Undertake cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of the long-term effects of children's involvement with computers now¶

Strategy · All strategies
Evidence · no claims cited

Description¶

Learning from television research's costly omission, the authors recommend that long-term, cumulative effects of computer involvement be studied before the opportunity is lost: "there is in principle no reason why we could not undertake today cross-sectional and longitudinal studies of the long-term effects of various kinds of involvement with computers". Television research relied on short-term, often single-shot studies that told little about long-range effects, and with no no-TV population remaining the error could never be corrected. Acting early on computers would avoid repeating this and prevent unwarranted later attribution of educational and social ailments to computers.

Design Implications¶

Context¶

Requirements¶

• Studies must begin while variation in children's computer involvement still exists, before a baseline comparison population disappears.

Constraints¶

• The authors note mounting such a research program would be expensive and difficult.

Target Learners¶

• children and students using computers in and out of school

Target Learning Goals¶

• long-term cognitive and educational effects of sustained computer use, including transfer to new contents and situations

Related Strategies¶

Examples¶

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Key Sources¶

• Salomon, Gavriel; Gardner, Howard. (1983). The Computer as Educator: Lessons from Television Research. Harvard Project Zero. https://eric.ed.gov/?id=ED253201