Document Type
Article
Publication Date
Fall 2019
Abstract
With technology becoming a prevalent part of daily life, early childhood experts, teachers, and parents have concerns as to what is appropriate for young children to do and use. Research shows both benefits and potential risks associated with technology use. Benefits can include enhanced creativity and collaboration with peers and adults, literacy achievement gains, language and vocabulary development, and opportunities for independence. These benefits generally occur in purposeful situations with developmentally appropriate educational content alongside adult guidance and scaffolding. Risks include health factors, cognitive and behavioral challenges, displacement of traditional developmental activities, and fewer personal interactions. These risks are more prevalent when technology is used in passive manner, with violent or aggressive content, or with developmentally inappropriate requirements. Teachers and parents have a vast amount of research to educate themselves on best practices in the classroom and at home from experts in the medical and early childhood fields. However, in the grand scheme, technology is a fairly new topic to be researched and more time is needed to understand the long term effects.