Module 6.2 Screen Time

Jane Krieg; Janice Quade

Module 6.2 Screen Time

Learning Objectives

By the end of this module, you should be able to:

Explain ways adults can support safe and developmentally appropriate use of technology.

Using Technology and Media Safely

Developmentally appropriate use of technology can help young children grow and learn, especially when families and educators play an active role. Early learners can use technology to explore new worlds, make-believe, and actively engage in fun and challenging activities. They can learn about technology and technology tools and use them to play, solve problems, and role play. But how technology is used is important to protect children’s health and safety.

Technology Can be a Tool for Learning

What exactly is developmentally appropriate when it comes to technology for children? In Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8, the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Center state that “appropriate experiences with technology and media allow children to control the medium and the outcome of the experience, to explore the functionality of these tools, and pretend how they might be used in real life”. (NAEYC, 2012, p.8)

Lisa Guernsey, author of Screen Time: How Electronic Media—From Baby Videos to Educational Software—Affects Your Young Child, also provides guidance for families and educators. For example, instead of applying arbitrary, “one-size-fits-all” time limits, families and educators should determine when and how to use various technologies based on the Three C’s: the content, the context, and the needs of the individual child. They should ask themselves the following questions:

Content—How does this help children learn, engage, express, imagine, or explore?
Context—What kinds of social interactions (such as conversations with families or peers) are happening before, during, and after the use of the technology? Does it complement, and not interrupt, children’s learning experiences and natural play patterns?
The individual child—What does this child need right now to enhance his or her growth and development? Is this technology an appropriate match with this child’s needs, abilities, interests, and development stage? (Guernsey, 2012)

Educators should keep in mind the developmental levels of children when using technology for early learning. That is, they first should consider what is best for healthy child development and then consider how technology can help early learners achieve learning outcomes. Technology should never be used for technology’s sake. Instead, it should only be used for learning and meeting developmental objectives, which can include being used as a tool during play.

When technology is used in early learning and childcare settings, it should be integrated into the learning program and used in rotation with other learning tools such as art materials, writing materials, play materials, and books, and should give early learners an opportunity for self-expression without replacing other classroom learning materials. There are additional considerations for educators when technology is used, such as whether a particular device will displace interactions with educators or peers or whether a device has features that would distract from learning. Further, educators should consider the overall use of technology throughout a child’s day and week and adhere to recommended screen time guidelines from the Canadian Paediatric Society, in partnership with families.

The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends:

For children under two years old screen time is not recommended.
For children two to five years old limit screen time to less than one hour a day.
For children older than five limit screen time to less than two hours a day. (fraserhealth, n.d.)

Some children with special needs may require specific technology to meet their educational and care needs. Dual language learners can use digital resources in multiple languages or translation to support both their home language and English development.

Two young girls sit on chairs and play on iPads under the supervision of an adult. — Figure 1 – These children and their teacher in a bilingual preschool classroom are using an app to create a “story” with photos of their recent field trip. (Bilingual Pre-K Technology Integration by Professional Learning is licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0)

For Infants and Toddlers

Research shows that unstructured playtime is particularly important for infants and toddlers because they learn more quickly through interactions with the real world than they do through media use and, at such a young age, they have limited periods of awake time. At this age, children require hands-on exploration and social interaction with trusted caregivers to develop their cognitive, language, motor, and social-emotional skills.

For children under the age of 2, technology use in early learning settings is generally discouraged. But if determined appropriate, children with special needs in this age range may use technology, for example, an assistive technology device to help them communicate with others, access, and participate in different learning opportunities, or help them get their needs met.

For Preschoolers

For children ages 2-5, families and educators need to consider that technology may be used at home and in early learning settings. However, time is only one metric that should be considered with technology use for children in this age range. Early educators should also consider the quality of the content, the context of use, and opportunities the technology provides to strengthen or develop relationships.

For School-Aged Children

For children ages 6-8 in school settings, technology should be used as a tool for children to explore and become active creators of content. If children have more than one educator, those educators should be aware of how much screen time is being used across subject areas and at home. Students should learn to use technology as an integrated part of a diverse curriculum.

Active versus Passive Engagement

Educators should understand the differences between passive and active use of technology. Passive use of technology generally occurs when children are consuming content, such as watching a program on television, a computer, or a handheld device without accompanying reflection, imagination, or participation.

Active use occurs when children use technologies such as computers, devices, and apps to engage in meaningful learning or storytelling experiences. Examples include sharing their experiences by documenting them with photos and stories, recording their own music, using video chatting software to communicate with loved ones, or using an app to guide playing a physical game. These types of uses are capable of deeply engaging the child, especially when an adult supports them. While actions such as swiping or pressing on devices may seem to be interactive, if the child does not intentionally learn from the experience, it is not considered to be active use. To be considered active use, the content should enable deep, cognitive processing, and allow intentional, purposeful learning at the child’s developmental level.

Pause to Reflect 💭

Do these children below look like they are using technology actively or passively?

What do you need to see or know to accurately make this determination?

Three children crowd around a laptop and look at something on the screen. — Figure 2 – Three children using a computer. (Image by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA)

Educators also need to think of ways they can reduce the sedentary nature of most technology use. Technology can encourage and complement physical activity, such as doing yoga with a video or learning about the plants outdoors with a nature app.

The Digital Divide

Research points to a widening digital use divide, which occurs when some children have the opportunity to use technology actively while others are asked primarily to use it passively. The research showed that children from families with lower incomes are more likely to complete passive tasks in learning settings while their more affluent peers are more likely to use technology to complete active tasks. For low-income children who may not have access to devices or the internet at home, early learning and childcare programs can provide opportunities to learn how to use these tools more actively.

Co-Viewing of Technology

Most research on children’s media usage shows that children learn more from content when parents/caregivers or educators watch and interact with children, encouraging them to make real-world connections to what they are viewing both while they are viewing and afterward.

An woman with a child on either side of her all look at a laptop; one child is pointing at the screen. — Figure 3 – Interacting with children and technology is the best way to make technology use effective. (Image by Unknown Author is licensed under CC BY-SA)

There are many ways that adult involvement can make learning more effective for young children using technology. Adult guidance that can increase active use of more passive technology includes, but are not limited to, the following:

Prior to the child viewing content, an adult can talk to the child about the content and suggest certain elements to watch for or pay particular attention to.
An adult can view the content with the child and interact with the child in the moment.
After a child views the content, an adult can engage the child in an activity that extends learning such as singing a song they learned while viewing the content or connecting the content to the world.

Cartoon images showing how to involve children with technology, including engaging, communicating, learning, and creating. — Figure 4 – Here are some ways adults can effectively use technology with children. (Guiding Principles for Use of Technology with Early Learners by the Office of Educational Technology is in the public domain)

Michelle Ponti, in her position statement for the Canadian Paediatric Society titled “Digital media: Promoting healthy screen use in school-aged children and adolescents” recommends that families and educators can encourage healthy digital media use by remembering the four “Ms”: manage screen time, encourage meaningful screen use, model healthy screen use, and monitor for signs of problematic screen use. (Ponti, 2019)

What is Digital Citizenship?

MediaSmarts, Canada’s Centre for Digital Media Literacy, defines digital citizenship as “…the ability to navigate our digital environments in a way that’s safe and responsible and to actively and respectfully engage in these spaces.” (MediaSmarts, n.d.)

As early learners reach an appropriate age to use technology more independently, they must be taught about cyber safety, including the need to protect and not share personal information on the internet, the goals and influence of advertisements, and the need for caution when clicking on links. These skills are particularly important for older children who may be using a parent’s device unsupervised. Educators and administrators should ensure that the proper filters and firewalls are in place so children cannot access materials that are not approved for a school setting.

Not all technology is appropriate for young children and not every technology-based experience is good for young children’s development. To ensure that technology has a positive impact, adults who use technology with children should continually update their knowledge and equip themselves to make sophisticated decisions on how to best leverage these technology tools to enhance learning and interpersonal relationships for young children.

Access to technology for children is necessary in the 21st century but not sufficient. To have beneficial effects, it must be accompanied by strong adult support.

Fifteen Reasons to Teach Digital Media Literacy

It prepares students to grow up in an ever-changing world of technology.
Digital media literacy is highly motivating. It starts from interests and knowledge that students already have. Teachers often report that students are enthusiastic about media education, and both the quantity and quality of student writing goes up when they write about media.
Digital media literacy encourages young people to question, evaluate, understand, and appreciate their multimedia culture. It teaches them to become active, engaged media consumers and users.
With most Canadian students turning first to the internet for research, media education is essential in teaching young people to navigate the wide-open world of online information, to weigh claims and sources, to recognize fallacies and bad faith arguments, to find reliable information and understand issues of plagiarism and copyright.
Media education brings the world into the classroom, giving immediacy and relevance to traditional subjects. It serves as a perfect bridge for subject integration and interdisciplinary studies.
Media education embodies and furthers current pedagogy, which emphasizes student-centred learning, the accommodation of students’ individual learning needs, and the analysis and management – rather than just the simple storing – of information.
Media education is grounded in the sound pedagogical approach of starting learning where kids are at. All media – music, comics, television, video games, the internet and even ads – are a part of life that all kids enjoy. Media create a shared environment and are, therefore, catalysts for learning.
Media education lets students be the experts. Because students often know more about the media and digital tools being studied than their teachers do, students can take a leadership role while teachers guide them in applying critical thinking to the content.
Media education encourages young people to use multimedia tools creatively, a strategy that contributes to “understanding by doing” and prepares them for a workforce that increasingly demands the use of sophisticated forms of communication.
In a society concerned about growing youth apathy to the political process, media education engages young people in “real-world” issues. It helps young people to see themselves as active citizens and potential contributors to public debate.
In a diverse and pluralistic society, the study of media helps youth understand how media portrayals can influence how we view diverse groups in society: it deepens young people’s understanding of diversity, identity, and difference.
Digital media literacy helps young people’s personal growth and social development by exploring the connections between popular culture – music, fashion, television programming, movies, and advertising – and their attitudes, lifestyle choices and self-image.
Digital media literacy helps children critique media representation, teaching them to distinguish between reality and fantasy as they compare media violence and real-life violence, media heroes and real-life heroes, and media role models and real-life roles and expectations.
Media creation provides students with many different ways to achieve and to showcase their learning. It fosters collaboration skills and can provide opportunities for students who have difficulty demonstrating their learning in traditional forms like essays and lab reports.
Media education involves virtually all areas of the curriculum. Whether they are involved in making media, analyzing it, or using digital tools, students make extensive use of language, research, planning and communications skills. By addressing issues such as data privacy, digital media literacy can connect to areas of curriculum such as mathematics.” (MediaSmarts, n.d.)

Important Things to Remember

Developmentally appropriate use of technology can help young children grow and learn, especially when families and educators play an active role.
When technology is used in early learning and childcare settings, it should be integrated into the learning program and used in rotation with other learning tools such as art materials, writing materials, play materials, and books, and should give early learners an opportunity for self-expression without replacing other classroom learning materials.
The Canadian Paediatric Society recommends no screen time for children under two years of age, less than one hour per day for children aged 2-5 years of age and less than two hours per day for children older than five years of age.
Educators also need to think of ways they can reduce the sedentary nature of most technology use. Technology can encourage and complement physical activity.