The DigiLitEY COST Action held its 5th project
meeting in the form of a very interesting conference in Bologna on 31 August
and 1 September 2017. Eszter Salamon, President of EPA was invited to join the
project, more precisely a Think Tank on developing a campaign targeting parents
to promote and support responsible parenting of young children in the digital
age, a times when the smallest of children using digital technologies is part
of everyday life. The note below is more impressions than a proper conference
report, but hopefully it will still help the message to reach its target –
parents as well as professional educators.
The project
meeting was a good opportunity for the Think Tank to meet again and make a huge
step towards the tool for parents. You will be able to read about it in detail,
and also access the tool via our blog once it is mature enough to be shared
with the general public.
There were
a number of very interesting presentations and keynote speeches during the
meeting, although they were research presentations probably a little too
technical for a non-professional audience. Their findings, however, are
interesting and should be available for all parents wishing to explore the
world of their children, so one of the tasks ahead – we have discussed it with
members of the Think Tank – is to digest research evidence into something that
will fulfil average parents’ needs.
All presenters
reinforced the fact that digital technologies are indeed present in the lives
of toddlers as well as older children, the generations of their parents all use
some or many digital devices. A comparative study by the Joint Research Centre
of the European Commission (JRC) shows that even within a year, from 2015 to
2016 penetration and habits of using devices have changed, for example this
year witnessed a boost in smart TV ownership and an interesting shift from tablets
to smart phones as people’s favourite device. However, there have not been
significant changes in parenting practices, mostly postponing mediation to
later years, considering social media and social media only risky.
At the same
time research also shows that the now nearly proverbial divide between school
and real life starts in early childhood institutions. It is not only that these
centres are not equipped with digital technology, but what is more worrying,
teachers working there may have never touched devices toddlers are already
familiar with. In one of the presentations teachers were categorised according
to their openness towards digitalisation, the best of them being open to be
taught by toddlers how to use technology, the worst ignoring the interests of
children, including their popular culture favourites, such as Minions. This teacher
behaviour has been well known to all parents of older children when teachers
have been ignoring children’s favourite reads or hit music, but it was a
surprising finding for early childhood.
There were
some interesting presentations and good discussion about reading and the role
of e-books in the lives of small children. Many people still advise parents to
start with paper books, but research evidence shows interactive e-books can
have a higher impact on learning outcomes if they are used well. The largest
challenge for parents seem to be to not over-challenge the child, for example
by listening to a story and playing a game at the same time. Evidence presented
show that for those children who are not yet familiar with letters, e-books are
more beneficial, while for those with some traditional literacy level, there is
no difference between e-books and traditional ones.
Playful
learning was a re-occurring topic throughout the event, and thus it was a good
opportunity to link this engagement with another one, Playfutures. One of the
keynote speakers, Nicola Yelland, when emphasising the importance of
playfulness, also underlined that even adults learn much better if it happens
playfully, and digital technology offers ample opportunities for this. The same
can be learnt much more deeply and in an enjoyable way at an earlier age, too,
by using technology within traditional cognitive skills development, such as
learning basic numeracy.
In conclusion
it can be said, that although digital luddites as well as those calling attention
to risks only seem to be gaining ground and media presence, this is our best
option to offer our children the education they need. One of the speakers
reminded everybody of the story of the Spinning Jenny, emblem of the industrial
revolution. Changes for the better always win, but why not help a smooth
transition and help the switch happen quicker.
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