Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts (eBook)

Front Cover 1
Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts 4
Copyright 5
Contents 6
Contributors 8
Preface 10
Media Use as a Context for Cognitive Development: What Is and Should Be Known? 12
Young Children's Learning From Digital Media 15
Children and Adolescents' Cognitive Skills Are Enhanced Via Media 16
Media Literacy as a Cognitive Skill 17
Policy and Practice Recommendations for Facilitating Learning From Media 18
References 18
Section 1: Young Children's Learning From Digital Media 22
Chapter 1: Screen Media and the Youngest Viewers: Implications for Attention and Learning 24
Television and the Development of Attention 26
Television and Attention Deficits 26
Television and Executive Functioning 28
Background Television and Attention 29
Television and Learning 32
The Video Deficit 33
Co-viewing With Young Children 34
Language Learning From ``Baby´´ Video 36
Mobile Technologies, Attention, and Learning 39
References 42
Chapter 2: Early Digital Literacy: Learning to Watch, Watching to Learn 50
Perception of Video Images 51
Learning About Pictures 53
Learning to Use Information From People on Video 54
Solving a Problem Using Video 57
Children's Concept of Video 60
Conceptual Development Through New Experience With Video 62
When People on Video Respond 63
Conceptual Development Through Active Co-viewing 64
Digital Literacy in the Future 66
Learning to Learn From Video 67
References 68
Chapter 3: The Effects of Parent-Child Interaction and Media Use on Cognitive Development in Infants, Toddlers, and Preschool 74
Parent-Child Interaction 75
Parent-Child Interaction & Media Use
Parent-Child Interaction and Foreground Media Exposure 77
Joint Engagement With Foreground Media 78
The Effect of Foreground Media on Parent-Child Interaction 84
Parent-Child Interaction and Background Media Exposure 85
Conclusions 88
References 91
Chapter 4: Plugging Into Word Learning: The Role of Electronic Toys and Digital Media in Language Development 96
Children Learn Words for Things and Events That Interest Them 97
Children Learn the Words That They Hear Most 98
Interactive and Responsive Rather Than Passive Contexts Favor Vocabulary Learning 101
Children Learn Words Best in Meaningful Contexts 103
Children Need Clear Information About Word Meaning 105
Vocabulary Learning and Grammatical Development are Reciprocal Processes 107
Conclusions 108
References 109
Chapter 5: Parasocial Relationships With Media Characters: Imaginary Companions for Young Children's Social and Cognitive ... 114
What Are Parasocial Relationships? 114
Measuring Early Parasocial Relationships and Parasocial Interactions 115
Meaningful Parasocial Relationships for Early STEM Learning 120
Parasocial Breakups 123
Intelligent Characters 124
The Creation of Engaging Media Characters in Educational Productions 128
Conclusions 134
References 135
Section 2: Children and Adolescents Cognitive Skills as Enhanced Via Media 140
Chapter 6: Young Minds on Video Games 142
Not All Games Are Created Equal 143
Video Game Research 143
Action Video Games 143
Methods 144
Correlational Methods 144
Intervention/Experimental Methods 145
Brief Review of the Perceptual and Cognitive Effects of Action Video Games in Adults 146
Perception 146
An Aside: Why Action Games Are Interesting—Transfer of Learning Is Rare 147
Selective Attention 147
Sustaining Attention, Impulsivity, Speed/Accuracy Tradeoffs 149
Cognitive Control 150
Practical Outcomes 151
Areas Where Little or No Improvements Have Been Observed 151
Brief Review of the Perceptual and Cognitive Effects of Action Video Games in Children 152
Genre Unspecific Studies From the 1990s and Early 2000s 152
Action Video Game Correlational Studies in Children 153
Experimental Studies 154
Practical Applications 155
Possible Negative Effects 156
Impact of Other Emerging Media Interactions 156
Technological Interventions Designed for Improving Cognition in Youth 158
Issues Going Forward 159
Dynamic Game Genres 159
Complex Mixtures of Media Effects 159
Other Ethical Obstacles in Children 160
Conclusions 161
References 161
Chapter 7: Playing With Virtual Blocks: Minecraft as a Learning Environment for Practice and Research 166
Introduction: What is in a ``Game?´´ 166
Minecraft 101 170
Minecraft as an Environment for Teaching and Learning 176
Minecraft as an Educational Research Tool 179
Conclusion 183
References 185
Chapter 8: The Impact of Digital Media on Executive Planning and Performance in Children, Adolescents, and Emerging Adults 188
The Impact of Screen Media on EF 189
Video Games 189
Video Games and Special Needs Populations 194
Mobile Technology 195
Social Media 198
Concluding Thoughts 199
References 200
Chapter 9: Immersive Virtual Reality and the Developing Child 202
What Is Virtual Reality (VR)? 203
Immersive Technology 204
Immersive Virtual Reality (IVR) 204
What Makes IVR Unique? 205
Children Experiencing IVR as Real 207
Children's Discovery of the Self in IVR 210
The Fluidity of the Cognitive Self in IVR 213
Trends in Research With IVR and Children 213
Conclusions and Future Directions 215
References 217
Chapter 10: Digital Childhoods and Literacy Development: Is Textspeak a Special Case of an ``Efficient Orthography´´? 222
An Efficient Orthography 223
Textism Use and Literacy Skills 226
Self-Teaching Theory 228
Individual Differences in Phonological Processing Will Impact Self-Teaching 229
Self-Teaching Theory and Spelling 230
A Good Enough Orthography 231
Wider Texting Behaviors and Academic Performance 233
Concluding Remarks 234
Acknowledgments 235
References 235
Chapter 11: Bridging Theory and Practice: Applying Cognitive and Educational Theory to the Design of Educational Media 238
From Theory to Practice 239
Educational Television 240
Games and Digital Media 242
Theories of Learning From Media 243
Comprehension of Educational Television 244
Learning From Digital Games 246
Applying the Capacity Model to Educational Games 248
Cross-Platform Learning 251
Conclusion 252
References 253
Section 3: Media Literacy as a Cognitive Skill 256
Chapter 12: Understanding the Technical and Social Complexity of the Internet: A Cognitive Developmental Resource Perspective 258
Early Research on How Individuals Understand the Internet 260
Three Major Studies on How Individuals Understand the Internet 261
Conclusions 269
References 270
Chapter 13: Measuring the Digital and Media Literacy Competencies of Children and Teens 274
Context and Background 275
Approaches to Measurement 277
Competency-Based Measures 279
Self-Report Measures of Media Literacy 283
Media Knowledge and Media Literacy 286
Media Literacy and the Affective Domain 289
Implications for the Future 290
References 292
Chapter 14: Risks, Opportunities, and Risky Opportunities: How Children Make Sense of the Online Environment 296
Methodology 298
Children's Perceptions of Problematic Situations 299
Sexual Content 299
Making and Posting Sexual Content 303
``Bad Language´´ in Content 305
Aggressive Communication, Harassment, and Cyberbullying 306
Strangers 308
Rumor, Social Drama, and Unnecessary Communication 309
Excessive Use 312
Commercial Content 313
Preventative Measures 315
Coping 317
Conclusions 320
Acknowledgments 322
References 322
Section 4: Policy and Practice Recommendations for Facilitating Learning From Media 324
Chapter 15: Children's Learning in a Mobile Media Environment: Policies, Practices, and Possibilities 326
Regulatory Policies: Reducing the Negative Impact of Mobile Media 328
Development and Advocacy Policies: Boosting the Positive Potential of Mobile Media 333
Resources for Families, Educators, and Other Stakeholders 339
Conclusion 341
References 341
Chapter 16: How Parents Mediate Children's Media Consumption 346
Parental Mediation Strategies 348
Restrictive Mediation 348
Context Versus Activity Constraints 349
Permissive Mediation 349
Active Mediation 350
Subcategories of Active Mediation: Positive, Negative, and Neutral 350
Child and Teen Perceptions of Parental Mediation 351
Role Modeling Media Behavior 351
Age Differences in Parental Mediation 352
Parental Mediation of Children 352
Parental Mediation of Adolescents 355
Other Moderators of Parental Mediation 357
Gender Differences 357
Ethnicity and Culture 357
Gender of Parents 358
Parental Mediation of Media Literacy 358
Parental Mediation by Type of Media 359
Video Games 359
Social Media 360
Recommendations and Best Practices 360
References 361
Index 366
Back Cover 372