Play, learning and ‘technotoys’

1. Play, learning and ‘technotoys’ Lydia Plowman Institute of Education, University of Stirling lydia.plowman@stir.ac.uk

2. Acknowledgements and sources Exploring & mapping interactivity with digital toy technology (EPSRC/ESRC) www.stir.ac.uk/ioe/cachet/ Rosemary Luckin, Sharon Airey, Daniel Connolly INTERFACE The technologisation of childhood? Alan Prout, Daniela Sime CULTURAL CONTEXT Interplay: Play, learning and ICT in pre-school settings (ESRC) Christine Stephen, Joanna McPake, Susi Downey, Daniela Sime EDUCATION 2

3. Outline of talk • Brief chronological overview • Selling play • Play and learning 3

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8. Meccano 1901 Teddy bears 1902 Lego 1932 Monopoly 1936 Scrabble 1948 Scalextric 1952 Barbie and Ken 1959 Cluedo 1959 Trolls 1961 Spirograph 1965 GI Joe/Action Man 1965 Twister 1966 Etch-a-sketch 1967 Rubik’s cube 1980 Trivial Pursuit 1982 (source: BATR) A century of toys 8

9. Nintendo Gameboy 1987 • Beanie Babies 1993 • Tamagotchi 1997 • Furby 1998 9

10. ‘Smart’ dolls My Real Baby, My Dream Baby, Amazing Babies ... Electronic pets Tekno, Poo-chi, Kitty, Meow-chi 10

11. Christmas 2002: the top ten toys 1. LeapPad 2. Barbie Rapunzel 3. Beyblades 4. VJ Starz Karaoke Music Studio (Source: BATR) 11

12. Christmas 2002: the top ten toys 5. Baby Annabel ‘She makes real sucking sounds and brings up wind. She yawns and breathes even when asleep.’ 6. Micropets 7. Dance Maker 2 8. Rapunzel horse and carriage 9. Weakest Link - electronic 10. Ready Steady Cook popcorn maker 12

13. Predictions for Christmas bestsellers 2003 • Badge It Bandai (£15) • Barbie Swan Lake Mattel (£20) • Beyblades Radio Control Top & Launcher Hasbro (£30) • Bionicles Lego (£7) • Boohbah Golden Bear (£15) • Bratz Winter Collection Bandai (£25) • Cranium Re:Creation (£25) • LeapPad Learning System Leapfrog (£30) • Turtles Vivid (£7) • Yu-Gi-Oh! Upstarts! (£7)

14. Trends • £1.88 billion toy, hobby and games industry in UK 2001 (up 6% on 2000) • Video games 28% total • Increase in educational toys • More trans-media licensing • lunchboxes, pyjamas, magazines, films, television, software • c. 25% of sales, particularly pre-school • Collectible playground craze toys • Beyblades, Micropets ‘because being first matters’ (Source: BTHA) 14

15. Media concerns and technotoys • Displace traditional forms of play • Constrain children’s imaginations • the toys stifle rather than nurture creativity - children exhaust the possibilities for play quickly and lose interest • Reduce attention spans • Adversely affect human interaction • looking after robotic dolls and pets may diminish social skills • a risk of attachment to toys that are programmed to act as if they are emotionally attached to the child • ‘Children need the human touch, not machines.’ (The Herald, 9 October 2003) 15

16. Technotoys and consumers • The need to market toys for children and adults • the balance between play & learning • parents select on basis of educational value • interactive storybooks, electronic cash registers, toy laptops • technotoys are seen as a gateway to authentic computers • Even if adults don’t like them, they still buy them • pressurised into buying certain toys that offer entry to a network of other children • adults feel they don’t have enough time to play with their children • adults are susceptible to claims that toys promote cognitive development and nurturing skills. 16

17. independent play mathematical musical linguistic motor skills co-operative play visual (Amazon.com) thinking power mental fitness practical knowledge personal & emotional well-being physical development social skills (BTHA) Selling play 17

18. Play and learning (1) • spontaneous... timetabled • pleasurable... serious • exploratory... goal-directed • diversion... targeted • absorbing... unexciting • entertainment... work pleien (O.E.) dance, leap for joy, rejoice play as hard fun, soft learning, stealth learning 18

19. Play and learning (2) • What does learning mean? • developing understanding out of experience (or study, or being taught) • integrating that understanding into a mental model of the world • understanding about self, others, the world • Play can promote learning dispositions • resilience in the face of uncertainty • confidence to express ideas • collaborative & reflective problem solving Carr, M. (2001, 2002) 19

20. Play and learning (3) • Difficult to establish causal relationships • Complexity in play is highly correlated with age • It is ‘an easy mistake to believe that the major purpose of play development is to contribute to other kinds of age-related development – social, emotional and cognitive’ (Sutton-Smith, 1997) • Why is play seen as so important for children’s development but as a diversion for adults? • Play as a waste of time (educational ‘conservatives’) or play as a form of work (educational ‘progressives’) • The rhetoric of progress • benefits of play are transferable to development and learning • The rhetoric of interactivity • benefits of technology ...technology-supported play 20

21. The manufacturer’s claims “Fun functions to help your child learn...the ideal learning partner for children.The Actimates interactive learning system grows with a child...uses fun, challenging games and activities to help children master time concepts, language skills and more,” said the developmental psychologist and lead designer in developing the Actimates learning system. Microsoft 21

22. Play, learning & teaching • Some consensus between policymakers, practitioners, academics & parents on play and learning • Ideology surrounding play and learning ranges from the ‘rhapsodic to the pragmatic’ • Relationship between play and teaching • no unified theoretical or pedagogical base to guide practice • gaps between the rhetoric of play and actual practice (Wood & Bennett,1997) 22

23. CACHET • Children play with the toys on their own terms • some children preferred the toys in non-interactive mode and found the talking irritating • interest in the toy diminished fairly quickly • the toys were not generally integrated into other play activities • The toys did not appear to promote engagement or time on task • some benefit for younger children • the toy’s help repertoire is very limited • children often ignore or dismiss the toy’s help, favouring human sources 23

24. CACHET: interface and interaction • Children can co-ordinate multiple interfaces • not impressed by communication between toy & computer • possibilities of using tangible interfaces for delivery of help • Leisure-oriented technology developments using speech and touch increasingly produce toys that exhibit a range of interface modalities • Products can use familiar forms (cuddly toys, balls, dolls or construction bricks) which are computationally enhanced and so interaction can become more social in nature and less constrained by the need for the screen-based, programmed responses that can be a source of concern. 24