The Master's Thesis by Gloria Sartori, born within the DataChildMap project

One of the goals of the DataChildMap project is to open up new research horizons and give voice to dynamic and additional perspectives, fostering collaborative work environments, commitment and engagement between researchers and students. In this space of cooperation, Dr. Gloria Sartori's master's thesis fits, titled "Technological evolution and early childhood: an investigation into the use of digital applications and smart toys”. 

Contemporary society is characterized by the constant use of technology across all age groups: adults, teenagers, the elderly, and, in recent years, even children, especially through the use of digital applications and smart toys. 

Dr. Sartori, under the guidance of thesis supervisor Prof. Juliana E. Raffaghelli, has focused on this increasingly complex perspective, conducting an analysis using the benchmarking tool for early childhood apps and smart toys (specifically, the thesis delves into the case study of the smart toy FABA), developed within the context of DataChildMap.

Placing itself within the ongoing debate that characterizes today's overview of the relationship between children aged 0-6 and constantly evolving technologies, the research addresses fundamental themes such as privacy protection, safety, transparency, ethical use of data, the educational value of digital media, and concerns about manipulation and surveillance even in the early stages of a child's life. It is a complex, datafied reality that must be tackled without procrastination!

In particular, addressing this complexity strongly emphasizes the need for support in skills, training, and the responsibilities of parental figures and educational professionals. We are inevitably compelled to question what it means to rethink early childhood educational environments (both within families and schools) through digital mediation. To that end, we need to adopt, as educators and families, a pedagogically constructive stance where the child's autonomy, freedom, and developmental potential are consistently respected and placed at the forefront of every action and design.

“Like in every other field of human culture, education remains the most powerful technology that humans have developed to transmit, acquire, and enhance their knowledge”

(Bach, Houdé, Léna, & Tisseron, 2016)

For further information and to delve deeper into the topic, you can download the complete thesis on the analysis of applications and the case study of the smart toy FABA at the following link: https://thesis.unipd.it/handle/20.500.12608/47963 

Curated by Romina Malghera and Maria Valentini