Why Terminology about Children and Technology Matters

As the Research Director here at Hatch Early Learning, I spend a substantial amount of time reading about children and technology. This includes research, policy, practice, and opinion. I have observed a trend that I feel warrants noting and this is the case of repackaging educational programming as educational technology. I am actually a proponent of high quality educational programming as I have read the research and know that it can indeed support young children’s learning and school readiness, especially for under-resourced children who do not have equitable access to high quality early childhood educational experiences. However, that does not make it educational technology and the main reason is that it is still passive and does not allow for interaction in the same manner that the intersection of technologies (such as computers, tables, tablets, interactive whiteboards) and software can. Educational technology at its best is able to meet a child where he/she is ready to engage in an active experience that teaches and expands that child’s learning trajectory. If a child is able to physically interact with the ‘system’ so that a cycle of co-responses occurs (by both the child and the technology) then the experience is set within educational technology. Educational programming (namely television/videos, etc.) may build in moments of potential interaction, such as a character asking the child who is viewing to make a response, but there is no guarantee this will happen and if it does, that the response was appropriate or useful for the child’s learning. When researchers in particular are not transparent, their studies and reports become mixed in with those about educational technology and confusion and misunderstanding by those who have the greatest need to use information about children and technology, such as practitioners, educators, and parents, ensues. To me this trend is related to much energy being expended in areas where it simply does not belong. It keeps us from moving past the same conversations about passive screentime and from moving on to a better understanding of how to make educational technology the best it can be for our early learners.