Technology Integration: Who are we to say that we don’t need it?

            In this technological world, it is easy to say that we especially your child cannot veer away from technology. We all eat, drink, watch, and live with technology. Technology is very dynamic; it changes at a snap of a finger which prove show people are creative in creating new advancements in technology.

Because of the rapid increase in technology use, it has crept its way inside your children’s classrooms. It has become such a permanent fixture in their everyday lives that we often don't think about how we use it, how your children use it or how these technologies are being used in your children’s learning. However, you, as a parent should take advantage of information about your child’s experiences inside the classroom. With that, we can provide support for those experiences they have in school at the comfort of their homes. As a parent, you are encouraged to become involved in your child’s learning. Therefore, knowing how technology is used inside your children’s classroom can be beneficial in understanding how you can help your child learn better.

Seamless integration of technology in the classroom is when students are not only using technology daily, but have access to a variety of tools that matches the tasks given to them and provide them the opportunity to build a deeper understanding of content. In order to know if technology is well integrated in your children’s classroom, here are some key points about technology integration published by HighScope which you can find in their website:

1. Incorporating technology in your child’s classroom experience is a choice, not a necessity. While familiarity with technology is important in today’s world, and access to technology is an equity issue, early learning primarily occurs through interactions with other materials, people, events, and ideas
2. Technology should be used in moderation to supplement and NOT to replace hands-on learning with real materials that provide a full range of physical, sensory, intellectual, and social experiences. These experiences still make up for most learning your child gets so there should be a greater amount of activities which require their direct participation rather than through screen media.
3. Technology should be interactive and open-ended. It should encourage children to discover their own understanding of concepts and not emphasize drill and practice.Software should encourage creativity, problem solving, and reflection. It should foster their ability to make decisions and learn from the mistakes they make.
4. Technology should serve as a catalyst for social interaction. It should allow children to use equipment and programs together,share observations and discoveries, and assist one another. Screen media should allow your child to to interact with other people including yourself.

Once we are able to establish these things, it will be easier to decide whether your child is able to use technology in the right way for optimal learning and for you as a parent to develop steps on how to reinforce those strategies inside your home.

Written by: 

References:

Using technology appropriately in the preschool classroom. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.highscope.org/file/NewsandInformation/Extensions/ExtVol28No1_low.pdf