Using Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom. 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? Dr. I see technology doing the same things today. 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 problem with this is that many of the modern technologies are very passive. Sitting young children in front of a television for hours also prevents that child from having hours of other developmental experiences. On the other hand there are many positive qualities to modern technologies. Dr. Back to top Dr. Children need real-life experiences with real people to truly benefit from available technologies. I think that balance and timing are the keys to healthy development.
Smart Phones and Tablets in the Classroom. At a school district outside Chicago, students participated in a French class by using cellphones to call classmates and speak with them in French. And when school starts this fall at Mason High School near Cincinnati, students like Mrudu Datla will pack iPads and iPhones in their backpacks. "(Using technology in everyday life is) not that new to us because we grew up with technology," Datla, a sophomore, said.
Although schools have traditionally banned or limited cellphones in the classroom, 73% of Advanced Placement and National Writing Project teachers said their students use phones in the classroom or to complete assignments, according to a Pew Research Center study released in February. "Teachers are starting to take advantage of the opportunities of cellphones in the classroom," said George Fornero, superintendent of Township High School District 113, located outside Chicago, whose school system has begun allowing its students use cellphones. Contributing: Michael D. Preschool Technology in the Classrooms. Why Integrate Technology into the Curriculum? VIDEO: An Introduction to Technology Integration Running Time: 5 min. Technology is ubiquitous, touching almost every part of our lives, our communities, our homes. Yet most schools lag far behind when it comes to integrating technology into classroom learning. Many are just beginning to explore the true potential tech offers for teaching and learning.
Integrating technology into classroom instruction means more than teaching basic computer skills and software programs in a separate computer class. Many people believe that technology-enabled project learning is the ne plus ultra of classroom instruction. The myriad resources of the online world also provide each classroom with more interesting, diverse, and current learning materials. New tech tools for visualizing and modeling, especially in the sciences, offer students ways to experiment and observe phenomenon and to view results in graphic ways that aid in understanding.
Technology in the Classroom. Intelligence has always been coveted and sought after. It's clear that a high quality education is a common value we share in the United States and around the world. This is seen in households and in law. For example, President Obama recently put forth a proposal for universal preschool. Access to a good education is just as important for grade school kids as it is for the students seeking a college degree, and it would be hard to find someone who doesn't agree that everyone has a right to get that education.
But while we have such reverence for education, schools struggle. Test scores drop, teachers are laid off, programs are cut, and the quality of education varies greatly from school to school. So what can be done to save schools that are falling behind the public's standards -- or dreams -- of quality learning? Personalizing Education One of the major benefits of introducing technology into the classroom is the effect it has on the students.