Screens are everywhere. And young children are spending more and more time using screen media. But how do children learn from them? I-LABS recently shared the science behind how children learn–and don’t learn!–from screen media at the “ed tech mecca” conference South By Southwest EDU, #SXSWedu.
Columns Magazine: ‘How Does Baby Learn?’
From how babies’ brains respond to speech and touch to the latest impacts early learning science has made in society, UW’s Columns magazine features I-LABS in its March 2016 issue. The story, “How Does Baby Learn?,” describes how I-LABS is “revolutionizing theories of human development.” The 4-page feature covers I-LABS’ most recent research and outreach accomplishments and gives sneak peeks … Read More
Ask I-LABS Outreach: What’s the Big Deal About Screen Media?
How do we make good choices about our children’s use of screen media? The I-LABS Outreach team gives an update on the science and practical strategies for parents. Oh, screen media. A favorite TV show, app, video game, or other digital entertainment can hold—and sometimes consume—a child’s attention. It’s a convenient tool for parents who need an uninterrupted moment to … Read More
Media Coverage: How to Talk to Kids About Race?
Adults often don’t know how to talk about race with children, and I-LABS’ Onnie Rogers is trying to help. Rogers, a research assistant professor at I-LABS and in the UW College of Education, uses in-depth interviews to reveal how race and gender stereotypes affect Black children and how they think about themselves. Kids will tell her that skin color “doesn’t … Read More
Training the Brain to Maintain Attention
A study underway at I-LABS uses neurofeedback to help train the brain to maintain attention while reading. Upon receiving her ADHD diagnosis at age 17, Marissa Pighin remembers her first interaction with her doctor as, “‘I’ll write you a ‘script and send you out the door.’” Pighin, now 22 and a UW psychology honors student, thought that there must be … Read More
Ask I-LABS Outreach: How can I make my child exceptionally smart?
The question comes in different forms. Parents ask, “What can I do to make sure my child is successful later in life?,” “How can I help my toddler be ready to enter kindergarten?,” and even “I want my child to be gifted—what can I do to ensure that?” In this inaugural installment of a new series “Ask I-LABS Outreach,” we’ll … Read More
Ask I-LABS Outreach: Announcing a New Series
When they’re out on the road, the I-LABS Outreach team fields a lot of the same questions from parents, educators and others working with young children. People are concerned about pressure to make kids smart and bilingual. They want guidance on allowing digital media in their home. They’re curious about brain development. They all want to know how to give … Read More
New Paper in Influential Journal: Defining Auditory-Visual Objects
If you’ve ever been at a crowded bar, you may notice that it’s easier to hear your friend if you watch his face and mouth movements. And if you want to pick out the melody of the first violin in a string quartet, it helps to watch the strokes of the player’s bow. I-LABS faculty member Adrian KC Lee and … Read More
New I-LABS Faculty Member: Brain Readiness for Learning to Read
Learning to read—like learning to speak—requires hard work, practice and sophisticated wiring of the brain. A literate brain must first recognize the visual pattern of letters, convert them into sounds which are combined into words that are then made sense of. Once learned reading happens in the blink of an eye and requires little effort. “Reading is so effortless that … Read More
I-LABS Modules on National List of Early Literacy Resources
The I-LABS Outreach Training Modules have been included in a national list of early literacy resources compiled by the nonprofit think tank New America and the Joan Ganz Cooney Center at Sesame Workshop. Designed as an interactive map, “Integrating Technology in Early Literacy” is meant to show the scope of how technology is being used by early learning programs. It … Read More