Role of the teacher

A Strong Teacher and Supportive Setting Are Key to the Successful Integration of Technology

1.     The teacher’s role in the classroom is as important as ever when it comes to the computer center. 

a.      The teacher facilitates learning through relevant computer activities.

b.     Although seeking out appropriate software is important, the teacher must also create an extension of that software to the natural learning environment.

c.     The teacher can be a guide by using open-ended questions to interact with children as they are problem solving through the computer activity.

2.     The classroom setting is critical to the success of the computer center.

a.      The child must have free access to the computer area.

b.     This provides an opportunity for the child to:

i.             make choices, 

ii.            engage in self-directed play,

iii.            and have unlimited time to problem solve independently.

3.     The classroom computer also creates positive social interactions.

a. Three- and four-year-olds are developing at different levels socially and cognitively.

b. The computer center allows the child to sit beside a classmate and observe as the classmate uses the computer. This is a beginning stage of social development.

c. Another child may be ready to interact with a friend at that same center.

d. The next level of development is when the children are ready to take turns at the computer.

4.     The computer center also helps develop cognitive abilities.

a.   By learning to problem solve, a child develops a sense of accomplishment.

b.   Software applications that offer immediate feedback also help children learn to apply existing knowledge to novel situations.

Three characteristics of teachers that were significantly linked with successful integration of technology innovations were:

• Technology Proficiency in using hardware and software, and in understanding the conditions that support technology use. For example, one project in this study called for computer video conferencing between 3rd graders with students from other schools. Although the teacher knew which software she needed to use, she had little knowledge of the technical infrastructure required to set up the whole system, such as high-speed Internet connections and digital cameras. This project was never implemented (p.9).
• Compatibility of teaching style, content, and the software and hardware. The study found that teachers who saw an intimate connection between the selected technology and their curriculum were more likely to implement their innovations successfully.

Social awareness of the school culture and organization. “For example, one teacher’s project required frequent use of the single, school-wide computer lab. This teacher successfully implemented her project because she was aware of the technology use patterns of other teachers, which enabled her to plan lessons and use of the lab accordingly

For more

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=302

Shaikhah al-qasim

Q & A with Dr. Bruce/reem

By Kimberly Moore Kneas, Ph.D. and Bruce D. Perry, M.D., Ph.D.

Early Childhood Today: Are young children's brains (ages three through six) well suited to the use of technology? (We define technology as children using cameras, computers, tape recorders and video cameras in classroom projects.) If so, how? Are some forms of technology better than others for these specific age levels?

Dr. Perry: In order to answer that question we must consider some of the genetic biases of the human brain. For 99 percent of the time we have been on the planet, we lived in small hunter-gatherer groups of about 40 to 50 people. Our brains developed specialized capabilities for social affiliation, communication and various kinds of symbolic representation. Our cultures evolved through social interactions, initially without written language. The development of written language changed the way human beings developed, in large part by influencing brain development and expressed new brain-mediated capabilities that had previously been un-expressed.

I see technology doing the same things today. The brain clearly could not have a "genetics" specific for the use of a joystick. Nor could the brain have a genetics specific for continuous attention to a two-dimensional moving image such as those in the television. Yet external symbolic representation such as the written word, visual images on television, and complex three-dimensional videography are all sensed, processed, stored, and acted on by the human brain. Because the brain literally changes in response to experiences, these "new" (from a historical perspective) experiences (the written word or television) cause changes in brain development, brain organization, and brain function that were never expressed hundreds of generations ago.

Modern technologies are very powerful because they rely on one of the most powerful genetic biases we do have — the preference for visually presented information. The human brain has a tremendous bias for visually presented information. Television, movies, videos, and most computer programs are very visually oriented and therefore attract and maintain the attention of young children.

The problem with this is that many of the modern technologies are very passive. Because of this they do not provide children with the quality and quantity of crucial emotional, social, cognitive, or physical experiences they require when they are young. The developing child requires the right combination of these experiences at the right times during development in order to develop optimally. This cannot happen if the child is sitting for hours passively watching television.

Sitting young children in front of a television for hours also prevents that child from having hours of other developmental experiences. Children need real-time social interactions; technology such as television can prevent that from happening.

On the other hand there are many positive qualities to modern technologies. The technologies that benefit young children the greatest are those that are interactive and allow the child to develop their curiosity, problem solving and independent thinking skills.

ECT: Do you see the use of specific things like computers as part of an early childhood curriculum as being powerful enough to change brain development the same way you've just described television?

Dr. Perry: Absolutely. I think the difference between computers and television is that television tends to be quite passive. You sit and you are watching and things are happening in front of you but you don't do anything. Children are natural "manipulators" of the world — they learn through controlling the movement and interactions between objects in their world — dolls, blocks, toy cars, their own bodies. With television, they watch and do not control anything. Computers allow interaction. Children can control the pace and activity and make things happen on computers. They can also repeat an activity again and again if they choose.

The Role of Technology in Early Childhood Programs

http://www.earlychildhoodnews.com/earlychildhood/article_view.aspx?ArticleID=302

reem al-hawas

Technology education in kindergarte/alaa



Learning & Technology

Children require social and physical experiences to move from the concrete learning stage. They gain the skills/ability to understand symbolic and abstract levels by these experiences. Technology can be used to support children's developmental needs, if the computer use does not replace time spent on the important foundation skills of the early years.

Social and Emotional Development

• Arrange the space to allow for social interactions, easy access, and good visibility at the computers
• Plan activities that require need 2 or 3 students to work together, or require the help of peers
• Have extra chairs at the computer
• Ask open-ended questions about children's work and talk with them about what they are doing
• Display children's work around the classroom
• Encourage parents to ask questions of their children, to work or explore programs together, and to share their experiences with one another

Approaches Toward Learning

• Plan for children to use all the senses when working on the computer.
• Select software that provides spoken words and music as well as pictures on the screen.
• Let children have experiences in the "real world" as well as in the "electronic world."
• If they create an imaginary place on the computer, let them build a model of the place with blocks and boxes, modeling clay, and other materials.
• Allow lots of time for children to interact with things in their environment. Make sure that computer time is balanced by greater time with physical objects.
• Children need time to develop memory and imagery before the images are provided for them.
• Increase attention and build memory and visualization skills by limiting screen time. Young children's attention naturally jumps around, but flashing images and constantly moving graphics may make it harder for children to attend to activities for sustained periods.

A total of one hour per day of all screen time combined -- television

 videos//

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hX8EGu0YfzE&feature=related

Link

http://schoolcomputing.wikia.com/wiki/Technology_in_Kindergarten