Programmed by Screens

In New York and California, the ALT school relies heavily on technology for instruction and observation of children attending the school. At the ALT school, all children receive a tablet in Pre-K and switch to a laptop as they advance in grade. The New Yorker published an interesting article about the school. The ALT school says that technology allows for extensive observation, documentation, and instruction for children. The ALT school employs technology to target students' needs and passions.

Can educators utilize screens to enhance children's learning?

Most school-age children use screens in school. Should school-age programs provide screens in aftercare settings to facilitate learning for children?

The American Academy of Pediatrics recommendations and research on screens suggest that children under two years consume zero screen time. After two years of age, parents should monitor screen time. A healthy range of access to screens for children is less than two hours per day. Most school-age programs offer play sessions of at least four hours per day. 

How can screens be included in our practice without influencing children's work?

One of the arguments for screens states that people live in a technology-rich society. Learning how to utilize screens at a young age helps children compete for jobs as an adult. Working with school-age children for over twenty years, I have not discovered one child who could not manage technology, and many children utilize technology better than adult educators. Our program rarely uses screens. The children still have proficiency with computers and use them as a tool in their creative work.

In observing programs with regular screen use, a pattern develops where children avoid participation in other activities when screens are available. Even more troubling, educators employ less effective teaching practices when screens assist in instruction. One study at MIT suggests that removing screens from programs improved the quality of teaching. The study followed only adults, but the research highlights implications for our work. If adults teaching adults with screens changes the outcome of the student's work, how can screens in a program impact children who learn from adults? 

Is the distraction of screens overriding the usefulness of screens?

The Guardian published an article on Steiner schools and screens. Steiner inspired schools practice without technology in the classroom. The report states, "research into the effects of technology on learning has yet to demonstrate much in the way of positive results." Many children are overly attracted to screens and act differently towards other children when screens are available. Less socializing, less cooperation, and more competition ensue in the presence of screens. 

Liraz Margalit, Ph.D., said in Psychology Today, "If a child spends time in front of a screen instead of with people, the ability to socialize or learn to socialize is dulled." When screens are present children, move into a focused state and tune out the world.

The debate about screens will go on. Screens are not going away and are becoming smaller and more accessible. Most adults use screens in their work. Maybe as educators, change the access and let children enjoy a world of imagination, creativity, and awe before programming a child's natural gift for discovery with a machine.