Technology to promote children’s social-emotional learning: Needs and challenges during COVID-19 pandemic and beyond

Session Type: Conversation Roundtable

Abstract

Although technology integration in education has become ubiquitous, little focus has been placed on social-emotional learning (SEL) for children (World Economic Forum, 2016). In 2020, due to the surge of COVID-19 epidemic and consequent school closures and social distancing, the need for technology-supported SEL has been suddenly increased (APA, 2020). The proposed roundtable aims to engage a broad audience in a discussion about current needs and challenges for technology integration in SEL and evidence-based use of technology in SEL. Moderated by Dr. Naomi Watanabe, four panelists will discuss the following six questions with the audience: 1) What are the various evidence-based and practice-based technologies that can promote children’s SEL? 2) How can technology assist parents and teachers to promote social-emotional skills in children? 3) What are the areas of concerns when utilizing technology in SEL? 4) What are the current and future challenges of implementing technology-supported SEL programs at home and schools? 5) Who should be involved in developing technology-supported SEL programs? 6) How could we make digital platforms accessible and equitable to children from diverse backgrounds? Dr. Judith Danovitch will discuss how children seek out and evaluate information presented in internet-based devices. Dr. Hiromi Narimatsu will introduce the latest abilities of interactive robots and address challenges in the development of interactive robots for SEL. Dr. Craig Bailey will discuss virtual professional development trainings for teachers to implement evidence-based SEL. Dr. Linda Pfiffner will share broader perspectives on use of technology in clinical settings with teachers, parents, and children.

Sub Unit

• Technology, Media & Child Development

Moderator

• Naomi Watanabe, NTT Communication Science Laboratories

Panelists

• Judith H Danovitch, University of Louisville

• Craig S. Bailey, Yale School of Medicine

• Linda Pfiffner, University of California - San Francisco

• Hiromi Narimatsu, NTT Communication Science Laboratories