Safe and inclusive educational apps: Digital protection from an ethical and critical perspective

Abstract

The mediated use of technology fosters learning from early childhood and is a potential resource for inclusive education. Nevertheless, the huge range of options and exposure to interactive digital content, which is often online, also implies a series of risks. The definition of protection underlying the current strategies to protect children is inadequate as it only extends to reducing children's exposure to harmful content. This study proposes the expansion of this definition. Through systematic observation of 200 apps within the Catalan sphere for children under 8 years of age and principal component analysis, the results support a multidimensional conceptualisation of protection which, instead of being restricted to the potential risks, also considers aspects related to the educational and inclusive potential of digital resources. Five factors are suggested in order to select these resources and contribute to the digital competence of teachers and students. The first factor concerns the use of protection mechanisms and the existence of external interference, the second factor indicates the presence of adaptation tools; the exposure to stereotypes corresponds to the third factor and the last two consider the previous knowledge required and the verbal component of the apps. Finally, the scope of the suggested definition and its limitations as a guide for future analysis will be discussed. El uso mediado de la tecnología fomenta el aprendizaje desde la infancia y representa un potencial recurso para la educación inclusiva. Al mismo tiempo, la creciente exposición a contenidos digitales interactivos, a menudo conectados a la red, conlleva una serie de riesgos para los niños. A las estrategias actualmente empleadas para protegerlos, que se limitan a reducir su exposición a contenidos perjudiciales, parece subyacer una definición de protección inadecuada. Esta investigación propone que se amplíe esta definición. A través de una observación sistemática de 200 apps para menores de ocho años en el ámbito catalán y un análisis de componentes principales, se propone una definición multidimensional de protección que no se limita a detallar los riesgos potenciales, sino que también considera aspectos relacionados con el potencial educativo e inclusivo de los recursos digitales. Se sugieren cinco factores a considerar para seleccionar estos recursos y contribuir a la competencia digital de docentes y alumnos. El primer factor concierne al uso de mecanismos de protección y la existencia de interferencias externas; el segundo factor indica la presencia de herramientas de adaptación; la exposición a estereotipos corresponde al tercer factor y los últimos dos consideran los conocimientos previos requeridos y el componente verbal de las apps. Finalmente se discute el alcance de la definición propuesta y sus limitaciones para guiar análisis futuros.

Technologies in the education of children and teenagers with autism: evaluation and classification of apps by work areas

“…The aspects evaluated were governed by the criteria of what was necessary for an app aimed at children with autism. The proposed indicators were developed and analysed in depth from a psychopedagogical point of view, in accordance with previous studies focused on app evaluation (Araujo et al, 2007;Belloch, 2006;Cayton et al, 2015;Crescenzi & Grané, 2016;Crescenzi et al, 2019;García-Rodríguez & Gómez-Díaz, 2015;Fage et al, 2018;Larco et al, 2018). This instrument evaluated three dimensions of the apps (Table 3): D3: Pedagogical aspects Interactivity, Suitability of pace and learning, Feedback/assessment.…”

“…Kucirkova (2019) studied the design parameters of apps for creating children's stories. Crescenzi et al (2019), in a systematic review of 200 apps for eight-year-old children, related to the safety and risks involved from an ethical perspective, underline the need to consider several aspects, including: mechanisms for protection; tools to change settings; stereotypes; knowledge held prior to using the app; and the verbal component presented. Leech et al (2021) study mental health-focused apps for adolescents and young adults and the benefits following their use.…”

“…The use of app stores for the development of research is a highly utilized resource in the international literature, and is relied upon by a range of researchers. Previous studies (Cayton et al, 2015;Comin, 2015;Crescenzi et al, 2019;Fage et al, 2018;García et al, 2016) have used app stores because they are the most popular and safest platforms for finding and downloading apps. Furthermore, the professionals and families of people with autism rely upon app stores to search for, download, install and later update these apps.…”

Assessment of Apps Aimed at Developing Basic Instrumental Skills in Autistic Children and Teenagers

“…The first was with the search term "autismo" in Spanish, and the second, "autism", in English, with both focused on free apps. Previous studies [22,29,[58][59][60] used app stores because they are the most popular and safest platforms for finding and downloading apps. We carried out two independent searches in order to take in the highest number of apps in both languages.…”

Predicting wellbeing in children’s use of smart screen devices

“…Es también relevante la investigación vinculada a la alfabetización mediática desarrollada por el equipo de Jackie Marsh en DigiLitEY Acción Cost en http://digilitey.eu/ y otras investigaciones asociadas, estas son ejemplo del interés y la progresión de este nicho temático. La investigación más reciente se ha centrado en analizar el incremento del uso de pantallas inteligentes en edades más tempranas, utilizando técnicas y enfoques interdisciplinares para estudiar estos fenómenos (Crescenzi-Lanna et al, 2019), y fomentando la investigación continuada sobre los riesgos, derechos, problemas éticos y oportunidades para las generaciones más jóvenes (Livingstone et al, 2020;. Nuestra investigación sigue los resultados de la Sección de Niños, Jóvenes y Medios de la asociación ECREA, y su reciente congreso (www.childrenandsmartscreens.eu), y se centra en realizar contrastes de análisis correlacional vinculado a los patrones de consumo en España entre los jóvenes, mediante el modelado de datos e implementando un enfoque de regresión lineal ordinaria.…”