(Monday, 24 August 2009) - Contributed by Marc Prensky - Last Updated (Tuesday, 25 August 2009)
"For our twenty-first century kids, technology is their birthright"
When I recently upgraded my iPhone 3G to the 3Gs (after almost 1 year, so I got the discount) I had to decide what to do with the old one. My 4-year-old son was clamoring for it, and I said OK. But then I thought about it. It’s a pretty expensive, complex, breakable, adult device. Should a 4-year-old really have an iPhone?
My answer, after only a couple of months, is absolutely—with only a few caveats. The first is that I bought him a nice bright red safety case, so that he could find the iPhone easily, differentiate it from mine, and hopefully not break it if he dropped it (although as far as I know, that hasn’t actually happened.) Second, I disabled the phone function, so he can’t make or receive calls. Although he would no doubt enjoy calling his friends and relatives, given ATT’s rates, it makes sense for him not to be randomly calling around the world, (Whether they would like hearing from him with the frequency he might choose is another matter.)
So actually he has an iTouch, rather than an iPhone, with the latest phone OS. He is, though, connected quite robustly to the Internet via our home Wi-Fi, and he/we will certainly try some VoIP apps in the future.
What He Does
What has he used his iPhone for (almost entirely without my guidance)? His favorite thing is voice recording. He sings, he makes up conversations, he runs his imaginary taxi business. He records in a couple of ways. Sometimes he uses the recording app which is part of the 3.0 software. At other times he uses the recorder built into his “Wheels on the Bus” app.
I downloaded The Wheels on the Bus for him the other night, along with a couple of matching games and some writing/reading programs (i.e. forming letters, recognizing words) from the App store. He was excited to wake up and find all the new icons on the screen. I was about to suggest he start with The Wheels on the Bus , but he went straight there without me (good icon!) He has since started up and used on his own all the apps I downloaded.
iPod? He uses it often. His favorite song is Michael Jackson’s ABC, which, somehow, he again found without me.
Camera? He uses it all the time. I did have to teach him that photographing his private parts was not such a good idea, even though he was SOO proud of himself for doing it.
Internet? He’s explored, but the absence of Flash is so far the biggest disappointment, as he can’t play Curious George and his other favorite games. But according to Gear Live, that’s “just around the corner.” Webkinz and Club Penguin will probably come as soon as it does.
Writing? He does lots of it, using the on-screen keyboard. And while it looks like gibberish to me, he knows exactly what it says and to whom it is addressed (Also part of the taxi business, I think.).
Reading? We’ve begun to read simple words and stories together. Reading on the iPhone is great!
Oh yes, plenty of drawing, coloring and stamping. He also regularly checks the date, the weather around the world, and the maps when we travel.
The most interesting thing to me was that he asked the other day if there were any games I could get him. I said “You have lots of educational games.” His answer: I don’t want educational games, I want fun games like on the DS.” Well here they come, with a motion sensor!
So should you give your 4-year-old an iPhone (or at least an iTouch)? My answer is that, if you can afford it, why would you deprive them? And if you can’t, there ought to be public subsidies. In fact, every kid in school—especially primary school—should have one.
So watch out computer, watch out DS, watch out educators. The kids are coming to claim their birthright, and the world will never be the same.
About the Author
Marc Prensky is an internationally acclaimed thought leader, speaker, writer, consultant, and game designer in the critical areas of education and learning. He is the author of Digital Game-Based Learning (McGraw Hill, 2001) and Don’t
Bother Me, Mom, I’m Learning (Paragon House, 2006). Marc is the founder and CEO of Games2train, a game-based learning company, whose clients include IBM, Bank of America, Pfizer , the U.S. Department of Defense and the LA and Florida Virtual Schools. He is also the creator of the sites www.SocialImpactGames.com , and www.GamesParentsTeachers.com . Marc holds an MBA from Harvard and a Masters in Teaching from Yale. More of his writings can be found at www.marcprensky.com/writing/default.asp . Marc can be contacted at marc@games2train.com.
Recent Comments