Valladares 1

Naomi Valladares
English 113B
Professor Spitler-Lawson
11 May 2016
Project Web Final Draft
1494
IPads Affecting Early Child Development
IPads are used to make tasks easier such as research and taking notes. The use of IPads
are needed for some high school students an most college students, but when it comes to children
using IPads for learning does anyone know how it truly affects children. Although technology
has flourished and changed the way of life, parents need to understand how IPads affect early
child development programs because the use of IPads in everyday learning doesnt only change
the way children learn, but can also affect the development for future generations.
According to Washington State Early Learning and Development Guidelines there are six
major areas to cover when it comes to child development About me and my family and culture,
Building relationships, Touching, seeing, hearing and moving around, Growing up healthy,
Communicating, Learning about my world (Washington). These guidelines allow children to
react with one another along with explore the outside world. These guidelines encourages
different ways of learning without the use of an IPad which is the way past generations were
taught in their early childhood. These guidelines connect to playing outside, not many people
understand how important it is to play. According to Using Play to Build the Social Competence
of Young Children with Language Delays: Practical Guidelines for Teachers play can become
the context that fosters growth in such skills as attention, memory, and cognitive flexibility
(Dennis and Stockall). It is an important part of early development to have children play outside
in order for them to interact with friends and family along with understanding the world around
them. If children dont interact with their friends and family children [will have] delays in social
communication [and will] have difficulty attending to the environment, or establish joint

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attention with others (Dennis and Stockall). It isnt a great sign when a child doesnt interact
with others, and if playing outside was no longer apart of developmental programs than children
would stay away from interacting with others. Which means the child would go through life with
a delay in their communication skills. The great part of playing outside is that children wouldnt
have problems trying to get along and would allow them be more social. Play is the primary
context in which children build their emergent communicative skills, as well as establish social
competence (Dennis and Stockall). Play is an important factor in child development but
technology might change that when IPads are used as a learning tool in the developmental
programs. Although these guidelines are the way past generations have been taught, the growth
of technology has caused certain early child development programs to have IPads be a part of inclass learning.
The growth of technology has already changes the way of life but now its going to be a
part of everyday learning for early child development programs. According to The Role of
Touch in Preschool Children's Learning Using IPad Versus Paper Interaction IPads have a
positive impact on students engagement, increasing motivation, enthusiasm, interest,
independence and self-regulation, creativity and improved productivity (Crescenzi). The fact
that children can still have a productive learning day with an IPad on the agenda is impressive
given the fact that most people find IPads as a distraction for children rather than a learning tool.
Although IPads are new to developmental programs there are many benefits that can come from
a technology based learning. Other than just learning the basics such as reading and writing,
bringing an IPad to the learning proses would help children understand and grow with the
technology which would help them thrive in the world of technology. IPads can be used in
multiple ways for reading, writing, speaking, and listening (Beschorner and Hutchison) which
means the curriculum which has always been taught wouldnt change, only the source where it

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comes from would. Although the basics are being taught to children, there would have to be a
lesson on how to use the IPads in order for children to use them properly and not be left behind
in the lesson because they dont know how to use the IPad. This means teachers that hardly know
how to use IPads them self would have to teach children how to use them properly rather than
just jumping into a lesson with a pencil and paper. According to The Role of Touch in Preschool
Children's Learning Using IPad versus Paper Interaction the use of IPad for very young
children [] might reshape current interaction and learning, and touch based experiences
(Crescenzi). This is something that will affect many children when they grow up with an IPad
teaching them thing. There are many ways people react when it comes to IPads in early
development programs and if there are more IPads in class rooms people need to know what
would happen if it were to become a mandatory learning tool.
As stated in IPads as a Literacy Teaching Tool in Early Childhood the use of rapidly
changing technology for reading, writing, and communicating, changes the nature of literacy.
Therefore, new literacies, the skills, strategies, and dispositions to use and adapt to the changing
information and communication technologies, are required when reading and writing on the
Internet (Beschorner and Hutchison). The fact that technology is flourishing really affects the
way people do things and now affects the way child development programs teach. IPads can still
be affective in education but what are the real risks and changes the will come from the use of
IPads. The use of IPads at home are the reason most developmental programs are willing to as
IPads as a learning tool, according to IPads as a Literacy Teaching Tool in Early Childhood
when children see family members using technology, [they] often use interactive media for a
variety of purposes themselves (Beschorner and Hutchison) which confuses children when
trying to be taught to write with a pencil and paper or even read an actual book because that isnt
what they see their family members use. According to Technology and Early Child

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Development Technology that is connected to what children already know can build upon and
leads to greater motivation and self-direction (Eming Young). This means it helps if children
can make connections between things they already have knowledge of but if they dont know
what the connections are between what they know and the technology they are using then it
wouldnt help the child, it would actually hold them back. Although technology can completely
change the way of teaching there will always be just as many pros as there are cons. If children
start using IPads in developmental programs then some children would most likely flourish in the
new technology based learning but if children cant understand it than they will fall behind. With
all the changes technology is bringing, children need to learn the way technology works in order
to keep up with the new literacies and skills that will develop in technology based learning.
IPads might be new to early child development programs but it isnt new to the world.
IPads are being used as a learning tool has its benefits but is all depends on whether or not
parents want to have their children growing up learning their basic reading and writing from an
IPad. There will always be pros and cons when it comes to new things, so its okay if IPads have
a different effect on children in a teaching environment. Not every style of learning is the same,
the only thing that really matters is whether or not it works. Regular paper based learning versus
technology based learning is an argument many people have but based the growth of technology
the argument might not matter anymore because IPads and other technology would end up being
mandatory. It is important for parents to know the effect of technology based learning and
whether or not they really want their child to grow up being consumed by technology or be
allowed to have a childhood and play like a normal child.

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Works Cited
Beschorner, B. and Hutchison, A. (2013). IPads as a Literacy Teaching Tool in Early Childhood.
International Journal of Education in Mathematics, Science and Technology, 1(1), 16-24.
Crescenzi, Lucrezia, Carey Jewitt, and Sara Price. "The Role of Touch in Preschool Children's
Learning Using IPad Versus Paper Interaction." Australian Journal of Language and
Literacy, 37.2 (2014): 86-95.
Dennis, Lindsay, and Stockall, Nancy. "Using Play to Build the Social Competence of Young
Children with Language Delays: Practical Guidelines for Teachers." Early Childhood
Education Journal, 43.1 (2015): 1-7.
Eming Young, Mary. Technology and Early Child Development. www.TechKnowLogia.org.
TechKnowLogia, Sept. /Oct. 2001. Web. 29 Feb. 2016
Washington State Department of Early Learning, State of Washington Office of Superintendent
of Public Instruction, Thrive by Five Washington. Washington State Early Learning and
Development Guidelines Birth through 3rd Grade 2012. Olympia: Early Learning and
Development Guidelines, 2012. Print.