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TECH FOR THE LITTLES	In the Pre-K classroom, using technology is tricky…while the use of SmartBoards, iPads, and computers is encouraged and applauded from Kindergarten up, regulations state that preschoolers can only enjoy 20 minutes of screen time during their time with us each day.  TWENTY MINUTES!!!!! Sometimes it takes that long just to get things set up, but thankfully we have found some creative ways to integrate different digital activities to enhance learning for these smallest students. IPads are used sparingly in our particular class, with only a handful of opportunities per month available to each child.  Usually when we use the iPads, we work on letter formation (with Word Wizard), or matching games. Our kiddos enjoy SmartBoard activities in small doses, but waiting for a turn can get ugly after a few rounds of dressing the snowman or guessing the number. The majority of our screen allotment is spent watching exercise videos on GoNoodle…always a good wiggle reducer.                                     If I worked with kinders, I would LOVE to use a green screen in the dramatic play area so that the students could make up or recreate stories and film them…our fourth and fifth graders have been using a green screen for about a year now and have found great success in engaging students in all kinds of ELA and Social Studies activities. For the more advanced students, having a computer station that introduces coding activities would prepare the top kids for many opportunities throughout their school journey

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TECH FOR THE LITTLES	In the Pre-K classroom, using technology is tricky…while the use of SmartBoards, iPads, and computers is encouraged and applauded from Kindergarten up, regulations state that preschoolers can only enjoy 20 minutes of screen time during their time with us each day.  TWENTY MINUTES!!!!! Sometimes it takes that long just to get things set up, but thankfully we have found some creative ways to integrate different digital activities to enhance learning for these smallest students. IPads are used sparingly in our particular class, with only a handful of opportunities per month available to each child.  Usually when we use the iPads, we work on letter formation (with Word Wizard), or matching games. Our kiddos enjoy SmartBoard activities in small doses, but waiting for a turn can get ugly after a few rounds of dressing the snowman or guessing the number. The majority of our screen allotment is spent watching exercise videos on GoNoodle…always a good wiggle reducer.                                     If I worked with kinders, I would LOVE to use a green screen in the dramatic play area so that the students could make up or recreate stories and film them…our fourth and fifth graders have been using a green screen for about a year now and have found great success in engaging students in all kinds of ELA and Social Studies activities. For the more advanced students, having a computer station that introduces coding activities would prepare the top kids for many opportunities throughout their school journey

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--Cecily Zagaroli

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Technology in the classroom with young learners- Khadasha Jones

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Technology in the classroom with young learners- Khadasha Jones

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I wouldn't want to use too much technology in my classroom. A television with casting ability would be nice. It could be used with either a computer, tablet, ipad, or smartphone. I would only use this during energizers. Class Dojo works really well with my niece. I would use the app to keep parents in the loop.

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I feel that a Smart Board is a great product for pre-k and kindergarten students to use. I volunteer at an elementary school, and the music teacher occasionally uses a Smart Board for his lesson plans. He will put multiple images of instruments on the board, he will then pick a student to go up and touch one of the instruments. The Smart Board will then make the sound that the instrument makes and they have a discussion about it. I feel that it is such a fun tool to use! I also feel that cameras are a wonderful tool for children to use. There are some cameras that are made specifically for children, meaning that they can be dropped and will not be damaged easily. Children love taking pictures of activities that other children are doing. The children could then make a scrapbook of memories from their school year.

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We'll use the internet, smart boards, tablets, computers, digital cameras, etc.  The real exciting part is all the programs you can access using technology. Some ideas:
GoNoodle.  It's a great website with music dance videos designed to get kids moving and active.  It would be good to use on rainy days.
There are apps where kids can make little comic strips/cartoons and record their own dialogue.  That would be a great creative project and could be tied to the unit the class is working on.
Facebook.  The Prezi we watched on Facebook in first grade showed many good ways it can be used in a classroom.
Class Dojo is an app that helps teachers manage classrooms in a positive way, helps kids focus on and keep track of their behaviors.
I wouldn't want to use too much technology in classrooms with such young children.  I'll provide opportunities for my students to use technology wisely and deliberately.

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In my Pre-K class we use ipads, smart tv and white boards to reinforce learning alphabets and sounds. We have the children trace letters and shapes with their fingers on computer screen. They love being interactive.

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I think that one of the most  beneficial uses of technology in the pre-k or Kindergarten classroom would be a digital camera.  I think that it would be amazing to allow the children to help take pictures to use in the documentation of their educational growth.  In my classroom we make portfolios for the children that measure their developmental growth. Involving the children in this work would be really fun, and I think that it would begin to teach them to be invested in their own education.  I also think that assess to a CD player is a good use of technology for children.  The children in my room are allowed to use our CD player to choose music that interests them.
Josie Reeves

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Nowadays children are digital natives. They were born into a technological world. I would love to see more technology in Pre-K and Kindergarten students. I think as long we use technology to enhance learning and support classes appropriately technology it will give them a good foundation to build on as they encounter amazing development in technology during their lifetime.

Estela

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I love the idea of having a smart board in a Pre-K class. I think there are so many possibilities with one of these boards. Children can use them in small groups to play games, create artwork, practice multiple skills, etc., and they can also be used individually or with the whole class. Smart boards can be a great way to incorporate social interactions, physical activity, and creativity. I really wish the NC Pre-K classroom I did my student teaching in last year had a smart board, but unfortunately it does not.

Judy DeWitt

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Technology used in my classroom to create work products would include iPads and computers. With these devices students can digitally paint, create artwork, write, construct puzzles and much more. However, we incorporate other technology into different areas. For example we have cameras in dramatic play, a tape player in the listening center, a cd player at the music center, etc. Children really enjoy having so many options to choose from throughout the day!

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For me, I have always been a little skeptical about using too much technology in a preschool or kindergarten classroom. I know that technology can be a great learning tool, but I never want it to take the place of  a teacher. Something you do not usually see is people using technology in unison, or working at the same thing. I think that this is a great thing because we can tend to close ourselves off and become unsocial when we become focused on a computer, laptop, iPad, or phone. At a preschool I visited, there was a computer that the children could use, but two children used it at a time. This allowed them time to learn about a computer and how to use it, but they were also learning communication skills, sharing skills, and social skills. I was impressed how the children worked together, as well as how well they were able to use the computer!

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In my classroom we are not allowed to use technology because I work with young children 2's and 3's. In the preschool room at my center I would expect the children to use cameras , i pads, and the white board. The children get a few minutes a day to color on the white board. The teachers in the pre-k room also let the children watch videos on the white board occasionally.  I think all of these devices can be great learning tools for young children.

Ashley Van Hoy

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One thing that some of the teachers at my center use is ipads.  They like to use them to read to the children.  We have a small library in our center but with ipads they can find any book on any subject that they are learning about.  Even if it is spur of the moment.  We also let the children use cameras in the older classrooms to take pictures of their friends and art.  We are currently working on getting a smart board in our multipurpose room so the classrooms can use it. Natalie Tate

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Computers in the classroom( Internet access) 

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Computers in the classroom( Internet access) 

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I work at a daycare and I help out at my daughters school. In both areas I see the use of the internet in the classrooms. I find that the children want to learn more when they are learning on something that makes them feel comfortable. Children use computers at home and when the teacher shows them something( learning about letters), they want to learn and find it fun. It makes them feel good about themselves in the fact that they understand and do not feel pressured into learning through books or other ways. After seeing the ways this can help children I would use it in my classroom to help the children learn. I would let them learn about animals for a project or learn about math on the computer. I would make sure the websites they are looking at follow the school guidelines and have the information they need. I would have them work as a good and have each person do a certain part within the project, this helps them learn to work together and learn about the topic at head. I would help the children do a video to show parents what they are learning in the classroom, lets say on parents night. I might have the kids dress up in the custom of the person they want to be when they grow up and have the children help me with they pictures and music for the video, I would have them chose the order of who goes first and so on by drawling a number from a hat. I think the internet is a fantastic way to help children learn if the person is using the internet in the correct way, everyone can learn from it.

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I volunteer in my daughter's preschool class and they use cameras often. The teacher leaves two on a table and the children can pick them up and use them at will. I usually see them being used outside to show off new climbing skills or in the block center to document structures before clean up time. The children love it and I think it a great idea. In my home daycare we use a tablet regularly. When a child get frustrated or needs some alone time they will take it and read stories with it. We also use it to answer questions throughout the day. I have noticed it helps some of my kids talk in complete sentences because they get practice asking google questions. That was a side effect I did not even think about when I first introduced it.

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I love this idea of having a digital camera in the classroom for children to use to help document their work. Some may choose to take a picture of a building they have made in the block center, some may choose to take a picture of the art sculpture they have created in the art center, and others may choose to take a picture of a character they have dressed up as in the dramatic play center, or of their friends dressed up after they have finished putting on a play. You can put the pictures up on a bulletin board in the classroom for everyone to see, or they can choose to keep them in a folder in their cubbie. Depending on the age whether they will need your assistance or not, but overall, I think it would be a  great tool to have available in the classroom.

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I have set up a closed FB group for my preschool, and added all the parents of children who attend after-school, since that's my position (there are also groups for each class's morning work). It's a place for myself and other afternoon teachers to post pics and videos of memorable moments. The kids are all fully aware of this, and have taken to asking me to take pictures of cool stuff they've built, drawn, etc. I often turn the camera (aka phone), over to them, which they love. It's their work, they should have the right to document it themselves! They also use my phone for inquiries, asking google things like "how big are buffaloes?" and "what's a woodchuck?" Google and voice activated technology aren't disappearing any time soon, so I think this is a good skill for my kids to practice. Plus, self-directed learning is so important!

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