Children’s Media and Technology: What Context and Content Reveal about children’s development and learning.

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Media and technology are contextual factors in children's environments that impact their development. The overall trend in understanding children’s development associated with media and technology highlights the importance of examining external factors, such as their parents’ knowledge of media and engagement. This symposium showcases a variety of perspectives that highlight the importance of understanding the relationship between content and context; specifically, we address the relationships between elements of the home learning environment, media content, and parents’ perceptions of media usage to explore further possibilities for effective children's educational media.

The first paper examines Latine parents’ attitudes, beliefs, and experiences with media and technology emphasizing reward-setting as a mediation strategy. Through qualitative parent interviews, the second paper explores Black and Latine parents’ perceptions, understanding, and recognition of computational thinking concepts in an educational television program. The third paper presents findings from a content analysis of US children’s animated shows, documenting differences between characters representing different ethnic/racial groups in terms of dramatic role, social status, personality, and physical attributes. The fourth paper explores Spanish-speaking Latine parents’ perceptions and preferences in terms of their use of technology, digital reading habits, and math e-book features/interactive elements. These papers provide insights that help us both in terms of understanding the impact of children’s media and technology on child development and with respect to improving the early learning outcomes of children through the developmentally appropriate design and use of media and technology tools.

Sub Unit

• Technology, Media & Child Development

Chair

• Susana Beltran-Grimm, Purdue University, West Lafayette

Individual Presentations

• Latine Families’ Home Practices Surrounding Mediation and Co-using of Technology. - Presenting Author: Julie Salazar, University of California - Irvine; June Ahn, University of California Irvine; Andres Sebastian Bustamante, University of California - Irvine

• Exploring Black and Latine Parents’ Perceptions of Computational Thinking and its Role in Children’s TV - Presenting Author: Breniel Lemley, Northwestern University; Fashina Alade, Michigan State University; T.J. Mesyn, Michigan State University; Anissa Eddie, Michigan State University

• Media Messages about Ethnic/Racial Representation: Findings from Children’s Television Project at Tufts University - Presenting Author: Rumeysa Ozturk, Tufts University; Kathleen Manning Robinson, Tufts University; Julie Dobrow, Tufts University; Calvin Gidney; Mary Casey, Tufts University

• US Latine Parents' Perceptions and Preferences for Using Digital Devices to Read to Young Children - Presenting Author: Susana Beltran-Grimm, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Connor O'Rear, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Patrick Ehrman, Purdue University, West Lafayette; Alexa Ellis, University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa; Tanya Maria Paes, St. Jude Children's Research Hospital - Memphis; Sarah H. Eason, Purdue University, West Lafayette; David James Purpura, Purdue University, West Lafayette