As I am currently taking an Instructional Technology course, I have been reflecting on my views of using technology in the preschool classrooms. Preschool years are the fundamental time for building social interaction and play skills that will be the foundation for learning in elementary grades.  

        I do not see technology used often in the preschool settings I visit.  Many times the technology used seems to decrease engagement of students.  When teachers put music or storybook readings videos on the smartboard students seem engaged at first, but the novelty wears off.  When teachers sing, dance, and read books with their students, the students are more interactive and engaged with the teacher then with the screens.

        As I have been reflecting and researching, many of the Early Childhood professional organizations support the use of technology in the preschool setting.  National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) and The Fred Rogers center for Early Learning and Children’s Media support the use of technology as preparing even young students for 21st century employment. 

        As young children explore, create and are curious about the world around them, technology provides them another platform to demonstrate their creativity and learning (https://www.naeyc.org).  Linked is a joint position statement issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children's Media at Saint Vincent College: Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs from Birth Through Age 8.

Preschool teachers and staff - What are your thoughts of using technology in the preschool classrooms?  What technology do you use in your classrooms?

I support four school districts with 15 preschool programs and I do not have a set office location, so my communication with district staff has to be accessible in a variety of settings.  I provide my cell phone number to all the programs I support for them to contact me via phone call or text message.  They also have access to my email address and my email is accessible on my laptop, phone, and IPad.  Co-workers have access to my electronic calendar and when I schedule meetings with districts and/or parents I use my electronic calendar to send them invites including ZOOM meeting links if necessary.  Each week I also share a google doc with my districts regarding my schedule for the week.  This is an effective way to let district staff know what day(s) I plan to be in their district.

Preschool teachers and staff - What have you found to be an effective tool to communicate with families?

1. What are the areas of concern for the student?

2. What Iowa Early Learning Standards are they discrepant from peers or expectations?

3. What is the priority skill that the student needs to learn?

4. How are you going to teach the student the skill?

5. How will you know if they are making progress?

These guiding questions for setting up an intervention seem to align with Student Learning Objectives – what is the intended or planned outcome of the lesson or in this case the intervention (Maloy et al., 2019).  The first three questions could also be the process for Understanding by Design as they identify a desired result, question five would be stage 2 of UbD, acceptable evidence or assessment and questions four would be final or stage 3 of UbD, planning instructions and methods (Maloy et al., 2019).

Sample Intervention Planning for a student

1.Concerns: Behaviors – running away from teachers, eloping from the classroom, hitting the teacher, scratching teachers,and collapsing his body to the floor.

2. Iowa Early Learning Standards: Area 1: Social and Emotional Development -Self-Regulation Standard 1.2.PS: Children show increasing ability to regulate their behavior and express their emotions in appropriate ways.

3. The student needs to learn to gain adult attention in appropriate ways and manage emotions.

4. The student will be taught how to tap on the teacher’s shoulder and say Ms. S in order to gain teacher attention.  During the initial teaching phase, the teacher will attend to the student every time he appropriately uses the strategy to gain her attention. He will also be able to color a “super learner” star each time increment that is completed with appropriate classroom behaviors (timer is set for 15mins, if no behaviors list above, then he is able to color a star).  For every 2 stars he colors he is able to go show the building principal to show that he is a “super learning” (positive adult attention).

5. Teacher will use a daily schedule scatterplot and tally the number of behavior incidents per day, and will know that the student  is making progress with appropriate classroom behaviors when the number of behaviors per day decreases

 

Many of the preschool programs use Teaching Strategies GOLD for  child assessment of development and learning objectives. Teaching strategies teacher website offers a lesson planning section.  Teachers can use the observational data that they have collected for the students and class and develop weekly lesson plans based on the class and student needs.

Preschool Teachers and staff - Do you use the teaching strategies GOLD lesson template?  What other lesson planning tools do you use?

Mrs. Jump’s Class: 18 Virtual Field Trip Ideas for Early Learners 18 virtual field trip ideas for kindergarten and first-grade students. This collection of ideas consists of videos and interactive virtual tours.

WideOpenSchool: Virtual Field Trips

Visit real animals, go to a fire station, and explore faraway places when you take these virtual field trips. Grouped by grades preschool through 12th grade.

 

Preschool Teachers and staff: Have you used virtual field trips in your class?  What virtual field trips do you use?

Starfall Educational website was originally designed to support and teach early reading skills.  The games have expanded to include language arts and mathematics.  The games are grouped into two age categories; Pk-Kindergarten and 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade.  Students with various learning abilities can use Starfall at their own pace.  There are videos that introduce letters and letter sounds and progress up to early independent reading skills.  Teachers can also project onto a smartboard for large group instruction.  Common Sense Education reviewed Starfish in April 2019.  Common Sense Education gave Starfall an overall rating three of five stars; three stars for engagement, four stars for pedagogy, and three stars for support.  Parent and consumer ratings are high earning several five stars.

HOMER learn and grow is an educational app program that can be accessible from multiple devices.  It is a self-guided app that progresses from phonics experiences to pre and early reading skills.  In app lessons are scaffolded based on student responses.  HOMER develops memory, matching, and sequencing skills.  Common Sense Education reviewed October 2020, receiving an overall rating of four of five stars.  Five stars for engagement, four stars for pedagogy, and four stars for support.  Parent reviews of the app on google play are very low, one star.  Parents are disappointed that they cannot adjust for student skill levels, in app errors, and in app charges.

Evaluating games for learning (Maloy et al., 2017 p. 178) 

 

Common sense education. (2018). Common Sense Education | Digital Citizenship Curriculum & EdTech Reviews. https://www.commonsense.org/education/

HOMER Learn & grow: The learning & education app kids love. (n.d.). HOMER. Retrieved March 18, 2021, from https://learnwithhomer.com/learn-and-grow

Preschool Teachers and staff: What educational software do you use in your classroom?  How did you evaluate and determine what to use or not to use?

Preschool Teachers and staff: Who or what professional social media network sites do you follow and why?

Preschool Teachers and staff:  How do the students in your class use multimedia to demonstrate learning?

AT Learning Boards : General Knowledge

AT Learning Boards: Writing

AT Learning Boards: Math

Preschool Teachers and staff: What technology do you use to differentiate instruction and meet the diverse learning needs of students?

Link to my current Development Plan: https://docs.google.com/document/d/1EB8meH5E4Ybc4ArsTYsLv3TSIRHaHUF-NivLk8IxioI/edit