Transference of learning from play with iPads in early childhood

Whether it is the alphabet, a song, or knowledge of touchscreen navigation, young children now routinely learn many things while playing with iPads and similar devices. Despite this child-friendly technology clearly stimulating engagement there also exist significant debates about this topic among early childhood education professionals. This paper reports on a small research project that investigates: a) whether touch screen digital devices can provide young children with practical and educational information; b) whether these children can transfer their learning through individual play with such devices; c) what factors need to be considered that could improve the learning outcomes of young children; and, d) how young children manifest their learning outcomes. Through an observational case-study that involved young (2-year old) children we observed the transfer of learning from 2D sources to 3D objects and the ability of these children in drawing 2D images from understanding 3D objects. Although a video deficit effect showed young children displaying poorer ability in transferring learning from 2D sources to 3D objects relative to their ability to do likewise from a live demonstration, these children were effective at transferring their learning from 2D sources to 3D objects. However, it was also found that to be effective requires multiple presentations, experience and assistance of language cues to scaffold their understanding. These findings suggest that parents and teachers could further examine the value of using 2D sources, such as television, videos, computers and touch screens in this way.