Using & Teaching Educational Technology
Clickerati Generation Update: The Digital Divide Starts Early
By Mechelle De Craene, M.Ed. and John Cuthell, Ph.D.
Mon, 29 May 2006, 16:05

This article is based on a working draft of an academic paper, and represents the first publication of the findings of this research. Using a Piagetian approach, the authors put forward the argument that the digital divide is not simply a matter of economics, but has psychological implications as well. If they are correct, how might schools counteract the effects of the digital divide? We would very much welcome your comments on this.

"The question is when a child expresses interest for the computer,because it's in the house, do you (A), chastise them and say, no go away from that it's evil, Or do you (B) let them explore their curiosity, and give them something that you as a parent can share with them and that expression of curiosity? And for me as a parent, I opt for scenario B."

(Tony Fernandes Toddler Software Designer on The Merrow Report Radio Show.)
             
The first class of the "Clickerati kids" are just finishing up their first year of primary school. Needless to say, they've "schooled" teachers and researchers alike with quite serendipitous outcomes. We've found right from an early age that the quality and level of access affects the way one thinks and interacts with technology.

We have been studying "Clickerati kids" as a part of larger study we're conducting on virtual learning. As such, the data is gleaned from an international longitudinal ethnographic study consisting of over 2100 youngsters (infanthood through secondary school).
 
The "Clickerati Generation" comprises children (aged 0-6) born within the 21st Century. Dr. Idit Harel Caperton (2003) of MIT and Harvard posits, "Children born in the current decade bring a whole new set of expectations to technology. They not only want to use technology, but expect to be masters of the medium." They are co-lateral thinkers, challenge-seekers, and thrive to personalize.

In fact, "Toddler Tech" is the fastest growing segment of youth software, with a $30 million dollar software market," says Tony Fernades, a "Toddler Tech" designer. He contends, "There's no meaningful debate about the issue of whether children should be exposed to technology because they're exposed to technology every day." (The Merrow Report, 2000).

Technology has even affected the toy industry. In a recent article entitled "Toy Makers Push for High Tech for Tots", author Dan Burrows (2006) states that technology is competing with traditional non-tech toy sales. He contends, "Perhaps most alarming to the toy business is slumping sales, as video games, cell phones and MP3 players compete for kids' attention and parents' dollars. The toy industry has responded by embracing technology, adding interactivity, creating whole new categories of educational toys and expanding the use of sophisticated electronics in products for kids as young as newborns. Notably, NPD (a market research group) said that sales of learning and exploration toys rose in 2005, adding 6 percent to $400 million. Part of the strategy is to make kids enamoured of their toys and brands at an earlier age; part of it is a response to parents who want playtime to also build cognitive and other skills."

From internet to SEGA iDog, no other generation has ever been exposed to so much technology. The Scottish Executive's 2003 "Early Learning Forward Thinking: The Policy Framework for ICT in Early Years", reminds us that,

"Although Information and Communication Technology (ICT) is often equated with the use of desktop computers, it is important, when considering the needs of young children, to adopt a wide-ranging definition of what is meant by ICT. It is clear, from looking at children's lives at home and the community, that ICT is presently often embedded in their everyday experiences, for example in bar codes in supermarkets, interactive television programmes, microwave ovens, vacuum cleaners, video/DVD plays and traffic lights at pedestrian crossings."

For children with technology access at home, digital acquisition is largely an ‘unschooled' phenomenon primarily gleaned through play (i.e. assimilation) and imitation (i.e. accommodation). But what about the "clickerati" who don't have as much technology access? What about the "clickerati" who don't have a computer at home to click on? How do they fare? Yes, digital media includes a wide range, as stated above. However, within the classroom none is more evident to teachers than the computer. Hence, teachers most notice the digital divide upon seeing the spectrum of digital abilities within their classrooms daily whilst children are in front of computers.      

The digital divide results from the socio-economic differences between communities in their access to computers and the internet. It is typically seen as a social/political problem. In 2005, the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS), which was a series of United Nations-sponsored conferences about information and communication, met together in efforts related to its chief aim to help bridge the digital divide.

Regarding schools, teachers can help to make a difference, and many teachers are: by making interventions and adjustments necessary tailoring to each student's digital abilities within their heterogeneous classrooms. But that takes time...especially in classes with a student/teacher ratio of 30+:1. Careful assessment is needed on each student. For example, reading interface patterns (e.g. body language) provides clues that will suggest if a software program is too easy or difficult. Additionally, some students don't even know the basics and you may literally need to sit by their side and coach students...sometimes hand-over-hand.

It's similar to the way in which some children come to school already knowing how to read, whilst others need intensive step-by-step reading intervention (e.g. from phonics up before they can even think about fluency).

There have been numerous studies that show that books in the home are correlated with reading abilities. So, the same is true for digital literacy. Children without a computer at home show a remarkable difference to those with a computer in their home in digital abilities. Consequently, just as there are intensive interventional reading courses for students, one day there may be classes set up to help bridge the digital divide at an early age. At present, the reading literacy goal (in the USA) is to intervene by 3rd grade (age 8). Eventually, the same may be true for schools related to digital literacy as well.

However, the term "digital literacy" is quite ethereal, ever-changing with technology upgrades. Moreover, "literacy" in itself has become as ubiquitous as the term "postmodernism", leaving it to the subjective interpretation of teachers from one year to the next. Therefore, a consistent framework would be helpful to teachers.

The philosopher Jean-Jacques Rousseau (1798) believed that, "Childhood has its own way of seeing, thinking, and feeling, and there is nothing more foolish than the attempt to put ours in their place." The authors of this article agree, and contend that seeking how children see, think, and feel about technology is fundamentally important and a worthy endeavour in the efforts to help bridge the digital divide. The concept of Cybernetic Developmental Theory (De Craene & Cuthell, 2006) uses Piaget's Cognitive Developmental Theory to identify developmental differences in how children interact with technology. This provides a lens through which teachers can understand how children of all ages (including "clickerati") relate to ICT.

As such, even when looking at children within one standard deviation of IQ (mathematics and verbal) we've seen a developmental difference (the authors' data from ongoing research). Unfortunately, our preliminary research on the first class of "clickerati kids" indicates that the digital divide starts early (i.e. before age 6). Therefore, children without a computer at home or access to a computer at home show remarkable developmental differences in terms of skills (i.e. motor) and schemas (i.e. cognitive) within the classroom setting. In other words, the children's observed human computer interface patterns differ. Some examples include: motor skills such as typing, posture, fluency, understanding desktop icons and toolbar functions, spatial reasoning, reversibility, problem solving, autonomy, frequency of expressed frustration levels as well as overall synergy, ie harmony between human and machine -- or the lack of synergy.

Furthermore, the frequency of what is known as "Csikszentmihalyi flow" (see below) differed between students who had computer access at home compared with the students who did not have access at home. Alas, some students showed none of the characteristics of flow. In  "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience", Csikszentmihalyi (1990) describes it as follows:

"In flow, people typically feel strong, alert, in effortless control, unselfconscious, and at the peak of their abilities. It is the state in which people are so involved in an activity that nothing else seems to matter; the experience itself is so enjoyable that people will do it even at great cost, for the sheer sake of doing it."

Frequency of flow and other data was gleaned through detailed observations as well verbal interviews and concept maps drawn by children. We are still in the process of collecting data via our ongoing research project on virtual learning. Indeed, there is much frontier to be discovered and much work to be done via global collaboration to help bridge the divide.

Overall, many teachers and technology companies are acutely aware of the digital divide starting at an early age and trying to come up with some solutions. Recently, Intel built $400 laptops for developing countries and IBM has donated ten Young Explorer computer learning centres to the Cherokee Nation's Head Start Program.

In conclusion, computers in preschools can help to ready students for primary school and may help to level the playing ground of students who may not have computer access at home. Indeed, early classroom intervention and access may help to bridge the digital divide before the level of digital skills and abilities widen.

References
Burrows,  D. (2006) Toy Makers Push for High Tech for Tots, The Mercury News,     Feb. 20, 2006.

Csikszentmihalyi, M (1990) Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience,     HarperCollins, New York, NY.

De Craene, M. & Cuthell, J. (2006) Reprogramming Piaget: A Developmental     Look at ICT and 21st Century Learning, presented at the Society for     Information Technology & Teacher Education (SITE) 2006 International     Conference in Orlando.

eSchool News Intel's answer to $100 laptop: Endwise
$400 machine for developing markets can do more than MIT prof's $100     laptop, Intel says     http://www.eschoolnews.com/news/showstoryts.cfm?Articleid=6302

Harel-Caperton, I. (2003) Clickerati Kids: Who are they? http://www.mamamedia.com/areas/grownups/new/21_learning/main.html
Rousseau, Jean-Jacques (1798) Confessions; Christopher Kelly, Roger D. Masters     and Peter G. Stillman (eds) (1995) The Confessions and Correspondence,     Including the Letters to Malesherbes, The Collected Writings of     Rousseau, volume 5, 1-550.
The Scottish Executive (2003) Early Learning Forward Thinking: The Policy     Framework for ICT in Early Years,     http://www.ltscotland.org.uk/earlyyears/resources/publications/ltscotl  and/BenignAddition.asp

The Merrow Report (2000) Toddlers and Computers -- Too much too soon?         http://www.pbs.org/merrow/tmr_radio/pgm15/

Virtual Learning http://www.virtuallearning.org.uk/

Webwire Press Release (2006) IBM Donates Early Learning 'KidSmart'     Computer centres to Cherokee Nation Head Start Program     http://www.webwire.com/ViewPressRel.asp?SESSIONID=&aId=13070

Mechelle De Craene is a MirandaNet Scholar working on her research project with the MirandaNet Academy. She has an undergraduate degree in psychology and Masters Degree in Special Education with a Gifted Education endorsement. Currently she teaches multi-age Title 1 interventional reading as well as gifted math and science classes in Florida, USA.

John Cuthell is the Research and Implementation Director for the MirandaNet Academy, UK. Working in association with the Centre for Educational Innovation & Technology, Bath Spa University, he has developed practice based research accreditation for teachers, which celebrates their ICT classroom projects.
John has been in schools for more than thirty-five years. During the past fifteen years he has researched and evaluated the impact of new communications technologies on teaching and learning.

Terry's note: this article is (c) the authors, despite what it says below!


&

© Mechelle De Craene, M.Ed. and John Cuthell, Ph.D. Mon, 29 May 2006