Digital Media Education in Elementary Schools

Digital Media Education in Elementary Educational Institutions

• Digital media is a crucial part of society, influencing children's daily lives and experiences, even from an early age.
• Educators should address the topic of digital media to facilitate a contemporary digital education for children.
• Learning with, about, and through digital media lays the groundwork for children to become competent, creative, and critical media users.
• Active participation in shaping society in the digital age requires a foundation of digital media literacy.
• This guide aims to provide information towards a professional approach to digital media education in early childhood.
• It offers diverse ideas for integrating media education into everyday teaching to support children.
• Digital media use for children under three years should be critically questioned.

What are media?

• The term "medium" comes from Latin, meaning "that which is in the middle."
• People use media to convey and disseminate information.
• Personal media involve gestures, facial expressions, language, and writing.
• Impersonal media include items such as CD players, telephones, and computers.
• Multimedia refers to media integrating multiple functions like phone calls, music, and chats on smartphones.

Analog Media

• Analog media communicate in one direction without computer-based functionality.
• Examples include letters, posters, photos, newspapers, books, radio, television, and audio.
• They do not allow for interactivity or Internet connectivity.

Digital Media

• Digital media are electronic devices using codes and microprocessors.
• Computer technology forms the base, with functions relying on information and communication tech.
• Smartphones, computers, laptops, e-readers, tablets, smart toys, the internet, and digital TV are examples.
• They use software like apps, learning programs, games, social networks, and blogs which can be consumed or created.
• Digital media can react to users and facilitate human interaction and networks.

Digital Transformation, a Controversial Discussion

• Digital media impacts people's lives and work since the end of the 20th century.
• Besides professional fields, private lives, and culture, it impacts education.
• Digital change leads to socio-cultural changes which faces controversial discussion in science and society.
• Three attitudes differ in their assessment of the risks and benefits of digital media use.
• A culture-pessimistic attitude emphasizes the negative impacts of using digital media.
• Negative impacts include eye damage, poor posture, attention issues, learning disabilites, and less physical activity.
• This stance calls for limiting the use of mobile devices and creating digital-free spaces.
• The culture-pessimistic approach resembles the educational approach of preservation, attached to the "new" media of the times.
• The media-euphoric attitude views digital media advantages in socialization and learning without considering risks.
• From this perspective, swift digitalization is needed in education, schools, and universities.
• Digital media presents both chances and risks for children.
• Overly critical stance without acknowledgement of educational opportunities and a euphoric attitude are not acceptable.

Child Media Reception

• Before starting school, children experience more media experiences than older children.
• Media with direct relevance to a child's life are internalized.
• From their egocentric perspective, kids believe that media characters' activities have been personally experienced.
• Children only gradually learn to distinguish between real and make-believe information around elementary school age.
• Analog media is increasingly replaced by digital media in everyday life, which makes digital media education important.
• Digital media expands children's learning experiences, with individualization and differentiation principles important.
• The different media experiences the child has are important.
• Early digital media education should consider the "zone of proximal development".
• The "zone of proximal development" describes the gap between what unassisted and assisted child learning.
• The child can benefit from expert co-constructive education, even if they have yet to use media independently.
• It is important to be aware that child signals show ability to use.
• The effects of media on the brain are unkown and long-term studies needs to be explored.
• Studies show potiential risk through intense usages of media early childhood development.
• Concentration, language, emotional control, and hyperactivity suffers during excessive media use.
• Children experience physical impacts like eyesight issues, sleep problems, and eating habits.

Child Safety Space

• The "The Youngest and Digital Media" showed important changed behavior of child uses in the area.
• About 72% of children 0 - 6 years old uses internet connect devices on their own.
• The first time with media was around age 12 month.
• To protect the children it needs professional and reflecting skills.

Digital Media for Younger Children

• Researchers agree that children under 2 years old - and this has been extended up to 3 years old by the Germany federal center for health information - should only use very little digital media.
• In the first years it does not make sense to have Children and media due to language motor skills.
• It can be say that it should at the age of 3 years.
• For a younger target group is important to critically check digital media, to support the children skills.
• The time should always be an factors and health organisation recommend a use of maximum 30 minutes.
• This should always go with an person with know how.

The Media-Literate Child

• Media literacy is a key skill in society, business, education and economics.
• Media literacy is a skill needed to choose between a certain media to communicate.
• Media skills is a central task and the promotion should stand at first step.
• Digital skill is a digital skill that comes to read write and calculating it is a cultural technic.
• It should prepare the child and support the child to create their own things and products.
• The dimensions after Fthenakis et all refers to analogue and medial.
• Working with educational activities should give: Find Media, Handling tools.
• The use of Media enables: Use for education, as communication and creative tool.

Digital Media - Living Environment of Children

• Digital media permeates family life and impacts children's development and education.
• Early digital media education in elementary settings aims to help children navigate a complex media world.
• Media literacy includes the ability to use media, create with media, and develop critical perspectives.

Child Rights to Digital Media Education

• Smartphones, tablets, and computers are interesting and fascinating for kids and very importend because the kids live with it every day.
• It is required that the elementary education is the way to a just equal education.
• Promoting children's media skills are very importend in all elementary education environments in austria.
• The goal is so the children can use self control so they can use it appropriate.
• The kids it will be possible to connect their experience into education area.

Profession in the Digital Media Education

• The constructive and critical media usage is the goal for educators.
• All pedagogue can handle it different.
• It´s importend that the teams handling the media usage also reflect there actions.