The Ecology of Internet Use during Middle Childhood: Physical, Social, Emotional and Cognitive Development

The ecological techno-microsystem provides a comprehensive theoretical framework for organizing the effects of internet use on child development. Ninety children in grades 3 through 6 rated their uses of the internet. Parents and teachers rated each child’s level development. Using stepwise regression analysis, the eight measures of child development (i.e., social, emotional, physical and cognitive development rated by parents and teachers) were treated as dependent variables and child rating of internet use (i.e., five items for each of home, school and community use) were treated as independent variables. Various patterns of internet use related to various patterns of child development across all domains, although the most enduring relationships were between internet use and cognitive and social development. Results provide preliminary support for the ecological techno-microsystem

Non-users of Internet in the information society

Several surveys of Russian attitudes towards the Internet are examined. An official surveyor shows that the Internet audience is constantly growing in Russia. But surveys of ‘ordinary people’ demonstrate a symptom of Internet ‘hate’: many prefer to escape totally from social media and the Internet space. This audience needs to be investigated in order to answer the question: “are ‘non-users’ just ordinary ‘socio-phobic individuals’ or is their attitude a real trend in society and a new social behavior”. This article is a preliminary investigation that does not provide answers to this question, but aims to open a discussion. The population of provincial Russia is a very special object of exploration with respect to their attitudes toward Internet because of three important factors: 1) recent penetration of the Internet in social practice; 2) strong tradition of collective life, making social media relatively unimportant; 3) special informational needs excluding the Internet as a satisfying means of information

Tactile input features of hardware: Cognitive processing in relation to digital device

Three relatively distinct types of devices have characterized the digital revolution; 1) the personal computer of the 1990s, 2) the mobile phone in the first decade of the new millennium and, most recently, 3) the tablet computer. Socio-cognitive theorists maintain that use of tools and technologies over time, changes the nature of human mental processes. For example, computer technology affords increased opportunities for cognitive stimulation (e.g., played games and reading) which, with prolonged use and in a general sense, improves human intellectual capabilities. While personal computers, mobile phones and tablet computers differ in terms of screen size and portably, touchscreen input may be particularly relevant to cognition. This paper reviews recent research which establishes that use of personal computers and mobile phones is associated with improved human cognition. Since tablet computers have penetrated popular culture in less than two years, their effect on cognitive processing remains largely speculative. To some extent, research findings on the cognitive impact of personal computers and mobile phones might reasonably be generalized to tablet computers, particularly the suggestion that technology increases cognitive stimulation which, over time, improves human cognitive processes. However, increased tactile connection with digital devices, as is the case with touchscreen technology, might reasonably be assumed to increase the impact of tools on human cognition. The use of hands and fingers is critically related to human brain functioning and evolution

Learning style and digital activity: an ecological study

In order to understand student engagement in higher education through the use of digital technologies, it is necessary to appreciate the broader use of differing technologies. Forty-eight first-year university students completed an online survey that queried patterns of digital activity across home, school and community contexts and that included rating scale items that measured learning style (i.e., active-reflective, sensing-intuitive, visual-verbal, sequential-global). Results suggest that students vary widely in digital activities and that such variation is related to differences in learning style. For example, active learners were more likely than reflective learners to engage in digital activities in the community and users of some specific application, as opposed to non-users, were more likely to be verbal than visual learners. Implications for instructional applications of digital technology in higher education are presented

The ecology of interactive learning environments: Situating traditional theory

In educational discourse on human learning (i.e. the result of experience) and development (i.e. the result of maturation), there are three fundamental theoretical frameworks, – behaviourism, cognitivism and constructivism, each of which have been applied, with varying degrees of success, in online environments. An ecological framework of human learning and development in interactive learning environments is proposed. Such an inclusive paradigm organizes the fundamental theoretical assumptions of behaviourism (i.e. automated learning), cognitivism (i.e. recall, understanding, analysis, synthesis, evaluation, creativity, problem solving) and constructivism (i.e. private and shared meaning). Based on review of the literature, behaviourism is best conceptualized as a learning theory; constructivist theoretical assumptions are best applied to cognitive development including private online experience (cognitive constructivism) and shared online experience (social constructivism). Cognitivism is a particularly relevant theoretical orientation in understanding both human learning and development in interactive learning environments

A Blended Theoretical Framework for Integration of ICT within Early Year Education: an Overview

This paper describes a blended theoretical framework of socio- cultural theory and Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems model to considerations of integration of ICT in early year’s education. The theories are reviewed and its extended version which uses the idea of different system to help analyse the use of technology in context described. Two model of use computer technology are described: one exploring the use of ICT within various socio-cultural contexts and the other exploring the use of ICT in different geological system. A Sociocultural approach towards the study of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) in early year’s education rejects the view that ICT can be studied in isolation; it must be studied within the broader context in which it is situated. The ecological systems model enables the investigation of numerous issues surrounding the integration of ICT into early year’s education via exploring perspectives of involved stakeholders, at all ecosystemic levels: education officials at the macro- and exo-levels, parents and head teachers at the meso-level, and teachers and children at the micro-level.  This allows for the acquisition of rich and diverse data that provide an in-depth picture of ICT practice in early childhood settings. Keywords: socio- cultural theory, ecological systems model, ICT, Computer technology, Early Years Educatio

Internet use and child development: Validation of the ecological techno-subsystem

Johnson and Puplampu recently proposed the ecological techno-subsystem, a refinement to Bronfenbrenner's theoretical organization of environmental influences on child development. The ecological techno-subsystem includes child interaction with both living (e.g., peers) and nonliving (e.g., hardware) elements of communication, information, and recreation technologies in immediate or direct environments. The theoretical techno-subsystem requires empirical validation. Parents of 128 children in first through sixth grade consented to cognitive developmental assessment of their children and completed questionnaires on children’s use of the Internet at home and family socioeconomic characteristics. In general, indices of home Internet use accounted for more of the variance in children’s cognitive development than did indices of socioeconomic status. The ecological techno-subsystem furthers our understanding of environmental influences on child development by emphasizing the impact of digital technologies on cognitive growth during childhood

Internet Use and Child Development: The Techno-Microsystem

Ecological systems theory assumes that child development is the consequence of ongoing reciprocal and spiraling interactions between the child and his/her microsystem (immediate home, school, and community environments). The increasing presence of digital technologies in children's immediate environments suggests the need for the proposed theoretical "techno-microsystem". The ecological techno-microsystem situates the developing child in the context of Internet use in home, school, and community environments. Preliminary validation of the ecological techno-microsystem requires description of children's uses of the Internet across three environments and comprehensive measures of child development. Ninety-one children (37 males and 54 females; mean age 10.7 years) completed rating scales of their Internet use. Additionally, parents and teachers completed rating scales of child social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development. Significant correlations between specific uses of the Internet in specific contexts and specific measures of child development support the theoretical utility of the ecological techno-microsystem. The developmental consequences of Internet use varied as a function of elements of the microsystem (e.g., home and school characteristics) and elements of the technology (e.g., instant messaging versus email)

Self-regulated learning in digital environments: theory, research, praxis

From a metacognitive perspective, self-regulated learning (SRL) refers to the cyclical processes of understanding the required task, developing a plan and implementing strategies to satisfy task requirements and monitoring the effectiveness of those strategies in achieving the desired outcome. A considerable volume of research establishes that the instructional tools available in digital learning environments are particularly useful in supporting SRL. This paper reviews current theoretical models and recent empirical investigations germane to applications of digital technology to promote SRL. SRL is promoted by teachers who provide instruction architecture that encourages students to ensure that the task is fully understood, select and execute effective plans and strategies and monitor personal progress toward task completion. Such instructional architecture is more readily applied in digital, as opposed to traditional, learning environments. Based upon such review of theoretical and applied research, a comprehensive instructional framework of SRL in digital environments is presented. This framework functions to inform those who design and teach in digital environments to reflect and explicitly address the degree to which their learners have the capacity to self-regulate

Loneliness and Social Internet Use: Pathways to Reconnection in a Digital World?

With the rise of online social networking, social relationships are increasingly developed and maintained in a digital domain. Drawing conclusions about the impact of the digital world on loneliness is difficult because there are contradictory findings, and cross-sectional studies dominate the literature, making causation difficult to establish. In this review, we present our theoretical model and propose that there is a bidirectional and dynamic relationship between loneliness and social Internet use. When the Internet is used as a way station on the route to enhancing existing relationships and forging new social connections, it is a useful tool for reducing loneliness. But when social technologies are used to escape the social world and withdraw from the “social pain” of interaction, feelings of loneliness are increased. We propose that loneliness is also a determinant of how people interact with the digital world. Lonely people express a preference for using the Internet for social interaction and are more likely to use the Internet in a way that displaces time spent in offline social activities. This suggests that lonely people may need support with their social Internet use so that they employ it in a way that enhances existing friendships and/or to forge new ones