Can Computer Literacy Programs be Effective in Teaching Literacy to Toddlers?

While some experts say that computers have little to offer younger kids besides the possibility of gaining weight or having shorter attention spans, according to the Hechinger Report, an independent education news site, many others say that computer literacy programs can be effective in teaching literacy to toddlers.

Based on the stipulations, however, by the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP), kids under the age of two should be completely screen-free. After that age, the AAP recommends kids can use computers for upwards of two hours a day, it adds.

Based on an article from Australia about the early literacy practices of children, these days, literacy is not just limited to reading and writing but also includes the literacies of technology, like internet searching, emails and computer activities, and functional literacy, like using roadmaps and timetables. In other words, literacy other than just English really does apply to the lives of kids today.

The Brant Children’s Centre also believes in certain parameters for children. For instance, it states that technology should never trump the need for personal interaction. The Centre suggests instead using effective interactive and age-appropriate software in order to meet curriculum goals.

“Co-viewing,” a concept that dates back to the 1970s and includes 16 principles, stressed the advantages of interactivity between teachers, classmates, parents and the kids as they used technology. Correspondingly, research found that when children whose parents watched “Sesame Street” with them learned more, said the Hechinger Report. Now the idea of co-viewing has been modernized for the digital age saying that children get a learning boost when parents engage with them whether that’s co-viewing an educational cartoon, learning about an app or reading a book, the Report added.

With Spanish being the second most highly spoken language in the US, one way that Hispanic parents can implement co-viewing with their toddler-age children is by reading bilingual books together. Many schools recommend the Latino Family Literacy Project in guiding teachers in helping parents set up and maintain a regular reading time. Teachers can attend a program training at a workshop near them or via an online webinar.