Tech Inventory with Mrs. Gibby, 1st Grade Teacher

1. What technology is available in your classroom (computers, digital cameras,
VCR players, electronic toys, tape recorders, etc.)?
I have a speaker system in my room. It is for a student who has audio
processing problems. I also have an overhead projector, document camera, CD
player, two desktop computers, VCR/DVD player, digital camera (my own), laptop,
ipod speaker (my own to play music), etc.

2. What technologies do you wish you had in your classroom?
I wish I had a smart board and a projector

3. How do you use technology to get ideas and prepare materials for your
classroom?
I could not live without my laptop and the internet. There are so many ideas on
the internet that are easily asscessible. My laptop is handy when I need to
create documents or type letters. I use them both, constantly.

4. Do you find technology helpful/beneficial, or does trying to incorporate
technology frustrate you, your students, or your lesson plans?
I find it to be extremely helpful. It also comes naturally to me, so it's fun!

Digital Camera Activity

Content - 1st Grade Standard 3 Objective 1c.

Pedagogy - Hands on with growing real, live plants and reinforcement with watching plants grow over time and then viewing the experience again with digital pictures. They can compare the growth of the plants and reflect on their learning.

Technology - Digital Cameras

The XO Laptop computers are very helpful for the Early Childhood students because they are very easy to navigate and the keyboards are small enough for their little fingers to manipulate. These laptops would be great for project work in the ECE classroom when you go out to gather data and research to collect digitally the information they want to know about. This would help them to see that computers are used for obtaining and recording information. Also, these would be indestuctible, even if you run across a shoot truck! :) hee hee!

Notes from Research

Technology in Early Childhood Education: Finding the Balance

• Technology cannot and should not replace human interactions and relationships, but computers and software can serve as a catalyst for social interaction and conversations related to chilren's work
• The classroom must be set up to encourage interaction and then technology will increase, not impair, language and literacy develpopment - place two seats in front of a computer, place computers in close proximity to one another, etc.
• Computer play encourages longer, more complex speech and development of fluency
• Children tend to narrate what they are doing as they draw pictures or move objects around on the screen - thus, language development
  
• Compared to more traditional activities (puzzles and blocks), research shows computers elicit more social interaction and different types of interaction
• A word processor on a computer allows children to compose and revise text without being distracted by the fine motor aspects of letter formation - however, computer use should be relatively brief at this age as to prevent muscular-skeletal injuries and vision problems
• Computers allow representation and actions not possible in the physical world (i.e. they can manipulate gravity and speed and discover resulting effects) - thus enhancing inquiry learning
• Computers can reveal hidden strenghts for children with different learning styles
• 3-5 year olds: computers should be used as a means for exploration and discovery and should be one of many activity children can choose - open-ended use not for creating a product
• 5-8 year olds:
• p. 37 keys to success

5 effective ways for young children to use technology
1. Make and display a graph
- build a physical graph with objects, then a two-dimensional one on a spreadsheet or graphing program on a computer
-use meaningful topics for the kids (clothes colors, transportation to school, etc.)
-helps with transfer from concrete to abstract understanding
2. Explore with digital tools
-investigate the familiar world from new perspectives--close-up photos digital microscopes or cameras
-record scenes and sounds (and other senses or feelings) while exploring for later reference
3. Tell a story in pictures and words
-create stories and pictures with background voices that the kids use their creativity to make--they will love that they can see their creations
4. Write, record, and revisit
-use digital photographs, captions, drawings, voice recordings, etc. to record class activities
-make an electronic slideshow of a class book with individual contributions about the curriculum
5. Share and document learning
-chronicle and document learning progress
-take family portraits at Open House to display and send home

Early Connections

• Can range from short and simple lessons to being an integral part of long-term projects
• Should be used in addition to hands-on learning
• When selecing software it is important to choose material that is DAP: it should encourage exploration, imagination, and problem solving
  Reflect and build on what children already know
  Involve many senses and include sound, music, and voice
  Be open-ended, with the child in control of the pace and the path
  Hardware that can be used in the classroom:
  Tape recorders
  Video cameras
  TV/VCRs
  Fax machines
  Portable keyboards
  Digital microscopes
  Computers
  For choosing technology to be used with younger children, the best choice for a particular situation may be no new technology, or just simple tape recorders and cameras.