Toddlers and technology: can computers and smart devices bridge the education gap?

• Author: Sutherland, Spencer
• Position: Knowledge

In every political campaign and legislative session in the United States, there's a conversation about education. It usually starts with how to improve it and ends with how to fund it. In recent years, that conversation has broadened to include pre-kindergarten education as well.

Pre-K programs have even grabbed the attention of President Barack Obama, who emphatically declared, "If we want America to lead in the 21st Century, nothing is more important than giving everyone the best education possible--from the day they start preschool to the day they start their career."

That's a great goal, but we've got along way to go. Internationally, the United States ranks near the bottom of the pile in terms of the number of children in preschool programs, teacher-to-child ratio and total investment in early childhood development.

Though the American education system is tightly tied to legislative funding, the need for improved learning is about more than just political posturing--it's about science. "The first five years of life, the brain is like the internet and all the links are being built through the interactions with the people in their world," says Geri Mendoza, instructor in the department of Family and Consumer Studies at the University of Utah. "All the synapses that need to happen to recognize symbols, to be able to scan a page, all happen earlier than age 6."

A Digital Solution to a Utah Problem

Though children's brains are wired to learn at a young age, Utah faces unique challenges in educating kids before preschool. Much like the rest of the country, funding is a persistent issue. Distance also plays a factor; in Utah's rural counties, some 4-year-olds are a two-hour bus ride from the nearest Head Start preschool location. Also, a number of Utah parents are simply more comfortable providing early learning in the home, rather than sending their child to school a year earlier.

Five years ago, the Utah legislature decided to look to technology for a solution. The state gave $1 million in funding to the nonprofit Waterford Institute to roll out an at-home adaptive learning program called UPSTART. The software-based program's goal is to make preschoolers--especially those from low-income, rural or Spanish-speaking families--ready for kindergarten. The program is free for qualified students and can be used on its own or in conjunction with traditional preschools or home learning. "Children really need to come into school at a kindergarten...