tag:theconversation.com,2011:/id/topics/tablet-computing-3887/articlesTablet computing – The Conversation2020-06-02T12:15:17Ztag:theconversation.com,2011:article/1386942020-06-02T12:15:17Z2020-06-02T12:15:17ZMobile technology may support kids learning to recognize emotions in photos of faces<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338980/original/file-20200601-95009-1b3i5td.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&rect=199%2C145%2C4483%2C3257&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many kids use screens all day long and are adept at reading what they see on them.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/students-using-laptop-in-classroom-royalty-free-image/104737316">LWA/Dann Tardif/DigitalVision via Getty Images</a></span></figcaption></figure><p><em>The Research Brief is a short take about interesting academic work.</em></p>
<h2>The big idea</h2>
<p>An essential social skill is understanding emotion. Children learn about emotion even before language by <a href="https://theconversation.com/clear-masks-for-caregivers-mean-young-children-can-keep-learning-from-adults-faces-139432">paying attention to a caregiver’s face</a>. Watching people around them <a href="https://www.huffpost.com/entry/what-happens-when-kids-go-cold-turkey-from-their-screens-for-5-days_b_5700805">provides children with essential facts</a> for survival: Who will love me? Whom should I be scared of?</p>
<p>These days everyone’s seen infants and toddlers, and their parents, with screens in their faces. So how could little ones be getting the critical in-person, face-to-face interaction they desperately need in those early years? </p>
<p>Yet in today’s world, just about everyone uses devices to communicate with others, even face to face. <a href="https://www.theatlantic.com/technology/archive/2015/09/do-babies-know-when-theyre-skyping/404650/">Toddlers learn</a> from video chatting with their grandparents, and <a href="https://www.pewresearch.org/internet/2018/05/31/teens-social-media-technology-2018/">teens devour image-driven social media</a> on platforms such as Instagram and Snapchat.</p>
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<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338981/original/file-20200601-95028-s6e0z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338981/original/file-20200601-95028-s6e0z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/338981/original/file-20200601-95028-s6e0z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338981/original/file-20200601-95028-s6e0z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338981/original/file-20200601-95028-s6e0z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=338&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338981/original/file-20200601-95028-s6e0z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338981/original/file-20200601-95028-s6e0z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/338981/original/file-20200601-95028-s6e0z5.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">There’s a reason they’re called digital natives.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.gettyimages.com/detail/photo/smiling-boy-using-digital-tablet-while-lying-on-bed-royalty-free-image/1155478145">Chachawal Prapai/EyeEm via Getty Images</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>What if, rather than stunting the emotional skills traditionally learned from in-person interactions, the hours kids spend staring at screens and sharing selfies with friends actually teach them to read emotion in facial expressions?</p>
<p>My colleagues and I recently published a <a href="https://doi.org/10.1089/cyber.2019.0174">study in the journal Cyberpsychology, Behavior and Networking</a> that found screen-based communication, rather than being a barrier to social learning, may instead help it.</p>
<h2>Why it matters</h2>
<p>The introduction of the iPhone in 2007 and the <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/IPad">iPad in 2010</a> <a href="https://www.vjrconsulting.com/children-media-1/2018/9/19/just-out-the-next-wave-of-the-common-sense-census-media-use-by-kids-age-zero-to-eight-2017">drastically changed</a> early learning environments – and set off a decade of hand-wringing about screen time.</p>
<p>At the <a href="https://www.scholarsandstorytellers.com/">Center for Scholars & Storytellers</a>, we seek to understand how media affect learning during the tween and teen years. A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-psych-010213-115202">growing body of research</a> from a variety of disciplines points to these years as a crucial time for social and emotional learning. As early adolescents work toward achieving independence from their parents, they begin to look to peers and media to learn about the world.</p>
<p>Especially in the time of the coronavirus, it’s critical to understand how and what children learn from the digital media they use to communicate, such as social media and video chat, in order to maximize the positive impact of screen time and minimize the negative effects.</p>
<h2>How we did this work</h2>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336594/original/file-20200521-194955-1yp88vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336594/original/file-20200521-194955-1yp88vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/336594/original/file-20200521-194955-1yp88vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336594/original/file-20200521-194955-1yp88vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336594/original/file-20200521-194955-1yp88vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=390&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336594/original/file-20200521-194955-1yp88vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336594/original/file-20200521-194955-1yp88vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/336594/original/file-20200521-194955-1yp88vs.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=490&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">How would you classify the emotion portrayed in this photo?</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Stephen Nowicki Jr.</span>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
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<p>We designed a study to test whether the increase in early childhood screen time affects children’s ability to read emotional cues from facial expressions.</p>
<p>In 2017, we showed 56 sixth grade students who were born in 2006 photographs that test their ability to read basic emotions and asked them to identify the emotion depicted. We compared these kids’ scores with those from an earlier study done in 2012 that had <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2014.05.036">tested sixth grade students</a> who were born in 2001. While both groups spent about the same time watching television and playing video games, their device ownership had changed. Out of the 56 tweens in the 2017 group, 44 reported owning tablets. We hadn’t even asked that question of the group tested in 2012, because tablets were still rare then.</p>
<p>To our surprise, the students who grew up with tablets and phones scored 40% higher on this test than the students from five years earlier. In other words, they were better at reading emotions in the photographs than the older group.</p>
<p>In today’s world, young people use photos and, increasingly, video to communicate. With cameras now installed on every device and the rise of visual-based communication, we suspect our 2017 participants had more opportunities to see, communicate and learn nonverbal emotion expressed in photographs of faces than did the kids from 2012.</p>
<p>While we found a dramatic improvement in reading emotional cues in photos, we don’t know whether this skill would apply to reading emotions in real life.</p>
<h2>What’s next</h2>
<p>Technology is always evolving, and just like the studies that have investigated <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/sesame-street-and-its-surprisingly-powerful-effects-on-how-children-learn/2015/06/07/59c73fe4-095c-11e5-9e39-0db921c47b93_story.html">how kids learn from television</a>, researchers need to study how increased exposure to pictures, videos, games and other emerging platforms for communication influences young people.</p>
<p>During this time of social distancing, screen-based communication may be one of the only ways kids can socialize with their friends. We hope our findings give parents some peace of mind that kids at the very least don’t seem to be losing this one particular social skill.</p>
<p>Other research supports this notion. A recent study found that <a href="https://doi.org/10.1086/707985">current generations are no worse at social skills</a> than prior ones, even when judged by teachers.</p>
<p>In-person face-to-face interaction is still the gold standard for understanding emotion. But maybe there’s a silver lining to people increasingly relying on their devices to communicate during the time of the coronavirus. Kids might come out of this pandemic even better at identifying the emotions of others.</p>
<p>[<em><a href="https://theconversation.com/us/newsletters?utm_source=TCUS&utm_medium=inline-link&utm_campaign=newsletter-text&utm_content=expertise">Expertise in your inbox. Sign up for The Conversation’s newsletter and get a digest of academic takes on today’s news, every day.</a></em>]</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/138694/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Yalda T. Uhls is an advisor for YouTube Kids and Family, The Bill and Melinda Gates Equitable Future project, Common Sense Media, Bark and the Jacobs Foundations Learning and Science Exchange.</span></em></p>Understanding others’ emotions is a crucial social skill. Counter to concerns about screen time stunting kids’ development, one study suggests they’re getting better at recognizing emotion on screen.Yalda T. Uhls, Founder and Executive Director of the Center for Scholars & Storytellers and Assistant Adjunct Professor in Psychology, University of California, Los AngelesLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/795382017-07-05T22:42:33Z2017-07-05T22:42:33Z‘Screen time’ is about more than setting limits<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176447/original/file-20170630-8225-1jd0hdt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How much is too much screen time for kids?</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.shutterstock.com/image-photo/asian-brother-sister-watching-cartoons-on-472962424?src=-8M1vrXec2Haov1oCsGriQ-1-8">Dragon Images/Shutterstock</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>In today’s media-rich world (or media-saturated, depending on your view), one rarely has to look far to find parents concerned about the ways that kids engage with technology. Recently, managing “screen time” seems to be on <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/morning-mix/wp/2017/06/19/why-a-colorado-dad-is-fighting-to-make-smartphones-for-preteens-illegal/">everyone’s</a> <a href="https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/education/can-they-unplug-a-school-principal-will-pay-students-to-forgo-screentime-this-summer/2017/06/09/b22decd4-4c88-11e7-bc1b-fddbd8359dee_story.html">mind</a> – particularly during these summer months when kids find themselves with more time on their hands.</p>
<p>As someone who has spent the majority of my career studying <a href="http://www.mitpress.mit.edu/books/framing-internet-safety">kids and safety online</a>, I get a lot of questions from parents about screen time. My response? There’s a lot more to digital media consumption than expert advice about hourly limits. </p>
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<h2>Where ‘screen time’ comes from</h2>
<p>The idea of “screen time” initially gained traction in 1999, when the American Academy of Pediatrics suggested that parents <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2011-1753">avoid smartphone, tablet, computer and TV use for children under two</a> and limit such use to no more than two hours for children over two, adding hours as kids mature. While the American Academy of Pediatrics <a href="https://theconversation.com/how-much-screen-time-is-good-for-kids-53780">relaxed these guidelines</a> somewhat in 2016 (expanding their policies to include <a href="https://doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2592">positive digital media use</a> and suggest family media plans), the <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/66927/1/Policy%20Brief%2017-%20Families%20%20Screen%20Time.pdf">core idea of screen time remains largely unchanged</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176937/original/file-20170705-29992-vwtymp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176937/original/file-20170705-29992-vwtymp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176937/original/file-20170705-29992-vwtymp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176937/original/file-20170705-29992-vwtymp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176937/original/file-20170705-29992-vwtymp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=597&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176937/original/file-20170705-29992-vwtymp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176937/original/file-20170705-29992-vwtymp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176937/original/file-20170705-29992-vwtymp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=750&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">As early as 1984, even the Berenstains had something to say about screen time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/books/12152/the-berenstain-bears-and-too-much-tv-by-stan-and-jan-berenstain-illustrated-by-the-authors/9780394865706/">Penguin Random House</a></span>
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<p>Despite the allure of easy-to-follow rules that address parental concerns, screen time recommendations have drawn <a href="http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/66927/1/Policy%20Brief%2017-%20Families%20%20Screen%20Time.pdf">increasing criticism</a> from a <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/science/head-quarters/2017/jan/06/screen-time-guidelines-need-to-be-built-on-evidence-not-hype">wide range of experts</a>.</p>
<p>In the academic world, the science supporting screen time recommendations has major limitations. Lab-based studies don’t always translate to the complexities of real life. More often than not, screen time studies demonstrate <a href="https://doi.org/10.1177/1745691615596788">connections between problems with well-being and media use</a>; they don’t demonstrate that one causes the other. For example, while research suggests that there’s a connection between screen time and childhood obesity, that could just mean that kids who are less active are more likely to be obese and spend more time in front of screens. The research does not suggest that screen time causes obesity.</p>
<h2>Screen time today</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176465/original/file-20170630-16446-2jgstb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176465/original/file-20170630-16446-2jgstb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176465/original/file-20170630-16446-2jgstb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176465/original/file-20170630-16446-2jgstb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=1067&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176465/original/file-20170630-16446-2jgstb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1341&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176465/original/file-20170630-16446-2jgstb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1341&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176465/original/file-20170630-16446-2jgstb.png?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1341&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">One way to limit kids’ screen time: apps that lock their internet usage after a certain amount of time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.unglue.com/press/">unGlue</a></span>
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<p>As our media practices have changed, and adults themselves have begun to spend more of their time online, the idea of screen time has not quite kept up with the times. The world is increasingly saturated with all kinds of <a href="https://theconversation.com/textbooks-in-the-digital-world-78299">positive, interactive media experiences</a> – for children and adults alike. Ideas about limiting screen time assume all screen experiences are equally negative for kids and that they’re replacing positive offline activities.</p>
<p>Yet, we know that kids do all kinds of positive things with digital media, often in ways that <a href="https://mitpress.mit.edu/books/hanging-out-messing-around-and-geeking-out">support and are supported by “real life” activities</a> – in ways similar to adults. They go online to hang out with friends, catch up on events and seek out entertainment and information, just like anyone else.</p>
<p>In my own work, I’ve argued that some of the problems that parents have with kids and technology are, in fact, not about technology at all. With each generation, kids have been <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14733285.2011.638173">increasingly restricted</a> from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/2015/04/13/living/feat-maryland-free-range-parenting-family-under-investigation-again/index.html">going outside on their own</a>. With fewer private spaces to be a kid, we shouldn’t be surprised when kids turn to social media apps to hang out and socialize – and get upset when we stop them.</p>
<p>What looks like a “waste of time” or an “addiction” is often just <a href="https://www.researchgate.net/publication/242101479_Questioning_the_Generational_Divide_Technological_Exoticism_and_Adult_Constructions_of_Online_Youth_Identity">everyday hanging out</a>.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176448/original/file-20170630-21184-jikdnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176448/original/file-20170630-21184-jikdnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176448/original/file-20170630-21184-jikdnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176448/original/file-20170630-21184-jikdnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=426&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176448/original/file-20170630-21184-jikdnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176448/original/file-20170630-21184-jikdnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176448/original/file-20170630-21184-jikdnd.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=535&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Should kids be allowed outside – away from their devices – alone? The Meitiv family of Silver Spring, Maryland, faced an investigation after allowing their children to play in a local park unsupervised.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana</span></span>
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<h2>So what should parents do?</h2>
<p>How, then, can parents get a handle on their children’s media use? As always, <a href="https://www.danah.org/books/ItsComplicated.pdf">it’s complicated</a> – and no expert advice should trump the real, everyday experiences that parents have with their own children. That said, there are some general guidelines that can help.</p>
<p>First, parents should get away from ideas about time and focus more on the <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/mediapolicyproject/2016/08/05/the-content-and-context-of-screen-use-is-more-important-than-the-amount-of-screen-time/">content, context and connections</a> provided by different kinds of engagement with media. There’s a world of difference between spending a few hours playing games with close friends online and spending a few hours interacting with hate groups in an online forum. </p>
<p>Second, parents should ask <a href="http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/parenting4digitalfuture/2016/10/21/new-screen-time-rules-from-the-american-academy-of-pediatrics/">real questions concerning the well-being of their children</a>, independent of their media use. Are your children healthy, socially engaged, doing well in school and generally happy? If so, there’s probably no need to enforce hard restrictions on technology. If not, it’s best not to rush to conclusions about the inherent evils of technology. Have a conversation with kids about what they’re doing and what they think the rules should be. Unilaterally cutting kids off without understanding their problems can often <a href="http://www.huffingtonpost.com/entry/warning-screen-time-rules-can-backfire_us_5925d374e4b090bac9d46b07">make things worse</a>.</p>
<p>Finally, parents should remember that there’s no substitute for a meaningful, supportive relationship between parents and children. With a stable, trusting relationship, even negative experiences online can become positive learning experiences. In my many years of working with families, I’ve learned that if you already care enough to be worried about digital media, you’re probably already “doing enough” to protect your kids.</p>
<figure class="align-center ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176451/original/file-20170630-22617-18kaozg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/176451/original/file-20170630-22617-18kaozg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176451/original/file-20170630-22617-18kaozg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176451/original/file-20170630-22617-18kaozg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176451/original/file-20170630-22617-18kaozg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176451/original/file-20170630-22617-18kaozg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/176451/original/file-20170630-22617-18kaozg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=503&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Monitoring children’s media consumption is important, but there’s no substitute for quality family time.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/nathaninsandiego/3995036506/">Nathan Rupert</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/79538/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Nathan Fisk, Ph.D. receives funding from the National Science Foundation. </span></em></p>For decades, parents have fretted over ‘screen time,’ limiting the hours their children spend looking at a screen. But as times change, so does media… and how parents should (or shouldn’t) regulate it.Nathan Fisk, Assistant Professor of Cybersecurity Education, University of South FloridaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/674462016-10-21T14:21:06Z2016-10-21T14:21:06ZHow should we teach our kids to use digital media?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/142594/original/image-20161021-8845-12fyhwn.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Parents should be involved in their children's use of electronic devices.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-160939232/stock-photo-father-and-son-playing-with-digital-tablet.html">Parent and child with tablet via shutterstock.com</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Any time a new technology is introduced, it disrupts values, routines and behaviors. This goes back well before the printing press replaced oral histories or the telephone replaced face-to-face conversations, but is evident today in our regular habits of checking our <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/comt.12090">smartphones for notifications</a>. Kids are growing up with the expectation of auto-playing <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1145/2858036.2858278">streaming videos</a> and having access to our phones when <a href="https://medium.com/@awsamuel/why-kids-screen-time-is-a-feminist-issue-53d941681717#.4chc59sfi">we need them to be quiet</a>.</p>
<p>Human anxieties about these changes can take years to resolve, as we slowly figure out how to <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.452.8515&rep=rep1&type=pdf">control the technology to meet our values and needs, rather than being controlled by it</a>. With the rapid pace at which new digital products and services are being developed, parents report feeling particularly overwhelmed. They fear missing out on what benefits tech might hold for their families, yet don’t fully trust that electronic devices and apps are designed or marketed with their child’s best interests in mind.</p>
<p>We doctors used to urge parents to discourage media use under age two, and to limit kids’ use to two hours a day, at most. But we have now arrived at a more nuanced understanding of the various ways in which children use digital tools. Through review of the updated science, interviews and focus groups with parents from diverse backgrounds, and our own clinical experience, we are now recommending that parents use media as a teaching tool – a way to connect and create – instead of just to consume. </p>
<p>As a developmental behavioral pediatrician, parent of two young boys and lead author of the new American Academy of Pediatrics policy statement “<a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2016-2591">Media and Young Minds</a>,” I hope to help parents shape tech use in their homes <a href="http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.452.8515&rep=rep1&type=pdf">based on their human ideals and values</a>.</p>
<h2>Main principles to keep in mind</h2>
<p>This new policy statement represents the best medical research and academic scholarship about electronic media and health and development of children from birth through age five. Along with the associated <a href="https://www.healthychildren.org/English/media/Pages/default.aspx">family media-use planning website</a>, it focuses on how parents can use electronic media together with their young children to encourage family connection, learning and digital literacy skills, in several ways:</p>
<ol>
<li><p>We emphasize teaching children that media use means more than just entertainment. It can also involve connecting with others: Videochatting, for example, is fine at any age, although infants need their parents’ help to understand it. Another great use is for creating and learning together – letting the child take photos and record videos or songs, as well as looking up craft ideas. We hope parents will feel comfortable seeing digital media as a tool to meet their parenting needs, and not the thing-in-itself that controls us or our children <a href="http://www.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2016/11/the-binge-breaker/501122/">through the attention economy or gamification</a>.</p></li>
<li><p>As far as entertainment, we recommend trusted content producers such as <a href="http://www.sesameworkshop.org/">Sesame Workshop</a> and <a href="http://pbskids.org/">PBS Kids</a>, who design apps with the child’s and parent’s needs in mind. There is also <a href="https://www.commonsensemedia.org/">Common Sense Media</a>, a great site for finding information on digital products and answering any tech-related parenting question you can imagine.</p></li>
<li><p>We recommend having unplugged spaces and times of day so that both parent and child can play, be bored, or talk without distraction or feeling a need to to multitask.</p></li>
<li><p>We ask parents to test apps and watch videos with their children to determine if they are good fits for their child’s temperament, rather than letting the child make all of these choices. Parents are the best people to decide whether a particular app or video is appropriate for the child’s current stage of development and knowledge.</p></li>
<li><p>Parents should not feel pressure to introduce their children to technology early in life for the sake of seeking a competitive advantage. Kids will catch up when they are older or in school. But, if parents want to introduce media early, the youngest age we recommend is 18 months. At that age, it’s important to note, parents must play or view along with the child for there to be any educational benefit, such as learning new words. Otherwise, that expensive tablet may just be a portable TV or cause-and-effect toy.</p></li>
</ol>
<h2>Time limits and rules remain important</h2>
<p>We still recommend time limits (one hour of entertainment media per day – which does not include videochatting, taking pictures, using with parents as a learning tool and the like) and rules, for several reasons. First, pediatricians are trained to be child advocates, making us naturally protective. In our day-to-day experiences with families in clinics, we see children having difficulties with sleep, obesity, school, relationships or behavior that appear to be intertwined with problematic media habits.</p>
<p>We hear parents asking for concrete guidance from us about the role digital devices might play in their families’ lives. They want to know what to let their child watch and how much of it. They ask about how to make sure their child can be tech-savvy without ending up in a position where the child prefers and will choose digital play to the exclusion of other important activities.</p>
<p>Parents also tell us that they don’t want their child to be spoon-fed information by online media. In addition, they’re concerned about apps determining their child’s play ideas. And they want help finding alternative activities to really encourage the <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2012/09/how_children_succeed_book_excerpt_what_the_most_boring_test_in_the_world_tells_us_about_motivation_and_iq_.html">creativity, persistence, and cognitive and social-emotional skills kids need to flourish in school</a>.</p>
<p>Overall, the research still shows that excessive media use is associated with poorer sleep, higher obesity risk and developmental outcomes such as poor executive function (the “boss” of our brain that helps us focus, control impulses and plan), so we want parents to prioritize <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1542/peds.2006-2697">unplugged, social and unstructured play</a> as much as possible.</p>
<p>Parents have always been interpreters of the world for young children. If kids are to grow up with a healthy concept of what digital tools are and how to use them effectively, creatively and kindly, we need to teach them. This means both guiding them directly and modeling with our own behavior from the very start. The longer-term goal is to raise kids who see us, their parents, as guides when they encounter weird stuff online or have negative interactions on social media.</p>
<p>We want to raise kids who don’t react to negative emotions by spewing out their feelings – sometimes at others’ expense – online, nor binge on videos or games. We want to raise kids with good sleep habits, healthy bodies, a variety of interests and curiosity about the world, who feel good about their learning and their relationships, both on- and offline. We hope our new guidance can help us all – parents, medical professionals and children alike – achieve that.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/67446/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jenny Radesky has received funding from the Academic Pediatric Association and National Institutes of Health. </span></em></p>The lead author of a new American Academy of Pediatrics statement summarizes important guidelines for children’s use of electronic devices.Jenny Radesky, Assistant Professor of Pediatrics, University of MichiganLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/584862016-05-04T04:16:56Z2016-05-04T04:16:56ZIs two hours of screen time really too much for kids?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/120948/original/image-20160503-19549-bsgdqk.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tablets were not invented when the original rules on screen time for children were developed.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock Angela Waye</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>One of the most frustrating issues modern parents face is how to manage children’s screen time. </p>
<p>Official <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/108/5/1222.full.pdf+html?sid=29e11ca9-5afa-4c58-ba65-467fb9d2e85f">guidelines</a> say kids aged five to 18 years should spend no more than two hours a day using screens, and <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/104/2/341">children under two years</a> should not use a screen at all. But in a world dominated by tablets and mobile phones, these limits are proving to be virtually impossible to uphold. </p>
<p>A recent online poll of 18,000 children by ABC children’s program Behind the News found that <a href="http://www.abc.net.au/news/2016-04-26/survey-finds-56pc-of-children-engage-in-excessive-screen-time/7356504">56% of respondents</a> exceed that two-hour daily limit. </p>
<p>A <a href="http://bmcpublichealth.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/1471-2458-15-5">survey</a> of 2,620 Australian children aged eight to 16 years had similar results. The study showed that 45% of eight-year-olds to 80% of 16-year-olds exceed the recommended less than two hours per day limit.</p>
<h2>Guidelines obsolete</h2>
<p>We tend to justify children’s “overuse” in terms of the irresponsibility of youth. But a different and very plausible explanation is that the guidelines we use to benchmark how long children should spend on a screen are out of date.</p>
<p>They were actually developed years before tablets and the many devices we use today were even invented.</p>
<p>The screen time guidelines we currently use were developed by <a href="https://www.aap.org/en-us/Pages/Default.aspx">The American Academy of Pediatrics</a> in the 1990s to direct children’s television viewing. In particular, they were a response to kids watching violent content.</p>
<p>While the guidelines may have been relevant at that time, screens have changed a lot in the past 20 years, and children are showing us that an ironclad two hours is no longer workable if you’re growing up circa 2016. </p>
<p>The continued use of these guidelines has left many parents feeling frustrated, guilty or simply unsure about what to think or what to do. Parents try to get their child to stick to the time limits but it’s just not possible when they still have three hours of homework left to do on their laptop.</p>
<p>Sometimes, guidelines, rules, and even laws, are legally binding but so out of date that they no longer provide meaningful support. </p>
<p>For example, it was once a requirement in some parts of the <a href="http://theplate.nationalgeographic.com/2014/08/13/the-butter-wars-when-margarine-was-pink/">United States</a> and <a href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/technology/resolving-canada-s-conflicted-relationship-with-margarine-1.741363">Canada</a> for producers to make their margarine different colours to ensure consumers didn’t mix it up with butter. The last place in North America to stop this requirement was Quebec, in 2008.</p>
<p>While interesting and even amusing, many question the relevance of these laws to modern life. </p>
<p>It seems traditional guidelines that advise parents and educators on children’s screen use have followed the same path and just don’t fit with reality of today’s technology driven world.</p>
<h2>A rethink in the works</h2>
<p>In a nod to the increasing ubiquity of technology in our world, the American Academy of Paediatrics announced in October last year that it is beginning the process of <a href="http://edition.cnn.com/2015/10/06/health/screen-time-rules-change-pediatricians/">revising its guidelines</a> for children and screens. The academy says it has realised that in a world where screen time is becoming simply “time”, its policies must evolve or become obsolete. </p>
<p>The new formalised guidelines will be published later this year and many expect screen time allowed to be lengthened. It is unrealistic for high school students to only spend two hours per day on screens, particularly when school work obliges them to do that or more. </p>
<p>Time is also not necessarily the best measure to ensure children’s screen use is part of a healthy and balanced approach to life.</p>
<p>All screen use is not the same and it is expected that the new formalised guidelines will also acknowledge that children can use screens for very different purposes.</p>
<p>There’s consumption, there’s creation and there’s communication. There’s a big difference between endless hours of watching YouTube videos of <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bcsagUBRBK4">chocolate sweets being unboxed</a> to videochatting with a parent who is away from home. </p>
<h2>Quality screen time</h2>
<p>A better alternative is to determine children’s screen use based on the quality of the activity and the level of stimulation that children are getting. </p>
<p>There are more than 80,000 apps labelled as educational, but the quality of experience they offer differs. Activities that are creative, that stimulate imagination and that allow meaningful connection with others can and should be given more time than ones that offer little educational value. </p>
<p>We should still keep an eye out for excessive time online. About 15% of the respondents in the Behind the News survey reported they couldn’t go without technology for even one day. </p>
<p>Compulsive or non-stop checking of texts, emails, news feeds, websites or other apps can interfere with anyone’s daily life, work and relationships. If a child is spending most of their day and night on a screen, then that needs reassessment and management. </p>
<p>But the ultimate message is that whatever resource we use to manage children’s screen usage, they ultimately need to learn to manage it themselves. </p>
<p>We must introduce them to the concept of mindful usage. As children get older and accumulate more and more devices, and greater need to use technology, helping them recognise the importance of a balance becomes an important basic life skill.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/58486/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Orlando does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Children’s use of screens for fun and education have changed a lot over the years, so why haven’t the rules on acceptable screen time kept up?Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Technology and Learning, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/569082016-03-29T19:06:18Z2016-03-29T19:06:18ZTablets at the table can influence child development, not always in a good way<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/116574/original/image-20160329-10194-htzcn2.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">How you let young children use a tablet device can influence their behaviour in later years.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Shutterstock/Nataliia Budianska</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Do you “i-Pad your child” when you go to a restaurant? </p>
<p>I couldn’t help but notice the one-year-old at the restaurant table next to me who had been iPad-ed. That is, an iPad loaded with his favourite animation had been propped up on the table to act as a surrogate babysitter.</p>
<p>While screens can solve short-term issues of keeping children quiet, consistently using them to anaesthetise kids does us all a disservice in the long term. </p>
<p><a href="http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/technology-science/technology/over-three-quarters-british-mums-6455379">Research</a> shows that 75% to 80% of parents now use technology to <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2015/10/28/peds.2015-2151.full.pdf">placate or distract children</a>, for example on a long car trip, waiting for a doctor’s appointment, when mum or dad is cooking dinner, or when it’s nap time.</p>
<h2>Take a tablet and keep quiet</h2>
<p>While this strategy works, it raises important questions about how children will develop all the social skills they need for our world. Screens may ward off kids’ complaints (or complaints from adults around us) but we’re doing children a disservice if our go-to strategy is always to use technology to keep them quiet.</p>
<p>How can we grumble about kids not knowing how to act in public, or how to manage boredom when they haven’t had the chance to learn those skills?</p>
<p>Technology has enormous potential to support children’s learning. But how adults guide that use is key. </p>
<p>Research published in the journal <a href="http://archpedi.jamanetwork.com/article.aspx?articleID=2498404">Psychology</a> consistently shows that television has for many years been effectively used as a strategy to calm children with identified difficult behaviour, but mobile devices takes this one big step further.</p>
<p>Parents can now calm down – or digitally sedate – wherever and whenever they feel they are (or may) lose control over a child’s behaviour. It’s unlikely that a child will say no to the device being handed to them, therefore it’s a parent’s responsibility to give this strategy some careful thought, especially in terms of how often to use technology as a pacifier. </p>
<h2>Early adopter</h2>
<p>Most children start using mobile devices in their <a href="http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/pediatrics/early/2015/10/28/peds.2015-2151.full.pdf">first year of life</a> and from day one the context around when and why that device is given to them is crucial.</p>
<p>Is a mobile automatically handed to a child when waiting in line? Is the family iPad or other tablet device mostly used to reward or punish behaviour? Are your devices loaded with apps to keep your child quiet? Is a parent always angry or disappointed with the child when letting them use a device? </p>
<p>Consistent negative uses of technology, which aim to suppress child behaviour, have many long-term implications.</p>
<p>For example, knowing how to change our speech and actions in different social situations comes from engaging in different social scenarios over and over again. If a child is always encouraged to be head down and focused on their screen when they are in a café or on the bus, then they will miss developing these understandings and skills.</p>
<p>Can we really blame them for inappropriate behaviour if they’ve never had opportunity to become familiar with what is appropriate and understand it? Similarly, we often lament dinner table conversation or conversation in the car but if the DVD player is always turned on when children get in the car, then the learnt behaviour is not talk in that context.</p>
<h2>A positive influence</h2>
<p>Very different implications are achieved if a device is used in a positive and empowering way, for example when a device is consistently handed to a child at home to support their creativity, imagination, communication and language skills.</p>
<p>Not only is technology being used in a way that will enhance learning, but it’s also communicating the understanding that it is an empowering part of our lives.</p>
<p>This is important in the long term if we actually want children to have positive attitudes towards using technology to learn at school and in future employment. Imagine a child’s confusion if they were asked to work on a iPad at school, when at home it had only been given to them in response to screaming and bad behaviour.</p>
<p>From a practical point of view, there are times when parents need quiet but consistently using tablets or mobile devices as the preferred method for achieving it is a problem. It dumbs down the potential that technology holds for children’s learning. </p>
<p>It also strips our children of important knowledge and skills for life today.</p>
<p>The effects are exacerbated since this use often begins when a child is still in infancy. Consistently demanding children disengage with the world around them and expecting them to be quiet all the time limits their opportunities to learn how to engage confidently with society. It teaches them that they are not important. </p>
<p>They may be having fun using a device, but the message is subliminal. If we want happy and successful children then it’s important to take stock of our own actions for developing their behaviour so that technology is an empowering part of children’s lives.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/56908/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Joanne Orlando does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>If you use a tablet device to keep a child quiet at the dining table or other event then you could be limiting their social skills. That could have an impact on the way they behave later in life.Joanne Orlando, Researcher: Technology and Learning, Western Sydney UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/396502015-04-03T09:34:58Z2015-04-03T09:34:58ZFive years ago the iPad changed clicks to touches – but another tablet revolution is coming<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76901/original/image-20150402-32411-xnxjav.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">This sort of 3D display you can't buy in the shops.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jason Alexander/Lancaster University </span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>Apple’s iPad arrived five years ago. It is a device that changed the way we think about computing, marking a seismic shift from keyboard and mouse to direct manipulation with our fingers. The iPad wasn’t the first tablet computer – it wasn’t even Apple’s first tablet computer – but it was the first to capture the world’s imagination and sell tens of millions of devices.</p>
<p>Nowhere is this more obvious than in the hands of children, who these days will walk up to any screen and expect to be able to interact with and shift content with the prod of a finger. This style of interaction has even followed us to our workstations where, despite their questionable use, touchscreens now frequently come as standard or are common options when buying a personal computer.</p>
<p>Touchscreens bring the user’s fingers into direct contact with the virtual objects onscreen, but still fundamentally present data representing a 3D visual environment through the medium of a flat 2D screen. Fully comprehending the interface relies almost entirely on our own visual sense, rather than exploiting our other, well-trained sense of touch.</p>
<h2>From the pixel to the physical</h2>
<p>Touchscreen tablets free us from the constraints of working at a desk and are more liberating due to their smaller size and weight. But, to make better use of all our highly-tuned senses, the next generation of displays will not be 2D and flat, but will have self-actuated, physically re-configurable surfaces. Flat screens will be able to deform themselves into other shapes. These interfaces will change the shape of their display surface to better represent on-screen content and provide additional means to pass on information by touch rather than vision alone.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76907/original/image-20150402-9348-o1l5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76907/original/image-20150402-9348-o1l5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76907/original/image-20150402-9348-o1l5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76907/original/image-20150402-9348-o1l5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76907/original/image-20150402-9348-o1l5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=457&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76907/original/image-20150402-9348-o1l5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76907/original/image-20150402-9348-o1l5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76907/original/image-20150402-9348-o1l5z.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=575&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Screen interaction gets physical.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Jason Alexander/Lancaster University</span>, <span class="license">Author provided</span></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Dynamic physical geometry – tablets with interfaces that morph in three, real dimensions, rather than simply displaying 2D representations of them – will fundamentally change the way we approach computer interaction. Displays with pixels that can physically protrude from the surface will allow developers to enhance familiar applications such as architecture, design, terrain modelling and photography by rendering computer-generated 3D scenes in three dimensions in the real world. This will opens all sorts of opportunities for novel applications in team collaboration, tangible entertainment and ways to make computing more accessible to those with disabilities. </p>
<p>Devices will be able to change their form and function: a mobile phone that mutates into a TV remote control, and then into a videogame controller, re-configuring itself to provide appropriate interfaces. Apps will not only be able to modify a visual display, but also dynamically change the physical properties of the device. </p>
<p>This display revolution is closer than we think: commercial ventures such as Tactus Technology’s <a href="http://www.getphorm.com/">Phorm</a> already provide a way to generate fixed-position buttons that protrude from the screen by filling small pockets with liquid on command.</p>
<h2>Building a physical screen</h2>
<p>In our lab, we’ve begun to explore the implications of users interacting with shape-changing displays. We’ve created a 10×10 interactive bar chart with which to represent common data visualisation tasks such as displaying data, filtering data, organising it into different rows and columns, navigating between large datasets, and making annotations. We’ve found that the physical nature of dynamic bars encouraged users to directly manipulate data points for annotation and comparison-style tasks and that traditional touch-based controls work well for navigation and organisation tasks.</p>
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</figure>
<p>Certainly, constructing these shape-changing displays requires expert electronic and mechanical knowledge. There’s a need to involve people with a wide range of interaction design skills to drive forward early prototype design, so we developed a tool that allows non-technical researchers to experiment with shape-changing displays. </p>
<p><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1dHxZi7evMo">ShapeClip</a> is a tool to transform any computer screen from a flat viewing surface to a 3D one, transforming light from the screen into movement through coordinates in physical space above it. By adding a z-axis to the screen’s x- and y-axes, designers can produce dynamic physical content by adding ShapeClip tools to screens. ShapeClip displays are portable, scaleable and can be re-arranged to suit need. They are also fault-tolerant. Users need no knowledge of electronics or programming and can develop motion designs with presentation software, image editors, or web sites. </p>
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<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/1dHxZi7evMo?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>The iPad shifted our approach from pressing buttons to pressing with our fingers. Future displays will not be flat glass screens we prod, but physically dynamic surfaces capable of reconfiguring themselves in order to better present information to the user through a rich tactile experience that offers more to our senses.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/39650/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Jason Alexander receives funding from the European Commission through the FET-open scheme as part of the GHOST project (<a href="http://www.ghost-fet.com">www.ghost-fet.com</a>).</span></em></p>The iPad changed the way we interact with screens, but the physical, 3D touchscreens of the future will change it more radically still.Jason Alexander, Lecturer in Human-Computer Interaction, Lancaster UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/387402015-03-31T06:13:13Z2015-03-31T06:13:13ZDo mobile devices in the classroom really improve learning outcomes?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76386/original/image-20150329-16135-18q9tlc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Tablets and smartphones in the classroom are new enough that there's not a clear consensus on their usefulness.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/bibliotecascoruna/11437919093">Bibliotecas Municipais da Coruña</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Mobile devices as teaching tools are becoming a more and more common part of the American education experience in classrooms, from preschool through graduate school. A recent Pew Research Center survey found that <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2013/02/28/part-ii-teachers-own-use-of-the-internet-and-mobile-tools/">58% of U.S. teachers own smartphones</a> — 10 percentage points higher than the national average for adults. Those teachers are building that tech-savviness into their lesson plans, too, by embracing bring-your-own-device policies and leading the push for an <a href="http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/Education/2013/0828/An-iPad-for-every-student-What-Los-Angeles-school-district-is-thinking">iPad for every student</a>. In 2013, an estimated <a href="http://www.usatoday.com/story/tech/personal/2013/08/07/views-shift-on-cell-phones-in-schools/2607381/">25% of U.S. schools had BYOD policies</a> in place and it’s reasonable to assume those numbers have risen in the past two years.</p>
<p>What do these mobile devices really add, though? Is there more to this tech trend than just grabbing the attention of students? Is mobile technology boosting classroom instruction, or is it all just a flashy way to accomplish the same things as analog instruction?</p>
<h2>Research finds benefits of mobile technology</h2>
<p>That same Pew Research Center survey asked a group of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers about the educational impact of Internet technology in the classroom. Here’s what those teachers had to say about mobile technology specifically:</p>
<ul>
<li>73% of the teachers reported using mobile technology in their classrooms, either through their own instruction or by allowing students to use it to complete assignments</li>
<li>English teachers are more likely to use mobile technology in the classroom than math teachers</li>
<li>47% of teachers strongly agreed, and an additional 44% somewhat agreed, that students need digital literacy courses to be successful academically and beyond.</li>
</ul>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=800&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76387/original/image-20150329-16105-1c1e4mp.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1005&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Even little pupils use tablets in some lesson plans.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/colegioabg/16347855445">abg_colegio</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
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<p>As far back as 2010, reports were surfacing that mobile apps are not only engaging, but educational, for children as young as preschool. PBS Kids, in partnership with the US Department of Education, found that the vocabulary of kids ages three to seven who played its Martha Speaks mobile app <a href="http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/theres-an-app-for-that-pbs-kids-study-finds-mobile-apps-are-new-source-of-learning-94819794.html">improved up to 31%</a>. Abilene Christian University conducted research around the same time that found math students who used the iOS app “Statistics 1” saw <a href="http://gylo.com/WhitePaper_03302010_Stats1.pdf">improvement in their final grades</a>. They were also more motivated to finish lessons on mobile devices than through traditional textbooks and workbooks. </p>
<p>More recently, two studies that separately followed fifth and eighth graders who used tablets for learning in class and at home found that learning experiences <a href="http://thejournal.com/articles/2013/11/20/mobile-study-tablets-make-a-difference-in-teaching-and-learning.aspx">improved across the board</a>. 35% of the 8th graders said that they were more interested in their teachers’ lessons or activities when they used their tablet, and the students exceeded teachers’ academic expectations when using the devices. When self-reporting, 54% of students say they <a href="http://www.securedgenetworks.com/strategy-blog/Study-Shows-How-Students-are-Using-Technology-in-the-Classroom">get more involved</a> in classes that use technology and 55% say they wish instructors used more educational games or simulations to teach lessons. </p>
<p>My own college students report back from student teaching in P-12 classrooms and say kids do seem to respond well to the stimulus of mobile devices. They stay on task, they correct mistakes in real-time and, most importantly, they get excited about learning.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76388/original/image-20150329-16116-ggcrx3.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">The teacher’s at the front of the room – is anyone listening?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/99107397@N00/15062161857">technolibrary</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Mobile devices also bring challenges</h2>
<p>Alongside the benefits, mobile devices certainly come with their share of complications. Teacher authority, for example, is one area that can easily be undermined when mobile technology is allowed in classrooms. One of the often-mentioned benefits of mobile devices in classrooms is that they allow simultaneous work to take place — but does that undercut the master lesson plan? </p>
<p>There is also the question of cost. Of course there’s a price associated with schools purchasing the technology (and bringing teachers up to speed). But even having kids bring their own devices can be an issue. Bring-your-own-device policies may draw attention to situations where some students are more privileged than others, and there is always the potential for theft.</p>
<p>Tech policies are also more difficult to implement on personal electronics than on school-owned ones. A tablet that is owned by a particular school district, for example, can come pre-installed with the right programs and apps and not allow for any outside play. A device that goes home with a student, however, can’t have the same rules. </p>
<p>There are privacy issues to consider, too, especially now that tracking cookies are so prevalent on personal mobile devices. Do we really want third parties following our students on their learning paths? And should teachers have access to what students do on their mobile devices when outside the classroom?</p>
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<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Where they engage, mobile devices can help.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/waagsociety/9152659340">Waag Society</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-sa/4.0/">CC BY-NC-SA</a></span>
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<h2>Mobile tech in classrooms: what works?</h2>
<p>Simply using mobile technology in the classroom does not guarantee a rise in comprehension or even the attention of students. So what types of mobile technology use make the most sense for classrooms?</p>
<p>• <strong>E-readers</strong>. Part of the issue with traditional textbooks is that they’re so quickly outdated, both regarding subject matter and which formats best reach readers. E-readers eliminate that issue and allow real-time updates that are useful to students and teachers immediately, not the next school year when the new textbook is released.</p>
<p>• <strong>Individual mobile modules</strong>. Within educational apps and games are options for individual student logins. This gives students the chance to work at their own pace, taking extra time in the areas where they need it most. </p>
<p>• <strong>Text-response programs</strong>. Websites that allow teachers to send homework or test questions to students via text, and then ask for responses, do result in a more interactive approach to learning. Most of the programs that facilitate this technology allow for real-time feedback on the answers, allowing students to learn from mistakes and put it all in context in the moment. Pew Research found that American teens send an <a href="http://www.pewinternet.org/2012/03/19/teens-smartphones-texting/">average of 60 text messages per day</a>, making this an effective way to reach students in a medium that is close to universally used. The OneVille Project has tracked teachers and their experiences with texting high school students and has found that students become <a href="http://wiki.oneville.org/main/The_OneVille_Project">more motivated to come to school and to complete work</a> on time when they have text message access to teachers.</p>
<p>• <strong>Seamless cloud learning</strong>. Using mobile technology that is connected to the cloud means that students can transition from working in the classroom to working at home — or anywhere else — easily, as long as they have access to a phone, tablet or computer. This saves time and improves organizational skills for students.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/76390/original/image-20150329-16086-1ikptu6.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">When it’s good, it can be very, very good….</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/99107397@N00/15248282922">technolibrary</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc/4.0/">CC BY-NC</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Mobile learning can and does make a positive difference in how students learn, and it’s not just because of the “cool” factor. When used the right way, mobile technology has the potential to help students learn more and comprehend that knowledge.</p>
<p>In an ideal world, every student would have his or her own mobile device that syncs information between school and home, those devices would stay on task and the students would see significant gains in their academic achievement. Real-life classrooms are never picture perfect, though, not for any learning initiative.</p>
<p>Mobile devices are not a silver bullet. In 1995, Steve Jobs famously said that the problems facing education <a href="http://www.joannejacobs.com/2011/10/steve-jobs-computers-wont-fix-schools/">need more than technology to be fixed</a>. Competent, engaged teachers are more necessary than ever in the Information Age, and balancing mobile educational advantages with healthy teaching interaction is the key to maximizing the worth of both.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38740/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Matthew Lynch does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organization that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>As technology becomes more prevalent in classrooms from preschool to grad school, the concern is that it’s all flash, no substance.Matthew Lynch, Dean, Syphax School of Education, Psychology & Interdisciplinary Studies, Virginia Union UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/387802015-03-18T01:14:54Z2015-03-18T01:14:54ZAre you afraid of technology? You shouldn’t be<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75047/original/image-20150317-13671-1pyw3mz.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Many people fear technology, and have great reservations about kids using smartphones and computers.</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/62337512@N00/3601525070/in/photolist-6ox3Gt-9CjBEt-cVAeFq-eFTweg-qSxuUL-pXQoTQ-6ufKVQ-qniJxt-hzKjWZ-7KPY3o-dugknG-dugusA-dvUKVG-pKxEzD-hLXH8U-dvEGts-9ahvdS-2S6hee-dsKiEn-4ZYQZM-naWx8w-6EsL28-7yTwSm-cxtJaq-cJRmLL-gcDHaa-5vArmA-mkFFdx-prF4ao-b4VTiz-cqrjdh-cswyyf-92XodD-cnp3z9-nRHc4Y-cswyr3-csGJsQ-mWA3ss-5ydn3F-kq4zo6-ackPQ8-dPaWL4-nCm5k-kZYVTi-BwZpG-53F4fx-6cS3TE-ry43F-7AeCkd-4ZvfXo">Anthony Kelly/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>Nary a week goes by that doesn’t see a new mainstream media story on the dangers of technology use. Just the other day I spotted one talking about how <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/gadgets/why-your-smartphone-is-making-you-dumber/story-fn6vihic-1227260085141">smartphones are making us dumber</a>. </p>
<p>Yet the <a href="http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563215001272">original study</a> cited in the news story is actually more about how mobile phones help us to be more intuitive than analytical, and stop us from “overthinking”. But it’s particularly interesting that this study, like many others, gets framed up as a “fear of technology”.</p>
<p>It makes me wonder why many people appear to be so afraid of technology? To answer this question, we need to consider motivations, and perhaps even look at where this argument tends to appear the most, which is in reference to children and education.</p>
<h2>Think of the children</h2>
<p>The ABC caused <a href="http://www.news.com.au/technology/children-learn-the-abc-of-twitter/story-e6frfro0-1226448686016">some controversy</a> in the mainstream media a couple of years ago when an episode of Play School showed a presenter using a toy computer to send e-mails and a toy smartphone to “tweet” his friends.</p>
<p>The ABC said at the time its intention was to promote items that have now become a part of everyday life. But what is of particular interest is the responses to the episode that express a fear of technology. </p>
<p>For instance, comments on the above-linked article were predominantly negative, with two out of three commenters believing that children shouldn’t be exposed to email and social networking.</p>
<p>I saw a similar phenomenon in 2012 with <a href="http://www.couriermail.com.au/to-tweet-or-not-to-tweet/story-fn6ck51p-1226244826436">a story</a> by The Courier Mail on research on Twitter in the classroom <a href="http://www.proceedings.com.au/isana/2012.html">that I conducted with my colleague Jeremy Novak from Southern Cross University</a>. The Courier Mail also conducted a survey alongside the story that asked readers “should students be able to tweet questions to teachers in class?”. More than 3,000 people responded to the survey, with more than 90% voting in the negative.</p>
<p>As educators, we see this position from teachers every day. For example, <a href="https://prezi.com/6kycmq7fiq25/icte-uq-inservice-pd/">data from Paul Forster</a> at the University of Queensland notes that more than 40% of teachers he sampled felt “put out” when seeing a mobile phone in their classroom. In fact, Paul said that anecdotal evidence suggested that the most common approach for many staff was to ban mobile phone usage in their classroom, rather than encourage it.</p>
<p>As an educational technologist, I find this type of public reaction to the uptake of technology astounding. Technology is now an integral part of our daily lives. As such, society should not vilify technology, but embrace it as an essential part of life in the information age.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75144/original/image-20150318-2142-2rntsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75144/original/image-20150318-2142-2rntsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/75144/original/image-20150318-2142-2rntsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75144/original/image-20150318-2142-2rntsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75144/original/image-20150318-2142-2rntsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=400&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75144/original/image-20150318-2142-2rntsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75144/original/image-20150318-2142-2rntsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/75144/original/image-20150318-2142-2rntsg.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Children are often fascinated by technology. That’s not necessarily such a bad thing.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/rahego/5509227208/in/photolist-9oQej1-7WDRJE-8saSzM-7z26e1-dawCCx-7RuUYh-9RYyDm-fDroG2-bR4HfT-8eG7p2-dzvC1Y-bMtoTk-7S3Z9z-888WyG-bC9Qvj-87pvpZ-hQVuQX-819Mx2-86gixi-7T3Yq9-7RrE24-7zCVaE-81Ryga-7RrE6p-9UiHV1-7S7Scw-7Pq2gw-8utK8v-a7Dzg7-898cDd-7zWz8q-bJRoAr-atHwcM-7RuVrQ-9dgRxT-89J1wm-dYPPLV-7TRHJ2-dWKYRS-9sK9yH-7RpM4Q-7z6TyM-9djXEG-mMo7Qe-7XyHAF-9kQG8J-dSAG34-e8H2NE-9pPdsu-8fWHDW">Raúl Hernández González/Flickr</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<h2>Anxiety about the phone in our pocket</h2>
<p>In spite of this, Australian Bureau of Statistics data show that there are almost as <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/8153.0%7EDecember+2012%7EChapter%7EMobile+handset+subscribers?OpenDocument">many active mobile phones in Australia</a> – 17.4 million, as of December 2012 – than <a href="http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Products/3235.0%7E2012%7EMain+Features%7EMain+Features?OpenDocument#PARALINK3">people to operate them</a> – 18.4 million adults aged 15 and above as at June 2012.</p>
<p>The ABS also reports that in 2009, [76% of 12–14 year olds owned a mobile phone](http://www.abs.gov.au/ausstats/abs@.nsf/Lookup/by%20Subject/1370.0~2010~Chapter~Children%20and%20mobile%20phones%20(4.8.5.3.2). So it would appear that although almost every adult in Australia has a mobile phone, and three-quarters of children also have one, many people (including teachers) are reluctant for kids to learn about this technology, or use it in the classroom.</p>
<p>Why is this? The answer may involve the culture surrounding technology. It’s been long-documented that the various generations have differing attitudes to technology. And it’s becoming apparent that the typical Generation X’er – a “<a href="http://www.marcprensky.com/writing/Prensky%20-%20Digital%20Natives,%20Digital%20Immigrants%20-%20Part1.pdf">digital immigrant</a>” – not only worries about how to use the technology, but doesn’t necessarily see the benefit of having the technology in the first place. </p>
<h2>Horses for courses means technology for kids</h2>
<p>Henry Ford is (often misquoted) as saying: “If I’d asked my customers what they wanted, they’d have said a faster horse.” And perhaps this is also true of technology in the classroom. While our “digital native” students embrace the technology, maybe our “digital immigrant” teachers continue to search for “a better horse”, all the while ignoring the technology that is already in every student’s pocket or backpack.</p>
<p>So, how do we overcome this? Our research is ongoing in this area, but it would appear that what is needed is a cultural change. Rather than standing up and telling teachers to embed technology into their classroom, we should be working harder to get teachers to embed technology into their everyday lives. </p>
<p>If a teacher learns to use a tablet while they sit on the couch at home, or read tweets on their smartphone on the way to work, they will then start to understand how the technology works. It will then become a part of their culture and they’ll be more likely to want it in their classroom.</p>
<p>Until we can reverse this fear or technology, we can expect to see many more negative comments about children and technology, and how your smartphone is making you dumber. People tend to fear change, and there is a great fear of technology in our generational culture that needs to be conquered.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/38780/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Michael Cowling does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Many people fear technology is making us dumber, and they have great reservations about children using smartphones or computers. But technology ought to be embraced, particularly by kids.Michael Cowling, Senior Lecturer & Discipline Leader, Mobile Computing & Applications, CQUniversity AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/366342015-01-23T12:51:58Z2015-01-23T12:51:58ZMicrosoft fight back begins with launch of Windows 10 that runs on everything, everywhere<p>Microsoft, once the dominant force in the software industry, has for a few years been on the back foot. Despite its undeniable clout and the world’s largest installed base of users, it has been slow to move with the trends that are reshaping the industry, particularly mobile and cloud computing. Its recent <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/21/windows-10-event-summary/">grand unveiling of Windows 10</a> – and a <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/21/microsoft-just-fired-latest-volley-in-the-face-computer-battle/">great deal more besides</a> – is the firm’s first step toward taking back the initiative.</p>
<p>The company’s strategy is perhaps to reorient the business towards mobile and cloud first, and establish a consistent strategy for its core business of Windows operating systems.</p>
<p>The first move, with the release of Windows 10, is to make good the damage caused by Windows 8. The previous version of its operating system introduced substantial changes aimed at tablet and phone users, but alienated those not using a touchscreen. With Windows 10 it <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/21/7865973/microsoft-windows-10-new-desktop-features">combines the best of both</a>: the venerable Start Menu is back, for example, but with integrated touch-friendly apps.</p>
<p>In the process Microsoft is finally bringing about the long-overdue process of establishing an operating system family that is consistent across servers, desktop and laptops, tablets and phones. Until now there has been versions of Windows for PCs, two different and incompatible versions of Windows for phones, and yet more versions for uses such as embedded devices, handheld computers or point-of-sale terminals. Windows 10 will run on all of them – it even promises <a href="http://www.theverge.com/2015/1/21/7865569/microsoft-xbox-app-windows-10">greater integration with Xbox games consoles</a> too.</p>
<p>It’s no secret that Windows as a mobile phone operating system was late to the party and is playing catch-up against Apple’s iOS and Google’s Android. A <a href="http://www.itu.int/en/ITU-D/Statistics/Pages/publications/wtid.aspx">survey by ICT</a> reveals more there are more than 1.7 billion handsets and 6.8 billion mobile subscriptions worldwide – not many fewer than the number of people on earth. But Microsoft has only around <a href="http://www.idc.com/prodserv/smartphone-os-market-share.jsp">3% of the global share</a>. With average use of mobile services now <a href="http://www.nielsen.com/us/en/insights/news/2014/smartphones-so-many-apps--so-much-time.html">up to three hours a day</a>, 75% of which is spent on mobile apps for social purposes and for work, internet users are now highly mobile and dynamic users — and they need devices and systems that support the way they use the digital world. Microsoft has to prove it can do this. </p>
<p>Satya Nadella, Microsoft’s new CEO, is focused on using Windows to support a richer set of services for consumers and businesses, including a cloud and mobile platform. In doing so he’s moving away from the old licence model of selling the operating system – Windows 10 will be a <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/21/microsoft-to-provide-free-upgrades-to-windows-10/">free upgrade</a> for the first year after launch, with greater cross-platform synchronisation between desktop, mobile, and Xbox. The aim is to provide a seamless and entirely Microsoft-based platform across which users can get involved in communities and use social media.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/DI4QVOaLCWk?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p>Microsoft needs to provide a compelling user experience in order to drive users to its products. Another interesting launch is <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/21/microsofts-browser-with-a-halo-codename/">Spartan</a>, a new browser to replace Internet Explorer. Browsers are essentially the de facto user interface these days, with services increasingly appearing as packaged apps to keep users inside the ecosystem – Google’s <a href="https://www.google.co.uk/chrome/devices/">Chromebook</a> platform is a good example. Spartan will introduce features such as browser extensions, again long overdue as these have been available in alternative browsers such as Chrome and Firefox for years. </p>
<p>Making its <a href="http://techcrunch.com/2015/01/21/microsofts-announces-something/">Office 360 applications available free for mobile</a>, and introducing <a href="http://www.engadget.com/2015/01/21/windows-10-makes-microsofts-dream-of-universal-apps-come-true/">Universal Windows Apps</a> that will work across all devices, will help keep users in the ecosystem by giving them everything they need, without fuss or complication. If Microsoft can pull this off, it can turn the corner and bring together, with Windows 10, converging operating systems, platforms, and digital services – free or paid – that it offers.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/36634/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Mark Skilton does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Microsoft, once the dominant force in the software industry, has for a few years been on the back foot. Despite its undeniable clout and the world’s largest installed base of users, it has been slow to…Mark Skilton, Professor of Practice, Warwick Business School, University of WarwickLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/351322014-12-08T11:00:17Z2014-12-08T11:00:17ZEyetracking technology knows your subconscious pizza desires … or not<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66458/original/image-20141207-8661-5hyjl9.JPG?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">You're a vegetarian? But your subconscious ordered the Meat Lover's!</span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pizza_Hut_Meat_Lover's_pizza.JPG">BrokenSphere</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>If you prefer to order your pizza without going through all the trouble of actually speaking, Pizza Hut has just the thing for you — “the world’s first <a href="http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-switch/wp/2014/12/01/pizza-hut-wants-to-read-your-mind/">subconscious menu</a>.” You sit down, glance through the menu, and before you say anything or even make a conscious decision, the menu has figured out which toppings you’d like on your pizza and places your order. Pizza Hut recently began testing the technology in some of its UK restaurants.</p>
<figure>
<iframe width="440" height="260" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/HRFn32N7KFY?wmode=transparent&start=0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
</figure>
<p>This mind-reading menu fuses a tablet computer with an eyetracker. The eyetracker measures your eye movements while you scan through 20 toppings, and decides which of the 4,896 possible combinations you want by measuring the amount of time you spend looking at each one. The tablet lets the diners know what it thinks they want – and waits for conscious approval – before sending the order to the kitchen.</p>
<p>Sounds great for the indecisive pizza lover. But is there anything to this “subconscious menu” besides marketing gimmickry?</p>
<h2>The science of eyetracking</h2>
<p>Eyetracking technology itself is real. Louis Émile Javal first used eyetracking to study reading in the late 19th century, and cognitive psychologists today rely on eyetracking to <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/17470210902816461">investigate basic processes</a> like attention, perception, memory, and decision-making.</p>
<p>Modern eyetracking is based on high-speed cameras and graphics processors that measure infrared light reflected from the corneas of the eyes. The processor uses the reflected light to find landmarks like the center of the pupil and the bright patch that gives us the twinkle in our eye. As a person gazes in different directions, the relationships between these landmarks change, and these changes can be used to determine where a person is looking.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=321&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66474/original/image-20141207-8658-13sgsnc.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=404&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eyetrackers can show where on a face someone’s attention focuses. The red areas were looked at the most.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.jhenderson.org/vclab/Eyetracking.html">John Henderson</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/">CC BY-ND</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>Eyetracking is now used as a tool for understanding topics ranging from <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/0963721414530145">dyslexia</a> to distracted <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/28/technology/28texting.html?_r=0">driving while texting</a>. Cutting-edge cognitive neuroscience research even combines eyetracking with <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1037/a0023885">brain imaging</a> to study the <a href="http://journal.frontiersin.org/Journal/10.3389/fnhum.2014.01024/abstract">neural systems</a> that underlie <a href="http://dx.doi.org/10.1162/jocn_a_00769">human thought</a>.</p>
<p>Eyetracking was once expensive and reserved for the well-funded science lab, but in the last couple of years the technology has become widely available. Today, good eyetracking systems can be had for less than a couple of hundred dollars. </p>
<h2>Out of the lab, into the pizza parlor</h2>
<p>Touchscreen tablet technology – without the addition of the eyetracking feature – is already in place in a number of restaurants and retail shops, allowing patrons to place orders without interacting directly with human beings.</p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=655&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66476/original/image-20141207-8667-wqt340.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=823&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">A heat map showing where a user looked most, according to the tablet’s eyetracker.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.tobii.com/en/about/news-and-events/press-room/#/images/tobii-x1-light-eye-tracker-111344">Tobii Technology AB</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/">CC BY</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>But can eyetracking really be used to measure unconscious pizza preferences? Well… yes and no. The general idea that looking time reflects preference is based on good science; looking time can reflect many aspects of decision-making and thinking. But this relationship is probabilistic rather than certain. That is, we may spend more time on average looking at things we prefer compared to things we don’t (all else being equal, which is rare in the real world), but for any given item or set of items, there’s no guarantee that a longer look means greater preference. The upshot is that although people on average may look longer at things they like, we cannot use looking time to predict with any certainty what a specific person likes in a specific situation.</p>
<p>Another challenge for mind-reading via eyetracking is that people are complicated. There are many reasons you might look at different pizza toppings for different amounts of time. Maybe the picture of the pepperoni is harder to identify than the picture of the mushroom. Maybe the pile of pepperoni looks like your favorite Uncle Zach. Or maybe the pepperoni is just brighter on the screen. Any or all of these differences and many others can influence where and how long you look – far outweighing any subconscious preference for pepperoni.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=450&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66466/original/image-20141207-8648-ss33bt.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=566&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Umm… is this what YOUR subconscious ordered?</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="https://www.flickr.com/photos/58922922@N00/33691298/">Patrick Ohnewein</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
</figcaption>
</figure>
<p>So, unless you’d be happy ending up with an onion and pineapple pizza with corn on top, you might want to forgo the subconscious menu and stick to a more traditional way to order.</p>
<h2>One reliable way to order via eyetracker</h2>
<p>There is one way in which eyetracking could be used more or less flawlessly to order from a menu. The menu could be set up so if you purposefully stare at each item you want for an unambiguously long period of time – probably seconds – then those items would be selected.</p>
<figure class="align-center zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=399&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/66475/original/image-20141207-8648-47yy5y.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=502&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
<figcaption>
<span class="caption">Eyetracker technology helps this girl interact with friends and caregivers.</span>
<span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.tobii.com/en/about/news-and-events/press-room/#/images/gabriella-and-her-tobii-eyemobile-226638">Tobii Technology AB</a>, <a class="license" href="http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/">CC BY-SA</a></span>
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</figure>
<p>This type of system based on conscious eye movements actually does work. And indeed, systems like this can provide an important computer interface for people who cannot physically use a keyboard or mouse. But because these systems need a relatively long look at each item, most people find them cumbersome and annoying. Why stare at a picture when you can just talk? After all, how hard is it to say “pepperoni”?</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/35132/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>John M. Henderson receives funding from the National Science Foundation.</span></em></p>If you prefer to order your pizza without going through all the trouble of actually speaking, Pizza Hut has just the thing for you — “the world’s first subconscious menu.” You sit down, glance through…John M. Henderson, Professor of Psychology, University of South CarolinaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/331262014-10-17T12:28:15Z2014-10-17T12:28:15ZNew iPads, no surprises: Apple may struggle in competitive tablet market<p>Compared to the Apple keynote that <a href="https://theconversation.com/apple-launches-smart-watch-new-iphones-and-mobile-payment-system-31482">launched the iPhone 6/6+ and Apple Watch</a>, the follow up iPad event was always going to be a low-key affair. That the new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 bring only long-expected features and that gives them the feel of yesterday’s news – not a good thing when iPad sales are <a href="http://www.slate.com/articles/technology/technology/2014/07/apple_s_ipad_problem_tablet_sales_down_in_q3_earnings.html">down almost 10%</a> in a market filled with other choices.</p>
<p>Despite the <a href="http://www.inquisitr.com/1543343/apple-reveals-gigantic-ipad-is-bigger-really-better/">rumours of a gigantic iPad</a> or hybrid laptop/tablet models, Apple stuck with the same form factors but made them even thinner: the iPad Air 2 is now just <a href="https://www.apple.com/uk/ipad-air-2/">6.1mm thick</a>. </p>
<p>The Air 2 comes with this year’s A8X processor, which Apple claims is 40% faster than the previous A7 model, and a graphics chip that boasts 2.5x the speed. It also gains a better 8mp camera that supports high-resolution 1080p video, and software in iOS 8 that allows for slow-motion, burst mode, and time lapse recording. It also includes the TouchID fingerprint reader, first introduced in the iPhone 5S and also found on the latest iPhone models.</p>
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<p>What is unusual is that Apple now has several devices competing for the same market space. The top of the range iPhone 6+ and the iPad Mini 3 are roughly the same size, and this update doesn’t really do enough to differentiate them. Don’t be surprised if the mini disappears within two years as the larger iPhone drops in price. </p>
<p>Apple will also <a href="https://www.apple.com/uk/ipad/compare/#comparison-chart">continue to sell previous versions</a> of its iPads, with a model that sits at every point in the price range, from £199 for the oldest Mini model to an eye-watering £629 for the largest, newest iPad Air 2. It seems crowded, but perhaps this is Apple’s gambit to chase off other tablet manufacturers looking to compete on price.</p>
<p>The recent announcement of a <a href="http://www.cnet.com/news/apple-ibm-today-microsoft-tomorrow-google/">collaboration with IBM</a> signals a reversal of Apple’s shyness toward the corporate market. Perhaps the introduction of TouchID and better support for locking down devices’ contents more securely will make an iPad-enabled business more appealing. The issue here is the cost: many organisations choose the cheapest android model available, locking it into a single application. When it breaks, they are simply replaced. This may explain the thinking behind keeping many iPad models on the market. </p>
<p>The big reveal in the keynote was the introduction of a retina display to the iMac: a 27" machine with a jaw-dropping 5120x2880 screen. This is big enough to allow the editing of <a href="http://www.which.co.uk/reviews/televisions/article/advice/what-is-4k-tv">super-high-resolution 4K</a> videos, at full size, with space around it for the panels and windows of the editing software – you could call it <a href="http://www.niemanlab.org/2014/10/apples-new-imac-with-retina-5k-display-risks-making-your-web-pages-a-little-heavier/">a 5K screen</a>. It starts from £1,999 which, considering the <a href="http://thewirecutter.com/reviews/best-4k-monitor-doesnt-exist/">cost of a 4K screen</a> is very good value. The Mac Mini also gets an update – still an entry-level desktop for many people, requiring a separate keyboard, mouse and monitor, it gets the latest processors based on Intel’s Haswell core, and the price falls to £399. </p>
<p>Apple’s productivity suite gets an upgrade on both OS X and iOS. The latest version of its desktop operating system, Yosemite, was revealed over the summer and is released today. As Apple promised last year, the annual upgrades to the operating system will now come for free.</p>
<p>Are these updates to the iPad line enough to reinvigorate Apples sales in the tablet market? Probably not. The biggest problem for Apple is that the market is saturated, with cheaper alternatives or second-hand iPads that can run iOS 8 perfectly well. </p>
<p>With a crowded range of iPads and devices competing in the same space, perhaps the lessons learned when Steve Jobs returned to Apple in the late 1990s have been forgotten: manufacture few things, ensure they are of the highest quality and be prepared to sacrifice lines.</p>
<p>As with all Apple devices, the new iPads are extremely well engineered, but there’s simply not enough to differentiate them from the other models – that they are now available in a gold colour isn’t enough to make them a must-buy.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/33126/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barry Avery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>Compared to the Apple keynote that launched the iPhone 6/6+ and Apple Watch, the follow up iPad event was always going to be a low-key affair. That the new iPad Air 2 and iPad Mini 3 bring only long-expected…Barry Avery, Associate Professor, Informatics and Operations , Kingston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/232212014-02-21T14:28:52Z2014-02-21T14:28:52ZBring or buy: would you let your child take their tablet to school?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/41982/original/hpwrm9y6-1392834736.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Mine's a newer model than yours. </span> <span class="attribution"><a class="source" href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/vblibrary/8466485544/sizes/l/">Enokson</a></span></figcaption></figure><p>As schools struggle with shortfalls in their digital technology budgets and as teachers see how much parents spend on laptops and tablets at home, many teachers are considering letting pupils bring their own devices to class. This raises questions about whether parents should be expected to contribute directly to the cost of technology in schools, and whether asking children to bring in their own devices is an appropriate strategy.</p>
<p>In England, where every child has the right to a free education, schools are still experimenting with whether or not every child should have a mobile device. Based on research carried out in 22 English schools the question being asked seems to be: “Is it right to expect parents to pay anything towards the cost of digital technology for use in school?”</p>
<p>But in Australia, there seems to be a general assumption that every child should have their own mobile device in school. Based on data from 13 schools that I visited in five states in Australia in 2013, there seems to be an expectation that the only way to sustain every child having their own mobile device is to require parents to pay for them.</p>
<p>Free laptops were supplied to high school students under the last Labor government in Australia, but funding for that programme <a href="http://www.smh.com.au/digital-life/digital-life-news/byo-time-in-classrooms-as-free-laptops-era-ends-20130721-2qcp6.html">ceased in 2013</a>.</p>
<p>The question now being asked in Australia is: “What is the best model of provision and how much can we expect parents to pay?” This is in a context where most parents are used to being asked to pay something towards their child’s education, in addition to taxes, even if their child goes to a state school. </p>
<h2>Keeping up with the Joneses</h2>
<p>In both countries there are concerns about equity issues and disadvantaging those children whose parents cannot (or will not) pay for digital technology. But you could also argue that all students benefit if you increase the overall amount spent on digital technology, and focus the school’s funding on those students who come from more disadvantaged homes.</p>
<p>The funding models that were evident in the English and Australian schools spanned the full range. Some schools funded all the technology themselves, others asked parents to contribute through an annual charge or monthly leasing scheme payment over two or three years. Other parents are being expected to provide their child with a specific specification of device, which I call “buy your own”. And some schools just let children bring their own digital technology, no matter what make or model – “bring your own”. </p>
<p>The important distinctions between “buy” and “bring” your own were often lost on schools. Specifically, the buy your own model places an expectation on parents to provide a device, often one that meets a particular school specification. </p>
<p>Asking children to bring their own device, in contrast, simply allows them to use something that you already to have. Buy your own often requires the parent to go out and buy a specific device, whilst bring your own does not.</p>
<p>Bring your own often won’t result in every child having a device, and would almost certainly mean that a range of devices were being brought in. Most schools in both England and Australia seem to assume that it is better and easier for the teacher if every child has a device, and that all the devices have the same specification. So they prefer buy, to bring your own.</p>
<h2>Why not ask parents?</h2>
<p>One of the surprising things we found in most of the schools that we visited in both England and Australia was that they didn’t have a clear picture of what devices students already had access to at home. In several of the Australian schools this resulted in students having their own laptop and/or tablet, plus the school laptop or tablet that their parents had been asked to pay for.</p>
<p>In order to help address this problem we have developed a service for schools, called <a href="http://www.yots.org.uk">Your Own Technology Survey</a> (YOTS), which helps schools to audit their students’ access to the internet. </p>
<p>Early analysis of data for 3,341 students in Years seven to 13 across 23 schools in England, collected in 2013, suggests that a significant proportion of students have access to an internet-enabled mobile device at home. And crucially, that they would be allowed, able, and willing to bring it to school on a regular basis. This varied between devices: 75% of respondents said they would be allowed, able and willing to bring in a smartphone, compared with 30% for a laptop, and 19% for a tablet. </p>
<p>Perhaps it is time for schools to rethink their digital technology strategies, based on actual data about what equipment their students have access to at home, which they could use in school.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/23221/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Peter Twining has received funding from Becta, Nesta and the DfE to support his work on ICT in schools. He is currently carrying out research in this area, and leads the Your Own Technology Survey team.</span></em></p>As schools struggle with shortfalls in their digital technology budgets and as teachers see how much parents spend on laptops and tablets at home, many teachers are considering letting pupils bring their…Peter Twining, Professor of Education (Futures), The Open UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/220362014-01-16T23:55:13Z2014-01-16T23:55:13ZWindows 8 and Microsoft’s missed mobile moment<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39245/original/zhmx9v6n-1389916237.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Windows 8 made sense in theory, but in reality has failed to hit the mark.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">Justin Lane/AAP</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>To say that Microsoft is struggling at the moment is an understatement. The search for a new CEO is <a href="https://theconversation.com/the-long-search-for-microsofts-next-ceo-21804">not going well</a>, Microsoft mobile phones are still <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/technology/2014/jan/09/market-share-smartphones-iphone-android-windows">failing</a> to capture any significant mind and market share and worse, at some point this year, Apple’s PCs, tablets and phones will be <a href="http://www.businessspectator.com.au/article/2014/1/15/technology/how-microsoft-lost-its-edge-against-apple">out-selling</a> Windows.</p>
<h2>Where it went wrong</h2>
<p>Of the many missteps that could be laid at Microsoft’s door, the move to Windows 8 ranks as one of the biggest. Driven by a forgivable logic, Microsoft wanted to produce an operating system that unified its PC, tablet and phone operating systems. The seamless integration of devices would appeal to the market and help Microsoft regain the ascendancy from Apple and Google. This may have worked if Windows 8 and the user interface that underpinned it had been less unattractive or more familiar. But since its release 14 months ago, Windows 8 sales are <a href="http://slashdot.org/topic/bi/windows-8-continues-to-struggle-for-adoption/">50% of those</a> of Windows 7 after the same period.</p>
<h2>Will Windows 9 stem the PC sales declines?</h2>
<p>In what is now a desperate move to change its fortunes, Microsoft is <a href="http://winsupersite.com/windows-8/threshold-be-called-windows-9-ship-april-2015">rumoured</a> to be rushing the release of Windows 9, code-named “Threshold” to 2015. Little is known about the changes that will be in the release although commentators are already theorising that Microsoft will try and wind back the tablet and touch features of the desktop version of Windows to something looking more like Windows 7. The sense however is that this is too little and far too late.</p>
<p>2013 saw the <a href="http://globalnews.ca/news/1072693/pc-sales-saw-worst-ever-decline-in-2013/">worst declines</a> in PC sales of any previous year, falling by 10%. Although tablet sales are partly responsible for some of this decline, another important factor is consumers and businesses holding on to their existing hardware for longer through a lack of incentive to upgrade or change. </p>
<p>For Microsoft, the problem has been further exacerbated by the fact that Apple PCs have actually seen an increase in <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/14/01/09/apples-domestic-mac-sales-surge-285-as-overall-pc-market-shrinks-75">sales</a>, especially in the US.</p>
<h2>What makes people use a particular technology?</h2>
<p>The factors that determine whether a consumer or business will use a given technology are complicated and researchers have developed a range of models to try and determine what drives its successful use. One such <a href="http://elefelious.wordpress.com/2013/03/">model</a>, proposes factors such as the amount of effort involved in a technology’s use, its cost, the habits of the user and the technology’s performance. </p>
<p>Of equal importance however, are social influence and hedonic motivation. In other words, the more people within your social sphere that are using a technology and also the more pleasurable the technology is to use, the more likely you will be to use it.</p>
<p>From the moment Windows 8 was launched, it has largely been reviewed negatively. For the desktop user, there were no benefits delivered in changing to a user interface that emphasised a tablet metaphor. In fact, the opposite was the case, it just got in the way. </p>
<p>Worse still, elements of the interface were simply ugly. Examples of this included the capitalisation of menu text and the washed out borderless interfaces that found their way into the Microsoft applications adopting the Windows 8 user interface look and feel. In short, it became less pleasurable to use than Windows 7, and social influencers were largely negative about the product.</p>
<p>The challenge facing Microsoft to turn around the negative sentiment associated with Windows 8 is considerable. Speeding up the release of Windows 9 may help, but only if Microsoft has made substantial changes to the user interface.</p>
<h2>The other hurdles for Microsoft</h2>
<figure class="align-right ">
<img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39190/original/kxftccns-1389848899.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/39190/original/kxftccns-1389848899.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39190/original/kxftccns-1389848899.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39190/original/kxftccns-1389848899.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=425&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39190/original/kxftccns-1389848899.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39190/original/kxftccns-1389848899.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/39190/original/kxftccns-1389848899.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=534&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px">
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<span class="caption">If Microsoft is unable to turnaround negative sentiment about Windows 8, it could be headed for the PC graveyard.</span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">tony newell/Flickr</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>From a business user perspective, there are additional problems that Microsoft faces. The first is a large installed base of businesses still using Windows XP. </p>
<p>According to <a href="http://www.netmarketshare.com/operating-system-market-share.aspx?qprid=10&qpcustomd=0&qpsp=2013&qpnp=2&qptimeframe=Y">Net Applications</a> 35% of PC desktops globally were still running Windows XP. In deciding what to upgrade to, it is extremely unlikely that companies would choose to move to Windows 8 which means that Windows 7 is likely to be the dominant PC operating system for the next decade at least. </p>
<p>For large organisations, the costs involved in migrating platforms are mainly in ensuring that all the applications they use work on a particular platform and the training and support costs of their users. Because of the poor reception for Windows 8, there will be less incentive for other software companies to rush to support it, preferring instead to concentrate on Windows 7.</p>
<p>A further wildcard in the PC market are platforms such as Google’s Chromebook which enjoyed a <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com.au/chromebook-sales-2013-12">surge</a> in sales last year. It is possible that as businesses increasingly move to a software-as-a-service model, especially one that is web-based, Chromebooks will become increasingly popular replacements to desktop PCs.</p>
<h2>What next?</h2>
<p>Even if Windows 9 helps to reverse the negative impact of Windows 8, it is unlikely to stem the declines in the PC market. Microsoft will be concentrating its efforts on succeeding where it matters now, in the mobile market.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/22036/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>David Glance worked at Microsoft between 1998 and 2001.</span></em></p>To say that Microsoft is struggling at the moment is an understatement. The search for a new CEO is not going well, Microsoft mobile phones are still failing to capture any significant mind and market…David Glance, Director, Centre for Software Practice, The University of Western AustraliaLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/173372013-08-22T13:40:26Z2013-08-22T13:40:26ZWill consumers say BOGOF to the Tesco tablet?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/29753/original/qh95n6n9-1377167725.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Unexpected item in bagging area. Tesco is striking out into tablets.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ell brown</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad in 2010, he argued that unless the device was better at doing everyday tasks than smartphones or netbooks, it wouldn’t deserve to exist. Consumers and corporates embraced the concept and for the next two years Apple maintained at least a <a href="http://www.padgadget.com/2012/02/22/apples-ipad-set-to-dominate-2012-with-60-market-share/">60%</a> share in the tablet market, curtailing Netbook sales and placing the retail PC market into decline. Now every hardware manufacturer has a tablet product – across a range of prices.</p>
<p>The latest entrant into a crowded market will be Tesco, with a <a href="http://www.thetimes.co.uk/tto/business/industries/retailing/article3846563.ece">rumoured release</a> date set to target Christmas. Previous attempts by retailers to brand their own device have been disastrous – two years ago Next and <a href="http://www.wired.com/gadgetlab/2011/07/160-arnova-craplet-features-specs-from-2009/">Asda</a> discovered that the only way to sell a device at £90-100 was by compromising on the build quality and specification, resulting in poor-quality screens, slow touch responsiveness, short battery life and reduced memory, restricting the ability to run applications.</p>
<p>Now things have changed - competition, multiple hardware manufacturers, improvements in technology and increasing demand have driven quality up and prices down.</p>
<p>Apple still dominates the premium device category and is more likely to innovate on hardware specifications and software services, but mid-range devices from a variety of manufacturers that sell for £150-£300 are increasing in market share and have functionality that can match the iPad. </p>
<p>Google’s Android Operating System dominates the mid-range and the low-price sector, but lacks the ease of use and access to the universe of online services that Apple uses to differentiate itself, such as iCloud synchronisation, seamless backup and access to the iTunes store. Android’s developmental model is similar to that of open source, placing code in the public domain for free reuse, although Google has been <a href="http://www.eweek.com/blogs/first-read/is-android-really-open-source.html">criticised</a> for the way it manages this process, giving selected partners early access to new versions.</p>
<p>At the low end of the market, an increasing number of devices are sold for less than £120. These cheaper devices prove to be successful when they are bound to a distinct software services such as Google Play or Amazon Kindle.</p>
<p>But Tesco can differentiate its device from competitor products such as the Nexus 7, next generation Kindle or iPad Mini if it wins in three important areas - price, online services and knowing its customers. It has strong form in all three areas and is something of a leader in the latter in particular.</p>
<p>It seems likely that Tesco will pitch its device just above the low end of the market at around £100-£150, reducing its initial margins, but making money through cloud services that are specific to its own customers. This is a model that works well for Microsoft and Sony with their games consoles. A heavily customised version of Android modified to suggest the Tesco brand could be used to promote pre-existing services such as their own mobile phone network, branded bank account, credit card, mortgage services and online weekly shopping.</p>
<p>Tesco intends to move further than this; having suffered a reduction in the sales of books, DVDs and music to Amazon and the iTunes store, it has been building or acquiring a series of online platforms for media – Blinkbox for Video, an in-house store for eBooks and a <a href="http://www.tescoplc.com/index.asp?pageid=17&newsid=643">streaming service</a> for music that is similar to Spotify. For many years, Tesco has been quietly developing one of the most sophisticated models of predictive shopping behaviour using a combination of its Clubcard, online and store sales, through the company Dunnhumby. This technology enables it to predict the exact sales that will occur in specific stores over time, and ensure that the supply chain anticipates these requirements.</p>
<p>Combining this predictive ability with an always-on mobile device should give Tesco the ability to offer brands, discounts and sales on all its items and services, all without having to bring customers in to physical stores. Consumers have demonstrated that they are willing to sacrifice privacy if they receive products and services specifically targeted at them, so the Tesco tablet could monitor a shopper’s location, habits and purchases and start offering better customised suggestions.</p>
<p>With knowledge and resources like these, it is quite possible that Apple, Amazon and Google could be outmanoeuvred by a greengrocer.</p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/17337/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Barry Avery does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>When Steve Jobs introduced the iPad in 2010, he argued that unless the device was better at doing everyday tasks than smartphones or netbooks, it wouldn’t deserve to exist. Consumers and corporates embraced…Barry Avery, Principal Lecturer, Informatics and Operations , Kingston UniversityLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.tag:theconversation.com,2011:article/96492012-09-27T04:07:31Z2012-09-27T04:07:31ZFinger-flicking good: have digital tablets become essential?<figure><img src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15706/original/ggd4mj73-1348120734.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=496&fit=clip" /><figcaption><span class="caption">Ropey for writing on … but still easy to fall in love with.</span> <span class="attribution"><span class="source">ebayink</span></span></figcaption></figure><p>The onward march of digital tablets looks incontestable. Tablets are now <a href="http://appleinsider.com/articles/12/09/04/apples_ipad_now_definitively_replacing_pc_sales_in_education.html">threatening sales</a> of personal computers in K-12 education in the USA. And the forthcoming launch of a new kiddie-tablet called <a href="http://news.cnet.com/8301-1023_3-57509518-93/toys-r-us-unwraps-$150-tabeo-tablet-for-kids/">Tabeo</a> will further erode the PC end of the education market. </p>
<p>If there can be a <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killer_application">killer app</a>, there can presumably be a killer product. Call it, for now, a killer prod. Is the tablet a killer prod? </p>
<p>The first question is: what distinguishes it from a laptop? Novelty, which will pass. Added portability. </p>
<p>What distinguishes it from a mobile phone? Size. And most can’t function as a phone. Yet. But they are converging. </p>
<p>When I first started using a tablet I was not sure where it would find a place in my work pattern. Did I really want to be a three-device digital user: phone, tablet, laptop?</p>
<p>The tablet has become my meetings machine: PDFs of agendas, minutes, papers work really nicely. It’s a smooth web browser. It skypes. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15704/original/hz25xxkh-1348119613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15704/original/hz25xxkh-1348119613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15704/original/hz25xxkh-1348119613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15704/original/hz25xxkh-1348119613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15704/original/hz25xxkh-1348119613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=610&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15704/original/hz25xxkh-1348119613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15704/original/hz25xxkh-1348119613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15704/original/hz25xxkh-1348119613.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=767&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">courosa</span></span>
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<p>And it’s excellent for interactive and shared learning. Whether it involves multiple learners around one tablet, or multiple learners with a table each, or multiple tablets for a single learner, tablets help take us away from the teacher-fronted classroom and into more student-driven learning. </p>
<p>Laptops with Wi-Fi can do this, to be sure. But for real mobility, cellular+tablet wins. And the tablet is less limited to laps than a laptop. </p>
<p>Furthermore, the volume and quality of teaching and learning apps are advancing at a stunning pace, much faster than our ability to sift and assess for quality. </p>
<p>And I am immensely heartened and impressed by the abilities of four-year-olds to manage tablets, to master their ergonomics, to use them to learn and to use them to learn about learning. So, in their way, do some domestic felines. <a href="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XK2dwTVi-aQ">Check out the web</a> for proof. </p>
<p>None of this can take away from the fact that the tablet is a really, hopelessly, disastrously, cosmically awful instrument for text entry. I write a lot, and fast. Tablets drive me beyond distraction.</p>
<h2>Good for writing (slowly and poorly)</h2>
<p>Tablets’ on-screen keyboards are functionally poor, slow and lack the feedback necessary for all but laboured and slow typing. Some tablets can work with associated Bluetooth or USB keyboards. </p>
<figure class="align-right zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15705/original/26ncg6mn-1348119946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15705/original/26ncg6mn-1348119946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15705/original/26ncg6mn-1348119946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15705/original/26ncg6mn-1348119946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15705/original/26ncg6mn-1348119946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=806&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15705/original/26ncg6mn-1348119946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15705/original/26ncg6mn-1348119946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15705/original/26ncg6mn-1348119946.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=1013&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">John Federico</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>Well, some of these are ergonomically vile, and many require you to tote two instruments around, the tablet and the keyboard. So why not a laptop? </p>
<p>Further, text-processing software for tablets is not yet mature, and bears witness to incomplete innovation about how to be textually creative on a tablet screen. </p>
<p>Voice recognition input to tablets is not yet sufficiently advanced to be reliable. It compares poorly with parallel software on laptops, and tends to be capricious, limited and rigid, and not great with surrounding ambient noise. </p>
<p>I write here – on a laptop – with some asperity, born of frustration and irritation that tablets haven’t got it right yet, and still have far to go. Their poor performance with text input means that using them may skew literacy and its learning. </p>
<p>Granted, mobile phones and tablets are tolerable for the input of short text messages: emails, blogs, tweets. For the creation of sustained prose they are pulsatingly, superlatively, transcendentally terrible. </p>
<figure class="align-left zoomable">
<a href="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15701/original/k5ryrcbm-1348119281.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=1000&fit=clip"><img alt="" src="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15701/original/k5ryrcbm-1348119281.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=237&fit=clip" srcset="https://images.theconversation.com/files/15701/original/k5ryrcbm-1348119281.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=1 600w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15701/original/k5ryrcbm-1348119281.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=2 1200w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15701/original/k5ryrcbm-1348119281.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=600&h=783&fit=crop&dpr=3 1800w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15701/original/k5ryrcbm-1348119281.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=45&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=1 754w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15701/original/k5ryrcbm-1348119281.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=30&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=2 1508w, https://images.theconversation.com/files/15701/original/k5ryrcbm-1348119281.jpg?ixlib=rb-1.1.0&q=15&auto=format&w=754&h=984&fit=crop&dpr=3 2262w" sizes="(min-width: 1466px) 754px, (max-width: 599px) 100vw, (min-width: 600px) 600px, 237px"></a>
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<span class="caption"></span>
<span class="attribution"><span class="source">Mike Licht, NotionsCapital.com</span></span>
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</figure>
<p>And for the rest? Well, as a literacy curmudgeon I mourn the decline of paper literacy. There is nothing like a well printed page in quality type on quality paper. I mourn the decline of handwriting. </p>
<p>But then I am already an anachronism. </p>
<p>And though tablets are more robust than they used to be, they still don’t respond well to immersion in water, or to percussive contact, as with the heads of an importunate sibling. They tend to crack. But so does the sibling, which may be some small comfort. </p>
<p>All this means that tablets cannot yet be a total learning device. For what they do well they are fine. For the rest they need to be complemented. And using them effectively will require some rethinking of how we plan, execute, support and monitor learning. </p>
<p>A tablet, to be fairer than I have been so far, is not a reduced laptop. It’s something different, which is creating new functions and learning spaces. It’s a game-changer. We are still discovering – and creating – the new games. </p>
<p>And for the remaining rest? I have started to learn some Chinese, so I need the textbook, a dictionary, a grammar guide, and access to texts in Chinese to check some expressions. </p>
<p>Some audio files of pronunciation, and some videos of real life situations, would be most convenient. I’d like to share questions with other students and with the tutor. </p>
<p>The prescription? My daily tablet. </p><img src="https://counter.theconversation.com/content/9649/count.gif" alt="The Conversation" width="1" height="1" />
<p class="fine-print"><em><span>Roland Sussex does not work for, consult, own shares in or receive funding from any company or organisation that would benefit from this article, and has disclosed no relevant affiliations beyond their academic appointment.</span></em></p>The onward march of digital tablets looks incontestable. Tablets are now threatening sales of personal computers in K-12 education in the USA. And the forthcoming launch of a new kiddie-tablet called Tabeo…Roland Sussex, Professor Emeritus, The University of QueenslandLicensed as Creative Commons – attribution, no derivatives.