Use of omputer in academic development of children during their primary years - Essay Example

Use of Computer in Academic Development of children during their primary years Introduction: Computers have become a standard feature in preschool, kindergarten and primary grades as a teaching aide. At home too, most parents feel compelled to follow this trend and purchase personal computers for their children in order to make them better prepared for their technology exposure at school and outside. In the competitive age that we live in with strong emphasis on achievement, many educators see computer use as a way to accelerate progress in education. Market researchers tracking software trends have identified that the largest software growth recently has been in new titles and companies serving the early childhood educational market. Even as early as 1996, SPA consumer market report found that of the people who own home computers and have young children, 70% had purchased educational software for their children to use .An estimated $50 million was spent on software programs for young children in 2001. (Morrison).The percentage today could only have increased judging by the omnipresence of computers in schools and homes. Parents and educators seem to be so eager to incorporate technology in education that many of them are introducing computers to children at younger ages to not only motivate them to get a head start on academics but also for their careers in later life. For example, lapware, a software program intended for children under 18 months of age was first introduced in the late 1990s ,to stimulate the brains of children as young as 6 months while they sit on the lap of their parent. Understandably, not all psychologists and educators are thrilled at the idea of using computers as an introduction to academic concepts and have raised questions about its effectiveness and also emotional and physical side effects. Abstract: The literature review that is done in this paper attempts to address several issues related to the academic use of computers with young children. We will study existing articles and research already done on the subject to achieve a better understanding and evaluate the different aspects related to the topic. They are: (1) the integration of technology into the typical learning environment and the potential benefits of appropriate use of technology in early childhood programs (2) the essential role of adults in evaluating appropriate uses of technology; (3) Appropriate Computer activities (4) The concerns of different organizations and educators who are opposed to the academic incorporation of computers. . Literature Review: Learning through computers and evidence of their benefits: The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), an organization that sets standards of excellence for programs for children from birth through age eight, recommends the use of computers with children ages three and older. In fact, the association claims that computers can have important benefits for even very young children, including language development, literacy development, social development, and the development of important problem-solving skills. Computers are intrinsically compelling for young children. The sounds and graphics gain children's attention. Increasingly, young children observe adults and older children working on computers, and they want to do it, too. Children get interested because they can make things happen with computers. Developmentally appropriate software engages children in creative play, mastery learning, problem solving, and conversation. The children control the pacing and the action. They can repeat a process or activity as often as they like and experiment with variations. They can collaborate in making decisions and share their discoveries and creations (Haugland & Shade 1990). When used appropriately, technology can support and extend traditional materials in valuable ways. Research points to the positive effects of technology in children's learning and development, both cognitive and social (Clements 1994; Haugland & Shade 1994). There is a lot of existing research that have dwelled on the benefits of math and science oriented software programs. Obviously drill and practice type software could develop competence in counting and sorting. But there are other programs, that seem to probe further into young minds to stimulate discovery of new concepts in these subjects through exploration and self learning. For example D.H. Clements and M.T. Battista conducted a report in 1992 on the development of a logo based elementary school geometry curriculum. Logo is a computer programming language designed to promote learning. Young children can learn basic concepts in geometry by directing the movements of an on-screen "turtle". Clements and Battista studied a group of five-year-olds that were constructing rectangles through logo. "I wonder if I can tilt one," mused one boy. He turned the turtle with a simple mathematical command, "L 1" (turn left one unit), drew the first side, and then was unsure about what to do next. He finally figured out that he must use the same turn command as before. He hesitated again. "How far now Oh, it must be the same as its partner!" He easily completed his rectangle. The instructions he should give the turtle at this new heading were, at first, not obvious. He analyzed the situation and reflected on the properties of a rectangle. Perhaps most important, he posed the problem for himself. (Clements and Battista 1992). This boy in question had previous experience of drawing rectangles and constructing rectangles using boards and blocks. So the important factor here is that the program helped to direct him to more explicit mathematical ideas. It also helped him connect visual shapes with abstract numbers. More importantly it encouraged him to wonder about mathematics and pose problems in an environment in which he could create, experiment, and receive feedback about his own ideas. Though the study focuses on cases of positive outcomes, there is no empirical evidence on other cases where the program failed. The study is important to demonstrate the potential benefits of such programs under idealistic situations. But there is no guarantee of 100% efficacy that all 5 year olds will break into new mathematical concepts solely through the aid of logo type programs or that it is more effective than traditional methods of teaching. A number of conflicting research outcomes exist about the extent and type of influence of computers on the academic development of children. One computer based after school program called The Fifth Dimension involved studies of groups of children at different sites involving in voluntary participation in a mix of recreational and educational activities without structured instructional intervention. A large proportion of the program's activities involved typical home computers, such as educational software, computer games and internet searches and communication. The declared results of the program was that children who had participated in the program demonstrated advances in reading, mathematics, computer knowledge following directions and grammar and had higher scores on school achievement tests compared with children who did not participate. In one of their well controlled studies, participants had small but significant increases in reading and math scores as compared to non participants. Exact empirical evidence that the results of this study was based on was unavailable for public use. The findings are based solely on three Fifth Dimension sites--in Boone, North Carolina; in Escondido, California; and in Goleta, California. Although the research documents that cognitive growth can be attributed to children's participation in the Fifth Dimension, there is no indication as to how this takes place or what feature of this computer program contributed to the enhanced scores. So it is lacking in proposal of a theory behind the findings and research which in spite of its declared success is at best generalized. Miller and McInerney on the other hand conducted a study wherein the participants received a computer, printer and telecommunications equipment for learning activities in their homes. Follow-up data over 2 years indicated that participation in the project was not associated with improvement in academic achievement. So they suggested no relationship between home computer use and academic achievement in reading, language and mathematics. However the study does not really take into the fact that merely having a home computer does not necessarily mean use of one. Xiaoming et al conducted a research on early computer experience and cognitive and psychomotor development among children. The participants were 122 preschool children enrolled in a rural county Head Start program in the United States during 2001-2002. The following tests were administered to the children: the Bender Visual Motor Gestalt Test; the Boehm Test of Basic Concepts, Third Edition Preschool; the Test of Gross Motor Development, Second Edition; and a short form of the Wechsler Preschool and Primary Scales of Intelligence-Revised. Information pertaining to family characteristics and children's early computer experience was collected from parents. Both bivariate and multivariate analyses were used to assess the association between early computer experience and cognitive and motor development. Children who had access to a computer performed better on measures of school readiness and cognitive development, controlling for children's developmental stage and family socioeconomic status. However the research also found that the presence of a computer in the home and therefore increased access to computer and software programs was significantly associated with the family's income and the educational attainment of the parents. So the better academic performances of children could have been due to the parents' educational qualifications (and therefore their increased capacity to involve in children's academic development) and not solely due to computers. Role of Adults in children's academic development through Computers: It is only logical that technology integration into classrooms changes the instructional roles in an academic set-up. For example the teacher's role if he/she chooses to incorporate the aid of computers, could become that of a facilitator or coach. In such a scenario, teachers who are unaccustomed to this alternative teaching method might require training not only about the technology itself but the effective utilization of the technology in their curriculum. This is a well researched and popular subject as evidenced by the myriad of documents, articles and studies on this topic. Judging from the number of studies, it is obvious that most people consider the role of teachers in initiating the children in technology to bring academic progress as paramount. By comparison, there exists very little thorough research if any that has been done on parents 'role as facilitators and initiators. Henry Jay Becker and his colleagues conducted a 1998 national survey of teachers which they called Teaching, Learning, and Computing (TLC). More than 4,000 teachers in over 1,100 schools across the U.S. described their educational philosophies and characteristic teaching practices, their uses of computers in teaching, and various aspects of their school's environment. The survey included a nationally representative sample of 2,251 4th through 12th grade teachers as well as more than 1,800 other teachers from two targeted samples of schools-schools with the greatest presence of computer technology and schools that participate in one of more than 50 identified national or regional educational reform programs. Roughly 75% of the schools sampled for the study participated and nearly 70% of the teachers sampled within those schools completed 20-page survey questionnaires. The survey found that educational applications of computers beyond basic drill and practice and word processing tend to be associated with a constructivist pedagogy that emphasizes project- and group-work and problem solving. Classroom use of computers in this style is associated with (1) teachers' commitment to a constructivist pedagogical philosophy, (2) the level of teachers' professional engagement, (3) teachers' computer skills, and (4) the extent of computer access in the classroom. The absence of any of these acts as a barrier, reducing the frequency of computing in schools. The survey findings stress the importance of a teacher's role, approach and personality in the incorporation and manner of implementation of computers in academics. On that thought, Epstein (1993) studied the training requirements of teachers to use technology and identified four critical components of training: practical experience, workshops, models and mentors, and supervisory follow-up. He suggests that as a first step, teachers can explore software that is developmentally appropriate for their classrooms. Teachers can then discuss the potential learning objectives of the programs and activities they could use to integrate particular software in their classrooms. Teachers can also participate in workshops that integrate the developmental theory and research regarding computer use with hands-on experiences. Mentors can also provide teachers with affirmation, support, and suggestions for classroom use. As teachers implement technology into the classroom, their vision of the role of technology in teaching and learning will undoubtedly change. Administrators need to continually support teachers in their quest to discover how technology can best enhance children's learning. Appropriate Computer activities: In the previous chapter, we acknowledged the role of adults especially teachers in the academic life of children, as guides with the power to decide the course of the children's activities, and also the need for their training in this regard. Most often what they are given training on is what type of developmentally appropriate software to use to maximize the computer as an academic tools and its effective incorporation into the curriculum and classroom.. A lot of existing literature stress on the use of software to promote imagination and exploration as a means to learning as opposed to simple drill and practice software , that does not add anything new to a child's world and does not require a computer. (Clements,1994).The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), an organization that sets standards of excellence for programs for children from birth through age eight, has published several articles recommending the use of computers with children ages three and older based on both current research in child development and the professional opinions of early childhood educators. The association suggests that computers should supplement--and not replace--activities and materials such as art, sand, water, books, music, outdoor exploration, socializing with other children etc. It also approves of software that involves the senses by incorporating sound, music, and voice that encourages exploration, imagination, and creativity. Papert (1998) stresses that computers have an impact on children when the computer provides concrete experiences, children have free access and control the learning experience, children and teachers learn together, teachers encourage peer tutoring, and teachers use computers to teach powerful ideas. Developmentally appropriate ways to use computers with 3- and 4-year-olds are different from the ways we use computers in kindergarten and the primary grades. In short, a lot of literature focuses on ideal situations and conditions in which computers should be incorporated in children's lives to optimize the efficacy and prevent any possible negative impacts. But many critics have expressed doubts and concerns about the actual appropriateness of computer use as it exists today. We will see some of that in the next chapter. Concerns about use of computers in academics: There is almost unanimous opinion among educators and researchers (e.g. Hochmann, 1998; NAEYC) about the inappropriateness of computer use for children under 3 years of age. There exists many articles and researches that do not recommend computer incorporation into academics for older children also. One of the most debated of them is the association called Alliance for childhood, a research and child advocacy group, who have released several reports over the years voicing their concerns. In "Fool's Gold: Critical look at Computers and Childhood", Alliance's well publicized report, Alliance claims that computers are a threat to normal developmental processes of young children. The authors claim young children are not yet ready for computer based learning as they learn best through play, tangible materials and hands-on interaction. As children spend more time on computers this displaces their normal learning activities, outdoors time and social interactions that are more stimulating than drill and practice programs. The report does seem to concentrate more on drawbacks of drill and practice software and does not comment on other interactive and constructivist programs. The authors also cite health hazards and developmental problems that computers pose for young children. In this regard damaging effects of the internet, trivial games ,adult material and aggressive advertising are cited. All these damaging effects are well possible in the worst case scenario of computer use that is not representative of most classroom use and responsible home use of computers. All in all ,the sweeping judgments against computers in academics in this particular instance is lacking in moderation and very " one not" in depth as they only quote extreme and particular cases that are also widely acknowledged by computer enthusiasts as unfavorable. Findings: The literature that exists on the subject of computers fall under three categories: 1) Technology enthusiasts who have presented various academic challenges that the introduction of computers has greatly helped to conquer. 2) Anti-technologists who present cases of inappropriate technology use and the negative consequences. 3) Open minded qualitative and quantitative researches that are guided by pure evidence. These are less judgmental and practical as many make suggestions to improve performance and address the possible negative impacts. Due to their rational and moderate approach, the last category was most useful to formulate ideas on the subject. However it is important to note that most of them were school based experiments and software demonstration projects. So they should be weighed against large representative national samples in order to be able to draw definite conclusions from them .This is something researchers and education consultants should look into in the future. While there is a large quantity and aid available to train teachers in technology use for academics, I find that there is no such help for parents. New channels and the media in general talk a lot about the possible dangers of the internet. However there is no dissemination of information about the right kind of computer use solely for the purpose of academics. This is definitely an area that should be probed more deeply into as today almost every middle class and upper homes own a PC that the kids have access to. One recommendation in this regard would be for schools and trained teachers to make a list of appropriate software that could help achieve the child's academic goals for that year for the parents' review, just as most schools do for books. Another recommendation for educators, who have genuine concern about computer uses, would be to engage in more active, empirical research about possible negative consequences instead of mere theories. One suggestion would be to probe into how the increased academic instruction through computers might cause children to be glued to the screen for long periods of time resulting in lack of physical activity and health issues particularly with respect to eye sight and ergonomics. Conclusion: Computer in itself is not a fool proof solution to a child's academic success. While being mindful of the limitations of technology, it is foolish to ignore the uses. The positive reviews and success stories of several software programs on children's learning and development are too important to be ignored. Also, in today's world where computers are a part and parcel of our everyday lives, delaying a child's use of computer might also delay their mastery of technology, putting them at a disadvantage with respect to other computer savvy kids. But use of computers with children just like use of books, toys or television comes with a certain sense of responsibility for the adult. If a teacher or a parent decides to go ahead with initiation of children into the world of computers, he or she should bear in mind that it is a mere tool and should be used in good judgment and moderation. Computers are best used as a supplement and not as a replacement of essential childhood activities like reading, art, play etc. Computers are highly effective learning tools to achieve literacy, cognitive and social skills when used with appropriate software, trained adults, suitable environment and curriculum. Hence we conclude that the use of computers works best when supervising adults take full responsibility for the course, method, and result of children's computer use whether academic or otherwise. Works Cited Becker,H.J.(2000). Findings from the Teaching, Learning, and Computing Survey:Is Larry Cuban RightEducation Policy Analysis Archives.Vol 8.Number 51.ISSN 1068-2341. Blanton, W. E., Moorman, G.B., Hayes, B.A., & Warner, M.L. (1997). Effects of participation in the Fifth Dimension on far transfer. Journal of Educational Computing Research, 16, 371-396. Clements,D.H.(1994).The Uniqueness of the computer as a learning tool:Insights from research and practice.In J.L. Wright & D.D.Shade(Eds.).Young Children:Active learners in a technological age.Washington, DC:NAEYC.ED 380 242. Clements, D.H., and Battista, M.T. (1992). The development of a Logo-based elementary school geometry curriculum (Final Report) NSF Grant No.: MDR-8651668. Buffalo, NY/Kent, OH: State University of New York at Buffalo/Kent State University. Cordes,C. & Miller,E.(Eds).(1999).Fool's Gold:A Critical Look at Computers in Childhood.Alliance for Childhood.Retrieved from . Epstein,A.S.(1993).Training for Quality.Ypsilanti,MI:High/Scope Press.ED 370674. Haugland, S.W., & D.D. Shade. 1994. Software evaluation for young children. In Young children: Active learners in a technological age, eds. J.L. Wright & D.D. Shade, 63-76. Washington, DC: NAEYC. Li,X. & Atkins,M.S.(2004).Early Childhood Computer Experience and Cognitive and Motor Development.Pediatrics.Vol.113.No.6,pp. 1715-1722. Miller MD, McInerney WD. Effects on achievement of a home/school computer project. J Res Technol Educ.1995; 27 :198 -210 Morrison,G.S.(2001).Early Childhood Education Today.Upper Saddle River.NJ.Merrill Prentice Hall. National Association for the Education of Young Children.(1996,Sept).NAEYC position state,emt:Technology and young children-ages three through eight.Young Children.51(5).Also available at www.naeyc.org. Papert, S. (1998, September 1). Technology in schools: To support the system or render it obsolete. Milken Exchange of Education Technology [Online]. Available: http://www. mff.org/edtech/article.taf_function=detail&Content_uid1=106 [2000, January 25]. U.S. Congress. Office of Technology Assessment. (1995). Teachers and Technology making the connection. (OTA-EHR-616). Washington, DC: GPO. ED 386 155. Read More