“My students cannot use these digital programs.”
“I don’t have time to use technology with my kids.”
“It’s hard to get everyone to log in.”
“Our students already have so much screen time each day.”
In my role as an elementary school technology specialist, or technology coach, I support teachers of students in kindergarten through second grade, and I hear comments like this all the time. That makes sense. The early childhood teachers I work with have unique challenges and concerns when it comes to incorporating technology into instruction for our youngest learners, and no one understands that better than me.
I faced similar struggles six years ago when I became a school-based technical coach. Most of my previous teaching experience has been with older grades, so I was familiar with and found it easier to use technology with older students. From previous experience in the classroom, they already knew how to log in and navigate programs, and many had developed technology fluency that they could apply to new tools. It allowed me to set expectations, model my lessons, and hit the ground running.
Unfortunately, that was not the case for my smallest learner.
Working in an early childhood classroom often felt like a game of whack-a-mole. I run from student to student, working on the keyboard, reading instructions, entering usernames and passwords, and troubleshooting device issues, helping students resolve all their issues. I noticed that there was. I was annoyed. There was so much I wanted to accomplish, but I never got to the part I was most excited about: using technology to amplify learning.
Listening to the unique concerns of early childhood teachers
Most of the early childhood teachers I work with are nervous about incorporating technology into their instruction. I have spent many years working on active listening to understand why. The results showed that the youngest teachers had unique challenges and concerns about using technology with their learners.
For example, some early childhood teachers worry that children are already using devices too much. This is because our district requires all students to use adaptive curriculum programs in math and reading for a certain amount of time each week. Others expressed lack of confidence in their ability to troubleshoot and support students when using technology in the classroom.
The early childhood educators I work with also talk about their struggles with the pandemic, which has made accepting change more difficult.Some young children miss important school time during early childhood, and many have missed academic, social, and emotional experiences. delay. Many educators say they (and their students) were handed devices without much guidance during the coronavirus shutdown.
In addition to these obstacles, many states including meis currently driving a new curriculum initiative that will mean big changes for early childhood teachers, making learning something new or adding something else to the mix feel overwhelming. became.
The bottom line is that these educators already have a lot of work to do. Trying something new can seem like a mountain too big to climb.
For all of these reasons, the early childhood educators I work with often enter our conversations with some apprehension. During these challenging times, it may seem easier to rely on familiar teaching methods rather than deploying tools that may not work smoothly the first few times. Many encourage learners to take a more active role and use tools that help children absorb information, such as turning on simple instructional videos rather than empowering tools. I rely on that.
When I say I’m experimenting with something, they often respond with some questions. What happens if a student visits a website they shouldn’t? What if you can’t help troubleshoot students using new tools? What about parent concerns about screen time? It’s easy to get carried away, but I try to help them understand that sometimes they need to take risks to better meet the needs of their students.
You can meet your teacher anywhere
I realized that to meet the needs of the early childhood teachers I work with, I needed to find a way to address their concerns and make trying something new less daunting. . Here are her four lessons I learned about supporting early childhood educators with technology:
1. It’s important that teachers understand that not all screen time is created equal. It’s important to distinguish between creation time and consumption time when students spend on their devices. When we think about screen time for our youngest learners, we often think of children consuming content exclusively, but there are auditory and visual content designed to help our youngest children explore, learn, and create. There are many tools with support.
Meanwhile, the American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) provides evidence-based information. guidelines When it comes to media use, we don’t set screen time limits for all children. Instead, the AAP recommends “considering the quality of interaction with digital media, not just quantity or time.” How you use these screens is important and should be considered when planning for your youngest learners.
2. Explain how our work supports what they are already teaching. One way to do this is to use icons that support the basic literacy skills that teachers are working on. Icons are all around us. In fact, our students typically Ability to recognize and understand icons Preschool age, and often before they can read.
When using technology, icons are like the edtech alphabet. Before students can read, they need to learn letters and sounds. Similarly, students need to learn about the icons they encounter before using technology. Educators often start by jumping on a tool with good intentions. However, these icons provide a roadmap for students as they learn using technology, so they should provide students with a basic understanding of the “letters” of the educational technology alphabet. One of the ways I intentionally teach icons is by playing icon bingo to reinforce these concepts. Using these icons in a game format is a great way to help students make connections between the icons.
3. Model how technology can foster independence. When I coach early childhood educators, I work with our youngest learners to plan lessons that use technology and use developmentally appropriate tools that reinforce the work learners are already doing across content areas. In addition to using , allow students to interact with learners. Content in new ways. And when we co-teach, I model strategies that promote student agency so that I can scaffold assignments to make them more accessible to all students. By doing so, you can go beyond tasks like logging in and troubleshooting to help kids create artifacts that make meaningful connections to what they’re learning.
Since all students, even the youngest, are accustomed to watching videos, I often guide teachers to utilize videos to foster independence. There are many tools that allow teachers to easily embed developmentally appropriate videos into their lessons and activities. Including task instructions in the video allows students to review the instructions at their own pace without having to wait for the teacher to repeat or answer questions. This strategy sends the message to learners that they can find answers by checking resources and that the teacher is not the only source of support. Plus, when I embed videos, my students sometimes think I’m her YouTube star.
4. How can I progressively incorporate appropriate tactics that they are good at? Our early childhood educators have a toolbox full of great strategies at their disposal to help young learners acquire the skills they need. For example, these educators understand the power of the mind-body connection. I help them apply that knowledge and use mind-body activity to remember important information like icons, usernames, and passwords. Helping students connect their minds and bodies to learning helps students retain knowledge. I show students and their teachers movements designed to help them remember icons better. Every time you say the name of an icon, you also perform the movement associated with it. Do this with your username and password as well. If a student’s username is her 7 digits, we hold up her 7 fingers. This small gesture goes a long way in ensuring student understanding.
Our youngest learners need customized experiences to become digital learners. Therefore, early childhood and early elementary educators need a clear approach to technology coaching. Through my experience working with early childhood educators, I’ve learned that there are many ways to encourage even the youngest students to be creative with digital tools. But it starts with giving teachers the confidence, skills and tools they need to understand that technology can enhance early learning.