Technology Affordances in Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings

Technology affordances in
Early Childhood Education
An overview of what exists
Amina Charania, Associate Professor, CEIAR, TISS

Brief Survey instructions
let us begin with knowing some of your perspectives on ICT in ECE. A short survey form is given
below. This survey has a few ICT enabled activities, you are requested to select an appropriate type
for each of the activities.
Please follow the link given below:
http://google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfSeYy7Anpg6BVpCrPYixrX_qH05qHqWm_i55BTqhq8XDpzCg
/viewform

What are the popular concerns of using
technology in ECE space?

ICT in ECE space
●Research is bleak-globally
●Most ICT in pre-school age in developed countries is used at home than in educational settings
●Market for ICT tools and services is abundant
●Misconceptions and anxiety without much research backup
●Screens and games dominate the popular perceptions of ICT in ECE
●TPD in-service and pre-service almost nil
●Home and outside education settings have fair influence
●Policies have not much to say
Amina Charania, CEIAR, TISS

ICT for preschoolers: Popular hazards
documented and clarified in literature
1. Long exposure to screens affecting vision
2. Restricting mobility leading to lack of hands on and obesity
3. Developmentally Inappropriate hardware, software and ergonomics
affecting body posture, finer and gross motor skills, cognitive and
socio-emotional development
4. Isolating children from socializing and collaboration
5. Affecting play and play-way method
6. Autistic tendency- repeatedly responding to stimuli
7. Baby sitting support for caretakers

Prolonged Exposure to digital screens
• Screens have changed and its types have multiplied over the
years from television, to desktop/laptops/tablets/mobile
phones, etc.
• American Academy of Pediatrics (Christakis, 2014) guidelines
states that television and other entertainment media should
be avoided for infants and children under age 2.
• However, 62% of infants as reported in the 2007 survey had
already broken this rule (Vanderwater et al., 2007)
• Many researchers expressed that children aged 2 to 5 should
not spend more than 40 minutes at a given time on screens,
and not more than 2 hours screen time a day (National
Association for the Education of Young Children, Neuman et
al., 2001)
• Mixed results on active background television
• Many experts expressed that it is not just the screen time, it is
the type of activities and content on the screen that matters.
• Thus, passive watching of movies, a drill and practice activity
and a violent game versus other constructive engagements
with the screen

Prolonged exposure to screens
“The model of the passive child in front of the
computer screen only holds until one has actually
experienced young children interacting with any form
of technology, whether it is a programmable robot, a
digital camera or a computer. Immediately, one
witnesses the engagement, the social interactivity
and collaboration, the creativity that is stimulated
and the potential of ICT for young children’s learning
becomes very clear”
Adams and Brindley in Hayes and Whitebread, 2006,
UNESCO, 2010)

Obesity and inactive lifestyle
• Long hours spent indoors with technology that replaces outdoor
activities, overindulgence of the screens can lead to inactive,
sedentary and obese lifestyle in pre-schoolers.
• Many ECE centres were also found to use cartoon and other movies
to babysit children.
• Parents most often use animations and games on screens to distract
children
• Over indulgence of screens is often reported for non educational or
disciplining activities.

Technology prescribing-teacher directed pedagogy
● Many ICT tools potentially prompts a teacher directed pedagogy.
• For e.g. Interactive white-boards used by the trs, ppts, playing a video on
the screen for students, etc.
● This type of ICT is teacher directed and unfit for preschool which
largely has a play way method and student centric approach
● Prolong use of teacher directed ICT is harmful for any level
● This is due to dearth of student-centered ICT practices not
necessary tools
● Isolation: Prolonged solitary game play could lead to lack of social
interaction.

Type of ICT Use for Learning (PACC)
Student Use
Create with ICT
Active
Interaction with
ICT resources
Passive
receivers of
ICT resources
Communicate
with
Technologies
Teacher Use of
ICT
Teachers Assess & Selects Technology
Tools & integrates meaningfully with
Curricular and Pedagogy
PACC Model, Charania, 2018, 2020

Developmentally inappropriate design
• Ergonomics: prior research has pointed out appropriate furniture, suitable lighting,
safe arrangement of the computer corner different countries may have different
regulations).
• Example: The child should sit upright and feet flat on the floor, the child’s forearms
should be horizontal at 90 degrees relative to the upper arm, the eye level, etc. etc.
But technology changes rapidly, and so does ergonomics, making suggestions
outdated

Inappropriate Software
Example, Drill and Practice: Involves learning based on repetition, memory responding to a set of
stimuli, expecting reinforcement e.g. a smiling face, a tick or a funny sound)
Used in learning basic skills like spelling, basic maths and language
• Many researchers find drill and practice appropriate in ECE as basic skills are reinforced.
• However, many more find it most used and most less appropriate in early childhood; Should be
used with caution because:
• have very narrow educational aims
• promote a very directive form of teaching
• with the use of an external reward (too much use can lead to a reduction in children’s intrinsic motivation to
learn (Siraj-Blatchford and Whitebread, 2003: 8)
• doesn’t usually explain errors (Plowmann and STEPHENS, 2005)
Now a days developers and designers combine drill and practice with other types, e.g. tutorials,
simulations, short videos, etc.

Developmentally (in)appropriate:
Caution for designers and educators
Finer motor skills and handling devices:
• As fine motor skills develop the use of mouse, swipe a touchscreen, scroll through
pages on a website, press buttons on keyboards, remote controls and mobile phones.
• Using games and other mobile devices becomes possible as they learn to coordinate
movement in both hands at the same time.
Cognitive skills can be reinforced by simple games :
• sort and match items, arrange objects per size, quantity think about routines and
sequences.
• As children start to understand the symbols they can use signs such as ‘stop’, ‘start’ and
‘fast forward’ controls and the icons for their favorite games and websites.
By five, they can generally provide a narrative or commentary to accompany photos or video.
Children of this age may not be able to read continuous text and so designers need to use
alternatives
Children at 5 develop independence, understand rules, become more able to control their
behavior and respond to animations and characters that appeal to their sense of humor.
(UNESCO, 2010) Amina Charania, CEIAR, TISS

Obsession with developmental appropriateness
Restricts:
● Capacity to learn with guidance-may struggle with technicality but
may still learn from the program’s other messages and features
with support
● Curiosity and Creativity to challenge moving beyond one’s level
● Play or use a tool with an older sibling, peer or teacher
(Stephen, Plowman & McPake, 2010)
• AI may help customize levels on the go as per capacity than fixed
developmental stages
• General applications preferred than narrow specific purpose and
age

Play and ICT
Drill and practice games, gives a perception ICT in preschool is all about fill in the blanks, putting numbers in
sequence
• Programmable Toys e.g. bee bots
• Digital virtual contexts
• Outdoor games, technology outdoors is usually not considered but it can build on the potential offered by
outdoor play
• Digital cameras, videos capturing authentic objects and events (factory field zoo trip)
• Outdoor wireless cameras capturing events for children to watch later (birds nesting)
• Ecomobile (testing water quality in a pond)
• Apps mostly used at home in other parts of the world:
• Games which are often explicitly educational in orientation,
• Open content designed to encourage children to generate their own materials, like animations,
stories, video or drawing,
• interactive illustrated storybooks

Learning word software (study by an MA
student)
Use of DATEC framework to assess
• Showed some collaboration in children in pairs
• Drill and Practice software
• Specific purpose and vocabulary-narrow in its purpose
• Repetitive and monotonous-children lose interest after some time
• Not much facilitation from teachers-designed as minimal invasive to
learn words
• Context not relevant to culture nor curriculum

Other affordances ICT offers in ECE
“We do not consider the arguments about whether ICT should appear in an
ECE centre – scepticism about the appropriateness of ICT as a part of the
educational provision for young children, is very rare today. (UNESCO,
2010-12) As stated by Adams and Brindley (Hayes and Whitebread, 2006),
those sceptics usually meant a passive child sitting mindlessly in front of a
computer pressing buttons and being superficially entertained by fancy
graphics on the screen.”
Numerous Opportunities with
• Language learning: Voice synthesizers, story weavers, making movies, role plays, recording/rerecording own
voice and creating dialogues, sub-title creation in movies in different languages
• Math learning: Turtle, Logo, microworlds, gaming
• New literacies: Algorithmic, media, visual
• Assisted learning: More visual aids than hearing, learning and remedial aids leveraging on ICT potential for
automation

Opportunities ECE setting brings for ICT
integration
• Flexible scheduling
• No set curriculum
• Free and imaginative play
• Virtual worlds
• Allowing hands on experimentation
• Switch easily between at home and educational setting

Any standards to achieve?
(Plowman et al. 2012) on what children have learned as a result of their early home
experiences with technology shows that, by the time they enter grade 1:
a. acquired operational competences, such as how to use computers,
televisions, DVD players, mobile phones and games consoles,
b. extending knowledge about and awareness of the world, by using
digital content to find out about topics such as dinosaurs, numbers,
castles or insects.
c. developing dispositions to learn, including persistence, engagement and confidence
d. developing socio--emotional capabilities such as sharing and self--regulation of
behavior
e. learning about the social and cultural roles of technologies in everyday life, including
how they can be used to communicate with family and friends and their role in work,
leisure and study.

Programming by children
The child “teaches” the robot
that he has constructed to play
football
Simple program for a biting
crocodile
Kalas, I. (2010)Amina Charania, CEIAR, TISS

Pre-schoolers Creating Stories, Kalas, 2010
Students creating a story Combining different media
in one story project

DATEC framework for developmental
appropriateness of an ICT tool in ECE

Group Activity
In this activity you will be divided into 2-3 groups and you will be given one
technology enabled activity. Your task will be to analyse the technology driven
activity using “DATEC” framework :
Group 1: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zvmwUV0WEl4
Additional questions:
1. Is this a meaningful use of technology in ECE set up?
2. If you were to alter this technology driven activity, what change will you
suggest for the tool?

Group 2, Drill and Practice: XtraMath- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ArBh-
bIMetw
Additional questions:
1. Is this a meaningful use of technology in ECE set up?
2. If you were to alter this technology driven activity, what change will you
suggest for the tool?
Group 3: Virtual Visit:
Can you find one virtual visit that can be used in ECE and analyse the Field Visit
using “DATEC”framework:
https://www.youtube.com/c/WPBT2/search?query=virtual%20visit ,

Going forward-ICT tools in ECE space
• Technology is ever changing, and the learning spaces will keep evolving
• Screens still dominate the space, its nature and utility may change, for e.g.
multiple screens may emerge the scene
• Hybrid models of digital and non digital tools
• 3D printer in the hands of students-not much explored
• Children will be able to program and construct their own spaces and processes
• Computational thinking with and without computers
• Programming toys like bee bots becoming popular
• However, over emphasis in literature on programming for constructionism-
simple creations by children evidently showcase learners as producers of digital
resources. E.g. photostories, multimedia, short videos, etc.
• Educative in pre-school is debatable

Main References
• Mishra, P., & Koehler, M. J. (2006). Technological pedagogical content knowledge: A framework for
teacher knowledge. Teachers college record, 108(6), 1017-1054.
• Christakis, D. A. (2014). Interactive media use at younger than the age of 2 years: time to rethink the
American Academy of Pediatrics guideline?. JAMA pediatrics, 168(5), 399-400.
• Vandewater, E. A., Rideout, V. J., Wartella, E. A., Huang, X., Lee, J. H., & Shim, M. S. (2007). Digital
childhood: electronic media and technology use among infants, toddlers, and preschoolers. Pediatrics,
119(5), e1006-e1015.
• Mac Donald, G. (2016). Excerpts from original publication in the AMI/USA Journal, 3rd Edition, 2015.
Neuman, S., Copple, C., & Bredekamp, S. (2001). National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Learning to Read and Write: Developmentally Appropriate Practices for Young Children: A Joint Position
Statement of the International Reading Association (IRA) and the National Association for the Education
of Young Children (NAEYC).
• Plowman L. (2016) Learning technology at home and preschool. Wiley Handbook of Learning Technology,
chapter 6, pp.96-112, eds. N. Rushby and D. Surry. Chichester: Wiley
• Kalas, I. (2010). Recognizing the potential of ICT in early childhood education.
• Plowman, L., Stevenson, O., Stephen, C., & McPake, J. (2012). Preschool children’s learning with
technology at home. Computers & Education, 59(1), 30-37.
• Davis, N., Leahy, M., Charania, A., Nordin, H., Orlic, D., Lewin, C., & Lopez-Fernandez, O. (2016, April).
Smart Partnerships in Education: what are they?. In Global Learn (pp. 154-163). Association for the
Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
• Niederhauser, D. S., & Stoddart, T. (2001). Teachers’ instructional perspectives and use of educational
software. Teaching and teacher education, 17(1), 15-31.

Acknowledgements:
• ITE project supported by Tata Trusts
• Sumegh Paltiwale and Ishmeet Kaur, research associates for their support in seeking
resources and help design this presentation
• Arushi Bansal & Nikita Dhokale for designing activity and survey and facilitating

Survey
• Now let us look at the survey we took in the beginning again. Please fill the form again by
following the link:
https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSfDlZUKGxJSexYYyXRcTNUrHoK79nv0qSFU7k4Cf1
5lhfmL9Q/viewform
• Glimpse the results
• Discuss the answers

Technology Affordances in Early Childhood Education (ECE) settings

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