Spotlight on PBS Play & Learn Science
Last month, the ALSC Children and Technology Committee blog post presented the criteria for the newest Youth Media Award, the Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media Award. Today, I would like to take you through the inaugural award winner, PBS’s Play & Learn Science, to highlight some of the features that stood out to the committee particularly related to the award selection criteria.
Facilitates active and creative use by children ages 2-8 in exemplary ways.
In Play & Learn Science children engage in active inquiry around science concepts such as light and shadows, force and motion, and weather. The 2019 EELDM award selection committee found elements of humor in the dress up weather game and surprise in the sink/float game. Many of the 15 games we reviewed in the app at midwinter were open-ended, too. These replicate the “explore” stage of science learning wherein children tinker with loose parts and objects in their environment. Through these interactions children test and develop emergent hypotheses about the world, e.g., “if I do _____, then _____happens.” With the sound enabled and not a lot of reading, a child can tinker to the point of chaos, and will surely find delight. They may even like to document what they do with a photo.
Allows for meaningful joint media engagement, co-viewing, shared play experiences and/or guided play.
This application has a parent section that is fully Spanish/English bilingual. In it, caregivers or teachers find suggestions for offline activity ideas and tips for co-engagement. This was the most explicit media the committee reviewed in saying “we want you to do this together ” and even provided discussion questions to scaffold caregiver-child interactions around the digital and in real life activities. The committee did wish there could have been visuals in parent section, though, so that non-English/Spanish speaking caregivers could also access the content—perhaps this, or a language toggle feature that includes additional languages, can be added in future updates to the application.
Stay tuned for next month’s blog feature on the first honor recipient for the 2019 Excellence in Early Learning Digital Media, Tinybop’s Coral Reef.
Guest blogger, Katie Paciga, PhD Associate Professor of Education Columbia College Chicago