Chapter 8: The Methodological Tortoise and The Technological Hare: A Discussion of Methods for Conducting Research on New Technologies and Young Children¹

This is an interesting time to conduct research with educational technologies for young children. Technological advances are leading to an increasingly diverse and accessible set of available tools for this age group. Mobile devices, touchscreens, apps costing a fraction of computer software titles, and intuitive, user-friendly interfaces have allowed a quickly growing portion of the population—including young children—to become regular technology users.

While new technologies appear readily to stand trial at the fingertips of children, parents, and teachers, slower growth is seen in the development and maturation of our understandings of which technologies and which uses of them will be most beneficially impactful. There has been deep interest as well as concern in recruiting the power of new computer technologies in support of improved educational outcomes since well before computers were widely used. Over the course of several decades, new technologies have caused old worries to resurface (Wartella & Jennings, 2000). On the other hand, guidelines such as the joint statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and the Fred Rogers Center (2012), address concerns about detrimental technology use: such reports clarify and raise awareness of the growing understanding that, as with non-computational materials and activities, different computer technologies fill different niches and that technology use is most beneficial when used as a means of working towards child-centered goals and as only part of a balanced “diet” of activities.