e-Toys and Learning:
Can e-toys find a place in the classroom?
By Lorraine McCune, Ph.D.

Reading, Writing and Mathematics ha-ve supplanted play as the primary concern of kindergarten teachers. Gone is the relaxed playful notion that the first year of schooling should be an informal easy entrance into school routines, with an emphasis on skills deferred until first grade. By the end of kindergarten children are expected to write their names, know their letters and understand basic number concepts. Research I presented this fall at the Los Angeles meeting of the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), conducted with Dr. Elizabeth Young of the Old Bridge Township New Jersey School District, has demonstrated that children playing writing and alphabet games with the Alphy Pad made greater improvements in learning to write their names than children limited to more traditional learning experiences. This innovative play and learning tool incorporates a patented handwriting recognition system that identifies letters and numbers, as children write, correcting their errors and praising their success.

Recent research by Dr. Michelle Havens of Rutgers and Kean Universities has demonstrated that between four and five years of age, most of the perceptual and motor skills needed for writing are available to children. Current kindergarten practice calls for children to write their names by the time they leave kindergarten, so finding playful strategies suitable to the children’s age and skills is critical. As yet there is scant research addressing the usefulness of e-toys in the classroom, but the potential is surely there!

Toyfair, the world conference of the toy business world, held in New York City in February saw the introduction of Thinkpad, successor to the toy we studied, which extends the handwriting technology to include numbers, and offers practice in spelling and math as well as writing. This toy, one of a new set of offerings from General Creation intended to assist learning in elementary school, joins the roster of educational e-toys noted in the Circuits Section of the New York Times on January 3, 2002. Until recently e-toys from such companies as V-tech, LeapFrog, and Neurosmith have been aimed at preschoolers and the home market. With children spending more time in daycare and after school programs, products blending learning and fun can find their place. Developmentalists quoted in the Times’ article expressed skepticism regarding the value of these toys. I believe teachers’ incorporating e-play into the curriculum and research evaluating the outcomes may lead to ever more effective use of technology to enhance school learning through play.#

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