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)

Record of assessment moderation practice (RAMP): survey software as a mechanism of continuous quality improvement

In higher education, assessment integrity is pivotal to student learning and satisfaction, and, therefore, a particularly important target of continuous quality improvement. This paper reports on the preliminary development and application of a process of recording and analysing current assessment moderation practices, with the aim of identifying areas in need of improvement. Specifically, survey software was used to create a record keeping strategy in which unit coordinators documented the assessment moderation and integrity practices in each unit during each study period. Such an online survey approach to record keeping was amenable to data analysis with statistical software, which facilitated identification of trends and anomalies. Instructional staff responded well to the initiative. As is typically the case with monitoring of behaviour, improvements in assessment moderation practices were immediately apparent

Learning, development, and home digital media use among 6 to 8 year old children

Young school children commonly use a range of digital media technologies including television, video games, and the Internet. Parents of 40 children in first and second grade completed a questionnaire that queried: 1) demographics, 2) number of home digital media devices, and 3) extent and nature of child use of those devices. Teachers who taught these first and second grade students completed a rating scale on the school achievement and developmental ability of participating children. The pattern of correlations among measures of child achievement/ability and measures of teacher-reported internet literacy and parent-reported home digital media use suggests that internet use has many positive associations and that playing video games and watching television have some negative associations. For example, children’s mathematics skills were postively correlated with use of the Internet but negatively correlated with televsion viewing. In some cases, children who used the Internet alone appeared more competent than children who used the Internet with an adult. Digital media use during childhood is a complex phenonema with a range of potential outcomes. Simplistc approaches are counterproductive

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

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

K-12 Education, Pedagogy and Student Achievement

K-12 Education, Pedagogy and Student Achievement is a study of traditional public schools and charter schools in New York City. The project takes District 2 in Manhattan and District 23 in Brooklyn as its focus in consideration of the effects of difference on student learning. This project argues for constructivist pedagogies in K-12 learning to produce literacy and equity in under-resourced school

Self-Esteem and Use of the Internet Among Young School-Age Children

The literature suggests a relationship between technology use and self-esteem. Such research has failed to consider young school-aged children and their use of the internet, particularly across contexts. Thirty-eight children aged 6 to 8 years rated the level and nature of their internet use (email, instant message, play games, visit websites) at home, school and in the community (i.e., at someone else’s house). They also rated items that measured home, school and peer self-esteem. Instant messaging at school explained 21% of the differences in school self-esteem. As children tended to report instant messaging at school, they also tended to report the highest school-based self-esteem. Instant messaging at someone else’s house explained 11% of the differences in home self-esteem. As children tended to report instant messaging at someone else’s house, they also tended to report the lowest home self-esteem. Visiting websites at someone else’s house explained 10% of the differences in peer self-esteem. As children tended to report visiting websites at someone else’s house, they also tended to report the highest peer self-esteem. Internet use during the early school years is related to children’s sense of self and mediated by context

Traditional literacy skills and internet use among 8 to 12 year old children

Ninety children in third through sixth grade attending an elementary school in western Canada completed a 15-item rating scale of their Internet use across home, school, and community contexts. Children's literacy skills were assessed with standardized measures of reading fluency and sentence comprehension and teacher ratings of reading and writing ability. Results suggest that Internet use during childhood is a complex behavior that varies across children and across contexts. Instant messaging and community-based Internet use during childhood were associated with decreased literacy skills, while other applications used at home and school were associated with increased literacy skills

Real-time versus delayed-time CMC: Objective and subjective impact on learning

Course management systems such as Blackboard include two distinct modes of web-based discussion, -- real-time and delayed-timed. Both communication formats are promoted as having both advantages and disadvantages with respect to student learning and satisfaction. Ninety-three university students discussed two case studies using two real-time Blackboard chat and two case studies using delayed-time Blackboard discussion. Mastery of case study content was determined via objective examination items and student preference for CMC mode was surveyed. An ABAB research design allowed for comparison of student achievement across communicative conditions (e.g., A = delayed-time discussion followed by an examination; B = real-time discussion followed by an examination). In every contrast of real-time and delayed-time CMC mode, student achievement on objective examination items was equivalent. Many students (43% of the sample) reported the perception that real-time CMC facilitated their learning more than delayed-time CMC. However, such students were at a learning disadvantage, as measured by objective examination test performance, when using that CMC mode. Consequently, results of the current investigation do not support the educational implementation of real-time CMC without corresponding implementation of delayed-time CMC and mechanisms to ensure that students do not rely entirely on real-time text-based communication to master course content