Tech for Teachers

Young Children and Technology: A World of Discovery December 13, 2012

Young Children and Technology: A World of Discovery by Susan W. Haugland and June L. Wright was published in 1997. It addresses the use of technology in early childhood classrooms. In many ways this books is out of date. They mention many computer programs that are no longer available and many of the computer terms are a bit antiquated. However, the concepts and suggestions about using technology with children are still applicable in our classrooms today.

The book contains seven chapters, each addressing a different aspect of using technology with young children. Chapter 1 looks at the question of whether computers should be in early childhood at all. I think one of the positives about this book is that is doesn’t look at just the pros for having computers in the classrooms, but also the cons if computers are used incorrectly or included for technology’s sake alone. Addressing the cons allows teachers and schools to examine why they are including computers and time to address possible concerns from the community. They heavily emphasize the need for teacher training from the very beginning. Even now, schools struggle with giving teachers technology training that is effective, timely, and affordable.

One of the biggest challenges schools and teachers face once they include technology in the classroom is finding age appropriate software to use with students, though this has become difficult in a different way than when this work was published. The issue of scarcity is no longer a problem, now it is an overabundance to choose from that gives teachers and schools their dilemma. Another issue is evaluating the software, which includes many factors and is very time-consuming. Though many districts now have a technology department or committees that do this work, this can cause a mismatch between what works in the classroom and what works for the district. Choices made at the district level do not always match the needs of individual classrooms, yet the teachers often do not have the time or funds to search out programs for themselves. Haugland and Wright provide outlines for two different software evaluation scales in Chapters 2 and 3, these scales would work well as written in the book but I’m sure they have been updated since publication.

The authors also address various ways of setting up computers in the classroom, and which are considered most effective. One-to-one computing is not mentioned due to the age of the text, but they offer several ideas are making the best of a small number of computers. They also discuss how the placement of the computers will determine how students use it and whether it encourages cooperation between students or isolation from peers.

Another issue discussed is anti-bias curriculum and how computers can help teachers implement anti-bias education. The authors specifically mention ensuring that characters in software programs come from all age groups, races, and cultures. They also discuss using computers to help students with special needs and facilitating gender equality. Today, technology can take this even further by allowing students to interact with students of other locations and cultures and even work collaboratively with them on assignments.

The last chapter in the book is directed at teachers using technology for their own professional development. As all teachers know, limited school budgets often limit training. You also may run into administrators that aren’t as supportive of technology and technology training as you might hope. Haugland and Wright suggest building a technological professional network to support your own use of technology in your classroom as well as using it to improve communication within the school itself.

For the first time ever, this blog will be giving away the subject of my review. If you are an early childhood educator, and would like to win this book please leave a comment stating the grade level you teach and why you want to increase the use of technology in your classroom. I will select a winner randomly from the comments.