Looking back and looking ahead

Childhood Education, Summer 2003 by Bergen, Doris

While cleaning out some old file cabinets in my basement (a task I had been avoiding for quite a few years), I found a copy of a speech by Dorothy Cohen, a prominent early childhood educator, given about 25 years ago when she visited the university where I worked. It was titled, "How do we keep children human in a technological age?" Of course, 25 years ago we did not even imagine what marvels our "technological age" would bring us by 2003, but I think the question raised by our speaker long ago is even more important today. She cited three ways technology could negatively affect children's development of their "human" qualities:

1) The technological gap between personal effort and observable productivity may result in loss of work satisfaction and a reluctance to try tasks requiring human effort (shades of Dilbert?).

2) The increased pace of information transfer may result in loss of time for reflective thought and extended play, and promote a dependency on novelty (witness the behavior of channel surfers?).

3) The inability to understand how technology works and connect that to what it means may promote a "magical" life quality that blurs reality and causes images of reality to substitute for reality (the virtual reality of video games?).

Cohen was especially concerned about young children's development, because she saw technological innovations acting to make them "cut off from primary experiences." She hypothesized that older children and adults also would be changed, because although technology enhanced human speed, physical strength, and precision, it could not extend other human powers, such as reflective thinking, imagination, feeling, humor, or the ability to make ethical and moral judgments. Of course, Cohen's predictions may not be borne out, as she was speaking of the primarily human-passive technologies of earlier years rather than the more interactive technologies of today. In fact, later technologies sometimes have furthered powers of imagination and thinking, and some affect emotional and moral development (both negatively and positively).

Interestingly, the present-day musician Raffi has a similar opinion to Cohen's. In a recent Newsweek interview, he expressed the view that young children's ability to learn about the "real" world is not helped by technological advancements. He stated, "In the early years, when your primary connections are being made, you need to play with real elements." While I have been struck by the immersion of my own grandchildren in technological activity and their "speeded-up" lives and emotional connection to "images of reality," so far I haven't seen them lack effort or blur distinctions between the magical and real. I also have talked to many current teachers about the problems they witness in their classes, but I am not sure that these are due to technological influences. (We are still woefully lacking research evidence in this area.)

I do think that Dorothy Cohen's (and Raffi's!) advice for what adults can do to keep children human is still sound. Cohen suggested that adults should be available to every child as reliable listeners, observers, and explainers of the "real" world, and "not leave them to mechanical companions alone." Raffi stresses the importance of physical activity and participation in real events, not just virtual ones. In the next 25 years, we will see many more technological innovations. Let's hope that teachers and parents stay actively involved with children and engage them in real as well as virtual activities so that their positive human qualities continue to be promoted!

An Example of Technology That Enhances Human Qualities

One of the great things about the Web is how it can help children stay in touch with the real world and the world of ideas. An excellent new Web resource is the International Children's Digital Library (www. icdlbooks.org). Based on a five-- year research project and funded by the National Science Foundation, Institute for Museum and Library Services, Library of Congress, Markel Foundation, Adobe Systems, and Octavo, the Web site acts like a real library. Children can look for books of all kinds from 27 different cultures in 15 languages, and they can read the books online or download them. The categories are arranged like shelves and the books can be read in three formats: comic strip, spiral, and standard reader styles. This is a great resource for teachers because they can find books related to topics that they want children to read about. It is worth a trip to this site just to learn about all of its capabilities.

Software To Connect Children to the Real World

When choosing software that enhances children's lives, teachers can find help through many good Web resources. Here are a few that have reviews of software by a variety of specialists:

* Lesley College (http:// childparenting.about.com/ library/ blesley.htm?term-is=Lesley+College)

* Review Zone (www.thereviewzone.com/ reviews-index.html)

* Oppenheim (www.toyportfolio.com)