Are you a technology optimist or a technology pessimist? Are you worried about how children and young people are using digital technology so much more during this pandemic, or do you think it can only be good for their learning?The amount of technology available to many children today is greater than in any previous generation, and it is more specifically designed to capture their imaginations. There is heated debate as to how the digital influx is shaping children's development and experience, and whether some children are missing out if their homes don’t have smartphones or access to the internet.Is the massive increase in social media use as a result of lockdown changing the way that children form relationships? How is technology changing the way that children think, and how will it shape education as children begin to take up schooling again? This exciting new free course pulls together the latest evidence from experts in the field to explore these and other questions.Join us as we delve into the lives of children and discuss the potential benefits and limitations of technology for them.RequirementsThe course is intended for anyone with a general interest in childhood studies, early childhood, education studies and child psychology and does not require any prior experience of studying this subject.
Overview
Syllabus
- Week1Week 1: How different is a digital childhood?
- Introduction
- 1 A family discussion
- 1.1 From zero to eight
- 1.2 A moral panic?
- 1.3 Why is technology so appealing?
- 2 Are children and adults today really so different?
- 2.1 Introducing ‘digital natives’
- 2.3 Digital natives: fact or fiction?
- 3 Digital pessimists
- 3.1 Reflection time: are you a digital optimist or pessimist?
- 3.2 Back to the experts
- 3.3 Digital parenting
- 3.4 Creating responsible digital citizens
- References
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- Week2Week 2: Social identities in cyberspace
- Introduction
- 1 ‘Homo interneticus’
- 1.1 Social media: positive, negative or just different?
- 1.2 Friendship made easy?
- 1.3 What is a friend?
- 2 Play in an online world
- 2.1 What is a virtual world?
- 3 Forming an identity
- 3.1 Experimentation and the virtual self
- 3.2 Identity and social behaviours
- 3.3 Navigating the digital landscape
- References
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
- Week3Week 3: Learning to think in a digital age
- Introduction
- 1 A pyramid of digital engagement?
- 1.1 Learning through communication
- 1.2 Texting is killing language
- 1.3 Ebooks are killing reading
- 1.4 Multitasking as a new way of learning
- 2 Brain development in a hyper-tech world
- 2.1 A young brain and video games
- 2.2 The good, the bad and the ugly
- 2.3 Your view on video games
- 3 The strengths of new technology
- 3.1 Digital books
- 3.2 Costs and benefits
- References
- Acknowledgements
- Week4Week 4: The future of childhood education
- Introduction
- 1 What could the future look like?
- 1.1 Flipped classrooms
- 1.2 Creating a new curriculum
- 2 Virtual schools replacing teachers?
- 2.1 The School in the Cloud
- 2.2 One Laptop per Child
- 2.3 Tablets and apps in Malawi
- 3 Tablets and apps in schools and pre-schools
- 3.1 Can apps help children learn?
- 3.2 What does the research evidence say?
- 3.3 Have your views changed?
- 3.4 A new educational future
- References
- Further reading
- Acknowledgements
