Meaning-Making in Early Learning

ContextsUsing e-Learning Resources to Support and Extend

Learning for Young Children

Pamela Solvie, Ph.D.—Northwestern College, St. Paul, MNMinnesota e-Learning Summit 2012

E-Learning and E-Resources

Tools tofoster conversation,

connect children with adults and other children

Tools for engagement and empowerment, interaction, relationships, and community,

gap closing: Using tools to help move children forward

Tools with mediators or trusted guides

Technology in the service of young children, families, and practitioners

Chip Donohue, Ph.D., Director of Distance Learning at Erikson Institute, summarizes key themes from the 2010 Fred Forward conference

E-Learning and E-Resources

High quality experiences promote

Chip Donohue, Ph.D., Director of Distance Learning at Erikson Institute, summarizes key themes from the 2010 Fred Forward conference:

Authenticity

Empowerment Responsibility

Perspective Taking

Authenticity and Empowerment

E-Learning and E-Resources

Consider:

Differentiating technology experiences to build on children’s funds of knowledge

Shifting focus from skills toward a broader range of competencies, awareness, and dispositions

Providing learning environments rich in ‘environmental technology’

Recognizing the importance of authenticity for children’s learning

(Plowman, McPake & Stephen, 2008)

Early Learning Contexts

Early Learning Contexts

Video Deficit Effect—and other things that may

not be effective….

What does the literature say about meaning-making?

What does this mean?Does it mean doing the same thing—but

with technology?

What does the literature say about cyber-safety?

But…is it safe with technology? Virtual Worlds:Club Penguin, Webkinz, Neopets, Dizzywood

, Millsberry, and others are “online playgrounds for kids ages 6-8. They’re called virtual worlds, because they create entirely new and different environments for your children”.

http://www.commonsensemedia.org/advice-for-parents/online-worlds-young-kids-tips

What does the literature say about use of technology?

21st Century Skills◦Collaboration◦Communication◦Critical Thinking

◦“Simply being able to use technology is no longer enough. Today's students need to be able to use technology to analyze, learn, and explore. Digital age skills are vital for preparing students to work, live, and contribute to the social and civic fabric of their communities”.

http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.aspx

What does the literature say about access?

BuildingKnowledge

Skills (more than low-level skills)

Cultural Capital

Building On

Dispositions for Learning

Funds of Knowledge

Cultural and Cognitive Experiences

Meaning-making Through Curriculum

Expert Interaction

(Wolfe & Flewitt, 2010; Plowman, McPake & Stephen, 2010)

Access and Funds of Knowledge

Collaboration

Benefits

•Hands-on interaction

•Experiences through access

Benefits

•Language Development

•Development of Content Knowledge

Benefits

•Participation that encourages growth, well-being, and imagination as self-regulated learners

•Dispositions for Learning

Doing More…Doing It Differently

Doing More…Doing It Differently

Methods

•Modeling

•Extending & Elaborating

Methods

•Scaffolding & Prompting

•Searching & Accessing

Methods

•Mixing Tech with Tech

•Mixing Tech with Non-tech

Thinking About Healthy Child Development in Digital Environments

DAP views the child as an active learner and participant in his or her own development

This includes reflection and asking questions.

Child directed, child-controlled tasks with careful scaffolding supports development

(Cooper, 2005)

Thinking About Healthy Child Development in Digital Environments

Reading proficiency, attention span, fine motor skills, and eye-hand coordination will determine time needed to complete tasks

Appropriate levels of intervention and scaffolding will be needed◦ Cueing◦ Prompting◦ Instructing◦ Using guided interaction◦

(Wang, Kinzie & McGuire, 2010)

Thinking About Healthy Child Development in Digital Environments

Planning Based on Developmental Appropriateness◦Age◦Individual◦Culture◦Interest

Apps 4 Stages

Scaffolding to Extend Language

Extending Language

CommentaryPromptsChoices

Playing at Learning

Contexts for Play

All Play Basic Skills/Books are Privileged

Playful Explorations

Multimodal Experiences

Bits and Bytes

Planning and Documenting

Children use technology to plan their play experience scenarios (promoting advanced thinking, sustained attention, detail, and extension of ideas)

Adults support the child and interact during the planning via computer

Children print the picture, build or engage in dramatic play.

The child photographs the creation

Adults scaffold to help the child articulate and represent their learning (Yelland, 2011)

Investigating

The teacher photographs play areas inside and outside the classroom and may upload (or not) to the computer

Questions are posed to guide thinking such as “Estimate how many kids can fit into the cubby house. Now test to see if you are correct” and “Can you see any shapes that create a recurring pattern?”

Children link the use of new technologies with playful explorations in the real world and build representations and form new understandings

(Yelland, 2011)

Meaning-Making

Reading◦ Tumble Books and other E-

Readers◦ Read-Write-Think◦ Author Connections

Speaking and Writing◦ Kid Pix, Dictation◦ Kidspiration/Inspiration◦ Digital Storytelling◦ Visit, Label, Record—Digital

Pictures, Electronic Slide Show◦ Draw and paint

Planning◦ iPads and other Pentop

Computers◦ Graphing

Practice with Feedback◦ Online sites◦ Electronic White Board

Communications◦ Digital Cameras◦ Twitter◦ E-mail◦ Blogs

Chronicle Learning◦ Evidence of Growth—

Digital Cameras◦ Videoconferences

Videatives (Video + Narrative)

Videatives (Video + Narrative)

Videotape children’s spontaneous play based on prompts or themes, edit and screen the footage for children to watch in small and large group

Have children watch it play back on a screen and ask questions: Can you tell the story? What were you doing there? Why? Did anything mysterious happen? What did you discover? What will happen next in the story?

Record children’s voices and re-edit the videos, leaving some of the natural sounds of play interwoven with the voiceover narration

Send home the final videos that range from 2-10 mns. (Eno, 2008)

Videatives (Video + Narrative)

◦“When you ask children questions about their play, without video footage for them to reference, you will get a few replies. Show them a videotape of themselves at play, however, and suddenly those questions will receive ten times as many answers, which will then lend themselves to 1,000 more things to play, videotape, and think about.” (Eno, 2008)

Digital Storyboards

Listen to a story, draw pictures for storyboards to plan frames for their movie “to get their idea across”

Children draw upon their own experiences and the story to generate a visual text

Children infer, reflect, and “generate” ideas as they find an entry into the text◦ (Mills, 2008)

Digital Movies (Collaborative Digital Microdocumentaries)

Listen to a story

Change the story by imagining different events from those in the plot

Study the genre and textual features of micro-documentaries

Include an introduction by a narrator, an observation, re-enactment of events, and an interview of the main characters

Prepare storyboards; script-write (revise the script as needed for filming), act it out and film it (deciding on long and short shots); make use of digital editing

(Mills, 2008)

Writing Comics

Provide instruction then have students handwrite a comic that contains only three frames, and then present it digitally using

http://www.makebeliefscomix.com/

Engage in problem solving as they seek ways to work within the framework (Mills, 2008)

Photo-Booklets

Provide children with cameras Take visual walks; children take photographsChildren photograph what is important to them to voice and

share what is important to them Integrated within units, children capture real-world examples

of things they had been learning about in the curriculum Mount photographs on charts with favorite sentences, art, and

poetryTransition to joint construction with leveled questions for

interactional routines using first, next, now, above, below to photograph items from different vantage point

Each small group creates a digital photo-booklet to document the route of their walk by inserting jpeg images into PowerPoint presentations with key vocabulary

Students experiment with custom animation for photos and text

Other groups view the photo—booklet and answer questions

Using Photographs

Gather, sort, and interpret photographs from many different sources and study captions

Children take photographs and insert them into Word, use Word drawing tools, and write captions (in pairs) of their interpretation

Children passed the photograph on to the next pair for their caption to be added

Vocabulary lists were generated to describe and interpret photographs for the subjects represented

Humor is used to help children think about the multiple ways the same photograph can be read by different audiences in different contexts with different experiences

Graphic organizers (Inspiration) were used to sort, classify and order information children want to present to others—first Tree Diagrams and then with subcategories to scaffold what the children wanted to communicate and tell others. Graphic organizers provide a way of evaluating and planning

Present digital stories in the form of PowerPoint presentations to record and then report on events at assemblies, in the school newsletter, and through displays around the school.

Using Projectors to Support Meaning-Making

Project and Share◦ documents, ◦ websites, videos,◦ worksamples,◦ photographs, ◦ artifacts, and digital◦ books

Model and demonstrate

Support ◦ inquiry,◦ Vocabulary development, and◦ Creativity

Engage in◦ project based learning◦ collaboration

Videoconference

Host Parent-Teacher

Conferences

Talk With ePals

Interview Experts in the Field

Take Virtual Field Trips

SkypeePalsooVoo

iChat (Apple)AIM

Gmail ChatGoogle+FaceTime (Apple)

Conduct Collaborative Research

Take a virtual field tripView reality via webcams or videoSketch and label (KidPix)Visit websites to gather, extend, and clarify

informationGather information from local sites and community

guest speakersConnect with other classrooms via e-mail/chart

stories/dictation and videoconferencingWrite collaborative stories to create a whole-class

story Create video snapshots for review and reflection

(Water is Wonderful and Japan themes)

Connect with Authors

Select authors with whom children are familiar; read multiple texts by the author

Have children compare/contrast themes, characters, and settings in the text

Have children select and illustrate ‘golden phrases’ using KidPix

Prepare interview questions in collaborative groups; group questions as a whole class (life, decision to write, writing topics…)

Create a videoconference accountUse http://skypeanauthor.wetpaint.com to connect with

the authorPrepare and share information with others (newsletter,

PowerPoint)Respond to thank the author (e-mail dictation)

Publish e-books

Book Trailers as Book Reviews

◦Watch trailers◦http://www.homepages.dsu.edu/mgeary/booktr

ailers/default.htmIdentify questionsSelect scenes from the bookPrepare textCreate video blurbPost to webpage and create QR Codes

Additional Examples

Kidblog.org to blogTumble Books and other e-readersShare published writing via iMovie

(Author’s Chair) including labels, images, and illustrations

Wonderopolis to tweetCreate QR Codes to link to children’s work

Think About a Broader Range of Competencies, Awareness, and Dispositions….

Think about differentiating technology experiences to build on children’s funds of digital knowledge

Shift focus from skills toward a broader range of competencies, awareness, and dispositions

Provide learning environments rich in ‘environmental technology’ Recognize the importance of authenticity for children’s learning

(Plowman, McPake & Stephen, 2008)

Document Cameras Kid Pix Hyper Studio Kidspiration/Inspiration Pentop Technology

◦ Tablet computers◦ iPads

Meaning-Making and E-resources

Benefits Challenges

Tasks are problem or project oriented

Projects are student centered Tasks are often collaborative Tasks are authentic/relevant Tasks are motivating Interaction on the part of the

teacher increases Students work for extended periods

of time Students are engaged Student voice is encouraged Positive gains in dispositions

toward learning and academic skills are evidenced

Scaffolding needed Interaction needed Additional time for activities is

required Just in time assistance is needed Time is needed for professional

development and preparation Time is needed to troubleshoot

technical problems Role instruction for groups and

individuals is needed Grouping, instructional routines,

and center organization may need to be revisited

Meaning-making in Early Learning Contexts

IntentionalPlanned Structured and FlexibleInvolves guided interaction that draws

attention to important aspects of visual display

References

Berk, L. (2012). Infants and Children: Prenatal through Middle Childhood. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.

Duhaney, B & Duhaney, C. (2008). Technology and young children revisited. International Journal of Instructional Media. 35.4. Fall 2008.

Eno, K. (2008). Not too young to watch, not too young to make. Youth Media Reporter. Issue 6, December 2008.

Mitchell, L. Using technology in Reggio Emilia-inspired programs. Theory Into Practice, 46(1), 32-39.

Mills, K. (2011). ‘I’m making it different to the book’: Transmediation in young children’s multimodal and digital texts. Australian Journal of Early Childhood. Vol. 36, No. 3, September 2011.

Plowman, L., McPake, J. & Stephen, C. (2010). The technologisation of childhood? Young children and technology in the home. Children & Society. Vo. 24. pp. 63-74. National Children’s Bureau.

Plowman, L. & Stephen, C. (2008). Enhancing learning with information and communication technologies in pre-school. Early Childhood Development and Care. Vo. 178, No. 6, pp. 637-654. August 2008.

Plowman, L., McPake, J. & Stephen, C. (2008). Just picking it up? Young children learning with technology at home. Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 38, No. 3, September 2008, 303-319

Wolfe, S. & Flewitt, R. (2010). New technologies, new multimodal literacy practices and young children’s metacognitive development. Cambridge Journal of Education, Vol. 40, December 2010, 387-399. Routledge Taylor & Francis Group.

References

Britsch, S. (2010). Photo-booklets for English language learning: Incorporating visual communication into early childhood teacher preparation. Early Childhood Journal, 38: pp.171-177.

Cooper, L. (2005). Developmentally appropriate digital environments for young children. Library Trends, Vol. 54, No. 2, Fall 2005, pp. 286-302

Couse, L. & Chen, D. (2010). A tablet computer for young children? Exploring its viability for early childhood education. Journal of Research on Technology in Education, Vol. 43, No. 1. International Society for Technology in Education.

Grieshaber, S. (2010). Beyond discovery: A case study of teacher interaction, young children and computer tasks. Cambridge Journal of Education. Vol. 40, No. 1, March 2010, 69-85.

Puerling, B. (2012). Teaching in the Digital Age: Smart Tools for Age 3 to Grade 3. St. Paul, MN: Red Leaf Press.

Schiller, J. & Tillett, B. (2004). Using digital images with young children: challenges of integration. Early child development and Care. Vol. 174(4), pp. 401-414.

Theobald, M. , Danby, S. & Ailwood, J. (2011). Child participation in the early years: Challenges for education. Australian Journal of Early Childhood. Vol. 36, No. 3. September 2011, pp. 19-26.

Wang, F., Kinzie, M, McGuire, P, & Pan E. (2010). Applying technology to inquiry-based learning in early childhood education. Early Childhood Education Journal, 37:381-389.

Yelland, N. (2011). Reconceptualising play and learning in the lives of young children. Australian Journal of Early Childhood, Vol. 36, No. 2, June 2011.

References

Early Connections◦http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/index.html

International Society for Technology in Education◦http://www.iste.org/standards/nets-for-students.

aspxNAEYC References

◦http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and-young-children/resources

Technology and Young Children Interest Forum◦http://www.techandyoungchildren.org/index.html