Early Childhood Education (ECE) programs are often wary of mobile technology. Privacy concerns among parents are high and research shows children under the age of 2 should avoid screen time altogether. Additionally, administrators and teachers may not be familiar with current technology and so even less likely to wade out into a potentially controversial or time-consuming initiative.
This case study conducted and published in 2020 shows how mobile technology can be used to enhance cultural and place-based education through storytelling with young children.
The study assessed the class’ knowledge of a local culturally significant symbol (watermills) and then showed the children a stop-motion animation video (made almost entirely using mobile devices) that gave more information about watermills and their significance, both culturally and as a gateway to conversations about sustainability. Children were then invited to engage with the dolls and set used for the video. Finally, the children were invited to create two videos as a class, inspired by the original story.
At each stage, researchers found the children’s learning deepened. This coincides with what we know about how young children learn, the more connections to learning the better.
The 2020 pandemic restricted the study’s intended scope but it was successful for some important reasons:
- As stated in the study, mobile technologies are generally affordable and often easy for both adults and our tech-savy children to use. The one limitation was that the video needed to be compiled with audio using unfamiliar software on a desktop computer or laptop. As such, the educators were unable to complete the children’s videos themselves and needed to ask for expert help. A video project that could be edited right on the tablet using a mobile editing app would make the project more feasible for educators.
- The watermill myth told via the video was based on something the children could see in their everyday lives. This gave them a concrete connection to the material.
- Children were allowed to play with the dolls and set during free play. This choice would ignite curiosity, allow children to experiment and deepen the learning experience from many perspectives.
- Children were involved in every step of the second videos’ production, except editing. This decision gave rise to a number of learning opportunities, but most important for our lens is the acquisition of technological skills and an understanding of how the content they consume is made.
- Mobile technology allowed the children’s learning and progress to be made visible to them almost immediately.
This case study shows mobile technology, if used strategically and with the knowledge of child development in mind, undoubtedly has a place in ECE programs. It may even be considered a necessity as mobile technology is increasily embedded in our lives. Educators will need to be familiar with the technology involved in order to simplify the activities, keep them affordable, and best support emergent learning opportunities.
References
Tzima, S., Styliaras, G., Bassounas, A., & Tzima, M. (2020). Harnessing the Potential of Storytelling and Mobile Technology in Intangible Cultural Heritage: A Case Study in Early Childhood Education in Sustainability. Sustainability, 12(20), 1-22. HTTPS://doi.org/10.3390/su12229416
Thank you for sharing this wonderful study. I believe that mobile learning has so much potential in early childhood and early primary education, despite the bad reputation of how screen time can harm our young learners. As long as mobile technology is used by kids under careful guidance from parents and educators, I don’t see why young children should stay away from this powerful learning tool. For anyone who’s interested in the topic, Silverman and Keane also talk about how mobile devices can be used in a meaningful way to support language development in early childhood in this journal published in 2021l: https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=eric&AN=EJ1281523&site=ehost-live&scope=site&custid=s5672194
Hi Lyndsay,
It is great to show how devices can be used as tools instead of as time “savers”. I have used Stop Motion Studio (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.cateater.stopmotionstudio&hl=en_US&gl=US) for work and for home, and my 6 yr old has become adept at thinking out the storyline, the characters, and the actions during our homeschooling year (in confinement). His regular school has equipment for videos and a green screen wall, and the students love being involved in storytelling, all the way up to grade 6!
Thank you for sharing this!
Thanks for sharing those resources! I was not aware of many and hope to see more at work in the pre-K world. As I mentioned in my reply to Philip Pretty, storytelling practices an incredible array of useful skill. And video-making is just simply fun!
Hi Lyndsay, this post really resonates with me. As a parent of a soon to be 6 year old, my daughter is just getting into using our phones to record video of herself and explore this dynamic medium. She loves telling stories and watching videos of herself and other little people. I also consider storytelling a very powerful means of conveying knowledge in the context of not only institutional education, but also in the case of child rearing. I look forward to using our phones and iPad to help our little one engage with making videos.
What a rich learning experience for her! Storytelling in this way practices some really important skills for her age, as you probably know: perspective taking, thinking about the story in pieces as well as a whole, sequencing, symbolism, and the ever-important “making learning visible.” It gives her an opportunity to re-consider what was going on in the video when she was living it. Keep having fun!
Lyndsay this is a great find. Many of the publications I have been reading about concerning Covid 19 have been for k – 12 or university. It’s important to capture studies in the preK group to understand the effects of tech in the classroom, not only in times of emergency but also in times of peace. Hopefully you will find more information to share about this age group. In fact it is the first time that I have had any peer discuss the PreK group since I started my degree in ETEC. Please fill this archive full of PreK materials.
Thanks, Britt!
I have been surprised by the lack of pre-K content so far, especially since the benefits and concerns can be so hotly debated. I’ll do my best to bring more perspectives to the forefront 🙂