Preschoolers Benefit Equally From Video Chat, Pseudo-Contingent Video, and Live Book Reading: Implications for Storytime During the Coronavirus Pandemic and Beyond

Abstract

Results indicate that children can comprehend books over video chat, suggesting that this technology is a viable option for reading to children, especially during the current pandemic.

Growing Up in a Digital World – Digital Media and the Association With the Child’s Language Development at Two Years of Age

“…About half the sample uses video chat at least once a week. The current COVID-19 pandemic has once again changed patterns of interaction and reports suggest that video chat rates are much more frequent than before the pandemic ( Gaudreau et al, 2020 ). Future studies should examine how these increased levels of video chat are associated with language outcomes and whether video chat is differentially associated with changes in pragmatics or vocabulary or if there are gender differences.…”

Keeping Kids Busy: Family Factors Associated with Hands-on Play and Screen Time During the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…The possible detrimental effects of screen use may be a result of the reduction of parent-child interactions in favour of independent screen use KEEPING KIDS BUSY DURING COVID-19 6 and overall lower family functioning (Radesky & Christakis, 2016). However, emerging literature indicates that some technology use, such as educational applications (apps) and video chats to socialize or engage in activities like virtual storybook readings, may be a positive use of screens (Gaudreau et al, 2020;McClure & Barr, 2017;Neumann, 2018). Similarly, child screen time may provide a relatively safe activity for children to engage in, allowing parents to complete their own responsibilities or to facilitate challenging parenting tasks such as mealtime (Elias & Sulkin, 2019).…”

Virtual Kindergarten Readiness Programming for Preschool-Aged Children: Feasibility, Social Validity, and Preliminary Impacts

“…Indeed, even children who were in preschool environments prior to the pandemic likely had the last several months of their pre-kindergarten year disrupted, and those who were not in preschool were likely to have experienced limited opportunities for out-of-home learning (e.g., museums, libraries), as well as potential disruptions at home due to caregivers' job losses, stress about the pandemic and associated financial consequences, and struggles balancing work and childcare. The pandemic circumstances presented the possibility for assessing the feasibility, social validity, and potential impacts of summer readiness programming offered virtually, with design based on the emerging research base concerning the viability of using technology and media to enhance young children's skill development (Dore et al, 2019;Gaudreau et al, 2020).…”

“…Research suggests that although very young children have trouble learning from video (Anderson & Pempek, 2005), the back-and-forth interaction that can occur over video chat can support children's learning (Troseth et al, 2006). Indeed, recent research shows that by age 4, children learn equally well from a storybook read live and over video chat, with both conditions showing learning relative to a control condition (Gaudreau et al, 2020). Children can also gain some skills from educational media, with early research demonstrating the success of Sesame Street for reaching and improving the skills of children from disadvantaged backgrounds (Bogatz & Ball, 1971).…”