Tablet computers reduce the creativity of play in preschool children, according to the results of the study | Tech Reddy

Preschool children’s play with tablets is less creative and imaginative than play with physical toys. This is shown in a new study from Uppsala University, and the difference is significant. The results refute occasional claims that new technology makes children more creative.

Robin Samuelsson from the Department of Scandinavian Languages ​​at Uppsala University said: “Although the study is small, it shows that we need to be careful when using touchscreens with preschoolers.”

In a collaboration between researchers at Uppsala University in the UK and the Institute of Education at University College London, two groups of preschoolers, 2-year-olds and 4-5-year-olds, compared nearly a hundred games. In the study, 30 children from two preschools participated in preschool free play sessions, that is, they played without much teacher involvement. About 57 percent of children’s time in preschool is free play.

Previous studies have often evaluated entirely new applications or technologies such as virtual reality (VR) and augmented reality (AR) in preschool settings. In this study, however, the researchers came to study how children play with common, popular apps during free play.

Researchers conducted a multi-method study of videotaped children playing in a preschool. They looked at what children did when they played with the tablets, comparing two samples from children’s play and physical toys such as toy bricks and clothes. Attention was paid to what the children did on the screen and with their peers during tablet play. The study compared children’s play after adapting an established framework for classifying children’s play.

The study found that playing with tablets was more exploratory, but had less elements of make-believe and fantasy. The nature of tablet gaming was also different from the games played by children of that age.

In its guidelines for care, development and learning, the preschool programme, known in Swedish as Lpfö 2018, says that preschool teachers must take responsibility for ensuring that every child can use digital tools in a way that encourages development and learning. As a result, tablets have been installed in preschools across the country and have become a part of many children’s daily lives. Both educators and researchers have witnessed the possibilities of the new technology.

“Our results are clear, but surprising given the curriculum. We hope our results will be meaningful and useful for preschool teachers, as well as parents and others who interact with children and technology in their daily lives. In order to learn the mechanisms of learning the game of exploration using tablets, it is necessary to know how new technologies affect children,” notes Samuelsson.

A new study published this year Learning, media and technology, builds on previous research that examined patterns of interaction between teachers and children using tablets. That study compared reading books with using tablets, showing that children spoke less in situations involving tablets. Previous research has also revealed new non-verbal methods children use to communicate using touchscreens.