Information Technology in Childhood Education (2001)

The Current Status of Technology in Education: Lightspeed Ahead with Mild Turbulence

MICHAEL F. KALINOWSKI University of New Hampshire Department of Family Studies Durham, NH 03824 USA [email protected]

The article summarizes five trends in technology for children aged 12 and younger, identifies four current issues, and three unresolved needs related to technology and children; pro- vides six selected hardware and 30 software recommenda- tions, and offers several resources: journals and magazines, educational technology websites, software publishers, and hardware companies. During 2000, the greatest innovations were in infrastructure that will enable children to connect more quickly, interact more flexibly, respond more intuitive- ly, and use computers more creatively. As innovations pro- ceed, dramatic improvements in software for children, and continued discussion about what is relevant or appropriate is likely to be witnessed.

Recent Trends

The Internet trend. As my friend Warren Buckleitner, Editor of Children’s Software Review (CSR) is fond of saying, “No one will uninvent the Inter- net; it ain’t going away. If you’re a teacher with no email, no web site, and no web access, you’ll soon be in info darkness.” This is what is coming: 1999, according to the research firm eMarketer, 14 million children aged two to 12 in the U.S. had Internet access. Jupiter Communications predicts 282 Kalinowski that by the end of 2000 this same age group outnumbered teens and college students online and the current percentage of children now online will al- most double in the next five years (PC Almanac, 2000)! New software dem- os are now available as free downloads and soon much children’s software may be available by fee based downloads. Eventually software may shift from being a physical product to a continuous service delivered over the In- ternet (Lohr, 2000). Website development quality is improving. (See for ex- ample, Germany’s software publisher Tivola.) Sites for teachers, parents and children are exploding. Even for a program on a relatively tight budget, the ability to obtain a computer and Internet access through a modem for $25.00 a month (People PC) may now make sense.

The digital trend. Software applications, which used to arrive on disks and now come on CD-ROMs, will begin to arrive on DVDs. Soon we’ll also be able to download video almost as easy as people now download increasing- ly better sounding MP3 music (Spanbauer, 2000). Americans will buy an estimated 22 million digital cameras annually by 2003 (Graham, 2000). These will continue to drop in price and be increasingly used for documen- tation of individual development, curricular projects, simple web site devel- opment, or as the first step in a web or hard drive based storage system.

The voice-enabled trend. Speech production is an important component of many recent software programs in which stories, including those written by children in classrooms can be read aloud. New research on wireless phone technology (Gilpin, 2000, Howe, 2000) to enable a caller to use speech in accessing Internet sites, is likely to trickle down into children’s software programs. Soon even a young child may be able to tell the computer, “I want to play with Clifford and paint with Monique” and be taken directly to “Monique’s Word Painting” in Clifford Reading by Scholastic.

The wireless trend. Wireless technology frees us from cords that connect a keyboard, a mouse, a printer or scanner, or even a handheld computer. LeapFrog’s new LeapPad Pro, a touch sensitive notebook should become one example of the fusion of wireless technology and speech production. Wireless will encourage greater variations in the arrangement of space, en- able a greater distance between user and monitor, and allow teachers to share computer based information more easily with groups. Wireless will have profound influences on how we interact with technology. Look at what wireless TV controllers have done for toys. The Current Status of Technology in Education 283

The learningware or smart toy trend. Learningware includes a variety of products that don’t tether children to computers: talking books, interactive globes, and construction sets to make robots (Graham, 2000). A Smart Toy is built around software. It allows a manufacturer to create a program that bypasses a computer, and is inserted into a toy directly. According to CSR, the hallmarks of a smart toy, “include the ability to talk, to turn itself off, [and] to record information about a child… The smartest smart toys can customize themselves to an individual child, remember what a child has done, or be recharged with new content” (November/December 2000, p. 16). Five examples of smart toys include, (a) Microsoft’s Intelli-Table for toddlers, (b)Leapfrog’s Explorer Globe, (c) Hasbro’s Easy-Bake Kitchen CD-ROM Playset for primary-aged children, (d) Mattel’s Interactive/In- tel’s ME2CAM, and (e) Lego Mindstorms Dark Side Developer Kit for children nine and up. Meltz (2000) among others notes concerns that smart toys can bypass cause and effect learning, an issue that deserves serious study.

Current Issues

Are computers appropriate for young children? Haugland (1999, 2000) provided reviews of when to introduce computers and some benefits of computer use. The Alliance for Children reported on potential harm to chil- dren from computer use, and proposed a moratorium on computers in early childhood education programs and elementary schools (Cordes & Miller, 2000). This was followed by a position statement, “…signed by more than 75 educators child-development and health authorities, technology experts, researchers, and other advocates for children” (Alliance for Children, 2000). It generated a response by Ginsberg (2000), Executive Director of NAEYC. The American Academy of Pediatrics and Learning in the Real World agreed to fund research in 2001 that investigates, “…the possible con- nection between early and frequent computer use and children’s gross and vi- sual motor development” (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2000). Issues re- garding the use of computers by young children deserve further research. While to some degree these questions have been raised since before the birth of the early Texas Instruments computer (with an audio cassette tape drive, no less), vigorous and hopefully enlightened discussions should continue.

How young is too young? Many believe three is the appropriate age to be- gin introducing computers to children, and others suggest two is more ap- propriate. There is clearly a strong parent market for “lapware,” software for very young children. According to PC Data, “sales of lapware grew by 284 Kalinowski

20% between July 1999 and July 2000” (Branscum, 2001, p. 49). Is there an age at which children are too young to reasonably benefit? Could there be a JumpStart Newborn and even JumpStart Embryo in our future? The NAEYC Young Children and Technology forum began an interesting thread on this topic at the end of 2000. It is anticipated within two to three years there will be much better data on the advantages and disadvantages of computers with very young children.

How should technology be integrated into the curricula? Issues of effec- tive integration methods and evaluation of integration training for early child- hood teachers also warrant further attention. According to Jayne Edwards,

We often confuse the issue of how to appropriately integrate the use of technology into curriculum (which she believes varies depending upon the age of the children) with how to effectively use any tool that a teacher may have in their repertoire. The computer should not be an afterthought or a reward, but rather another tool in the overall goal of creating lifelong learners, exciting children about learning and equip- ping them with the ‘tools’ they will need as they grow and learn....just as we teach them the alphabet and the use of books, the computer will in itself and as a part of a whole, provide learning opportunities for children. We don’t eliminate the use of books because teachers don’t use them effectively….(personal communication, 11/27/00).

How can adaptive technology assist children with disabilities? While this is perhaps the most exciting area for technological progress in educa- tion, a discussion of the mushrooming use of technology to assist children with disabilities is outside the purview of this article. An interested reader might begin such a search at the Alliance for Technology Access website, or by reading its new third edition of Computers and Web Resources for People with Disabilities, or at the U.S. Office of Special Education Pro- grams (OSEP) website. The Center for Applied Technology, KITE: Kids In- cluded Through Technology Are Enriched, and the Let’s Play Project are also recommended and available via the Technology and Young Children website.

Unresolved Needs

How can we ensure reasonable access to technology for all children? An issue identified nearly a decade ago (Piller, 1992), unequal access to technology, now termed the digital divide, is “…a widening gap between those with access to computers and the internet and those without” (Trumble, 2000, p. 7). Although Media Matrix reported, “…households with incomes of The Current Status of Technology in Education 285

less than $25,000 are the fastest growing group online,” I believe that many young children will continue to be denied access and find themselves increasingly at a technological disadvantage.

How can we develop software that is germane to and appropriate for girls? According to CSR (May/June 2000, p. 4) male characters dominate children’s software at a ratio of three to one, and software targeted to girls is replete with gender stereotypes. MentorGirls is one organization that pro- motes appropriate software for girls, but this is a need that will take sus- tained advocacy to substantially improve.

How can we utilize the significant technological chip and hardware ad- vances to create software that is even more flexible, intuitive, and user friendly? Raskin (2000) believes that user interfaces should be rethought from the ground up, and that we need to start asking questions from the us- er’s point of view. Manes (2000) bemoans “The curse of the user-hostile design” and supports Raskin’s idea of rethinking interfaces both quantita- tively and qualitatively. Professor Michael Dertouzos, head of the Laborato- ry for Computer Science at MIT believes, “Today’s trends promise a radical shift in the way we make and use computers” (Graham, 2000, p. 5). One way every teacher can assist is to provide companies feedback based on our children’s experiences with individual products.

RECOMMENDATIONS

Hardware Recommendations

We are likely to see an even greater emphasis on computer and periph- eral design this coming year. I predict computers will get smaller, thinner, quieter, and increasingly use USB cables to connect other devices (eg. a printer). While computers will inevitably get even faster, additional speed is of less importance to the early childhood market. Simkins (2000) provides valuable advice to consider prior to accepting computer equipment donations. Please note equipment models change frequently.

Macintosh Platform. Apple iMac, Apple Computer, $799 (but upgrade the memory from 64k to 128k) and the Apple iMac DV, $995. You might expect MacWorld (Been, 2000) to continue to sing the praises of these cute, simple to operate, vibrant, and style conscious models. However, when Family PC (July, 2000) ranks the Apple iMac as one of its top seven computers of the year that’s a significant compliment. Besides a good value, the iMac offers good design. As Nobel (2000) notes, in a wonderful essay on the need to 286 Kalinowski develop a design culture that reflects how Americans think, “Design is the art that is hidden in plain sight” (p AR33). This past year the fabulously successful iMac not only continued to save Apple computer from probable bankruptcy, it spawned the Compac Computer iPAC and new Dell Comput- er snap on faceplates. iMac’s transparent colors began to appear on every- thing from desktop lamps to staplers.

PC Platform. While there are certainly PCs available for less than $800, they’re not on my list. Four reasonably budget priced recommendations which include 17 inch monitors and 128 MB of memory unless noted are the Micro Express MicroFlex TB850 at $1099, the Dell Optiplex GX100 at $1052 (upgrade to 128MB), and the NuTrend Athlon Special 2 at $1169. The Com- pac iPAC, at $1064 is flexible and well priced but frustrating for Web surfing.

Software Recommendations

Educational software is very big business. In June 2000 alone, the top 10 publishers for education software sold 1.4 million units worth $26.4 mil- lion. The JumpStart (JS) juggernaut continued and its parent company Ha- vas Interactive occupied five of the top 10 best selling home education soft- ware titles in 1999 (JS 1st Grade, JS 2nd Grade, JS Preschool, JS 3rd Grade, and JS Kindergarten II), followed by Mattel Interactive (Pokemon Studio Blue, Pokemon Studio Red, and Rugrats Movie Activity Challenge) and Hu- mongous (Blue’s ABC Time, and Blue’s Birthday Adventures). The average price of these top ten titles was only $21. (PC Almanac, 2000). Software recommendations are available from colleagues, in print, and on the Web. Many websites (California Instructional Technology Clearing- house, ConnSENSE, and Northwest Educational Technology Consortium) are dated, but Children’s Software Review, CNET, High/Scope, SuperKids, and Review Corner maintained current sites. The author advises teachers with children under seven to consider start- ing with KidDesk Family Edition (Edmark, $24.95), winner of 18 awards. This program, while not networkable, is also available in Lab Packs for six and site licenses for 30. It provides students with a personalized desktop for safe and independent computer use while protecting teacher programs and files. Teachers without such protection have had children make 147 copies of the print driver, or in one case delete the entire System Folder. Year 2000 top 10 new programs for each age range are not reviewed here due to space constraints, but independent reviews are available at sev- eral websites and descriptions may be found at software publisher websites. Publishers, list prices, and publications also highly recommending these same titles are included in the following listing: The Current Status of Technology in Education 287

PRODUCT PUBLISHER PRICE AWARD

For preschoolers (ages 3-5) the author recommends:

Arthur’s Preschool The Learning Co. $29.99 1 Clifford Reading Scholastic $19.95 1, 2 Disney’s Mickey Kindergarten Disney interactive $19.99 1 I Spy Spooky Mansion (1999) Scholastic $29.95 4 JumpStart Kindergarten Deluxe Knowledge Adventure $29.99 1 Lego My Style Preschool Lego Media $19.99 1, 6 Oz-The Magical Adventure DK Multimedia $19.95 Reader Rabbit Toddler Deluxe (1999) The Learning Co. $29.95 1 Tonka Digs ‘n Rigs Hasbro Interactive $39.99 1 Why Do Mosquitoes Buzz in People’s Ears? Scholastic $59.95

For children ages 6-9 the author recommends:

Alphabet Tivola $19.99 4 Backyard Soccer 2001 MLS Edition Humongous $19.99 1, 5 Catz 4 Mattel Media $19.95 1 Cluefinders Search & Solve Adventures The Learning Co. $24.95 Explorer Globe LeapFrog $99.99 I Spy School Days Scholastic $29.95 1, 2 Intel Play Computer Sound Morpher Mattel Media $49.00 3 JumpStart 1st Grade Deluxe Knowledge Adventure $29.95 1 Putt-Putt Travels & Putt-Putt Enters Race Humongous $29.95 Reader Rabbit’s Math Ages 6-9 The Learning Co. $29.95

Recommendations for children 10-12 include:

3-D Ultra Traintown Deluxe Sierra $19.95 Dear America Knowledge Adventure $30.00 1 Dark Side Developer Kit Lego Mindstorms $99.00 1 Lego Alpha Team Lego Media $29.95 2 Nancy Drew: Message in Haunted Mansion HerInteractive $29.99 Pit Droids (1999) Lucas Learning $29.95 1, 4 Prairie Explorer-Biomes of N. America Great Wave Software $29.95 Return of the Incredible Machine: Sierra Attractions $29.95 Contraptions Robotics Discovery Kit Lego Mindstorms $149.00 Space Academy GX-1 Edmark $59.95

NOTE: 1: Children’s Software Review All Star; 2: Family PC Top 100 or Top Rated (Family PC, 2000); 3: Child Best of Year; 4: Bologna new media prize winner; 5: Newsweek Top 20 Videogames (King, 2001); 6: Parenting Grade “A” (Unger, 2001). 288 Kalinowski

Child Care Administrative Software

These products make child care and preK programs for children easier to manage by organizing children and families, staff, revenues, and expen- ditures, food services, health data, and other time consuming and redundant tasks. Over the past two years many products have received significant up- grades. In 2000, for the first time a browser based package became avail- able. For a fuller review of issues related to childcare administrative pack- ages, see Kalinowski (2000).

CONCLUSION

Over the past year the greatest innovations have been in the infrastruc- ture that will enable children to connect more quickly, interact more flexi- bly, respond more intuitively, and use computers more creatively. As these innovations proceed over the next few years, we are likely to witness dra- matic improvements in software for children, and continued discussion about what is relevant or appropriate.

SOURCES

JOURNALS AND MAGAZINES

Children’s Software Review www.childrenssoftware.com 800. 993-9499 $24 per yr. Technology & Learning www.techlearning.com 800.607-4410 $29.95 Child Care Information Exchange www.ccie.com 800.221-2864 $38.00 FamilyPC www.FamilyPC.com 303.604-7445 $12.00 MacWorld www.Macworld.com 800.627-2247 $19.97 Child www.childmagazine.com 800.777-2222 $8.97 Parents www.parents.com 800-727-3682 $8.97

EDUCATIONAL TECHNOLOGY WEB SITES www.techandyoungchildren.org the Technology and Young Children website www.highscope.org/software software recommended by High/Scope www.mprojects.wiu.edu/littech early childhood emergent literacy outreach services www.eduPuppy.com PS-Grade 2 site & free email weekly newsletter www.eduHound.com K-12 site (also available in Spanish) www.mprojects.wiu.edu Center for Best Practices in Early Childhood Education www.air.org/techideas US Office of Special Education Programs The Current Status of Technology in Education 289

www.mentorgirls.org the MentorGirls website www.cnet.com/software/0-3662-7-1472942.html CNET software reviews www.superkids.com software reviews, buyer’s guide, & monthly bestsellers www.reviewcorner.com detailed reviews of children’s software

TECHNOLOGY and EDUCATION LISTSERV

To join, e-mail [email protected]. In the body of the message, type: Subscribe NAEYCTEC-L (your name).

SOFTWARE PULISHERS

Broderbund www.mattelinteractive.com 800.395-0277 Disney Interactive www.disneyinteractive.com 800.900-9234 Edmark www.edmark.com 800.362-2890 Fisher Price & Microsoft www.fisher-pricecom 800.432-5437 Great Wave Software www.greatwave.com 800.423-1144 Hasbro Interactive www.hasbro.com 410.568-2377 HerInteractive www.herinteractive.com 800.561-0908 Humongous Entertainment www.humongous.com 800.499-8386 Knowledge Adventure www.adventure.com 800.542-4240 Lawrence Productions ww.lawrencesoftware.com 800.421-4157 The Learning Company www.mattelinteractive.com 800.395-0277 LeapFrog www.leapfrog.com 800.701-5327 Legacy Interactive www.legacyinteractive.com 888.708-8715 LEGO www.lego.com 800.392-0584 LEGO Mindstorms www.legomindstorms.com 800.363-2140 Mattel Interactive & Intel www.intelplay.com 888.628-8359 Mattel Media www.mattelmedia.com 888.628-8359 Riverdeep www.riverdeep.com 800.564-2587 Tivola www.tivola.com 877.848-6520 Tiger Electronics www.hasbro.com 847.913-8100 Sierra www.sierra.com 800.757-7707

Note: www.reviewcorner.com/softwarecompanylinks.html, has good company links, as does apple.excite.com/computers_and_internet/downloads/kids/companies.

HARDWARE COMPANIES

Apple Computer www.apple.com 800.538-9696 Compaq www.compaq.com 800-888-9909 Dell Computer www.dell.com 800.999-3355 Micro Express www.microexpress.com 800.989-9900 NuTrend www.nutrend.com 888.482-6678 People PC www.peoplepc.com ———————— 290 Kalinowski

References

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