I ran across an Electronic Schools article yesterday summarizing the position of those who advocate that early use of computers in schools is damaging. I am not certain at this point what the context for this discovery was – perhaps an analysis of games that might be given as gifts for the holidays. The article outlines a number of possible problems when young students (lower than grade 2) work with computers. The concerns involve physical problems associated with posture and repetitive movements, isolation, and learning limitations. The argument associated with the position on learning bothers me a bit. The position essentially argues that early uses of technology tend to be too abstract and too engaging. Yes — that is too engaging. Students want to spend too much time with typical computer activities and get too involved in the activities rather than thinking for themselves.
Advocates for limited access argue that young learners need ” … lots of direct, hands-on experience, creative play” – blocks, clay, sand, and other objects. Just for the sake of argument – it sounds like if you give kids really dull stuff, they have to find a way to make it fun.` If you give them activities that are already fun and engaging, they will not exercise their creativity. An extended discussion is provided in the Alliance for Children report.
I think educators AND parents need to consider some of these issues. However, I also tend to reject extreme positions. The idea that young children would be denied access to computers until third grade seems to have little merit. I have been in enough classrooms to recognize that the “ideal classroom” providing creative play, engaging interaction, etc. is seldom a continuous reality. This seems one of those situations in which “an ideal” is being compared to a “worst case scenario” – neither situation is actually very common.
A side-bar: I grew up on a farm on a gravel road in Iowa. A quarter mile down the road was another farm. One of my best friends in high school lived on that farm. We went our separate ways when we left for college and probably have seen each other 3-4 times in the last 30 years. The article I mention above describes a book called “Breaking down the digital walls” written by Dr. Lowell Monke of Wittenberg University in Springfield, Ohio. Lowell was the farm kid who lived down the road and graduated from high school with me. Strange we would both end up as educators writing books about technology. Strange we would end up with some very different ideas.
