the list goes on and on for all ages in a billion dollar market. But questions remain: do toys and games improve thinking or IQ, or do they just make a child better at playing the games? Our authors examine the market and give us an inside look at some of the research behind this billion-dollar industry.

Can Touchscreen Devices be Used to Facilitate Young Children's Learning? A Meta-Analysis of Touchscreen Learning Effect

Because of the continuous stream of touchscreen apps that are claimed to be educational and the increasing use of touchscreen devices in early childhood, considerable attention is being paid to the effect of touchscreens on young children's learning. However, the existing empirical findings in young child samples are not consistent. In this meta-analysis we tested the overall effect of touchscreen devices on young children's (0- to 5-year-olds) learning performance, as well as moderators of this effect, based on 36 empirical articles (79 effect sizes) involving 4,206 participants. The overall analysis showed a significant touchscreen learning effect (d = 0.46), indicating that young children indeed benefited from touchscreen learning. Interestingly, age, learning material domain, comparison group, and experimental environment significantly moderated the effect of touchscreen devices on young children's learning outcome. These findings shed light on the role of touchscreen-related physical experience in early childhood education.

Child-Centered Design: Developing an Inclusive Letter Writing App

Everywhere there are children, there are screens, and child-computer interaction is ubiquitous. Despite their omnipresence, research on the impact of screens on children's learning lags behind the development of digital tools. Apple's App Store has an abundance of "educational" apps, but many of these apps' claims are unsubstantiated. Organizations responsible for vetting quality products for young people, such as the American Library Association, are developing resources to help identify the best digital products available, but they remain difficult to find, and there is limited guidance for app designers when it comes to designing apps for younger audiences. Our interdisciplinary, empirical study was inspired by "co-creation" (Sanders and Stappers, 2008) and "cooperative inquiry" (Druin, 2005). Starting with a seed grant from Kent State University's College of Communication and Information, our team sought to create a high-quality and inclusive alphabet app with haptic interactions and simplified gamification to reinforce the basic letter writing skills of young children. The app rewards a child's successful handwriting with an animation of a verb that corresponds with the letter they traced. Concrete animations and digital and verbal demonstrations connect the typographic letter to the handwritten counterpart. Librarian Claudia Haines' rubric (Haines, 2016) and the Dig Checklist (Kidmap, 2018.) guided our definition of "quality," and children served as co-designers in two qualitative user studies. Our young designers tested prototypes, completed task booklets, and were interviewed about their preferences and their feedback informed our design. Additionally, a focus group interview with kindergarten and preschool teachers provided further feedback about the typographic design, stroke order, and gaming rewards. To be inclusive, children in both our app design and user studies were selected from a diverse pool. Our research contributes to work on co-design and cooperative inquiry in the fields of User Experience Design, human-computer interaction, human information behavior, information science, interface design, motion design, typeface design and typography for children, and early literacy development. A post-study is planned upon completion of the app.

Two are better than one: Infant language learning from video improves in the presence of peers

Studies show that young children learn new phonemes and words from humans significantly better than from machines. However, it is not clear why learning from video is ineffective or what might be done to improve learning from a screen. The present study, conducted with 9-month-old infants, utilized a manipulation-touch screen video-which allowed infants to control presentations of foreign-language video clips. We tested the hypothesis that infant learning from a screen would be enhanced in the presence of a peer, as opposed to learning alone. Brain measures of phonetic learning and detailed analyses of interaction during learning confirm the hypothesis that social partners enhance learning, even from screens.

Effect of sequential video shot comprehensibility on attentional synchrony: A comparison of children and adults

To comprehend edited video, viewers must infer the meaning conveyed by successive video shots (i.e., continuous video segments separated by edit points, such as camera cuts). The central question here was whether comprehension-related top-down cognitive processes drive eye movements during sequential processing of video montage. Eye movements were recorded as 4 year olds and adults (n = 62) watched a video with the same constituent shots in either normal or random sequence. The key analyses compared eye movements to constituent shots when presented in normal order with those to the same shots presented in random order. The dependent variable was attentional synchrony or the extent to which viewers looked at the same location at the same time, indicating commonality of processing the video. This was calculated as the bivariate contour ellipse area within which points of gaze fell during each video frame. Results indicated that children were more scattered in their gaze locations than adults. Viewers became more similar to each other as normal vignettes unfolded over time; this was especially true in adults and possibly reflects a growing and shared understanding of the content. Conversely, adult attentional synchrony was reduced when watching random shot sequences. Thus, attentional synchrony during normal video viewing is driven not only by salient visual features, such as movement and areas of high contrast, but also, by the unfolding sequential comprehension of video montage, especially in adults. Differences between children and adults indicate that this top-down control of eye movements while watching video changes systematically over development.

The Power of Play: A Pediatric Role in Enhancing Development in Young Children

Children need to develop a variety of skill sets to optimize their development and manage toxic stress. Research demonstrates that developmentally appropriate play with parents and peers is a singular opportunity to promote the social-emotional, cognitive, language, and self-regulation skills that build executive function and a prosocial brain. Furthermore, play supports the formation of the safe, stable, and nurturing relationships with all caregivers that children need to thrive.Play is not frivolous: it enhances brain structure and function and promotes executive function (ie, the process of learning, rather than the content), which allow us to pursue goals and ignore distractions.When play and safe, stable, nurturing relationships are missing in a child's life, toxic stress can disrupt the development of executive function and the learning of prosocial behavior; in the presence of childhood adversity, play becomes even more important. The mutual joy and shared communication and attunement (harmonious serve and return interactions) that parents and children can experience during play regulate the body's stress response. This clinical report provides pediatric providers with the information they need to promote the benefits of play and and to write a prescription for play at well visits to complement reach out and read. At a time when early childhood programs are pressured to add more didactic components and less playful learning, pediatricians can play an important role in emphasizing the role of a balanced curriculum that includes the importance of playful learning for the promotion of healthy child development.

Accessing the Inaccessible: Redefining Play as a Spectrum

Defining play has plagued researchers and philosophers for years. From describing play as an inaccessible concept due to its complexity, to providing checklists of features, the field has struggled with how to conceptualize and operationalize “play.” This theoretical piece reviews the literature about both play and learning and suggests that by viewing play as a spectrum – that ranges from free play (no guidance or support) to guided play and games (including purposeful adult support while maintaining playful elements), we better capture the true essence of play and explain its relationship to learning. Insights from the Science of Learning allow us to better understand why play supports learning across social and academic domains. By changing the lens through which we conceptualize play, we account for previous findings in a cohesive way while also proposing new avenues of exploration for the field to study the role of learning through play across age and context.

Parental use of spatial language and gestures in early childhood

Parents' use of spatial language and gestures is closely linked to children's spatial language development. Little is known about the quantity and quality of early spatial input and how infants' individual characteristics may be related to the spatial input they receive. Here, we examine (1) the amount and type of spatial input 16- to 21-month-old Turkish-learning children (n = 34) received in the context of a spatial activity (puzzle play) and (2) whether parental spatial input in the form of speech and gesture varies based on children's age, sex, and early spatial vocabulary comprehension assessed in an earlier session. Results of the regression analyses showed that parents' use of spatial words was predicted by children's age over and beyond earlier spatial word comprehension and sex. In particular, parents used more spatial speech as their children got older even in this restricted age range. Children's early spatial word comprehension also correlated with parents' spatial word production. Yet, parents' overall gesture use and gestures with spatial words were not predicted by children's age, sex, or early spatial word comprehension. These findings suggest that in the spatial domain, early verbal input, but not gestural input, can change depending on children's age and children's spatial vocabulary comprehension may also be related to parental use of later spatial language. Statement of contribution What is already known on this subject? Parents enhance their children's spatial skills using spatial language and gestures. Parental spatial talk is related to children's later spatial skills. What does this study add? We assess both spatial talk and gesture in early childhood. We examine the children's characteristics (age, sex) in relation to spatial talk and gesture. We present how children's earlier vocabulary competence relates to parental input.

Raising Early Achievement in Math With Interactive Apps: A Randomized Control Trial

Improving provision and raising achievement in early math for young children is of national importance. Child-centered apps offer an opportunity to develop strong foundations in learning math as they deliver one-to-one instruction. Reported here is the first pupil-level randomized control trial in the United Kingdom of interactive math apps designed for early years education, with 389 children aged 4–5 years. The original and rigorous research design disentangled the impact of the math apps as a form of quality math instruction from additional exposure to math. It was predicted that using the apps would increase math achievement when implemented by teachers in addition to standard math activities (treatment) or instead of a regular small group-based math activity (time-equivalent treatment) compared with standard math practice only (control). After a 12-week intervention period, results showed significantly greater math learning gains for both forms of app implementation compared with standard math practice. The math apps supported targeted basic facts and concepts and generalized to higher-level math reasoning and problem solving skills. There were no significant differences between the 2 forms of math app implementation, suggesting the math apps can be implemented in a well-balanced curriculum. Features of the interactive apps, which are grounded in instructional psychology and combine aspects of direct instruction with play, may account for the observed learning gains. These novel results suggest that structured, content-rich, interactive apps can provide a vehicle for efficiently delivering high-quality math instruction for all pupils in a classroom context and can effectively raise achievement in early math.

In a pupil-level randomized control trial we evaluated the effectiveness of a new math app intervention to support young children’s early math development. The results showed children using the math apps either as a supplementary intervention or instead of a small group teacher-led math activity made significant learning gains in comparison with children receiving standard practice only. This study suggests high-quality math apps can be used as a form of quality math instruction in a well-rounded curriculum to raise achievement in early math for all children.

Effects of Geometric Toy Design on Parent-Child Interactions and Spatial Language

Geometric forms have formal definitions. While knowing shape names is considered important for school-readiness, many children do not understand the defining features of shapes until well into elementary school (Satlow & Newcombe, 1998). One reason is likely that they do not encounter enough variety in the shapes they see (citation removed). The present study observed 60 parents and their 3-year-old children during play with geometric toys, exploring how spatial language varied with the nature of the shape-toy set (canonical shapes versus a mix of canonical and unusual or less-canonical variants) and whether geometric shapes were presented as tangible, traditional toys or shown on a touchscreen tablet app. Although children in the app condition heard more shape names than the other conditions due to the language produced by the app itself, children used more overall words and more spatial language with tangible toys that included varied shapes. In addition, parents used more shape names with sons than with daughters and tended to adjust their use of spatial language more in response to varied shape sets with boys, although these findings need replication to evaluate generality. These data suggest that including non-canonical shapes in tangible shape toys may provide a low-cost, high-impact way of refining adult-child interactions that might facilitate children's early geometric knowledge.

Approximate Arithmetic Training Improves Informal Math Performance in Low Achieving Preschoolers

Recent studies suggest that practice with approximate and non-symbolic arithmetic problems improves the math performance of adults, school aged children, and preschoolers. However, the relative effectiveness of approximate arithmetic training compared to available educational games, and the type of math skills that approximate arithmetic targets are unknown. The present study was designed to (1) compare the effectiveness of approximate arithmetic training to two commercially available numeral and letter identification tablet applications and (2) to examine the specific type of math skills that benefit from approximate arithmetic training. Preschool children (n = 158) were pseudo-randomly assigned to one of three conditions: approximate arithmetic, letter identification, or numeral identification. All children were trained for 10 short sessions and given pre and post tests of informal and formal math, executive function, short term memory, vocabulary, alphabet knowledge, and number word knowledge. We found a significant interaction between initial math performance and training condition, such that children with low pretest math performance benefited from approximate arithmetic training, and children with high pretest math performance benefited from symbol identification training. This effect was restricted to informal, and not formal, math problems. There were also effects of gender, socio-economic status, and age on post-test informal math score after intervention. A median split on pretest math ability indicated that children in the low half of math scores in the approximate arithmetic training condition performed significantly better than children in the letter identification training condition on post-test informal math problems when controlling for pretest, age, gender, and socio-economic status. Our results support the conclusion that approximate arithmetic training may be especially effective for children with low math skills, and that approximate arithmetic training improves early informal, but not formal, math skills.

Getting a Read on Ready To Learn Media: A Meta-analytic Review of Effects on Literacy

Most U.S. preschoolers have consumed media created with funding from the U.S. Department of Education's Ready To Learn (RTL) initiative, which was established to promote school readiness among children ages 2-8. Synthesizing data from 45 evaluations (N = 24,624 unique child participants), this meta-analysis examined the effects of RTL media exposure on young children's literacy skills. Results indicate positive effects of RTL media exposure on children's literacy outcomes, especially vocabulary and phonological concepts. These effects are equivalent to about one-and-a-half months of literacy learning above and beyond typical growth. Findings are robust across a variety of research designs and for exposure to both television and new media. These results are discussed in terms of accountability evidence for RTL and larger debates in scholarly understanding of educational media effects.