Week 9 – Education & Mobile Devices

Mobile devices for 3 year olds? What?! The conversation in class this week was highly engaging and probably the one I’ve enjoyed most this semester. It wasn’t from the disagreements around the room, but from the actual engagement from classmates.

I’ve had friends who insist on having only wooden, painted toys for their children. These are friends who are well-educated (master’s degrees) and followed many “old fashioned” child rearing methods including breast feeding and cloth diapers. They would shudder at the thought of battery-operated, noise-making toys disguised as learning tools for children. Yes, it is a personal preference to not introduce electronics to children too early, and I think there is a time and a place for these things. When children has digital dexterity, then start to introduce things they can manipulate. I don’t think it’s necessary to start with electronics. What happened to blocks and books? The game Memory was something that facilitated tactile development while stimulating my mind as a child. The iPhone app replacement does that in a different way now,  but doesn’t give children the opportunity to grip cards, flip them over, and rearrange the cards. There is a learning aspect with using a touch screen, but I don’t think that’s the same thing.

Punya Mishra’s conversation with the class was fun. I appreciated his commentary on the iPad – that it seems to best serve those who aren’t necessarily technophiles, though I’ve talked with an attorney who swears by the iPad as an extremely helpful tool for bringing lengthy case law information to court instead of several 3” binders. Perhaps the personal and professional uses need to be considered separately, but I doubt Apple cares as long as you’re buying.