Carroll County Times Articles
How Young Is Too Young
for Technology Education?
by Karen Delahanty – November 5, 2006
There are many factors that affect a student's ability to succeed academically, laying the foundation for future success. In addition to the familiar socio-economic, gender, race, and physical factors that obviously impact our children, we now have the "digital divide" adding its consequences.
Knowledge & Ability
When you hear the word 'technology' what comes to mind? Is technology strictly computers to you? Do you conjure up thoughts of that brand new big screen high definition TV you've been dreaming of, or perhaps your child's new Play Station©? Have you ever considered the engineers and scientists that created all the tiny mirrors that make the technology on your big screen HD TV possible? What about the creative designers that make the graphics on your child's videogame seem so lifelike? Do you consider their talents and skills in the realm of technology? How do you think they got their start?
Education
So how young is too young to start molding our next engineers, scientists, videogame designers, architects and even mechanics? Let's face it; regardless of the occupations our children choose, technology will be a big part of their future! That's why adults need to embrace and foster technology education in our children starting at a young age. “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,” said Susan Haugland from the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory. Haugland is referring only to the use of computers. Imagine the developmental possibilities of introducing your preschooler to robotics or digital microscopes! Plug a digital microscope into a computer and your child could count the veins in a leaf or the lines in their own fingerprint…exploring the differences in nature and between people!
The use of technology by young children increases not only academic skills, but also enhances social and creative skills as well. Muhlstein & Croft, in association with the National Association for the Education of Young Children ( NAEYC ), cites that “Computer-facilitated increases in social interaction help generate increased use of language. Preschoolers' language activity, measured as words spoken per minute, is almost twice as high at the computer as at any other activity, including play dough, blocks, art, or games. In the creative arts and in language, computers are a new medium of expression.”
I am not suggesting that technology and computers should in any way replace the current academic foundation. On the contrary, technology reinforces our educational fundamentals such as science, math, reading and art. As Lynn Schrum, an associate professor at the University of Georgia, so eloquently stated, “Technology is a tool that can change the nature of learning...In a technology-rich classroom, students don't 'learn' technology. Technology merely provides the tools to be used for authentic learning. It is a means, not an end.”
Maryland Plan for Technology in Education
In March 2002, the Maryland State Board of Education accepted the Maryland Plan for Technology in Education, a blueprint for effective utilization of technologies in schools statewide. According to the Maryland Board of Education's website, the vision for the plan is, “To improve student learning in core content areas and in the technology knowledge and skills critical to our students' ability to contribute in today's information technology society”.
The following is an excerpt from the plan, specifically as it relates to “early learning” or pre-kindergarten students:
Every pre-kindergarten to third grade student should have daily access in classroom and lab settings to state-of-the-art technology, including software, hardware, multimedia and communication tools. Young learners will be able to use technology to develop necessary social, cognitive and physical skills and construct meaning through the exploration and application of a variety of interactive materials. Through telecommunications, including e-mail and Internet, student learning extends to the world beyond the classroom.
Students will demonstrate abilities:
- In the basic operation and concepts
for effectively using technology.- To use technology tools such as word processing, database, spreadsheet, content specific software, telecommunications and multimedia.
- To search for information
and communicate long-distance.- To read, write, edit text, solve math problems, apply scientific methods, learn about their environment and other cultures, and pursue the fine arts.
- To obtain and use information from a variety of teacher-guided and rapidly changing sources
( e.g., e-mail, web site ).- To work cooperatively with peers
when using technology.- To take care of technology
and use it in a responsible way.
Instructional Examples
In an elementary classroom a teacher demonstrates and models a group writing activityusing a computer and a projection device. Then working individually or in a shared writing experience young learners write about an assigned topic. They compose at the keyboard for easy revision and editing as they work. Graphics and digital images are easily incorporated into the writing piece for support. Students use the text to speech feature in word processing programs to hear what they have written. Peer editing further enhances the students writing skills in a cooperative learning environment.
An early childhood literacy project uses technology to increase reading and writing achievement. The writing process is introduced as early as kindergarten and studentscan use word processors to draft stories and reports. The use of “Key-Pals,” pen palswho communicate via computer, is an essential part of the writing process. Students communicate with peers in another school, sharing and editing writing. The project involves teachers, library media specialists, reading specialists, and instructional assistants in the development, planning and delivery of technology supported reading and writing. Their web site provides valuable resources for the primary teacher.
More Information
For more information on, or to see the entire plan, visit www.msde.state.md.us/technology.
Additionally, there are National Education Technology Standards ( NETS ), developed by the International Society of Technology in Education ( ISTE ), which reinforce and extend the visions outlined in the state plan to the national and international levels.
More information on NETS can be found at cnets.iste.org.
Are your children getting the technology education they need, and deserve, to be prepared for the future?
About the Author
Karen Delahanty owns ComputerTots / Computer Explorers, an organization devoted to providing the best technology education to children. She is also a member of the Carroll Technology Council, a non-profit organization dedicated to educating businesses, government and residents about technology issues. Questions are welcomed and may be addressed in future articles.
Email advisors@carrolltechcouncil.org or go to www.carrolltechcouncil.org for a list of Advisor categories.
The viewpoints expressed in this column do not necessarily reflect the opinion of the Carroll Technology Council.
