Children's gadzhetaniya - good or evil?
“We have a scourge in our family - an iPad. And it seems like they bought it for me, but Dima uses it as his own. We have to hide. I take out with him in rare cases, and then immediately selects and begins to watch and play cartoons. I do not think that a 2.5-year-old child has nothing to do except as a tablet. ” Often had to hear that? We, as developers of children's educational applications, can’t be saddened by this attitude.
Due to the specifics of our work, we constantly encounter children who do not part with their favorite gadgets. Preschool children from iPad more often than others get into our field of vision. Some little users are really impressed by how solidly a tablet computer has entered their lives. There are children who do not even know how to speak, but they work with the tablet quickly, deftly and productively. Of course, we can not but bother the question, what is a children's gadgetting ? Is it dangerous or is it exactly the good that several generations of science fiction dreamed about?
')
Usually on this topic reflect young parents and analytical sources. We would like to present our view, the look of the developers of children's educational applications.
Children are legible creatures. If the crumb sees that the older child can sit at the computer, he will not agree to spend his time at the wooden cubes scattered on the floor. Plastic rattles will not attract him if you play with him in a bright and noisy game on any gadget. Do not expect that you will be able to give your phone or tablet to your child rarely, sometimes, to calm him down or distract him. If you can not live without modern technology, then be prepared for the fact that the child will sooner or later stretch their hands to the most progressive of the benefits of civilization.
Steve Jobs had very high hopes that the iPad would be indispensable in education. His prophecy, as usual, came true, and we are not surprised by this. If the gadget is perfectly used in education in general, then it certainly can be useful for preschoolers.
Statistical studies show that children around the world every year become more and more "gadget-dependent . " In principle, this is clear and without research. In terms of numbers, the following can be said: 48% of children from 6 to 12 years old in the US dream of getting an iPad for the holidays ( Nielsen statistics). What will be this figure for the Russian region - you can assume for yourself. There are many more Russian children who dream of getting an iPad, because American parents are more loyal to using modern gadgets, and, besides, there are more opportunities to get an iPad for their children from American citizens.
Another interesting statistical study ( Nielsen , 2011) illustrates the difference between the percentage ratio of children under the age of 12 who play and children studying using tablet computers. The difference is not too great: 77% of children play, 57% study. We believe that this is a very large and good indicator, not only for developers, but also on a human scale. But it can and should grow.
It turns out, since children's gadgetting is inevitable, it is necessary to minimize its harm and increase its benefit.
In the “Appeal to the developers of iPad apps for children” Rian van der Merwe, there were four basic principles that must be followed. For those who are not familiar with this appeal, we offer a brief description of them:
Principle 1: Obvious interactive elements.
Principle 2: Pagination.
Principle 3: Inaccessible menu.
Principle 4: The lack of internal advertising in the form of pop-up windows, banners and other things that a child may accidentally buy.
On our own, we would like to add another important principle. We believe that any application designed for children should stimulate the development of imagination and fantasy .
One of the most important components of the intellect is a developed imagination. With the help of any application you can make the child fantasize. Remember your childhood: a small plastic machine gave you no less joy than modern children delivers a spectacular racing simulator.
To ensure that the application was aimed at the development of fantasy, in two ways. Option 1 : make the application simple and concise, so that the child can draw the missing details in his imagination. Option 2 : to create a certain “nutrient medium” so that the child receives rich emotions from the application. For example, the application is created with the atmosphere of an exciting sea adventure. Children are happy to immerse themselves in this atmosphere and fantasize, inventing various trifles and details. The same principle can be applied to children's interactive books.
A child with an iPad is not a nightmare that should scare parents. Time will pass, and the juvenile user will not be surprised even among the most distant from the progress of the inhabitants of the planet. Even we, modern adults who use the technical gifts of civilization, are sometimes unable to keep up with the rapid progress. But our children have long been firmly ahead of us in their communication with technology. We are like conquerors who have discovered new shores for themselves, but it is not us who are destined to found an empire on new shores, but our descendants, who will be born on this earth and will absorb its features with mother's milk.
So do not be afraid of a child with a tablet computer in their hands. Better take care of its content, carefully selecting and testing applications before downloading them to the gadget. Do not forget about the safety of the child at the tablet computer. WHO experts remind that a child of preschool and primary school age should spend at the computer no more than 15 minutes a day . If for your little user 15 minutes a day is not enough, then make sure that the child takes breaks.
I would like to end the article with the words of the director of the American school Pinnacle Peak, where there is a class equipped with iPads: "... of all the devices here, the iPad has the most power over children . " And only parents and developers can control this power. Both the one and the other should realize the full responsibility of this difficult business.
Due to the specifics of our work, we constantly encounter children who do not part with their favorite gadgets. Preschool children from iPad more often than others get into our field of vision. Some little users are really impressed by how solidly a tablet computer has entered their lives. There are children who do not even know how to speak, but they work with the tablet quickly, deftly and productively. Of course, we can not but bother the question, what is a children's gadgetting ? Is it dangerous or is it exactly the good that several generations of science fiction dreamed about?
')
Usually on this topic reflect young parents and analytical sources. We would like to present our view, the look of the developers of children's educational applications.
Children are legible creatures. If the crumb sees that the older child can sit at the computer, he will not agree to spend his time at the wooden cubes scattered on the floor. Plastic rattles will not attract him if you play with him in a bright and noisy game on any gadget. Do not expect that you will be able to give your phone or tablet to your child rarely, sometimes, to calm him down or distract him. If you can not live without modern technology, then be prepared for the fact that the child will sooner or later stretch their hands to the most progressive of the benefits of civilization.
Steve Jobs had very high hopes that the iPad would be indispensable in education. His prophecy, as usual, came true, and we are not surprised by this. If the gadget is perfectly used in education in general, then it certainly can be useful for preschoolers.
Statistical studies show that children around the world every year become more and more "gadget-dependent . " In principle, this is clear and without research. In terms of numbers, the following can be said: 48% of children from 6 to 12 years old in the US dream of getting an iPad for the holidays ( Nielsen statistics). What will be this figure for the Russian region - you can assume for yourself. There are many more Russian children who dream of getting an iPad, because American parents are more loyal to using modern gadgets, and, besides, there are more opportunities to get an iPad for their children from American citizens.
Another interesting statistical study ( Nielsen , 2011) illustrates the difference between the percentage ratio of children under the age of 12 who play and children studying using tablet computers. The difference is not too great: 77% of children play, 57% study. We believe that this is a very large and good indicator, not only for developers, but also on a human scale. But it can and should grow.
It turns out, since children's gadgetting is inevitable, it is necessary to minimize its harm and increase its benefit.
In the “Appeal to the developers of iPad apps for children” Rian van der Merwe, there were four basic principles that must be followed. For those who are not familiar with this appeal, we offer a brief description of them:
Principle 1: Obvious interactive elements.
Principle 2: Pagination.
Principle 3: Inaccessible menu.
Principle 4: The lack of internal advertising in the form of pop-up windows, banners and other things that a child may accidentally buy.
On our own, we would like to add another important principle. We believe that any application designed for children should stimulate the development of imagination and fantasy .
One of the most important components of the intellect is a developed imagination. With the help of any application you can make the child fantasize. Remember your childhood: a small plastic machine gave you no less joy than modern children delivers a spectacular racing simulator.
To ensure that the application was aimed at the development of fantasy, in two ways. Option 1 : make the application simple and concise, so that the child can draw the missing details in his imagination. Option 2 : to create a certain “nutrient medium” so that the child receives rich emotions from the application. For example, the application is created with the atmosphere of an exciting sea adventure. Children are happy to immerse themselves in this atmosphere and fantasize, inventing various trifles and details. The same principle can be applied to children's interactive books.
A child with an iPad is not a nightmare that should scare parents. Time will pass, and the juvenile user will not be surprised even among the most distant from the progress of the inhabitants of the planet. Even we, modern adults who use the technical gifts of civilization, are sometimes unable to keep up with the rapid progress. But our children have long been firmly ahead of us in their communication with technology. We are like conquerors who have discovered new shores for themselves, but it is not us who are destined to found an empire on new shores, but our descendants, who will be born on this earth and will absorb its features with mother's milk.
So do not be afraid of a child with a tablet computer in their hands. Better take care of its content, carefully selecting and testing applications before downloading them to the gadget. Do not forget about the safety of the child at the tablet computer. WHO experts remind that a child of preschool and primary school age should spend at the computer no more than 15 minutes a day . If for your little user 15 minutes a day is not enough, then make sure that the child takes breaks.
I would like to end the article with the words of the director of the American school Pinnacle Peak, where there is a class equipped with iPads: "... of all the devices here, the iPad has the most power over children . " And only parents and developers can control this power. Both the one and the other should realize the full responsibility of this difficult business.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/166903/
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