The Effect of Mobile Devices on Young Learners

Children Interacting With Tablet Technology. [Photography]. Retrieved from Encyclopædia Britannica ImageQuest. 
http://quest.eb.com/search/115_3921293/1/115_3921293/cite

Are mobile devices helpful or detrimental for young children? 

This is a hot topic right now for multiple reasons. Firstly, we all care about our children and want to do what's best for them. Secondly, mobile devices are definitely biased towards receiving good reviews (and profit) for their 'educational' apps; while many parents & professionals unsure of the effects these devices have on their kids can all-too-soon deny any benefits the devices may produce. Thirdly, "research regarding the impact of this portable and instantly accessible source of screen time on learning, behavior, and family dynamics has lagged considerably behind its rate of adoption" (Radesky, Schumacher & Zuckerman, 2015). In other words, there is not sufficient research from this new technology to confidently state the positive and/or negative effects mobile devices on young learners.

I recently read two seemingly opposing articles on this topic:

1. Researchers: Using an iPad or smartphone can harm a toddler’s learning and social skills
2. No, research does not say that ‘iPads and smartphones may damage toddlers’ brains’

Here is a summary of the first article (from The Washington Post): 
Mobile devices are becoming more commonly used by young children, which begs the question of whether or not this is a good thing for healthy development. Current information from the journal Pediatrics, shows that although there is little research that has been done related to this topic, there are indeed some negative effects, as well as some positive, that mobile devices can have on the development of children. Mobile devices cannot replace (and may even impede) the skills children develop through real life activities like face-to-face interaction and unstructured playtime.

Here is a summary of the second article (from The Guardian):
The above article is an unprofessional, exaggerated account of the Pediatric journal's information. The Pediatric journal in fact is quite neutral, showing some positive and negative effects mobile devices can have on children, but emphasizing the lack of research to make any conclusive statements on the topic. The above article is just the tip of the iceberg of the kind of "scaremongering" that journalists do with information. There are multiple professional sources that say the opposite as the above article. And finally, more research needs to be done in this area so that opinions can be replaced with research data.

After reading these two articles, I made sure to go to the source of their conflict and read the Pediatric journal site myself. It was quite neutral, stating the little amount of research data that has been conducted, and what can result from certain uses and amounts of mobile devices - positive and negative. The author takes a mostly unbiased perspective, but in conclusion has some recommendations to help families avoid the possible negative effects of their children's use of mobile devices.

Both of the above articles were correct, and used the same primary source, but just had different slants. The first one appeared to be more biased and emphasized the negative effects of mobile devices with children, which could be clearly understood from the title. The second article was more concerned about clearly and objectively articulating information from a primary source than anything else.

What I learned from reading these two articles is that a reader should never take a news article at face value without checking its sources. Titles can and are usually emotionally charged to catch the reader's eye, but can be quite biased or misleading, which I discovered from reading these articles.
The farther information strays from a primary source, the more opinionated and subjective it tends to become. 

So to answer the original question I asked at the beginning of this post - "Are mobile devices helpful or detrimental for young children?" My opinion is that a parent should use common sense, do their homework and research primary data sources on the topic, and then come up with a plan that they feel is a healthy, balanced approach that is best for their child.

Sources

Etchells, P. (2015). No, research does not say that 'iPads and smartphones may damage toddlers' brains. The Guardian. Retrieved from https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2015/feb/02/no-research-does-not-say-that-ipads-and-smartphones-may-damage-toddlers-brains

McCoy, T. (2015). Researchers: Using an iPad or smartphone can harm a toddler's learning and social skills. The Washington Post. Retrieved from https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2015/02/02/using-an-ipad-or-smartphone-can-harm-a-toddlers-brain-researchers-says/

Radesky, J. S., Schumacher, J., & Zuckerman, B. (2015). Mobile and Interactive Media Use by Young Children: The Good, the Bad, and the Unknown. Pediatrics, 135(1). Retrieved from

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/135/1/1

Inquiry Based Learning - 1st Week

I have greatly enjoyed this first week of learning about inquiry based learning because it totally makes sense as an effective learning method to use! To have a learning environment in which students take more ownership of their learning, ask genuine questions of curiosity, and are ‘guided on the side’ by their teacher has always been a goal of mine. To have motivated students is always a teacher’s goal, because that’s when students will really learn and remember their learning.

I really like Inquiry Page’s (2010) defense for inquiry based learning - “All learning begins with the learner. What children know and what they want to learn are not just constraints on what can be taught; they are the very foundation for learning.” Without investment from the student, the likelihood of them putting something into long-term memory is less than ideal.

I found myself agreeing on another point that Inquiry Page brought up – that a teacher’s (and community’s) job is to direct and mentor a student’s questions and learning towards the benefit of the community. To be more specific, Inquiry Page (2010) describes a simple, doable process:o   Ask – question out of curiosity, identify problem
o   Investigate – research, study, experiment, observe, re-question
o   Create – make connections & synthesize info to create new ideas
o   Discuss – share new ideas, give & receive feedback, compare
o   Reflect – look at big picture, analyze what was learned/created, determine new questions to investigate…
 This week’s study on inquiry based learning was another great reminder for me to not let myself slip into the all-too-comfortable lecturing role that traditional education uses to share information. I like to lecture and convey what I feel is important information to my students, and there is a time and place for that. But I also want to make sure to be more intentional about letting student questions and curiosity affect where the learning journey goes.

Now that I have become more confident about the definition and process of inquiry based learning, I want to see it in action. More importantly, I want to obtain some sample formal and informal assessment tools to use with this process, since it sounds more like project-based learning, which requires more self assessments, rubrics, and checklists, compared to traditional learning.

Sources

Inquiry Page. (2010). Definition of Inquiry. Retrieved from http://www.cii.illinois.edu/InquiryPage/inquiry/definition.html

Inquiry Page. (2010). Inquiry Process. Retrieved from http://www.cii.illinois.edu/InquiryPage/inquiry/process.html

Sustaining Digital Literacy Introduction

Teaching is a challenging and rewarding profession. I'm so grateful that I have been able to do it for 9 years now, but not without considerable effort and help. In addition to all the teachers, mentors, parents, students and supervisors that have shaped and supported my educational journey, I have learned a lot from professional growth seminars, websites, and social media.

Here are the organizations that I have found to share valuable content in seminars:

• Bureau of Education & Research (BER)
• Every seminar I've attended from BER is packed with great ideas & resources.
• Adventist Education
• As my employer, they have always had very relevant information for me to learn.
• Imagine Easy Solutions
• They have an excellent set of free professional development videos online.

Besides just searching for what I need on Google, here are the websites that I have used the most for teaching resources:

• Kathy Schrock's Guide to Everything
• She has links to a LOT of useful educational tools!
• Discovery Education
• I mostly use the science & social studies videos w/handouts for my class.
• Google Apps for Education
• My students and I use these everyday!
• Common Sense Media
• This is a great resource site for online media, tools, games & digital citizenship.
• ETA Hand 2 Mind
• They have great math manipulatives.
• Evan-Moor
• They have daily language workbooks.
• Teacher Created Resources
• I really like their Writing Workshop book.
• Khan Academy
• My students enjoy the math activities and coding tutorials.

As far as specific people that I look to for support, that would be, first and foremost, my wife. She is a high school math teacher, so we have a lot of great educational conversations. She is a great sounding board, helps me tackle issues from a broader perspective, and affirms my decisions. Without her, I would probably need to see a counselor regularly! :)

Other priceless souls who have supported me over the years have been my direct supervisors, board chairmen, mentor teachers, and pastor. 

When I want to learn more about an up-and-coming idea, I have a couple friends that always seem on top of the latest educational & technological trends. The first is @AaronNKoleda. In working side by side with him (and online) on the NAD Elementary Technology Standards, we became friends and explored new tech ideas together. He specifically helped me start implementing a makerspace & genius hour environment in my classroom. I also consider my mother-in-law, Jeane Lutz, a wise mentor. Having taught multi-grades and most subjects for 25+ years, she knows a lot and always has neat ideas with math, language arts, and technology in the classroom.

Besides the above two people, I've made a lot of great contacts through Twitter and Google+ that have given me great ideas and advice. The e-Nable Google+ Community has specifically helped me learn a lot about 3D printing, especially about constructing body-powered hand prostheses.

As I have experimented in the classroom with new ideas or technologies, I have faced the most common challenge of finding time to first learn about the idea or tool, then decide and figure out how it might help my students learn, plan how to use it in class, and last of all, evaluate its effectiveness. With all those time-consuming factors, searching for or hearing about a new idea or tool can be pretty daunting. But as my mentor teachers always told me, I try to improve just one subject each school year, and make only 1 lesson during the day special. Otherwise, I would have burned out long ago.