Operation S.T.E.A.M. Break

Hey, remember this game? Now tweens ages 10-14 can make their own at our Operation S.T.E.A.M. Break program on Wednesday, March 23 from 2-4:30 in the Puett Room. S.T.E.A.M. stands for Science Technology Engineering Art and Math. We'll be using all of those things to design, construct, code and play custom Operation games! No previous coding experience is required. Call 503-718-2656 or stop by the reference desk to sign up.

Ask Anything about Gadgets!

Did you or someone in your family get some new technology gadgets over the holidays?  If so, you are more than welcome to come for an open session to get answers to technology questions about using your gadget.  Want to know about settings?  Or apps?  Or how about downloads and file management?  Bring your tablet, phone, laptop, or other digital gadget and your questions.  The library will also have some devices available for practice use too!  Stop by the Technology Room on the 2nd floor of the library on Wednesday, January 6, 7-8:30 p.m.

AAP Screen Time Guidelines Update

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) is updating theirscreen time guidelines in 2016. The updates are science-driven and come from work done by leading social science, neuroscience and media researchers, educators, pediatricians, and other partner organizations to evaluate the available data, identify research gaps, and provide practical advice to caregivers based on evidence.

Below are the key messages for parents that emerged from their work (copied and pasted from here). The updated AAP screen time guidelines will be available in 2016.

Digital life begins at a young age, and so must parental guidance. Children who are “growing up digital” should learn healthy concepts of digital citizenship.

*Media is just another environment. Children do the same things they have always done, only virtually. Like any environment, media can have positive and negative effects.

*Parenting has not changed. The same parenting rules apply to your children’s real and virtual environments. Play with them. Set limits; kids need and expect them. Teach kindness. Be involved. Know their friends and where they are going with them.

*Role modeling is critical. Limit your own media use, and model online etiquette. Attentive parenting requires face time away from screens.

*We learn from each other. Neuroscience research shows that very young children learn best via two-way communication. “Talk time” between caregiver and child remains critical for language development. Passive video presentations do not lead to language learning in infants and young toddlers. The more media engender live interactions, the more educational value they may hold (e.g., a toddler chatting by video with a parent who is traveling). Optimal educational media opportunities begin after age 2, when media may play a role in bridging the learning achievement gap.

*Content matters. The quality of content is more important than the platform or time spent with media. Prioritize how your child spends his time rather than just setting a timer.

*Curation helps. More than 80,000 apps are labeled as educational, but little research validates their quality (Hirsh-Pasek, K. Psych Science 2015; 16:3-34 Google Scholar). An interactive product requires more than “pushing and swiping” to teach. Look to organizations like Common Sense Media (www.commonsensemedia.org) that review age-appropriate apps, games and programs.

*Co-engagement counts. Family participation with media facilitates social interactions and learning. Play a video game with your kids. Your perspective influences how your children understand their media experience. For infants and toddlers, co-viewing is essential.

*Playtime is important. Unstructured playtime stimulates creativity. Prioritize daily unplugged playtime, especially for the very young.

*Set limits. Tech use, like all other activities, should have reasonable limits. Does your child’s technology use help or hinder participation in other activities?

*It’s OK for your teen to be online. Online relationships are integral to adolescent development. Social media can support identity formation. Teach your teen appropriate behaviors that apply in both the real and online worlds. Ask teens to demonstrate what they are doing online to help you understand both content and context.

*Create tech-free zones. Preserve family mealtime. Recharge devices overnight outside your child’s bedroom. These actions encourage family time, healthier eating habits and healthier sleep.

*Kids will be kids. Kids will make mistakes using media. These can be teachable moments if handled with empathy. Certain aberrations, however, such as sexting or posting self-harm images, signal a need to assess youths for other risk-taking behaviors.

More on Screen Time

Can you tell we liked the presentation by journalist-turned-author, Lisa Guernsey? First Janet, and now I am blogging about it! And I have to admit, my first reaction when I saw we were hosting an author to talk about screen time, was "Great. Now I have another person to make me feel guilty about letting my under-2-year-old watch TV." And it was not that way at all. Lisa focuses more on the quality of TV, apps and video games than the quantity (even for kids under 2), and she offers a pneumonic to help you remember: SPLERN. "SPLERN???" you may ask, "How am I going to remember a nonsense word like that?" That's what I said to myself. But I remembered it without even taking notes, so the acronym did it's job!

• Straight-time story line (the story goes from beginning to end without things like dream sequences, flashbacks, memories, side plots, etc)
• Participation (Dora or Blue's Clues are good examples of this where the kids are actually asked a question and given time to answer, but anything that encourages participation like songs, movement, etc.)
• Labeling (When unfamiliar words or items are shown, they are labeled or defined within the context of the show)
• Engagement (Do the kids like it?)
• Repetition (Speaks for itself)
• Non-Violence (I should probably stop letting Coby watch even the 1981 Spiderman cartoon *cringe*)

So glad I got the opportunity to see her in person, and I highly recommend her book Screen Time: How Electronic Media--From Baby Videos to Educational Software--Affects Your Young Child.

Purchasing tablets, ereaders, and MP3 players

With the holiday shopping season upon us, many people are interested in purchasing personal technology items such as tablets, ereaders, and MP3 players.  Do you know what kinds of qualities you are looking for in such a device?  Or are you looking for specific features for a child or someone elderly?  Look no further.  The Kansas State Library has put together a great resource on choosing the right piece of personal technology for you or for a loved one.  Visit http://kslib.info/devices and choose the appropriate device you are interested in to learn more about available products. 

And once you've purchased your device, be sure to check out Library2Go to download FREE ebooks, music, and movies from the library!

Reading Rainbow 2.0

LeVar Burton is taking Reading Rainbow, the classic 80's hit TV show about books and reading to the next level: the ipad.  In this article interview with School Library Journal, Burton explains the birth of Reading Rainbow and the technology of the time, television, and it's leap to new heights using today's technology of downloadable apps.  Don't have an ipad?  No worries, we still have books and DVD's from the series here at the library!

Apps for Young Children

The Fred Rogers Center, who's mission is "to advance the fields of early learning and children’s media by acting as a catalyst for communication, collaboration, and creative change" has published this post regarding selecting apps for young children.  It stresses the point that parents, teachers, and media creators are responsible for making sure the apps children play with are optimal for their development.  And after perusing the Fred Rogers Center Blog some more, there are other posts of note that cover ebooks, digital media and other topics regarding early childhood learning and development.  I highly recommend taking a look at their blog today!

Screen time and young children

Did you know: that on any given day, 64% of babies between 1 and 2 watch TV and videos for an average of slightly over 2 hours?  Research has show over and over that developing children thrive when they are talked to, read to, played with and given time for creative play, physically active play, and interactions with other children and adults. In addition, there is no research showing the benefits of introducing children to new technologies in the first years of life.

The Campaign for a Commercial free Childhood has put together a PDF guide, Facing the Screen Dilemma: Young children, technology and early education. While this document was specifically written for early childhood professionals, parents will find the research sections and practical suggestions helpful in making decisions at home.