|
Going slow on the
fast track
Computers
and information tools are so integral to everyday life, it seems
only logical that children should be at ease with technology from a
very early age.
FasTracKids, a computer-based learning
programme, is designed to add on to what kids learn in pre-school.
The software combines abstract concepts with hands-on experiments
and subsequent discussions on 12 subjects. Warren Buckleitner,
editor of Children’s Software Revue, says it can make sense to start
a child on computers at two-and-a-half, although some kids aren’t
ready for it until they’re closer to three.
The Curriculum
Framework (UK) for children aged between three and five years asks
teachers or care-givers to introduce kids to information
communication technology (ICT) resources that will support all
aspects of their learning. There is no doubt that a computer can be
a fun and exciting learning tool. It can even provide a set of
useful cognitive and developmental skills. But the usage of
computers can be injurious to health, particularly in the early
stages of life.
Many pediatric eye doctors believe that staring
at the computer screen stresses a child’s eye a lot more than any
other task. Doctors contend that heavy computer use puts them at
risk for early myopia. Kids have special needs when it comes to
computer hardware, from a smaller keyboard to not so big a mouse. In
homes, kids use systems designed for adults, which is not good at
all.
Neck, back and repetitive strain injuries (RSI) have long
been recognised as being linked to prolonged computer use and
incorrect posture in adults. Though no significant research into the
risk of RSI among children due to heavy computer usage has been
conducted yet, health experts warn that many children have already
suffered due to complications associated with frequent use of
computers.
The question arises at what age children should be
encouraged to use information technology resources. Parents must be
aware of the risks and benefits of introducing computers in the
tender world of their children.
Couch Potatoes
Once upon
a time, children used to spend most of their time outdoors —
walking, jumping, skipping, climbing trees... the list goes on and
on. But not any more, at least in mi ddle-class urban families. A
study by the Henry J Kaiser Family Foundation reports that children
aged six years and under spend an average of two hours a day
watching TV, using the computer or playing video games. That’s
almost the same amount of time they spend playing outside and more
than double what they spend reading.
Psychologist C Hohman and
her colleagues do not recommend computers for children younger than
three years. According to their 1998 study published in Child Care
Information Exchange, computers simply do not match their learning
style. Children younger than three years learn through their bodies:
their eyes, ears, mouths, hands, and legs. Although they may return
over and over again to an activity, their concentration span is
short. They are able to change focus frequently and conveniently.
Computers are not a good choice for the developmental skills
young children need to learn and master: crawling, walking, talking,
and making friends.
The American Academy of Pediatrics says
toddlers have a critical need for direct interaction with others,
and recommends that parents avoid even television for kids under
two.
Susan Haugland, a professor of child development and
president of Kids and Computers Inc., firmly believes in the value
of computers as instructional tools. But she also doesn’t recommend
computer use for children younger than three.
Educational
psychologist Jane Healy goes even further. In her book Failure to
Connect: How Computers Affect Our Children’s Minds — for Better and
Worse (1998), Healy counsels waiting until seven years before
introducing kids to computers.
After a detailed examination of
the potentially detrimental effects of computer use on all aspects
of the child’s development, she warns that “the minute we introduce
an artificially engaging stimulus with fast-paced visuals, startling
noises, silly scenarios, and easy excitement, the brain is diverted
away from its natural developmental tasks.” The Alliance for
Childhood, an organisation of educators, doctors, and psychologists
shares Healy’s views. The Alliance for Childhood has published a
report, Fool’s Gold: A Critical Look at Computers in Childhood, that
claims that computers can have damaging consequences for children
under seven in terms of their health, social relationships, and
intellectual development.
Some critics contend that computers
and electronic games isolate kids, teach instant point-and-click
gratification, and contribute to a variety of ills ranging from
alienation to childhood obesity.
Smart Potatoes
In a
research conducted by Susan Haugland in the early 1990s, pre-school
children who used computers had significantly greater developmental
gains when compared to children with no computer experiences in
similar classrooms.
The computer users were found to be gaining
strength in intelligence, nonverbal skills, structural knowledge,
long-term memory, manual dexterity, verbal skills, problem solving,
abstraction, and conceptual skills.
According to a new study
conducted by Dr. Xiaoming Li of Wayne State University and Dr
Melissa Atkins of Ohio State University, computers may give young
kids a head start when it comes to being ready for pre-school.
The study titled Early Childhood Computer Experience and
Cognitive and Motor Development involves 122 kids aged between three
and five years and is published in the June 2004 issue of the
journal Pediatrics. On an average, children with access to a
computer scored better on tests that measured learning abilities and
readiness for school. Computer use was linked to higher scores even
after researchers took into account differences in socioeconomic
status and children’s developmental differences.
However, more
is not necessarily merrier when it comes to computer use among young
children. Children who used computers more frequently didn’t get
higher scores than children who used computers less frequently.
Electronic or video game devices also were not related to improved
performance. Of the 53 per cent of children with computers at home,
most had electronic games. But researchers found no benefit to
children having electronic or video games in the home.
A
Balancing Act
Some researchers think that the educational
benefits of computers are grossly overstated and the potentially
detrimental effects of computers are taken lightly or overlooked
altogether.
“There’s a lot more research on the positive side
than the negative side,” says Buckleitner. When it comes to basic
math, writing, and reading comprehension, studies have shown that
children can enhance these skills through computers.
Despite the
apparent benefits of computer use, “there can be too much of a good
thing,” according to Atkins. “I think that children’s development
might suffer in other ways if they spend too much time on a computer
or if it is used as a babysitter.”
The key, it seems, is
balance. Educational psychologist Glenn Snelbecker, Temple
University, Philadelphia, who specialises in technology, says
parents need to encourage kids to strike a good balance between
online and outside fun.
Things done in excess, even good things,
can be a problem. Young children should use computers as a
supplement to concrete learning activities; finding activities on
local resource centre websites, finding schematics on the Web and
using them to build kites and airplanes, creating art projects and
reading books.
A former project coordinator with the
National Council of Science Museums, India and exhibits manager at
the Discovery Centre, Halifax, the author now works as senior server
developer in Toronto.
Raj Kaushik
|
