Social Learning with Mobile Devices in Preschool Classrooms

Abstract
How do prosocial sharing behaviours of preschool-aged children progress or diminish when interacting with mobile devices? Participants include five children (ages 3-4) within a preschool setting in Vancouver, British Columbia. Design-based research and video ethnography were used for qualitative and quantitative data collection and analysis. Data collection included two researcher cameras for participant observation as well as multiple personal point of view cameras (Snapcam Ion) worn by participants. To record observations of sharing, the Observational Measure of Prosocial Incidents (OMPI) was used. Procedures included a teaching intervention for data collection and analysis: 1) Reading Mine, a digital story, 2) Demonstration of Chatterpix Kid, and 3) Limited iPad-to-children ratio using Chatterpix Kid to animate pictures taken. Nuanced in various ways, results indicate a higher frequency of incidents of prosocial behaviours compared to nonsocial or antisocial behaviours when interacting with mobile devices. The research underscores the importance of investigating children’s uses of mobile devices and the utility of point of view wearable cameras.