Page 32 - ARUBA TODAY

A32 FEATURE
Monday 30 SepteMber 2019
Japan preschools using tablets to prep tots for digital age

By YURI KAGEYAMA Some studies show positive
Associated Press outcomes among young
YOSHIKAWA, Japan (AP) children using mobile de-
— It's drawing time at this vices to improve their liter-
suburban nursery school in acy, science or math skills,
Japan, but instead of cray- but there's little research
ons, tiny fingers are tapping comparing tablet-assisted
on colors on iPad screens learning to more conven-
and taking selfies. Digital tional teaching approach-
schooling has arrived in es, according to a review
this nation long known for of 19 studies by Christothea
its zealous commitment to Herodotou, a lecturer at
"three R's" education. The Open University in the
Coby Preschool, in a small United Kingdom.
town northeast of Tokyo, Herodotou said it's unclear
is among nearly 400 kin- which features might help
dergartens and nursery or hinder learning. Devic-
schools in Japan that are es and apps can also be
using smartphone software misused — for instance, to
applications designed es- keep children occupied
pecially for preschoolers so teachers can do other
called KitS. things.
That's only about 1 percent In this July 12, 2018, photo, children raise their hands to share views as they take part in a digital "Even if it's designed to en-
program at a Coby Preschool in Yoshikawa, suburban Tokyo, with their teacher and preschool
of this nation's kindergar- principal Akihito Minabe. courage learning or explo-
tens and nursery schools. Associated Press ration or curiosity, it may
But it's a start. Coby is help- not be used in that way,"
ing lead a national initia- "There is no right or wrong researches education and digital devices. said Cantor. "There's so
tive in "digital play." answer," said Akihito Min- play. GETTING SMARTER? much junk out there."
Parents everywhere worry abe, the preschool princi- That's similar to Japan, Much of what's driving Still, the target age for
their children might fall be- pal leading the session. where each adult has an the adoption of tablets in "digital play" is getting ever
hind, and Japan is no ex- The point is to nurture cre- average of more than one U.S. preschools is a belief, younger.
ception. ativity, focus and leader- smartphone and about founded or not, that an Experts have known for
The government has re- ship skills. half of preschoolers have early start will make kids years that playing is how
cently made strengthen- "They think on their own, access to a mobile device, smarter at technology, said children learn, says Ken Seit-
ing technology education they learn it's OK to think according to Japanese Patricia Cantor, a professor er, Executive Vice President
national policy even as it freely, and it's fun to come government data. of early childhood educa- at The Toy Association, a
struggles to meet its goal up with ideas," said Min- In many U.S., Asian and tion at Plymouth State Uni- nonprofit, which represents
of supplying one digital de- abe. European preschools and versity in New Hampshire. businesses that design, pro-
vice — computer or tablet In the U.S., 98 percent of elementary schools, teach- However, early research duce, license and deliver
— for every three children. children age 8 and under ers use technology to pres- into how tablets and apps youth-entertainment prod-
DIGITAL PLAY have a mobile device in ent stories, music and other affect learning for kids ages ucts.
With KitS, developed by To- their homes, while 43 per- information. Educators are 2 to 5 is inconclusive. Toys can teach toddlers
kyo-based startup SmartEd- cent have their own tablet, also studying children's so- "Touchscreen stuff is pretty simple programming or use
ucation, children color birds according to The Genius of cial development through intuitive. They don't need augmented reality to bring
and flowers that appear to Play, a U.S. program that how they learn to share training," Cantor said. story characters digitally
come alive as three-dimen- alive, said Seiter, whose or-
sional computer graphics. ganization spearheads The
Children also draw various Genius of Play, a U.S.-based
creatures that, when cap- program that researches
tured as computer images, education and play.
swim or float around in vir- JAPAN'S TAKE
tual landscapes. Japan's classrooms tend to
In a recent session, children be more structured than in
got a triangle image on the West, with students of-
their iPads and were asked ten acting in unison as they
to draw on it with digital line up, bow and chant to-
colors, store that image, gether. Children tend to be
and draw another one to passive, and the emphasis
create a two-screen story. is on the group rather than
The usually shy children individuals. Youngsters,
burst into an uproar, brain- even some preschool-
storming happily about ers, attend extracurricular
what the triangle might cram schools.
represent: a sandwich, a KitS' designers have sought
rice ball, a dolphin, a roof, to make activities fun. One
a mountain. aim appears to be nurtur-
The children were then en- ing outspokenness.
couraged to come to the Yuhei Yamauchi, a profes-
front of the class and ex- sor of information studies at
plain what they had drawn In this July 12, 2018, photo, a child works on a digital program at Coby Preschool in Yoshikawa, the University of Tokyo and
as the images were shown suburban Tokyo, on an assignment, which was to draw on a triangle on an iPad. KitS adviser, sees practical
on a large screen. Associated Press benefits.q