Welcome to the CoDeS Lab
We are a research group at Virginia Tech. Our research focuses on the role of technology in young children’s cognitive development to better understand and support learning in early childhood.
Technological innovations influence our everyday lives, including young children and their families. Our research examines how technology impacts children’s attention and learning and the extent to which its impact is influenced by family processes and social contexts.
We employ multiple methods such as experiments, individual difference measures, and eye-tracking approaches to guide developmentally appropriate practices for technology integration. Our research covers a diverse set of topics on children and emerging technologies, including children’s active learning from interactive technology, children’s visual attention to technology, and parent-child interaction involving technology (see Research).
We aim to translate our research into practice by informing parents, educators, producers, designers, health professionals, and policy makers on how to design and use technological tools to support young children’s cognitive development.
News
September 1, 2025Koeun received a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) as a Principal Investigator on “A Behavioral and Neural Investigation of Young Children’s Attention and Comprehension on Interactive Video Viewing Platforms”
August 13, 2025Koeun and our lab members are featured on Virginia Tech News, entitled “When Technology Joins Story Time” [Link]
August 1, 2025Koeun received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) as a Co-Principal Investigator on “Responsible Robot and AI Literacy. Embodied Informal Learning on Ethical Robotics and AI through a Creative Afterschool Program.” [Link]
July 21, 2025Koeun and our lab members were featured in the first issue of the College of Liberal Arts and Human Sciences digital magazine, ECHO, in the article “Technology Meets Early Learning” [Link]
July 13-16, 2025Mahmut (Talk), Jing (Flash Talk), Seyda (Poster), and Carla (Poster) presented at the 2025 Children and Screens Congress [Speakers] [Abstracts]
June 3, 2025Koeun received tenure and was promoted to Associate Professor. [Link]
May 16, 2025Seyda has been selected as a 2025 Presidential Postdoctoral Fellow at Virginia Tech. Congratulations! [Link]
May 1-3, 2025Mahmut (Poster), Jing (Poster), and Jisun (Symposium) presented at the 2025 Society for Research in Child Development (SRCD) Conference [Link]
February 1, 2025Koeun received a grant from the Caplan Foundation for Early Childhood as a Principal Investigator on “Supporting Playful Parent Child Joint Reading Experiences Through AI Digital Technology.” [Link]