This course is an introduction to how children use digital technologies, such as mobile applications, digital games and computers, and what they learn from these experiences. The course draws
on debates about screen time to critically examine and present evidence about the effects of digital technologies on children’s learning and development. It concludes with a set of evidence-based recommendations about how adults (such as parents and
teachers) should engage with and manage children’s interactions with technology.
Technology has become part of our, and our children’s lives in the form of computers, mobile devices, smartphones and a lot more others. Increasingly, more children have their own mobile phone or device such as a tablet, watch television on their own device, play digital games for a few hours per week, and use websites such as YouTube. Children make up a third of internet users around the world.
These technologies are new to our children’s lives, the way radio and television might have been new to our childhood. These technologies have raised concerns and ongoing debate about potential benefits and harms, especially when used at a young age. News is populated with headlines such as “Are tablets ha rming our children’s ability to read and write?” and “Are video games changing children’s brain?”.
What most of us are likely not aware of is that these concerns are not new but rather recurring; they have been with us for decades triggered by the appearan ce and popularity of new inventions, such as the radio, or years after the television. This free course, Children’s experiences with digital technologies will look closely to these debates, zooming into both the “optimists” and the “pessimists’ perspective and assessing the validity of arguments often made. It will achieve that by referencing studies with children and what they have shown about the effects of different technologies on children’s development.
This free course will bring to the fore the rol e of adults that is, parents, teachers, or other guardians in resolving these debates. Like books, toys, exercising and travelling, technologies are part of a larger ecosystem; they are one more resource in the environment in which our children grow and de velop. Seen our children enticed by technologies may make us feel worried, uncomfortable or even negative about them.
It is at this point that we should pause and think: are we aware of what our children are doing with technologies, what they may be feelin g or learning when interacting with them? And if so, have we provided some guidance and support to our children about how they should use technology in order to get the most out of it? It is up to us the grownups to monitor how our children are intera cting with technologies, what they are watching or playing, and what their overall experience looks like.
It is up to us to ensure that technologies are enriching childhood and supporting children’s learning and wellbeing. In this free course, you will find out how to help your child to choose technologies, how to monitor their time in front of a screen and h ow the use of technology could trigger meaningful parentchild interactions.
