The purpose of this study was to examine character racial, ethnic, and gender representation of main and secondary of apps designed for preschoolers using a quantitative content analysis. Because of the design of characters for apps differs from other forms of media, this study examined traits associated with racial, ethnic, and gender groups…

In this paper, our collaborative project team shares design principles and lessons learned from research for designing an app to support families' joint engagement with media and promote powerful shared learning experiences. We provide a rationale, based on research literature, for why a second-screen app in particular addresses our project goals.…

This paper shares reflections and stories from a collaborative design process between the Lifelong Kindergarten group at the MIT Media Lab and a global network of community-based educators to develop a creative coding app called OctoStudio, which supports children and families to create and share interactive projects on mobile devices. The app…

Educational research will likely never be able to keep pace with technological innovation. It therefore will become increasingly important that early childhood professionals rely on existing knowledge to effectively evaluate and integrate emerging technology in the natural environment rather than waiting for a broad platform of research to inform…

Music-based technology is frequently included in early childhood classrooms as an attempt to incorporate music education in the curriculum. However, there is a lack of research that addresses the educational benefits of music-based tablet applications (apps) for young children. Researchers in this study explored the preferences of 4-year-old…