Abstract
(1)Technology is everywhere. In today's older generations, technology was something new and exciting, a science that was not present in their day to day lives until they moved into adolescence.(2) Many children today reach a level of mastery at computers and video games before middle childhood than many of their parents and grandparent ever had or will. (3) A prime example of this is the emergence and popularity of 'webkinz,' which turn the classic stuffed animal into a gateway to the technological world. (4) From a theoretical perspective of child development, these changes in childhood experiences are different than those discussed by developmentalists Jean Piaget and Lev Vygotsky. When analyzing these theories, one finds that the expected course of experiences in life for children is based on what society offers the child, both tangibly and culturally. (5) Therefore, when looking at the state of what children have in the world today to explore and be exposed to in terms of technology, one begs the question: (6) When studying the course of child development today, are the older popular theories of Piaget and Vygotsky being ignored with the presence of technology? And are teachers/parents using developmentally appropriate practices defined by these two theorists by incorporating technology into their children's lives? Or is the incorporation of technology able to fit into our used theories? (6) We can see the effects of this by going into classrooms and comparing their learning as a result of technology with the 'guidelines' of Piaget and Vygotsky. (7)
Narrow to
classroom and specific problem (kindergarten and webkins- while other toys
unused
Good start so far! I see you were making mental notes to yourself at the end (unless I am crazy). I wish I really understood how these webkins things worked - realizing this is an abstract, so I am not sure what more I could say.