From Glitch to Learning Opportunity: Considerations for Digital Media-based Family Programming

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Saturday 3:20 pm Four Seasons Ballroom 2-3
  In Roundtable Session: Affordances and Challenges in Developing, Implementing, and Researching a Digital Media-Based Family Program (Table 7)

Abstract

This case study highlights how one community partner that typically hosts monthly caregiver-centric courses adapted [Program]. Data collection included session observations, feedback forms from caregivers, children, and educators, post-program interviews with educators, midpoint and post-program interviews with families, and pre-post program surveys with caregivers and educators. Families also participated in a reflection circle––a community listening session to share additional thoughts and react to the researchers’ initial interpretation of the findings to see what resonated and what was missing or required further unpacking (Cunningham-Erves, 2022).

From these methods, we identified several considerations when bringing technology into community spaces:
- Context matters. Each [Program] session was held at different locations, to be accessible to more of the community. This meant that each month, educators were unfamiliar with sites’ room layout, available technology, or internet.

- Flexibility is key. The media developers, program educators, families, and researchers had to be flexible while using and learning from digital media. For example, educators requested more training and support for implementing programming, and the program developers provided timely assistance. The researchers shifted their data collection approaches to accommodate participants’ schedules and preferred modes of providing feedback. Families and educators pivoted their use of digital activities when external factors limited their time, and adapted to the session spaces, changing some activities to whole-group experiences or gathering children around a laptop to view videos.

- Technology glitches can be transformed into learning opportunities. At [Site], when internet connectivity and tablet settings prevented children from accessing a digital game, educators talked about how, in life and work, technology issues happen. The educators praised the group’s patience, turn-taking, and teamwork while navigating tech difficulties and tied these attributes back to the program’s curricular goals.

- Family co-engagement is more successful when recognized as an explicit program expectation. Each [Program] session begins with “conversation cards,” question prompts that encourage caregivers and children to talk about the skills and strategies they are learning and connect with other families. The program also includes questions for caregivers to ask their children while playing the digital games, but despite this being covered in the training, educators did not realize that they were available. As a result, caregivers were observed on their phones or doing other things during children’s gameplay. Both caregivers and educators remarked afterwards that they wished they had seen the explicit guidance for how caregivers could support children’s engagement with the digital experiences. This suggests that caregivers and educators alike need explicit and ongoing scaffolding to remediate screen time into co-engaged learning opportunities.

- Think about what happens between sessions. Families appreciated the once-a-month format because it was convenient for their schedules and allowed them to build upon and apply what they learned between sessions. However, the time lapse also made it difficult for families to recall some content. Families and educators suggested more virtual or in-person touchpoints with one another between sessions, as well as access to the technology and program activities to deepen their engagement with the content and each other.

Author

• Camellia Sanford-Dolly, Rockman et al Cooperative