Integrating Integrating Technology Technology

Effectively in the Effectively in the Early Childhood Early Childhood

ClassroomClassroom

Integrating Integrating Technology Technology

Effectively in the Effectively in the Early Childhood Early Childhood

ClassroomClassroomBy, Tara VogelsbergBy, Tara Vogelsberg

Why should I include technology in my early childhood classroom?

• Technology can be beneficial to all the major domains of child development.– Language Development

• Computer play encourages longer, more complex speech and the development of fluency (Davidson & Wright, 1994).

• Children tend to narrate what they are doing as they draw pictures or move objects and characters around on the screen (Bredekamp & Rosegrant, 1994).

• Young children interacting at computers engage in high levels of spoken communication and cooperation, such as turn-taking and peer collaboration.

• "Compared to more traditional activities, such as puzzle assembly or block building, the computer elicits more social interaction and different types of interaction" (Clements, Nastasi, & Swaminathan, 1993, p. 60).

– Social and Emotional Development• When properly used, computers and software can serve as catalysts

for social interaction and conversations related to children's work (Clements & Nastasi, 1993).

• A classroom set up to encourage interaction and the appropriate use of the technology will increase, not impair, language and literacy development.

Why should I include technology in my early childhood classroom?

– Cognitive Development• Computers allow representation and actions not possible in the

physical world. For example, children can manipulate variables such as gravity or speed, and discover the resulting effects (Clements, 1999; Seng, 1998).

• Compared to children in a similar classroom without computer experience, three- and four-year-olds who used computers with supporting activities had significantly greater gains in verbal and nonverbal skills, problem solving, abstraction, and conceptual skills (Haugland, 1992).

• Third-grade children who used both manipulatives and computer programs showed more sophistication in classification and logical thinking than children who used only manipulatives (Clements & Nastasi, 1993).

• Open-ended software — software that provides opportunities to discover, make choices, and find out the impact of decisions — encourages exploration, imagination, and problem solving.

– Physical and Motor Development• Fine and gross motor skills develop at varying rates, and learning to

write can be tedious and difficult as children struggle to form letters. A word processor allows them to compose and revise text without being distracted by the fine motor aspects of letter formation (Davis & Shade, 1994).

Why should I include technology in my early childhood classroom?

• Including technology as a part of classroom activities can be motivating, and allows students to learn, communicate, and share their knowledge and understanding in a wide variety of ways.

• Computers are intrinsically motivating for young children and contribute to cognitive and social development (National Association for the Education of Young Children [NAEYC], 1996).

• Computers can enhance children's self-concept and improve their attitudes about learning (Sivin-Kachala & Bialo, 1994).

• Children demonstrate increased levels of spoken communication and cooperation during computer use (Clements, 1994; Haugland & Wright, 1997).

• Children share leadership roles on the computer, and initiate interactions more frequently (Clements, 1994; Haugland & Wright, 1997).

• Technology offers additional ways to learn, and to demonstrate learning. For some children who have unique learning styles, computers can reveal hidden strengths. At the computer, children can approach learning from a variety of perspectives and follow various paths to a goal (Clements, 1999).

• Computers and other forms of technology support literacy and encourage speaking, reading, writing, and listening, through formal and informal language opportunities. Technology can:

• Provide children with ways to express themselves• Offer support for young learners• Encourage reading and writing

Providing Ways for Children to Express

Themselves• Young students can present or represent their

learning in ways that make sense to them, using tools such as digital cameras, scanners, and computer software to show information, create pictures, build graphs, and share ideas.

• Children make up stories as they play, and frequently tell stories about the pictures they create. Technology offers a variety of ways for children to weave together words and pictures to tell their stories, then display them on the screen or print them.

Offering support for young learners

• Writing and revising can be difficult as children struggle with letter formation and fine motor skills. Word processors let them focus on the ideas, and more easily compose and revise text. This encourages children to view writing as a process, and to refine their work.

• Speech synthesizers read aloud the text on the screen, and allow children experience with both oral and written language. "Talking books" use synthesized speech to read aloud a story as the child listens and follows along with the highlighted words on the screen.

• This same technology reads back a child's own words. Because the digital voice reads exactly what was written, and not what the writer meant to say, it provides the immediate, focused feedback helpful for learning. For example, when reading aloud a series of words without capitals or ending punctuation, the voice does not stop at the end of the idea. The importance of punctuation and capitals soon becomes clear.

Encouraging Reading and Writing

• Seeing text on the screen encourages students to read their own and others' writing as they work at the computer. Research confirms what common sense tells us - the more time children spend reading the better readers they become.

• Technology in its many forms increases the options available for children to explore, create, and communicate and provides additional ways to interact with and experience literacy.

• Classroom printers allow children to write for and reach a larger audience, and e-mail allows children to correspond with distant pen pals electronically. Both provide motivation for children to write well because they know that others will read their work.

Ideas for Integrating Technology and

Literacy• Use a really great website,

http://www.internet4classrooms.com/kindergarten_links.htm to have the children explore the alphabet, reading, writing, phonics, etc. One that I liked in particular for kindergarteners was the Word Blender in which the kids get to pick onsets and rimes and have the blender blend them together to make new words.

Ideas for Integrating Technology and Math

• Children can construct tangram puzzles or patterns online. These can be printed and displayed in portfolios or learning logs with explanations of how they solved the challenge. As children organize thoughts to express them clearly, their metacognition develops more fully.

• Build a graph with objects, such as shoes or candy wrappers, then transfer the information into a graphing program. Having both the physical objects and the two-dimensional graph demonstrates that graphing is a way to show and see information mathematically.

• Both of the manipulatives plus many more can be found at the following sites:– http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html– http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/index.htm– http://www.eduplace.com/kids/mw/manip/mn_k.html

• Remember: Research shows that using manipulatives and computers JOINTLY promotes more in-depth thinking and sophistication in problem solving than using either one alone!

Implementing Technology Effectively

• Children receive the greatest benefits from technology when these elements are present:– The lesson or project is directly connected to the

curriculum – The technology allows for active learning, with students

making decisions – The software is interactive or discovery based – The lesson or project is open-ended, allowing learners to

proceed at their own pace – Technology is applied to real problems with a real-life

connection – The setting is designed to allow children to interact while

working at the computer …place two seats in front of the computer to encourage children to work together, place computers close to each other to facilitate sharing ideas, and locate computers in a central spot so it is inviting to other children to participate in the activity

– Screen time (including TV, computer, video games, etc.) should be limited to a maximum of one to two hours per day. Vigorous physical activities and play should be encouraged.

Implementing Technology Effectively

• Select software that:– Is open-ended and allows for active learning with students making

decisions. – Involves many senses and contains sound, music, or voice. – Is controlled by the children, and allows them to explore without fear of

making mistakes. – Responds to children's exploration in ways that encourage further

investigation. – Reflects and builds on what children already know. – Applies to real problems with real-life connections. – Elicits excitement and so encourages language.

• The age of the child and their developmental stage must be taken into account when considering computer use. Two important questions need to be asked when introducing young children to anything new, including technology:

• Is it developmentally appropriate? • Will the activity benefit the child?