Children and Technology: A Mind-Melting Disaster or a Match Made in Heaven

Hi again!

The other day, I was able to attend a webinar featuring Dr. Elanna Yalow, an expert on early childhood education and the owner of several early education facilities (they're like daycare's on educational steroids). The webinar lasted 3 hours, so she was able to cover a lot, but there was one thing she talked about that has really stuck in my mind and given me cause to pause.

She told a story, wherein she had been contacted at one point about having her facilities become one of the flagship daycare's for Michelle Obama's Let's Move initiative, but in the end she was turned down for one simple reason: her daycare's had computers and didn't limit the children's access.

This, it turns out, goes against one of the central tenets of the Let's Move initiative:

 No TV or media screen time for children under age 2. Limit screen time for older children to no more than 30 minutes per week during child care, and ensure older children have no more than one to two hours of quality screen time per day overall. (emphasis added. Source.)

Now, political agendas aside, I have begun to wonder if this story points to maybe another problem - What do we think of when we talk about children and technology or media?

If I may, I think this represents the stereotype well:

Or  maybe this:

Or maybe even the more forward thinking among us may think of this:

And I have to admit, that if all technology has to offer children is represented in these photographs - if this really is all that technology can offer the educational system - then I am with Mrs. Obama in saying to keep our kids away from it.

But I have to wonder if that's how it has to be.

I believe that technology will never replace an actual human teacher, that media can't compensate for real human interaction, and that media text (no matter how dynamic) will never replace true and heartfelt conversation.

But I also don't believe that media or technology are inherently enemies to the healthy development of children. I just think we've had some pretty bad examples of it so far. Even the best examples have far underperformed when compared with no media at all (in situations where other things, like books or parents, are available).

I can, within the foreseeable future, imagine classrooms with interactive educational tools that could really do some good, powered by recent innovations in technology that present in the Xbox Kinect, Tablet Computer, GPS tracking devices, etc. that could really involve children in safe and educational activities, instead of allowing them to sit passively in front of a screen. It seems plausible that our schools could generate standardized, real-time reports in order to allow parents to know exactly how their child is progressing and informing them where best to supplement the child's learning through lessons at home.

For me, really what this comes down to is that we need developers in children's media and technology tools to show us some stuff that will change our (and the people in charge of Let's Move) minds about what technology can do for education.

And I guess that really means I need to get to work... unless anyone else who is reading this falls into that category.

So what do you think? Can (or should) media or technology realistically be used in Pre-K and Kindergarten classrooms for anything other than entertainment? Comment and let me know!