Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts

Cognitive Development in Digital Contexts investigates the impact of screen media on key aspects of children and adolescents’ cognitive development. Highlighting how screen media impact cognitive development, the book addresses a topic often neglected amid societal concerns about pathological media use and vulnerability to media effects, such as aggression, cyber-bullying and Internet addiction. It addresses children and adolescents’ cognitive development involving their interactions with parents, early language development, imaginary play, attention, memory, and executive control, literacy and academic performance.

• Covers the impact of digital from both theoretical and practical perspectives
• Investigates effects of digital media on attention, memory, language and executive functioning
• Examines video games, texting, and virtual reality as contexts for learning
• Explores parent-child interactions around media
• Considers the development of effective educational media
• Addresses media literacy and critical thinking about media
• Considers social policy for increasing access to high quality education media and the Internet
• Provides guidance for parents on navigating children’s technology usage

•Research concerns the development of children’s attention and problem solving in the context of informal and formal digital learning settings.
•Author/editor of the following books: Learning by Playing: Frontiers of Video Gaming in Education (Oxford, 2014), Children and Advertising: New Issues and New Media (Palgrave-Macmillan, 2014); When East Meets West: Media Research and Practice in the US and China (Cambridge 2007); The Design of Instruction and Evaluation (Lawrence Erlbaum, 2004).

•Research focuses on adult foreign language learning and uses computer games to study speech perception and production in children with typical and atypical language development.
•Author of the following books: Encyclopedia of Languages Development (Sage, 2014) and Language Development (Wiley, 2012).