As I explore the world of technology with young children, I am faced with a situation somewhat different than educators who are working with older students. Whereas older students have been exposed to, and participated in media forms over the span of many years, younger students are just beginning to develop the understanding of the world around them. They have been exposed to media through observation and participation, however, for most the experience has been more of a consumer than a creator. They have watched adults engage in use of technology to communicate, share ideas, participate in online activities. Yet, much of their experience has been passive as they use iPads or mobile devices to keep them busy while waiting for meals at restaurants or at the doctors office. What once would have been a Highlights Magazine keeping them busy, is now a digital experience. As Daley shares, "Technology is simply enabling these alternative ways of communicating to penetrate our lives more directly and in more powerful ways" (p.40).
I am fortunate to have administrative support in taking risks as I navigate the road of incorporating digital technology into our Kindergarten classroom. My philosophy is based on the idea that our classroom should be a safe place which reflects the surrounding world. It is a place in which children can explore, role play, create, and communicate. To discourage use of technology would be to create a false experience for the children living in today's world.
As an educator, it is my responsibility to ensure that experiences are both developmentally appropriate and safe. According the position statement created by the NAEYC and The Fred Rogers Institute (2012),
Teachers must take the time to evaluate and select technology and media for the classroom, carefully observe children’s use of the materials to identify opportunities and problems, and then make appropriate adaptations. They must be willing to learn about and become familiar with new technologies as they are introduced and be intentional in the choices they make, including ensuring that content is developmentally appropriate and that it communicates anti-bias messages (p.6).
According to this statement, as an educator, not only do I need to evaluate media presented, but I am responsible for keeping up to date on the advancements in technology. This means evaluating and participating in my own learning experiences that support development of my knowledge. When I learn about a new media tool, I always play with it first to make sure it meets the needs of young children, and supports or elevates learning experiences rather than replacing them. I often find that when I introduce a new creation app on the iPad, children quickly figure out ways to use it that I had not considered. This speaks to the importance of keeping up with the surrounding world. If they can learn to problem-solve, communicate respectfully, and express ideas using multimedia formats when they are five, this could limit many of the challenges that we are seeing with older children as they are beginning to navigate technology at a later age.
One great example of this is the use of Kidblog in Kindergarten. My 5 and 6 year olds love to blog! Kidblog is a web-based platform which allows teachers to create class blogs which have different levels of sharing. Posts can be made public, kept private for classmates only, or can be extended to approved invited guests. All posts and comments are approved by the teacher first. At first, it began as a way for us to safely publish and share stories we were creating as part of our writing workshop process. I quickly found that children wanted to use this as their own type of "show and tell" type tool. Children and families began creating posts and comments at home. Checking the blog quickly became part of our daily morning meeting. The children in this group were not only developing literacy skills, they were learning how to participate in a simulated online community. They learned that when responding online, they are communicating with an actual person. They developed connections, empathy, and creativity. Digital citizenship was embedded into daily life in Kindergarten. To learn more about our blogging experience, you can visit last year's archived public posts Mrs. Twomey's Kindergarten Kidblog.
6 year old end of the year reflection on blogging
By introducing multimedia in safe ways, young children can develop the skills and background knowledge needed to participate successfully in the complex and changing world.
Sources:
Daley, E. (2003). Expanding the concept of literacy. EDUCAUSE (March/April), 33-40.
NAEYC-FRC Position Statement. (2012). Retrieved January 26, 2017, from http://www.fredrogerscenter.org/initiatives/digital-media-learning/resources/
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