Unit Two Oneill

Technology Integration in Early Childhood

Unit Two Overview

Objective 1 - Learners will discover at least one new classroom technology.

Objectives 2 - Learners will be able to explain why one classroom technology is beneficial.'

Objectives 3 - Learners will be able to craft an informational newsletter to parents on the benefits of technology in the classroom.

Suggested Course Pacing

Day One

Introduction

Day Two

Deeper Look - 3 Tools

Day Three

Review materials as necessary (Introduction and Deeper Look - 3 Tools)
Start - Check for Understanding: Short answer

Day Four

Review materials as necessary (Introduction and Deeper Look - 3 Tools)
Finish - Check for Understanding: Short answer

Day Five

Introduction to Newsletters for Families
Start Project Submission

Day Six - Day Ten

Review materials as necessary
Finish Project Submission

Introduction

Technology may not be a big part of these young children’s lives yet, but introducing and incorporating technology shouldn’t have as bad of a stigma as it does have. As NAEYC (National Association for the Education of Young Children) says,

“They need to freely explore, manipulate, and test everything in the environment. Increasingly in today’s world, this includes the exploration of technology tools and interactive media.” (Technology and young children: Infants and Toddlers).

NAEYC gives four key points to remember when incorporating technology into a curriculum with 2-3 year-olds that line up well with the 4 Guiding Principles we learned in the last section.

Guiding Principle #1: Technology—when used appropriately—can be a tool for learning.	Incorporate assistive technologies as appropriate for children with special needs and/or developmental delays.
Guiding Principle #2: Technology should be used to increase access to learning opportunities for all children.	Use technology as an active and engaging tool when appropriate to provide infants and toddlers with access to images of their families and friends, animals and objects in the environment, and a wide range of diverse images of people and things they might not otherwise encounter (photos of children from other countries, for example).
Guiding Principle #3: Technology may be used to strengthen relationships among parents, families, early educators, and young children.	Avoid passive screen time. While some parents may claim that baby videos calm an otherwise fussy child, there is little research to suggest that infants and toddlers learn from watching videos. If infants are distressed, they need the comfort of a caring adult, not an electronic toy.
Guiding Principle #4: Technology is more effective for learning when adults and peers interact or co-view with young children.	Allow children to explore digital materials in the context of human interactions, with an adult as mediator and co-player. As with shared book reading, use shared technology time as an opportunity to talk with children, use new vocabulary, and model appropriate use.

Tool Time - 3 Tools

Audio Books - Audio books have been a great tool in the classroom for years for children with special needs. This technology can also be used at home by families by searching for read-aloud or audio books right on youtube. This quick and free search engine resource is great for families who may not have the means to get a lot of books. This could also be great for expanding a classroom library by engaging in a read-aloud about a topic of interest for the child or children that you may not have available physically.
Slideshows - Slideshows can be created ahead of time in preparation for daily events. These slideshows could be educational and expose the toddlers to new cultures or animals. The slideshows could also contain photos of a child’s community (Family, Friends, Teacher, Pets) and used as a centering or calming tool. The advantage to this over physical photos is that a child could become more upset if a photo were ripped or spied and tablets have advanced as well as tablet cases to have very toddler proof mechanics.
Music - Music is a way for toddlers to explore their sense of hearing with varying beats and tones right at your fingertips. This is another great resource for families or classrooms that may not have an abundance of supplies but most homes have access to the internet. This could also be explored further by introducing toddlers to music from different cultures.

Check for Understanding - Short Answer

Explain why one of the three technologies discussed is beneficial. Go to the discussion section of this page and reply to my instructions for your Short Answer.

Introduction to Newsletters for Families

In this video Ari Flewelling shows you how to change the slide size, use text boxes and images to create a newsletter. Please watch this quick tutorial on navigating google slides in regards to what we will be doing next and then we will discuss what elements you may include for this specific type of newsletter.

This specific type of newsletter doesn’t contain your basic information that you may see in a monthly newsletter. This newsletter is something that may come as a surprise to parents after you discover something you would like to share with families or maybe in response to a families question with information any daily may find value in. The types of categories you may want to use in this specific category revolving around technology are:

Introducing the new technology
The positives from proper interaction with such tool
What entails of proper interaction / expectations
Where they can find or use the technology
Examples of proper use or interactions

Project Submission

Create a one page only newsletter for families about the technology wrote about in the short answer activity. Go to the discussion section of this page and reply to my instructions for your Project Submission.

File
Download
JPEG Image or PNG Image
Reply to the discussion
Insert Image from PC

Navigation

Technology Use in the Classroom

Ages 2-3 (Toddler)

Ages 3-5 (Preschool)

References and Resources

Google. Google slides training and help. Google Workspace Learning Center. Retrieved October 24, 2021, from https://support.google.com/a/users/answer/9282488?hl=en.

Guiding principles for use of technology with early learners. Office of Educational Technology. (2018, May 8). Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://tech.ed.gov/earlylearning/principles/

Hitlin, P. (2018, September 28). Internet, social media use and device ownership in U.S. have plateaued after years of growth. Pew Research Center. Retrieved October 7, 2021, from https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2018/09/28/internet-social-media-use-and-device-ownership-in-u-s-have-plateaued-after-years-of-growth/

Technology and Media | Naeyc. (n.d.). NAEYC. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/technology-and-media

Technology and young children: Infants and toddlers. NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/technology-and-media/infants-and-toddlers

Technology and young children: Preschoolers and Kindergarteners. NAEYC. (n.d.). Retrieved December 6, 2021, from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/technology-and-media/preschoolers-and-kindergartners

Webinar: Technology and Interactive Media in Early Childhood Programs. (2017). YouTube. Retrieved November 10, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GZGA_bhyFB

How to make a newsletter with Google Slides. (2015). YouTube. Retrieved December 5, 2021, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=56U-VuQV54Q