Children aged 2 to 4 spend the...

Children aged 2 to 4 spend the most time with educational media, including mobile apps, said a Joan Ganz Cooney Center study released Friday (http://bit.ly/1fbNFAw). But overall, mobile apps are still not the preferred form of educational media, the study found. And, as children age, they become more infrequent users of mobile devices or computers for educational activities. Thirteen percent of children aged 2 to 4 use educational programs on mobile devices or computers, compared to only 6 percent of children aged 8 to 10. Overall, children aged 2 to 10 spend far less time with education apps on mobile devices -- 5 minutes per day on average -- than they do watching educational television -- 42 minutes per day on average. Additionally, “Educational content on mobile devices was ranked lowest in learning by parents in every subject area,” said the report, which surveyed 1,577 parents of children aged 2 to 10. The Cooney Center studies children’s education and is backed by technology companies such as Microsoft and Intel, as well as cable companies like Comcast and government organizations such as the Department of Education.