All this research on how quickly technology is evolving is
making my head spin! I wonder if we will be able to keep up with the
techies of tomorrow. I look at my elders and think....please let it be easier for me to adapt when I hit their age. By then there should be an
app for that, right?
Take a look at this 2.5 year old navigating the iPad with ease.
My son is the same way at 2.5 years old and so are many of his cousins. Their ability to navigate technology at such a young age continues to amaze me and their excitement and engagement with these tools is fun to watch.
Watching this video, I noticed that the young girl seems to have a short attention span. She plays one game in each app and moves on to the next. My son likes to flip quickly through them as well. This lead me to wonder, will the speed of technology create students with shorter attention spans or is this typical for this age group? What are your thoughts?
From what I learned in Child Psychology classes, children at a certain age are sensory sponges. The can absorb so much more content and information much quicker than adults can. However, the retention and understanding of the content develops in later childhood. For younger children, they need to see how things work, and they also need to have tangible learning experiences. The iPad is a perfect tool to teach motorskills which is so important for young children. I wouldnt worry that it would affect children, much like how we as children (the 1970-1990's born) had television to baby sit us. We watched the screen and our minds processed so much information. However, what's different is the interaction aspect with the iPad. the Ipad definitely allows more interaction development as compared to a TV. I think its perfectly okay to let children use technology when their younger, just make sure you have supervision settings turned on. The current iPad update (iOS6) allows accessibility features to prevent apps from closing, or certain apps from loading.
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