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Pu#ng“educa+on”backineduca+onalapps
RobertaMichnickGolinkoffUnidelH.RodneySharpProfessorUniversityofDelaware)
KathyHirsh-Pasek(TempleUniversity)
with JenniferZosh(PennsylvaniaStateUniversityBrandywine)
MichaelRobb(FredRogersCenter)JimGray(IndependentLearningConsultant)
JordyKaufman(SwinburneUniversity,Australia)
February12,2016
FloridaInterna+onalUniversity
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Examiningthelandscape• 65%ofAmericansownasmartphone• 33%haveatablet• AsofOctober,2013wehaddownloadedover
60billionapps• Morethan1millionappshavebeen
developedandthatnumberisgrowing• Over87,000ofthesearelabelededucaEonal
apps• Mostaretargetedforpreschoolers
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ThisisBIGBUSINESSS
38milliondollarsofrevenuewasprojectedfor2015
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Andanenormousnaturalexperiment• Weareoutsourcingalotoflearningtoapps• Butthereisnogatekeepertoensurethatsocalled
“educaEonalapps”areeducaEonal!
APPDEVELOPERS
SCIENTISTS
Appdeveloperswanttogettheapptomarket.ScienEstsareworriedthattheappsmisrepresenthowinformaEonislearned.
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HOWCANWEMEETINTHEMIDDLE?
• SothatappdesignerscanincorporatefindingsfromlearningscienEsts?
…educa+onalappsweredesignedwithaneyetowardshowhumanslearn!
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Weknowthathumanslearnbest…
Whentheyareac+ve(notpassive)Engaged(notdistracted)TheinformaEonismeaningful(linkstotheirlives)Theyaresociallyinterac+ve
4Pillars
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Andlearningoccursbest…
• Incontextsthatguideexplora+ontowardsalearninggoal
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Thesefourlearningpillarsaresupported…
• Inbehavioraldata
Andinbraindata
Today,weusesomeofourownresearchtoillustrateandpunctuatetheseclaims
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TheEvidence(seeChi,2009forareview)
Whereac/vemeans…“mindson”notjustphysical‘tapping’orswiping
• Dialogic“acEve”readingleadstoincreasedvocabularygains(Whitehurst)• QuesEoningandlabelingduringstorybookreading=greatercomprehension• Childrenindevelopmentallyappropriate,lesspassiveenvironmentsdowellonacademic
outcomesandbe]erinsocialoutcomes(Bowman,Donovan&Burns,2001)• PassivelearningtoEeknotswhilewatchingavideoyieldsworselearningthanacEvepracEce
(Schwan&Riempp,2004).• Notetakerslearnmorethannon-notetakers(Tracon&Tricke],2001)• GeneraEnginformaEon,ratherthanjustreadingit,increasesretenEonandtransferonfill-in-
the-blanktests(Richland,Bjork,Finley&Linn,2005)• ChildrenwhoaskquesEonsandmakeobservaEonsinmuseumslearnmorethanthosewhodo
not(Borun,Chambers&Cleghorn(1996)
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Ourresearch–AcEvewordlearning
• ComparingdirectinstrucEonvs.inferenEalwordlearning
Zosh,Brinster,&Halberda,2013
“Thisisazav”
DidacEcInstrucEon–Explicitlytold
Zosh,Brinster,&Halberda,2013
“Pointtothezav”
InferenEalcontext–AcEvedecision-making
VS.
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Doesbehaviorduringlearningdiffer?
Yes!ChildrenlookmoreatthenovelobjectinthedirectinstrucEoncase.
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Butnotsofast…
Whenaskedtoretainthatnovelobject-namemapping,childreninthe
inferencecasewerebest!
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DespitelongerlookingattargetinDirectInstrucEoncondiEon,makingtoddlersac/velyworktolearnnewwordsisabe]erstrategy
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• ThatacEvelearningworksbe]erthanpassivelearning.• Forlearningsuccess,childneedstoplayaroleandnotjust
listen.• Howdoesthisapplytoapps?
• Suggeststhatdigitalmediacanbe“educaEonal” ifitrecruitsacEve,child-iniEatedgameswithtargetedlearningobjecEves
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AtaleoftwoappsAcEvevsPassive
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TheEvidence
Theabilitytostay‘ontask’withoutdistracEoniskeytolearning• WhenbackgroundTVison,children’splayisdisrupted(Schmidtetal,2008)
• Pop-upfeaturesinbooksresultinlesslearning(Tareetal.,2010)• Deficitevenwhenthefeaturesaredesignedtodrawa]enEontowhatchild
shouldlearn(Chiong&DeLoache,2013)• Eveninstrumentalbackgroundmusichurts(Barretal.,2010)• InteracEve“hotspots”candisruptparent-childdialogueaboutreadingcontent
(Chiongetal.2012)
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Despiteourgreatestwishesandouroc-incorrectself-image….
• HumansarenotgoodmulE-taskers!
Researchsaysthatonly2%ofus(everyoneinthisroom)candomorethantwothingsatonce.Watson,J.M.,&Strayer,D.L.(2010).Supertaskers:ProfilesinextraordinarymulE-taskingability.PsychonomicBulle/nandReview,17,479-485
Strayer,D.L.,&Watson,J.M.(2012).SupertaskersandthemulEtaskingbrain.ScienEficAmericanMind,23,22-29.
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EngagedLearning:Thecaseofe-books
Parish-Morris,J.,Mahajan,N.,Hirsh-Pasek,K.,Golinkoff,R.M.,&Collins,M.(2013).OnceuponaEme:PreschoolersandStorybookReadingintheElectronicEra.Mind,Brain&Educa/on,7(3),200-211
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OurresearchexaminedlearninginthelastgeneraEonofe-books
Wheree-booksmeett-books
ResearchsupportedinpartbyFisher-PriceToys
WhynoiPad?Bornin2010!
electronic tradiEonal
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E-booksarein95%ofthehomesofparentswesurveyed
Likemanybookapps,theyhave“bellsandwhistles”–thingsyoupressduringstory
Yet,whenparentsreadt-bookswith
preschoolagedchildren
– Thereadingexperiencestheysharearepredic+veoflaterliteracy
– Adialogicreadingstyle–talkaboutthingsonpageandlinktolife--hasbeenshowntoeffec+velyimprovereadingandschooloutcomes
– Contributestolanguagedevelopment
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• Doe-bookconsolespromotethekindofdialogicparent-childinterac/onsthatpredictlaterliteracy?
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No!
!
When reading t-books:!!Parents talk MORE about the story!!Parents talk LESS about behavior!!Parents say MORE that goes “beyond the story”
When80,3-and5-yearoldswererandomlyassignedtoreadmatchede-ort-bookswiththeirchildren,wefoundthat…
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Inafollow-upstudywealsofound…
• Thatchildrenreadingt-bookswerebe]erableto:
– Tellustheplotline– Rememberthesequencesofeventsinthestory
Parish-Morris,J.,Mahajan,N.,Hirsh-Pasek,K.,Golinkoff,R.M.,&Collins,M.(2013).OnceuponaEme:PreschoolersandStorybookReadingintheElectronicEra.Mind,Brain&Educa/on,7(3),200-211
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Why?It’snote-bookversust-bookordigitalversuspaperbutrather
howthebooksinteractwiththechild.Ifbooksareengaging,butdistrac/ng,kidsloseout.
Kidsdobest…
• theyarejoyfullyengaged• Andwhentheyarenotdistractedbybellsandwhistles
ConclusionconsistentwithChiongetal.)2012)fromJoanGanzCooneyCenternoEngthatmore“bellsandwhistles”promptlesscontenttalkandmoretalkabouttechnologicalnavigaEon.
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• Childrenlearnwhentheyareengagedandstayontaskandwhentheyarenotdistracted.
• Alotofdigitalmediaisengaging,butalsodistracEng.
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AtaleoftwomoreappsEngagingvsPoten/allyDistracEng
Dothegamesbuildthestoryline?
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PotenEallyDistracEng
DistracEngandnotrelatedtostory
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Meaningful Learning
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TheEvidence• NewinformaEonisbuiltuponexisEngknowledge
– Whenchildrenaregivencausally-richinformaEon,theyspendmoreEmeontask(Alvarez&Booth,2013)
– LearningaboutthefuncEonofanobjectsupportscategorizaEon(Booth&Waxman,2002)
– DoctorslearnguidelinesforopioidprescripEonsbe]erifembeddedinanarraEve(Kilaruetal,2014)
– Takingnoteslonghandrequiresmoremeaning-makingandisassociatedwithbe]erlearningthancopyingnotesonalaptop(Mueller&Oppenheimer,2014)
– ManyotherfindingsinscienceoflearningonhowlinkingnewinformaEontothingsyoualreadyknowimproveslearningandretenEon
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• Chi(2009)writesthatwhenmaterialisconstructedormeaningful–learnersgobeyondtheinformaEongiven.
• Theymakeinferences,askquesEons,makeplansandintegrateinformaEon.
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MeaningfulLearning:ThecaseofSTEMlearningwithblocks
Ferrara,K.,Hirsh-Pasek,K.,Newcombe,N.&Golinkoff,R.(2011)Blocktalk:SpaEallanguageduringblockplay.Mind,Brain&Educa/on,5,3,143-151Verdine,B.,Golinkoff,R.,Hirsh-Pasek,K,Newcombe,N.,Filipowicz,A.&Chang,A.(2014).DeconstrucEngBuildingBlocks:Preschoolers'SpaEalAssemblyPerformanceRelatestoEarlyMathemaEcalSkills.ChildDevelopment
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Research Question!
n The spatial skills used in block play are basic to human intelligence (e.g., packing a trunk, reading a map)
n Spatial skills (navigaEng,rotaEng,
perspecEve-taking)are also related to later mathematical outcomes
n Weasked:MightspaEaladvantages
appearwhenyoungchildrenplaywithspaEallymeaningfultoyslikepuzzlesandblocks?
• Levine,Ginsburg
n Further, increasing spatial language also translates into better spatial and mathematical outcomes!
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Ourdesign….
• 3- 5-year-olds participated in 3 play conditions with their parent. All engaged in guided play second:
– Free play: “Here are some blocks, do what you will.”
Guided play after (“Can you build a heliport”?)– Guided play: “Here are some pictures to copy to
build a heliport.” Then guided play again.– Preassembled play: “Here’s a heliport. Have fun.”
Then guided play after.Ferrara et al., 2011
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• WhatcondiEonpromptedthemostspaEallanguage?– Above,around,over,through….
• Anddidplayingwithblocksofferanyadvantageoverplayingwithothertoys?
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YES!!SpaEalLanguageResults
n First, play context makes a difference!n In guided play, 10% or 1 in 10 words were spatial
n Second, block play made a differencen In non-block play contexts, parents use only 3 to 6% of spatial terms
n Third, parents’ and children’s spatial language production was greater in the guided play condition.
0
0.02
0.04
0.06
0.08
0.1
0.12
Pre-assembledPlay FreePlay GuidedPlay
Prop
or+o
nofSpa
+alLan
guage
PlayContext
ParentalSpa+alLanguageasaFunc+onofPlayContext
Series1
Series2
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• MeaningfulplaywithtoysthatdemandspaEalthinking….– Puzzles– Shapesorters– Tangrams– Blocks
• Notonlyhelpsustalkandthinkmoreaboutspace,butitalsopredictslatermathscores(Verdineetal.,2014)!
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AtaleofyettwomoreappsMeaningfulvsMeaningless
ShinyParty-Shapes&ColorsByShinyThings
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Meaningful:ShinyPartyShapes
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Socially Interactive Learning
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TheEvidence
• SocialinteracEonisopEmalforlearningespeciallyfor0-to8-year-olds– Youngchildrenlearnbestfromlivepeople,ratherthanTVorvideo
(Roseberryetal.,2009;Kuhletal.,2009)– Co-viewingtelevisionwithchildrenresultsinincreasedlearning– ParasocialrelaEonships(aswithElmo)help
childrenlearnearlymathskills
Roseberry,S.,Hirsh-Pasek,K.,Parish-Morris,J.,&Golinkoff,R.M.(2009).ChildDevelopmentRice,M.L.,Huston,A.C.,Truglio,R.,&Wright,J.C.(1990)..DevelopmentalPsychologyValkenburg,P.M.,Krcmar,M.,Peeters,A.L.,&Marseille,N.M.(1999)..JournalofBroadcas/ng&ElectronicMedia
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SociallyinteracEvelearning:Thecaseofvideochatsandlanguage
learning
Roseberry,S.,Hirsh-Pasek,K.,&Golinkoff,R.M.(2014)Skypeme!SociallyconEngentinteracEonshelptoddlerslearnlanguage.ChildDevelopment
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Youhaveheardthisbefore…
• Li]lepeoplelearnbestfromliveinteracEonandlessfromTV
• Anderson&Hanson(2013),forareview• Trosethandcolleagues
ThereisnoquesEon:frombehavioralandbraindata,childrenlearnbe]erininteracEve,adapEveandsocialenvironmentsthantheydoasobservers!
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Ourstudylookedatthelearningofnovelwords–hereac/onwords
Hereisthetraining:
“Wow!I’mblickinghim!I’mblickingthebabydoll. WillyouwatchwhileI’mblickingthebabydoll? I’mblickinghim,I’mblickingthebabydoll. Iamblickingthebabydoll.”
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WetrainedthewordsineitherlivepresentaEons,videochats(asonSkype)oronTV
InwhichcondiEonwouldtoddlers(24to30months)learnthewords:
– VideoChatTraining(responsiveandconEngentbut2D)
– LiveInterac/onTraining(responsiveandconEngent3D)
– YokedVideoTraining(apre-recordedvideoofwomaninteracEngwithanotherchild)neitherresponsiveorconEngent)
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TestPhase
• Split-screendesign• OnematchingacEon• Onenon-matching
acEon
Couldthechildrenlearnanovelverb?Andwasthevideochatmoreliketheliveinterac+oncondi+on?OrmorelikeTV?
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Results–HowdidchildrenrespondtovideochatscomparedtoliveinteracEons?
LearningfromvideochatswasmorelikeLIVE
thanlikeTV
Roseberry,S.,Hirsh-Pasek,K.,&Golinkoff,R.M.(2014)Skypeme!SociallyconEngentinteracEonshelptoddlerslearnlanguage.ChildDevelopment
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• SocialinteracEonthatisconEngentonthechild’sbehaviorisimportantforlearning
Whatmightthissayaboutapps?• AppsthatharnessinteracEveplayorthatuElizeparasocialrelaEonshipswillsupportlearning
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AtaleofeventwomoreappsSociallyinteracEvevssolo
Importantly–wearenotsayingthatasoloappisa“BAD”app,justthatyoungchildrenlearnbe]erinmoresocialenvironments.Therecouldwellbeanagefactorforthispillar.
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SociallyinteracEve(asleastasweplayedit)
TocaBocaHairSalon
Starring:Kathy
Hirsh-Pasek
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Soloapp:HungryGuppy
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GuidedExplora3ontowardLearningGoals
• Notallappshavealearninggoal,e.g.,TocaBocaHairSalon.
• GuidedexploraEon(alsocalledGuidedDiscoveryandGuidedPlay)supportsthe4pillars:– AcEve– Engaged– Meaningful– SociallyinteracEvelearning
• ThecontextinwhichaneducaEonalappisframed.
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GuidedDiscoveryorGuidedPlay• Children’sinterests,combinedwithscaffolding
fromanadult,drivetheintroducEonofnewinformaEon.
• IncomparisontodidacEcinstrucEon,resultsin
increasedlearning:
• Literacy(Hanetal.2012;Weisbergetal.,2013)• Math(Gagne&Brown,1961)• Physics(Obioma,1986)• Andmore…(seealsoAlfieri,2011;Fisheretal.,2010;Hirsh-
Pasek,Golinkoff,Berk,&Singer,2009)
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TheCaseofGuidedPlay:Howdochildrenlearnthedefining
featuresofashape?
Fisher,K.,Hirsh-Pasek,K,Newcombe,N&Golinkoff,R.M.(2014)Takingshape:SupporEngpreschoolers’acquisiEonofgeometricknowledge.ChildDevelopment.
Forexample,thatatrianglehas3cornersand3sides?
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Wouldguidedplay(THINKACTIVE)beabe]erwaytomasterthedefiniEonalaspectsofshapesthan
directinstruc/on(THINKPASSIVE)orfree,exploratoryplay(ALSOACTIVE)?
• Contrasted3condiEons:– GuidedPlay:
• Childis“detecEve”askedtofind“secretsoftheshapes”
– DirectInstrucEon• Childistold“secretsoftheshapes,”e.,g,triangle=3sides
– Free,ExploratoryPlay• Childplayswithshapes
• Results:– GuidedPlay>DirectInstrucEon>FreePlay– Transfertoweirdnovelshapes40%begerinGuidedPlay
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• DigitalmediahastremendouspotenEalasasupportforreallearning
• Butitisonlytruly“educaEonal”ifitisdoneright
• LookingbackonourscienceoflearninggivesussomeserioushintsabouthowtodoeducaEonalmediaright.
• IfscienEstsworkwithdevelopers,wecanusherinafutureWave2ofappdevelopmentandensurethat“educaEonal”appsaretrulyeducaEonal
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Usingthescienceoflearningtoevaluateapps
• Lessonsforparents,developers,designersandeducators
IsitacEve(notpassive)?li]le(1) some(3)lot(5)
Isitengaging(notdistracEng)
li]le(1) some(3)lot(5)
Isitmeaningful(notmeaningless)li]le(1) some(3)lot(5)
IsitsociallyinteracEve?
li]le(1) some(3)lot(5)IsthereguidedexploraEontowardsalearninggoal?
li]le(1) some(3)lot(5)Couldthisbedonewithouttechnology?
YesNo
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Thinkinginthiswayallowsustousethescienceoflearningtoevaluateappsintermsof
• ProfilesandPedigreesProfiles:Examineanapp’sprofileacrossthe4pillarsandacontext.Beinglowinone
oranotherpillardoesnotrenderitaBADapp,thoughbeinghighonallisprobablyabe]erapp–atleastforyoungchildren.
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Usingthescienceoflearningtoevaluateapps
Onpedigrees:Evaluatethelearningcontext.AnappcanbegoodevenifitisnoteducaEonal.
Learninggoalshilow
hi
low
Summa+
onofp
illarsc
ores
Playfulapp EducaEonalappwithguidedexploraEon
“EducaEonal”appbutwithpotenEalforshallowlearning
BADapp
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khirshpaandroberta
Ac+ve,engaged,meaningful&sociallyinterac+vehelpchildrenlearn#learninggoal#earlyeduca+on
KathyHirsh-PasekRobertaGolinkoff
khirshroberta
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Anexpandeddiscussionoftheseissuesinappearedin…
Hirsh-Pasek, K., Zosh, J., Golinkoff, R.M. Gray, J., Robb, M., & Kaufman, J. (2015) Harnessing the science of learning to promote real educational apps. Psychological Science in the Public Interest.
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Thanksto…
Andtothemanyundergraduates,graduatestudents,postdocsandfamilieswhomadethisresearchpossible.
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JackandtheBeanstalk(NosyCrow)