ABSTRACT
Emerging technologies, including mobile and interactive screen media, are now embedded throughout the daily lives of young children (Pew Internet, 2015a; Wartella, 2013). Rapid increases in emerging technology ownership have been docu - mented in recent years (e.g., Kabali et al., 2015; Rideout, 2011, 2013), with each successive publication proving the prior’s estimates to be significantly outdated. The advent of interactive digital media has raised the promise that digital technology might be a more accessible learning resource, particularly for low-income children
who experience a disproportionate amount of learning difficulties and have lower access to developmental resources. However, there is little evidence regarding the effectiveness of commercially available digital products to promote learning, and most parents feel they need help weeding through the vast numbers of ‘educational’ apps to find the best digital content for their children (Rideout, 2014). This excitement about the promise of digital learning tools has been tempered by concerns that excessive digital media use contributes to child development and health problems, which has led the American Academy of Pediatrics to issue screen time limit recommendations (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2013). In this chapter, we review the evidence of how young children learn both with
and without apps in the home (i.e., outside of schools or early education centers). In order to evaluate the potential ability of apps to support or interfere with different domains of child development and learning, we will apply existing evi - dence where available and draw implications from theory where data are lacking. This information will inform design recommendations for the next generation of educational games and apps and how they might best be used to support young children’s learning, with particular emphasis on the need for greater parent involvement in the digital learning experience.
