Children’s multisensory experiences in museums: how olfaction interacts with color

This case study was designed to engage children’s sense of smell through a story-related museum exhibition. Children’s responses to the exhibition, with particular attention to their olfactory perceptions of the odors at the exhibition, were solicited through researcher-child interviews and children’s drawings. Responses from 28 children (girls N = 14, boys N = 14) aged between 4.5–8 years were analyzed after they visited the exhibition using the cross-modal association and multisensory theories. Interview data showed that dark (brown and black) colors elicited children’s negative olfactory associations for both positive and negative odors. Children’s drawings did not seem to make references to the odors at the exhibitions but rather their preferences for the different story characters. We theorize about the associations between smell and colors in children’s responses and distil some key learnings for multisensory museology

Faulty screen time measures hamper national policies: here is a way to address it

Following widespread reliance on online interactions during COVID-19, Western governments are strategizing and launching new plans for children’s use of screens. It is healthy to debate, for example, the ethics of artificial intelligence (AI) or K12 learning loss in relation to children’s “screen time” with social media or educational technologies. However, current screen time debates obscure a central insight from research on children’s digital media: namely that precise and detailed considerations of the content, context and children’s characteristics - as well as the underlying design infrastructure of digital technologies that shape children’s opportunities—are essential for operationally relevant and practical guidelines for the public. In this Opinion article, we reveal methodological shortcomings of screen time measures deriving from the disconnect between the affordances of current and older digital media. We explain how different interpretations of the evidence base led to screen time guidelines in around the world that are, in turn, disconnected from family experiences. To provide a useful proxy to guide national policies, we recommend a measurement of digital media engagement that takes into account attitudes and practices; content and context; short bursts as well as the complexity of children’s overall media usage (Barr et al., 2020) and media’s evolving design affordances

Digital literacies and children’s personalized books: Locating the 'self'

This conceptual article discusses the role of digital literacies in personalized books, in relation to children’s developing sense of self, and in terms of assessing the potential impact of artificial intelligence (AI). Personalized books contain children’s data, such as their name, gender or image, and they can be created by readers or automatically by the publisher. Some personalized books are e-books enhanced with artificial intelligence, and some can be ordered as paperbacks. We discuss this use of children’s personal data in terms of the social location of the self with regard to subjective and objective dimensions. We draw on a map metaphor, in which objective space requires readers to locate themselves in an unknown ‘A-to-B’ space and subjective space provides an individually oriented world of ‘me-to-B’. By drawing on examples of personalized books and their use by parents and young children, we discuss how personalization troubles the borders between readers’ me-to-B and A-to-B space experiences, leading to possible confusion in the sense of self. We conclude by noting that AI-enhanced personalized texts can reduce personal agency with respect to formulating a sense of identity as a child

Digital Literacy and young children: towards better understandings of the benefits and challenges of digital technologies in homes and early years settings. : Policy briefing of DigiLitEY COST Action IS1410 and the Digital Childhoods SIG of the European Early Childhood Research Association.

Non peer reviewe

Fostering children’s agency in their learning futures: Exploring the synergy of generative AI and sensory learning

The discourse surrounding the potential educational transformation brought about by generative AI has largely neglected the sensory aspect of learning. In this position paper, I emphasize the significance of sensory studies and their theoretical foundations of embodiment and multimodality as catalysts for novel perspectives on the intersection of AI and the future of education. I delve into the question of whether generative AI serves as a precursor to a new literacy or merely arises as a consequence of ongoing theoretical advancements in contemporary literacy studies. I argue that the concept of agency, which includes both personal and social aspects, should be central to recognizing the importance of sensory learning as an emerging paradigm in reimagining learning futures