Posts published in January, 2016

Engagement vs. Curriculum: Are We Limiting Ourselves?

The reading from Hirsh-Pasek, et al. surveyed a range of educational media, primarily focusing on young children and apps. It cites research to argue that children learn best when the learning is active, engaged, meaningful, socially interactive, and in the service of a learning goal. The definition of each of these terms is then explored… Read more Engagement vs. Curriculum: Are We Limiting Ourselves?

Week 3 Discussion - Phoebe Shang

The piece by Miller and Warschauer, especially the part where they discuss future research on E-reading features, reminds me of my reading experience when I was a little girl. Back then, whenever I read a story book or watched cartoons on TV, I always had an urge to change part of the plot or some… Read more Week 3 Discussion - Phoebe Shang

Social interaction in e-reading

Based on the study of Hirsh-Pasek et al., social interaction in apps includes face-to-face interaction in the same physical space, communication through technologies in virtual space, and parasocial relations with characters. It is interesting that in the e-reading space, little social interaction is involved. Research done by Miller mentioned some benefits of parents reading together with… Read more Social interaction in e-reading

Week 3 Discussion

In Families Matter, Takeuchi concludes that most media was originally designed for adult use and later adapted for children’s cognitive capacities. This design process becomes alarming with the trending normalcy of content streaming. Takeuchi reveals “children’s internet use is monitored or limited in 97% of homes…only 3% let their kids freely surf the web” (24). However, new… Read more Week 3 Discussion

Tech-Enhanced Storybooks - Lisa Goochee

Benefits and Pitfalls of Multimedia and Interactive Features in Technology-Enhanced Storybooks: A Meta-Analysis It was interesting to read the piece by Takacs, Stuart, and Bus on the interactive media in technologically enhanced story books. The differences between multimedia features of text, storybook interactivity, or just audio were interesting regarding cognitive load and memory or comprehension of text. It makes a… Read more Tech-Enhanced Storybooks - Lisa Goochee

Holistic design for new technologies

I love the idea of designing technology with the entire family in mind, and as I parent I appreciate the recommendation of “guilt-free” parenting using technology. This resonated with me, because my wife and I are actually taking the other extreme when it comes to technology for our daughter and the idea of a more… Read more Holistic design for new technologies

On the importance of paper for focus

While reading about the impact of e-readers on literacy, I couldn’t help but think of the “distraction” that the devices offer to readers and how this can impact their learning. With paper, you are kind of “stuck” with the single dimensional content and this has the effect of focusing the reader on the task at… Read more On the importance of paper for focus

DQC Week 3 - Families Matter

Lori M. Takeuchi provides an incredibly interesting looking into how parents view and experience the media their children interact with. Takeuchi urges readers to recognize potential for learning from and communicating through digital media. The case studies mentioned in the paper illustrate how children communicate on the web, play with siblings, learn from their parents, teach… Read more DQC Week 3 - Families Matter

Could instant information be bad for generation?

On pp. 13-14, Miller and Warschauer discuss the pros and cons of assistive ebook features such as read-aloud and built-in dictionaries. They say that such features can aid in reader engagement and understanding, while noting concerns that they might be doing the work for learners. Read-aloud may be too much handholding for learners who should… Read more Could instant information be bad for generation?

DQC Week 3 - Hirsh et al. and early learning

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this incredibly rich piece by Hirsh et al, who provides a concise evidence-based structure for how we evaluate an “educational” app. I was particularly curious regarding one of the final sections in which Hirsh et al discuss scaffolding exploration towards learning goals: “Bonawitz and Schultz presented 4-year-olds with a toy that… Read more DQC Week 3 - Hirsh et al. and early learning