what percentage of Canadian children own a smartphone
76%
On average, how many hours a day do kids age 3-5 spend in front of screens
2 hours
What 4 areas do parents seek advice regarding children and screen time
- duration
- when/how to set limits
- effects on health/wellbeing
- Optimal content
What are the positive effects of technology on kids
- educational tool
- important to be proficient for future
- connectedness with others
- new perspectives
What are the negative effects of technology on kids
- worsened eyesight
- addictive
- isolating
- decreases physical activity
What is the main criteria for an educational app
to support a learning goal
What are the 4 pillars of learning (to make a beneficial app)
- Active learning
- Engagement
- Meaningful experiences
- Socially interactive
What are some examples of active learning
-Asking children questions as you read them a story
When do students retain more information?
When they think they will be teaching it to someone else
Why does background television worsen child engagement
decreases focus and reduces quality of interaction with parents.
What does engagement say about pop-up books
Children learn less from pop-ups than a simple story book
Why do children sometimes perform worse in decorated classrooms
it’s too distracting
How do meaningful experiences get incorporated into learning
- By tying material to be learned to a narrative
- Parasocial interactions
Parasocial interactions
Interacting with a character in a book/TV show that gives the illusion of human interaction
socially interactive learning is critical for learning what
language
How can an app employ active learning
-using symbolic material (pictures/words/numbers) for children to interpret themselves
How can apps employ engaged learning
- contingent interactions (touch/swipe to control media)
- extrinsic and intrinsic motivation
What is extrinsic motivation
- positive feedback/encouragement
- “good work” instead of “you’re smart”
What is intrinsic motivation
motivation from the enjoyment of learning a new skill
How can apps employ meaningful learning
- tap into personal history/prior knowledge
- Builds a narrative around info
How can apps employ socially interactive learning
- social contingency
- Parasocial relationships
What is social contingency
back and forth between 2 speakers
What are common educational app pitfalls
- fire-alarm syndrome
- too many choices
- no pillars of learning
- empty calories (no education)
- Attention deficit design
What is fire alarm syndrome
too many distractions in an app
