Participation is effectiveness in computer learning

Preface

In 1980's: Adult guidance was needed, children could do only right or wrong, practicing.

Early 1990's: Technological development, children could work independently, opportunities for children to research and innovation, opportunity to develop higher processing and learning skills, open-ended programs.

Late 1990's: Multimedia, communication, from closed to open environment.

Early 21st century: IT is no longer just a tool, it is a means of psychological, social and environmental change. Mediaculture develops with new tools, which develops new tools. Children take part in developing working habits and ways to see and take part in the new culture.

Research problems

1. In which way and how much children use IT and different software?
2. How are the parents' views of IT related to the children's actions?
3. How children's IT skills related to children's social and IT working habits?

Research methods

How do you research empirically new things when they don't exist yet? You can't use existing criterions for nonexisting reality. Only adaptation can fit in predefined action. In this research we have a hypothesis that children have a tendency to participate and to take part in changing social and IT environment. Children are agents of change.

In this research three independent meters were used:

1. Parents' evaluation: Children's social and IT action at home. Parents' attitude toward IT.
2. Teachers' evaluation: Children's social and IT action in kindergarten
3. Students' evaluation: Observation of children's IT action in a computer class.

The research was conducted in November and December 2000. 26 of the children were boys, 24  were girls, from three kindergartens. Youngest child was two years eleven months, oldest was six years eleven months (mean 5 years eleven months, standard deviation 9,3 months).

Results

In which way and how much children use IT and different software?

• 64 percent of the children had computers at home
• Two of the three kindergartens had computers
• Children used computers from 0-100 hours a month at home (median 2,5 hours).
• Children who had no computer at home, were more eager (mean 3,3) to use the kindergarten computer than those who had computer at home (mean 2,1).
• Students evaluated home users more skilled (mean 3,84) than others mean 3,08).
• Cd-roms were mentioned 40 times as used software. Different games were mentioned 28 times. Drawing programs were mentioned 5 times. Internet was mentioned two times.
• At home half of the time with computer was spent alone, one third with an adult and one fifth with friends.
• Young children rarely used game boxes (Play stations, Nintendo etc.) although the longest time was 90 hours per month.
• Girls were more interested to use computers in kindergartens (mean 2,62) than boys (2,35).

How are the parents' views of IT related to the children's actions?

If the parents were worried  that IT action causes exclusion from other activities for the child:

• The children are more often boys (corr .317, p=.036).
• The teachers evaluate these children more often as exclusive (corr .349, p=.020)
• Teachers evaluate these children being less innovative with the computer (corr -.358, p=.032).
• Teachers evaluate these children  to use computers less (correlation .343, p=.024).
• Parents use more time to computer work together with their children (corr .366, p=.039)
• Parents attitude towards IT is negative (corr .887, P=.000).

=> Child's general tendency to exclude from mutual process manifests itself also in exclusion from IT development.

How children's social and IT skills are related to children's participation in the development of IT?

If the students evaluated that the children had good skills with the computer:

• Teachers evaluated these children less exclusive (corr -.407, P=.011).
• Teachers evaluated these children as less adaptive (corr -.362, p=.013).
• Parents evaluated that these children spent more time with the computer at home (corr .336, p=.028).
• Students evaluated that these children tried to push the limits of the computer more (corr .393, p=.007).
• Students evaluated that these children were less adaptive with the computer (corr -.323, p=.029).

=> A child skilled with computer tends to use and push the limits of the computer more and be less socially exclusive and adaptive.

Discussion

Those who are in the centre, participating in the development of their social and IT work, are apt to stay in the front line of development.

Those who fall of from cultural change, become aligned and exclusive. Exclusive child learns to exclude, not participate.

Implications to education: Maybe it is more important to be in an participative environment than in an environment that teaches existing (although maybe new and accurate) knowledge.

Maybe the experience and habit of taking part in cultural change gives the child better tools to succeed in a rapidly changing culture. Maybe the experience and habit of relying on existing cultural phenomenon gives the child better tools to succeed in a more stabile culture.

In the changing culture, the role of IT is not only using the tool, it is also about developing the tool.