For over a decade, "screens are bad for children" has been close to a default assumption in early years and primary education. Parents worry about it. Teachers are cautious about it. School boards write policies around it. And often, that caution is well earned — much of what "screen time" has meant in practice is a child alone with a tablet or phone, disengaged from the room, the teacher, and the other children around them.
That was the perception at Futura International Preschool in Stockholm, Sweden, too — until teacher Andrew Blair and his colleagues began using Manico's FunTable and FunBoard in the classroom.
The objection is usually about isolation, not technology itself
When teachers and parents push back on digital tools in the classroom, the concern is rarely "technology" in the abstract. It's what technology has historically looked like in a child's hands: one device, one user, one set of eyes fixed on a small screen while the rest of the room carries on without them. It's a fair concern — that model of screen time genuinely can crowd out the social interaction, movement, and hands-on collaboration that early childhood and primary education are built around.
The mistake is assuming all interactive technology works that way.
What changed at Futura International Preschool
At Futura International Preschool, the shift is described first-hand by Andrew Blair, one of the school's teachers, in a short video documenting the school's experience with Manico's technology.
"From the beginning, I was reluctant about ICT in general," Andrew explains. "I thought it would have a negative impact on the traditional methods. But I changed my opinion — it was a complete U-turn. It's the opposite: it stimulates learning and it's a way to reinforce it. It's another choice, and the reality is they're living in a digital world — to move forward, they need to be digital savvy."
That's a notable admission. Andrew wasn't indifferent to ICT in the classroom — he was actively sceptical, expecting it to undermine the traditional teaching methods the preschool relied on. What changed his mind wasn't a policy document or a sales pitch; it was watching how the technology actually got used in the room.
What's visible in the video is the shape of that change: rather than a child sitting alone with a device, there are several children standing, pointing, talking, and taking turns — all touching the same giant screen at once, working through a game or learning activity as a group. It looks less like isolated screen time and more like a shared table activity that happens to be digital.
That distinction — a group gathered around one surface, rather than individuals each locked into their own — is what turned a sceptical pedagogue into an advocate. The objection was never really to interactive learning; it was to isolation. Once that's no longer the picture, the resistance softens — and, as Andrew puts it, becomes "another choice" rather than a replacement for how children already learn.
Why the format itself does the persuading
A few things about how FunTable and FunBoard are built make this shift easier than it might otherwise be:
- Multiple children can touch the same screen simultaneously, so a small group can genuinely work together rather than queue for a turn.
- The content is built for exactly this — Manico's EdUp and PlayEd apps are designed around shared, group-based interaction rather than single-player use.
- The hardware is visibly durable — hardened, anti-reflex glass and a robust housing that clearly isn't a fragile, precious device to be handled with anxiety, which changes how comfortable staff feel letting children explore it freely.
- It fits the room, not the other way round — FunTable sits as a natural gathering point, and FunBoard can be wall-mounted, laid flat, or floor-placed depending on what the space and age group need.
None of that requires explaining or persuading in the abstract. It's visible the moment children are actually using it, which is why seeing it — in a classroom, or in a video like the one linked below — tends to do more to shift opinion than any amount of written reassurance.
From caution to confidence
Schools that adopt Manico's technology don't tend to arrive at it enthusiastically from day one. The more common path is caution first, curiosity once they see it in use, and confidence once children — and staff — have spent real time with it. Futura International Preschool's experience, as Andrew Blair describes it, follows that same arc: from "we're not sure about screens" to a classroom where FunTable and FunBoard are simply part of how children learn together.
🎥 Watch Andrew Blair and Futura International Preschool's story: https://vimeo.com/523226185?fl=pl&fe=vl