Integrating Technology
Effectively in the Early
Childhood Classroom
By, Tara Vogelsberg

Why should I include technology
in my early childhood classroom?
• Technology can be beneficial to all the major domains of child
development.
– Language Development
• Computer play encourages longer, more complex speech and the development
of fluency (Davidson & Wright, 1994).
• Children tend to narrate what they are doing as they draw pictures or move
objects and characters around on the screen (Bredekamp & Rosegrant,
1994).
• Young children interacting at computers engage in high levels of spoken
communication and cooperation, such as turn-taking and peer collaboration.
• "Compared to more traditional activities, such as puzzle assembly or block
building, the computer elicits more social interaction and different types of
interaction" (Clements, Nastasi, & Swaminathan, 1993, p. 60).
– Social and Emotional Development
• When properly used, computers and software can serve as catalysts for
social interaction and conversations related to children's work (Clements &
Nastasi, 1993).
• A classroom set up to encourage interaction and the appropriate use of the
technology will increase, not impair, language and literacy development.

Why should I include technology
in my early childhood classroom?
– Cognitive Development
• Computers allow representation and actions not possible in the physical
world. For example, children can manipulate variables such as gravity or
speed, and discover the resulting effects (Clements, 1999; Seng, 1998).
• Compared to children in a similar classroom without computer experience,
three- and four-year-olds who used computers with supporting activities
had significantly greater gains in verbal and nonverbal skills, problem solving,
abstraction, and conceptual skills (Haugland, 1992).
• Third-grade children who used both manipulatives and computer programs
showed more sophistication in classification and logical thinking than
children who used only manipulatives (Clements & Nastasi, 1993).
• Open-ended software — software that provides opportunities to discover,
make choices, and find out the impact of decisions — encourages
exploration, imagination, and problem solving.
– Physical and Motor Development
• Fine and gross motor skills develop at varying rates, and learning to write
can be tedious and difficult as children struggle to form letters. A word
processor allows them to compose and revise text without being distracted
by the fine motor aspects of letter formation (Davis & Shade, 1994).

Why should I include technology
in my early childhood classroom?
• Including technology as a part of classroom activities can be motivating,
and allows students to learn, communicate, and share their knowledge and
understanding in a wide variety of ways.
• Computers are intrinsically motivating for young children and contribute to
cognitive and social development (National Association for the Education of
Young Children [NAEYC], 1996).
• Computers can enhance children's self-concept and improve their attitudes
about learning (Sivin-Kachala & Bialo, 1994).
• Children demonstrate increased levels of spoken communication and
cooperation during computer use (Clements, 1994; Haugland & Wright,
1997).
• Children share leadership roles on the computer, and initiate interactions
more frequently (Clements, 1994; Haugland & Wright, 1997).
• Technology offers additional ways to learn, and to demonstrate learning.
For some children who have unique learning styles, computers can reveal
hidden strengths. At the computer, children can approach learning from a
variety of perspectives and follow various paths to a goal (Clements, 1999).
• Computers and other forms of technology support literacy and encourage
speaking, reading, writing, and listening, through formal and informal
language opportunities. Technology can:
• Provide children with ways to express themselves
• Offer support for young learners
• Encourage reading and writing

Providing Ways for
Children to Express
Themselves
• Young students can present or represent their
learning in ways that make sense to them, using
tools such as digital cameras, scanners, and
computer software to show information, create
pictures, build graphs, and share ideas.
• Children make up stories as they play, and
frequently tell stories about the pictures they
create. Technology offers a variety of ways for
children to weave together words and pictures to
tell their stories, then display them on the screen
or print them.

Offering support for
young learners
• Writing and revising can be difficult as children struggle with
letter formation and fine motor skills. Word processors let them
focus on the ideas, and more easily compose and revise text. This
encourages children to view writing as a process, and to refine
their work.
• Speech synthesizers read aloud the text on the screen, and allow
children experience with both oral and written language. "Talking
books" use synthesized speech to read aloud a story as the child
listens and follows along with the highlighted words on the screen.
• This same technology reads back a child's own words. Because the
digital voice reads exactly what was written, and not what the
writer meant to say, it provides the immediate, focused feedback
helpful for learning. For example, when reading aloud a series of
words without capitals or ending punctuation, the voice does not
stop at the end of the idea. The importance of punctuation and
capitals soon becomes clear.

Encouraging Reading and
Writing
• Seeing text on the screen encourages students to read
their own and others' writing as they work at the computer.
Research confirms what common sense tells us - the more
time children spend reading the better readers they
become.
• Technology in its many forms increases the options available
for children to explore, create, and communicate and
provides additional ways to interact with and experience
literacy.
• Classroom printers allow children to write for and reach a
larger audience, and e-mail allows children to correspond
with distant pen pals electronically. Both provide motivation
for children to write well because they know that others
will read their work.

Ideas for Integrating
Technology and Literacy
• Use a really great website,
http://www.internet4classrooms.com/kindergarten_links.ht
m to have the children explore the alphabet, reading,
writing, phonics, etc. One that I liked in particular for
kindergarteners was the Word Blender in which the kids get
to pick onsets and rimes and have the blender blend them
together to make new words.

Ideas for Integrating
Technology and Math
• Children can construct tangram puzzles or patterns online.
These can be printed and displayed in portfolios or learning
logs with explanations of how they solved the challenge. As
children organize thoughts to express them clearly, their
metacognition develops more fully.
• Build a graph with objects, such as shoes or candy wrappers,
then transfer the information into a graphing program.
Having both the physical objects and the two-dimensional
graph demonstrates that graphing is a way to show and see
information mathematically.
• Both of the manipulatives plus many more can be found at
the following sites:
– http://nlvm.usu.edu/en/nav/vlibrary.html
– http://standards.nctm.org/document/eexamples/index.htm
– http://www.eduplace.com/kids/mw/manip/mn_k.html
• Remember: Research shows that using
manipulatives and computers JOINTLY promotes
more in-depth thinking and sophistication in
problem solving than using either one alone!

Implementing Technology
Effectively
• Children receive the greatest benefits from technology
when these elements are present:
– The lesson or project is directly connected to the curriculum
– The technology allows for active learning, with students making
decisions
– The software is interactive or discovery based
– The lesson or project is open-ended, allowing learners to
proceed at their own pace
– Technology is applied to real problems with a real-life
connection
– The setting is designed to allow children to interact while
working at the computer …place two seats in front of the
computer to encourage children to work together, place
computers close to each other to facilitate sharing ideas, and
locate computers in a central spot so it is inviting to other
children to participate in the activity
– Screen time (including TV, computer, video games, etc.) should
be limited to a maximum of one to two hours per day. Vigorous
physical activities and play should be encouraged.

Implementing Technology
Effectively
• Select software that:
– Is open-ended and allows for active learning with students making
decisions.
– Involves many senses and contains sound, music, or voice.
– Is controlled by the children, and allows them to explore without fear
of making mistakes.
– Responds to children's exploration in ways that encourage further
investigation.
– Reflects and builds on what children already know.
– Applies to real problems with real-life connections.
– Elicits excitement and so encourages language.
• The age of the child and their developmental stage must be taken
into account when considering computer use. Two important
questions need to be asked when introducing young children to
anything new, including technology:
• Is it developmentally appropriate?
• Will the activity benefit the child?