An Introduction

It's no surprise that the use of digital gaming in early childhood education is a controversial topic. Some critics believe games can encourage children to become aggressive or develop attentions problems. Some critics say that introducing gaming at an early age can lead kids on a path to a sedentary lifestyle plagued with obesity or other health issues as well as isolating them from other kids.

Proponents contend that children should be afforded every opportunity to explore new technologies and that, depending on the format, digital games foster learning in ways that immerse growing minds.

Advocates of gaming in early childhood appear to be prevailing as the educational gaming industry gets bigger each year. Companies such as LeapFrog and Vtech make millions each year branding their products as "learning systems" and selling them based on academic levels and themes. Even high-tech deity Apple Inc. has pages of apps available aimed at both early childhood and special education.

Although there are experts on both sides of the fence, many parents only want the answer to one question: Should my child be using new media technology and gaming in education or not?

How do we use these technologies to the fullest positive capabilities without doing harm? What's the limit?

This project will examine both sides of the gaming in early childhood education discussion, look at what the experts suggest and examine best practices for the use of such technologies in the lives of little learners.

Positive outcomes

Children experience the greatest amount of growth and brain development during early childhood - defined as the "before the age of eight" by though the U.S. National Association for the Education of Young Children. During this period of life, kids learn through their play and exploration across five essential developmental dimensions. These dimensions include: Social and Emotional Development, Language Development, Physical Well-Being and Motor Development, Cognition and General Knowledge, and Approaches Toward Learning. (Van Scoter and Ellis, 2001)

Social and Emotional Development:

All too commonly, thoughts of children and teenagers playing digital games conjure up images of kids locked away in their rooms, fully immersed in cyber realms and unaffected by the real world that surrounds them. But when used appropriately in the classroom, some researchers agree that new media technology can benefit these two crucial areas of development. A classroom set up to encourage interaction and the appropriate use of the technology will increase, not impair, language and literacy development. (Van Scoter and Ellis, 2001) Pairing children to play educational games together gives them a chance to share leadership roles and initiate conversations more readily.

Language development:

Rather than playing alone, the use of games in early childhood education typically require children to seek help from an adult. In many cases, children tend to narrate what they are doing as they draw pictures or move objects and characters around on the screen (Van Scoter and Ellis, 2001). Depending on the programs presented, some games require kids to talk out problem solving. Especially when paired with another child as many in-school gaming session are.

Physical Well-Being and Motor Development:

Obesity and lack of exercise are issues of almost epidemic proportions in the United States. There's no arguing the fact that sitting in front of a screen decreases mobility and perpetuates a sedentary lifestyle. While maintaining healthy habits and keeping kids active by limiting screen time are obvious solutions, some game manufacturers have a different answer... even more gaming.

Game systems such as the Nintendo Wii and the XBox Kinect are getting kids out of their chairs and burning calories. Even during school hours. More and more physical education classes are using these consoles and "exergaming" to engage students.

A 2009 study showed that energy expenditure was at least 51% higher during exergaming than during sedentary gaming. By capitalizing on children's preexisting motivation to play video games, exergaming may also have the potential to promote traditional physical activity. (Daley, Amanda J., July, 2009)

Cognition and General Knowledge:

Studies have long-shown that children learn best by putting complex thoughts and simple lessons into action. In studies with different ages of children, using computers along with supporting activities (e.g., manipulatives, objects that children use to help them understand concepts) provided even greater benefits than either one alone. Compared to children in a similar classroom without computer experience, three- and four-year-olds who used computers with supporting activities had significantly greater gains in verbal and nonverbal skills, problem solving, abstraction, and conceptual skills. (Van Scoter and Ellis, 2001)

Approaches Toward Learning:

According to Sir Ken Robinson, an international expert on promoting creativity in education, our educational system has stigmatized mistakes. As a result, some kids are terrified of getting a wrong answer. At the same time, if kids are not comfortable or prepared to come up with the wrong answer sometimes, they'll be less likely to come up with anything creative or solve complex problems. Video games, on the other hand, embed trial and error into the foundation of gameplay. Games are fun and leverage play and exploration as a mode of learning the literacy of problem-solving, which can lower the emotional stakes of failing. (Levasseur, Aran, 2011) In short, kids who aren't afraid to fail and have fun in the problem-solving process can develop a true love for learning.

The concerns

At the same time, while these games have been lauded by some experts and educators for their engaging qualities, studies have shown that gaming - especially at an early age - can have negative effects on the child's ability to focus as well as with aggression and hyperactivity issues.

It's believed that the snappy colors and inherent rapid movement of video games makes it much more difficult for children to remain focused on less engaging media - e.g. reading and schoolwork.

"Viewing television and playing video games each are associated with increased subsequent attention problems in childhood. It seems that a similar association among television, video games, and attention problems exists in late adolescence and early adulthood. Research on potential risk factors for attention problems should be expanded to include video games in addition to television." - (Swing, Gentile, Anderson, Walsh, 2011)

And while evidence shows that excergaming uses significantly more energy than sedentary games, it gets a child nowhere near the amounts of physical activity consistent with public health recommendations. It may be a step in the right direction, but it is definitely not a solve-all.

Research into the addictive nature of new media and gaming is also being conducted by experts. A new report summarizing the data on children’s media consumption from the Joan Ganz Cooney Center and Sesame Workshop found that young children may be spending too much time with new media. Children are also using online tools for longer periods of time than they were even just a few years ago. Susan Linn, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and co-founder and director of the national coalition Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, says technology is engrossing and habitual. “The more you engage with it, the more you want to engage with it. Children who engage with screen media under the age of 3 tend to have a harder time turning it off when they’re older,” she said. (Jackson, 2011)

Digital Play vs. Natural Play

There's enough research to support the fact that play alone has a very important role in childhood development. But the studies into the effect of digital play in the children's lives is just beginning. Some argue that digital gaming inhibits a child's natural "spontaneous play" because the child is being guided by the software as opposed to their own play intuition or imagination.

Susan Linn, an instructor in psychiatry at Harvard Medical School and co-founder and director of the national coalition Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, asserts that digital technology in early childhood education is stealing children's freedom of expression and creativity in play. “We don’t seem to be thinking developmentally,” she said in a recent Spotlight on Digital Media and Learning article. “With screen media you get everything, you get the voice, what the characters look like, you get how they move.

“In order to create your own story, you have to have an imagination and the experience that comes from conjuring something out of nothing, or transforming an inert object into something alive,” added Linn, offering playing in the dirt or playing dress-up as examples. “We need to be ensuring that babies and toddlers and preschoolers have the time, the space, the silence and the inspiration to engage in creative play.” (Jackson, 2011)

A study by Vereinkina and Kervin highlighted the pivotal role of the collaborative family effort in supporting imaginative play through digital gaming. "It demonstrated the importance of informed choices that need to be made in selecting the digital applications, which provide the pre-schoolers with the opportunity of active and sustained engagement in imaginative play." (p. 17)

The children in the Vereinkina and Kervin study preferred games which fostered their imagination. For instance, the children became more engaged with an iPad app called "Puppet Pals" than many other games presented to them. Puppet Pals allowed the children to use their imagination to create a puppet character and develop an interactive and individual story around it, supported by technical features such as voice recordings.

"The children preferred the games which allowed them to engage their imagination and develop their own play that extended beyond the screen as digital play blended in the variety of children's other play contexts While the findings of the study cannot be generalized, they represent some positive experiences of the preschoolers' digitally mediated imaginative play with the iPad. The study highlighted the pivotal role of parents and caregivers in supporting such play. It demonstrated the importance of informed choices that need to be made in selecting the "digital applications, which provide the pre-schoolers with the opportunity of active and sustained engagement in imaginative play." (Vereinkina and Kervin, 2011)

The Parent Mindset - A Survey

Despite the varying opinions from a wide array of experts, many parents have their own ways of determining which devices, if any at all, are appropriate for their children.

Based on a survey of 31 parents of children under age 7, 84 percent said that their child (or children) has regular access to new media devices and 75 percent divulged that their child often uses these devices to play educational games. Granted many of the respondents were contacted through social media and digital communications and may be more likely to support such new media habits.

Alphabet, simple math and matching games topped the list for those sought out and provided by parents. Half of the parents and caregivers surveyed said that they choose games based off of recommendations given by other parents and trusted networks such as PBS Kids and Nick Jr. Sixty-five percent said their children have access to new media devices (defined as computers, iPads, iPods or smartphones) in their school or daycare facility.

Create a graph

While nearly all the parents surveyed - 93 percent - agreed that there is positive value in educational gaming, most added that the skills learned through digital media is pointless without the guidance of a caring adult to help the child synthesize new information. One such parent wrote "I think there are many games out there that are educational for young children. Digital gaming can be used as another tool for teaching, so long as it is monitored & used along side other teaching tools."

When directly asked if they have seen their children benefit from digital gaming, many parents - 81 percent - responded that they indeed have. One parent included "my 2-and-a-half-year-old knows almost all his letters as a result of playing StarFall games. He doesn't see it as learning but as playing. My 6-year-old loves to play chess or strategic war games as they are more interactive. He can play alone or against the computer."

Games giving a voice to the voiceless

While many parents hope that the next iPad app or computer game will launch their child's reading and cognitive abilities to the next grade level, some parents simply hope that it will help their child communicate the smallest of requests.

For children on the autism spectrum, simple communications may be the most difficult to convey. They have trouble communicating basic needs such as hunger, thirst or even the need to use a restroom.

But recent advancements in digital applications and gaming have broken down the communication barriers for many children suffering from these disabilities. A virtual bevy of apps created specifically for these special children are available in the iTunes app store and some of these have finally given a voice to the previously silent.

Jessica Schornak, an educator within the Macomb Intermediate School District, uses new media devices and digital gaming regularly with her classroom of middle and high school-aged students with autism spectrum disorders. Schornak sees value in many of the games available to supplement a special education curriculum, but she particularly appreciates the lessons taught in a game called "Making Change." The game, created by the Attainment Company, puts players in the position of a store clerk in front cash register and has them enter purchases and give back change. The program randomly generates hundreds of purchasing situations, each time showing an amount due for the purchase. Students then count money given for payment and enter the value on the keypad. The "cash register" then shows the change due. "It's highly motivational, adaptable and easy to use," said Schornak.

Proloquo 2 is another program lauded by Schornak who credits it with giving her students the tools to voice their needs at home and on the go. "This has by far been the most effective/ motivating piece of technology I've used," she said. "The students all love it and many families have purchased them for home use. The great part about it is the sharing that iTunes enables between devices. This allows the student to never be without their communication tool."

CBS's 60-Minutes recently did a segment on these assistive technologies and how they're received by educators, parents and - most importantly - the students.

A Chat with an Expert

Michael Barbour, an assistant professor in Instructional Technology in Wayne State's College of Education, has done extensive research in the areas of e-learning and the implementation of games for use in a K-12 curriculum. I chatted with Barbour recently to hear his thoughts on gaming and its use in early childhood education. Below is a video of our conversation. (And yes, we discussed beyond our 15-minute limit! The recording of the rest of the conversation is forthcoming.)

Conclusion: Balance, moderation and good ol' guidance

Whether you're on the fence with new media and gaming in education or 100 percent in it to win it, one thing is certain: digital technology in education is here to stay. And judging from trends, it's only going to grow.

Researchers argue digital media are going to become more prevalent and will be used by younger children. The important issue is how to maximize the positive consequences of these new media so that they enrich rather than hinder children’s play experiences."(Vereinkina and Kervin, 2011)

After weighing both sides of the story, the overriding advice seems to be balance, moderation and guidance.

When it comes to best practices for the use of these technologies in early childhood education, nearly every study stressed the major role of a caring adult supervisor in conjunction with games.

As far as the the socio-emotional development of a child, a warm, caring adult will never be replaced as the most effective conduit of guidance. While digital games and new media have been shown to foster students' cognitive abilities, peer-to-peer collaboration and support self esteem, exploration and motivation, the potential pitfalls are not to be ignored.

Balancing developmentally appropriate digital gaming with a traditional curriculum, paired with adult supervision and guidance is your best bet to expand and enrich the classroom's overall curriculum.