07 Jun 2004 | Mark said...

I've actually heard just the opposite of this report. That computer usage by children lessens motor skills.

Actually, I think that it's more attributed to less and less emphasis on writing skills with pencil and paper which is impacting eye / hand coordination - and thus motor skills.

07 Jun 2004 | Don Schenck said...

My son did some development for Boston's Childrens Hospital for children with autism. It was heralded as a huge success (including some kudos from Arnold Schwartzenegger).

So I'm thinking there must be a "good" connection between computers and cognitive development.

07 Jun 2004 | barlow said...

My autistic son gains a great deal of benefit from computers because, first of all, a lot of autistic kids have low muscle tone and can't write legibly enough to keep up in school. So he carries a tiny typing computer that he can write his assignments on. He still does writing practice, but it isn't coordination that is his problem - it is simply muscle strength and focus. Typing really helps out there.

The other thing that helps out is the educational software that requires a lot of listening skills - some of these are pretty specific for various disorders, and in terms of teaching the kid to focus on the most relevant thing in a scene, computers/multimedia is the way to go. He learns to look at the most relevant thing on the page based upon motion there, or highlighting, etc. And then carries this skill (relevance filtering) to other things - magazines, books, and even the physical world.

One funny thing is that the computer he uses here at our house has a persistent high-speed connection, so the web is a big part of his life - he cruises for movie trailers and ends up memorizing all the production companies for each movie. And then when we ask him what a particular movie is about, he just starts in with the trailer: "In a world..."

For our neurotypical kids, I find them learning to read a little faster because there is so much unavoidable text even on children's sites. If you want to see some well-done content, check out nickjr.com - it is essentially the only place on the web where I find Flash content to be helpful.

07 Jun 2004 | Greg said...

I offer one consideration in this, and that comes down to the definition of motor skills. Personally, I automatically assume 'fine motor skills', right or wrong. Fine motor skills implying an artist (painter), skilled tradesperson (jeweller), musician (wind or string instrument), electrician. In these terms, keyboarding skills are too vague, lacking in truly refined precision.

On the plus, the ability to learn to use the keyboard without eyeballing it is critical to solid coordination developments. I think of it as the auto-response factor. As for cognitive reasoning, it can only improve with valued computer experiences. Action, reaction - the whole interactive aspect of it, just keep the video games at a minimum, which is what I see most kids doing with computers.

A rant by another name is still a rant.

07 Jun 2004 | Dsiv said...

I agree that using computers as a child no doubt builds both motor and cognitive skills. These skills, particularly the motor ones, might be very unique to computers and perhaps not generalizable to other aspects of life, but as computers become more central to modern life I think that computer-specific skills are worth learning.

The part that concerns me is the fact that computer usage is replacing play time and other childhood interactions. Although I do not have kids right now I think that if I did I would prefer my children develop strong social skills and a love for reading rather than have them proficient at using a computer at a young age.

True, spending time in front of a computer does not necessarily preclude developing other skills, but judging by the way that kids zone out in front of TVs and video games I am afraid that a computers with high speed internet access just give a kid just way too much opportunity to space out in front of a flickering screen. In the a perfect world parents could make sure that kids use computers in a responsible manner, but I'm still a bit skeptical...

07 Jun 2004 | Mark said...

I think your assessment of fine skills is correct, Greg.
The key is balance. I handed down an old Mac laptop to my 3-1/2 year-old son so he can "work" with me. He loves typing on the keys and can recognize names typed out - very cool.

However, he is also encouraged to play with playdough, fingerpaint, color, and even bang away on the musical keyboard...morso than play on the laptop.

Balance.

08 Jun 2004 | Simon Fodden said...

Two thoughts about children and computers in schools.

If children learn to touch type that's of value. It seems the keyboard isn't going to change radically in the next little while, so this skill will be practical -- and, indeed, is for many of us, the way we "write" and, so, think with out hands.

But simply "using" the compter is worthless. For most kids it is an equivalent of television, a completely passive "screen time" where thinking is absent. It is the case that research is possible with the internet -- and increasingly it'll be essential. But then the focus is on the research and the computer is basically unimportant -- incidental. What schools ought to do is teach children how to program. This would make the computer their servant, give them skills that are truly creative, and take the emphasis off mere consumption of whatever others have poured into the system.

Simon

08 Jun 2004 | RS said...

What schools ought to do is teach children how to program. This would make the computer their servant

The computer isn't already their servant? I don't remember my computer ever complaining when I told it to 'paste'.

But simply "using" the compter is worthless. For most kids it is an equivalent of television, a completely passive "screen time" where thinking is absent.

The possibility of using a computer as a TV does not, imho, make the experience of using a computer "useless". Computers can also be used to break windows, but that doesn't tell us anything about their true value either.

What I'm interested in here is not what happens when a child watches media on a computer, or when they can look up a definition -- I'm interested in the kinds of thinking that using filesystems, menus, and other interface staples require and encourage. There's some definite "figuring out" that has to happen when a child uses an interface. Can that "figuring out" extend generally into their lives? What about when it comes time to learn algebra in a few years? How conceptually close are the tasks of cutting/pasting any chunk of text (same operation, different value) and plugging any number into f(x)?

08 Jun 2004 | james said...

i think reading through even just the introduction of The Flickering Mind: The False Promise of Learning in the Classroom and How Learning Can Be Saved (also a Slashdot book review) is persuasive in saying that computers in particular (and technology in general) are not inherently good teachers of anything worthwhile. they often detract, and only occassionally help kids excel - even then, in combination with traditional methods.

08 Jun 2004 | Arne Gleason said...

I didnt use the stuff when I was a kid and look how great I am. I mean, come on, how could being exposed to huge quantities information (on whatever question comes to mind), an endless parade of novel games that teach logic and reading skills (without ever getting weary or impatient), and creative tools that would have seemed a dream not too long ago, possibly enrich a kids development? I say keep em off computers until they are 16 (theyll build the best minds reading a couple of dozen dreary gray text books and playing outside with sticks and balls).

And dont go bringing up that Flynn effect thing. Thats all down to better nutrition and teachers. Anyone that might correlate higher IQs with exposure to technology has been spending too much time watching TVAnd penmanshipwhat really should be focusing on is good penmanship

08 Jun 2004 | Arne Gleason said...

And proof-readingno one ever proof reads anymore because of those idiotic spell checkers

08 Jun 2004 | daveb said...

While I think computers are a terrific tool, and a fun novelty for children, there are some critical fundamentals that kids need to learn before they can use them well.

Much of the terminology for computer use, and instructing a person to use computers relies on real world experiences that most of us have from our childhood. Everyone knows what it means to "paste" in the real world. You take out your glue, taste a bit, glob some on your paper and slap your magazine cut-out on top. If kids don't have this real world skill, then their computer use will be very frustrating. They won't have any cognition or connection to the action they are performing.

I see kids who have trouble working with pencils and paper encouraged to work on the computer. However, if they have low muscle tone and trouble with basic writing instruments then they often have trouble with the fine motions of the mouse. It's easy when there are large buttons as in most kids games, but try and get a 6 year old to use Microsoft Word to type out a simple assignment. It's really difficult for them. That "save" button is SO small.

For kids with special needs computers and assistive technology are perfect. Barlows example is a terrific example of why technology should be in schools. My own nephews require similar help in their daily learning. However, when a kid is lazy, and doesnt want to use a pencil, putting a mouse in his/her hand isnt going to solve the problem.

A computer should be a tool, just like your pencil is. A computer can do a lot more of course, but when we put our kids in front of them we should think of it as the coolest pencil ever invented.

08 Jun 2004 | LNJ said...

I gotta go with James and Arne on this one.

Computer, in a VERY limited capasity, have a use int eh classroom and in a childs life. ***Special need children excluded***

I grew up without a computer. The computer lab at my high school was 18 machines. My parents, grandparents, et al. gre up without computers at there fingertips as did your parents and her parents and damned near everyone's parents.

In my years in the classroom and in my career as a private tutor now, the biggest battles to be had are about computers. Kids don't think out reports anymore, they cut and paste sections of others reports. They don't spell well because the computer catches all their mistakes and never forces them to learn to spell.

Granted, I can't spell worth a nickel either, but not because I had a computer to catch everything for me, but because I never cared to learn the skill. The other problem I have is overall performance of school age children... math and language skills have drastically decreased in the last 12 years. Really, since the computer and internet became 'tools' for everyday use in everyday homes, skills in almost all areas that will prepare a child for college and adulthood have dropped off.

Schools are changing and modifying themselves as well. They don't teach computer skills, they use the computers as a crutch. Don't know a word? Look it up on line. Didn't understand a book? Go to pinkmonkey and read the cliff notes. Computers have made educators lazy too.

Maybe I am just a bitter educator with to much free time, but I see computers as having a time and a place. I remember a time when I couldn't use a calculator in math class, but the kids I tutor now don't know their times tables and can use a calculator in ALL aspects of math. Technology has a time and a place and when we start to make that time and place a minute by minute need, we stop educating and stop freee thinking and create a culture of machine needing, half schooled, unlearned people.

Of course, there are exceptions, but as a whole...

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