Technology for better or for worse has become an integral part of modern life with ninety percent of households in the UK having internet access as of 2017 (Office For National Statistics). Arguably the most significant effect this widespread adoption of technology and device culture has had is in the education system. Technology plays a large role in schools with children of all ages and it is commonly expected that college students should have an electronic device in order to access work set online.

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Sandra Harwood, an Early Years Teacher at Partridge Green pre-school. Harwood has a degree in childcare and early years education and focused in her dissertation on the effects of technology, not only limited to traditional computer devices, and its effects on young children.

Her experience in childcare has allowed her to make many observations regarding young children and their exposure to digital devices. Harwood interacted with children in ‘baby rooms’, a service involving taking care of children from six to fifteen months old. These children frequently picked up inanimate objects and put them to their ears as if they were talking on a telephone. The babies babbled, an expected attempt at language acquisition at this stage, at the inanimate object; imitating talking on a phone. Learning, especially in young children, is developed through imitation and it can be inferred that a child has observed communication by adults using a phone instead of traditionally through face to face conversation. If there continues to be a lack of communication with a child, the development of the essential facial recognition and communication skills that a child needs could decelerate.

Technology used in education at a young age can have a constructive effect on children with special educational needs. The use of touchscreen devices has been shown to have positive applications with children with autism. It allows for communication through the picture exchange communication system (PECS). Communication focused on imagery, rather than words as Harwood describes can support a to child ‘string together pictures to form a sentence’. The use of devices in this manor to communicate ideas and requests can aid children who find it hard to develop traditional communication methods.

If the same sort of frequent ‘technological conditioning’ is used with children without educational needs, it can have a detrimental effect. It can lead to the child having ‘removed social ability’ as they become disconnected from the world around them. One specific example Harwood gave was a child who at lunch times in the pre-school day would not interact with the other children or teachers; instead opting to stare transfixed at a wall. When Harwood and her colleagues inquired about the child’s home life, they were told that during most periods when it was beneficial for the child to be kept calm and quiet, the parents of the child had turned on the television or another type of device in order for the child to remain content. Harwood explained that although difficult it was essential that they act in order to ‘break the cycle’ of this child’s behaviour who had come to them at age two, in order for them to continue developing naturally. ‘A child’s brain by age three has already reached eighty percent of its adult volume’ Harwood explains.

Technology, as previously mentioned, is now commonly used throughout education in primary schools and later in secondary school and college. A study that Harwood sighted in her interview was a study conducted in 2017 which found that iPads can have a positive effect in primary school learning. This study, reported on by news site ‘Nursery World,’ stated that new research suggests that devices, such as the commonly used iPad, could help improve ‘letter and numeracy skills’ in primary school aged children. One of the reasons this has proved to be effective is that a child perceived the use of technology as play, however it is still benefiting their education. It does however state clearly that devices should be used to ‘compliment existing teaching methods’ and can ‘enhance but not replace’ them. This is seconded by Harwood’s professional outlook on the subject.

A statement by Harwood summarises the compromise that can be reached in regards to technological integration in education; ‘we should not be afraid of technology, but instead be aware of how and to what extent children are exposed to it’. This was followed by her expressed desire that children should be encouraged to interact with devices that could be considered constructive and also have elements of interaction that aren’t limited to just a touch screen; such as buttons or switches. ‘It’s more than just computers in the traditional sense’ Harwood continues as she advocates that there should be more focus on explaining the process behind electronic functions such as the switching on of a light switch. Harwood explains it is essential to learning that children are taught the ways in which technology aids us with modern life, while also being capable of understanding how and why it works.

Words and accompanying photos by Benjamin Jesse, Steyning Grammar School (Sixth Form)

Interview statements permission of use provided by Sandra Harwood

Further reading and sources sighted:

https://www.nurseryworld.co.uk/nursery-world/news/1161267/study-finds-ipads-benefit-childrens-learning

https://revisesociology.com/2015/05/09/toxic-childhood-and-paranoid-parenting/