Each year, young children spend more time with interactive screen media such as computers and iPad-style tablet devices. Moreover, children are starting to use these devices at younger ages. Many child-directed mobile applications claim to be educationally valuable, yet we know almost nothing about the potential impact of these newer technologies on young children. A growing body of research suggests that traditional, non-interactive video (television, DVDs) is not educationally valuable for children younger than three years of age. However, some studies suggest that toddlers learn from video if children can influence it with their own behavior. For instance, toddlers are more likely to learn from video when interacting with a person on screen (e.g., during live video chat). What remains to be seen is whether video needs to be socially interactive (i.e., with a real-life social partner) in order for young children to learn. Can video interactivity alone promote learning from screens by young children? If so, how is it effective? With support from the National Science Foundation, the research group led by Heather Kirkorian, Ph.D., of the University of Wisconsin-Madison, will begin to answer these questions. In a series of experiments, these researchers will ask children to learn new words and to find hidden objects using either interactive video (e.g., "Touch the screen to see where I'll hide the sticker") or non-interactive video (e.g., "Watch the screen to see where I'll hide the sticker"). The researchers predict that children younger than three years of age will learn better from the interactive video than from the non-interactive video.
This project will help to inform parents, teachers, policymakers, and other child development experts about the usefulness of educational, interactive media products for young children. This new knowledge will also inform producers about the creation of these products in order to maximize learning. Interactive screens have the potential to succeed where traditional screens have failed to offer any benefit to children younger than three years of age. If interactive screens prove to be educationally valuable for very young children, then curriculum-based mobile applications may hold the same promise to reduce education gaps for at-risk children that educational television programs such as Sesame Street have had for older preschoolers by fostering early learning.
