Early Connections: Technology in ECE

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Technology in the Curriculum In preschool children and teachers are working on readiness skills and early literacy experiences. Technology can help to support these lessons when used in planned and guided manner. Language Development and Emerging Literacy Literacy skills increase from the conversations that take place between children and supportive adults, and between children and their peers as they work. Computers offer another resource for helping children develop language; technology can provide and extend language opportunities. Linking Words to Pictures: Children can make a connection between an object on the screen and its written label in the same way that picture books are used. Newer computers and software may also provide spoken text options, where words or phrases are spoken aloud.. Creating a Story: Children can create their own stories with the help of an adult, using one of the software programs available. After drawing a picture (on paper or on the screen) the child can dictate a story to an adult or older child to type into the computer. Alternately, the child can tell the story into a tape recorder and play it back for others to enjoy. Emerging Math Skills Children work on mathematics in a variety of informal ways with manipulatives such as blocks and linking objects. Software can also be used to practice these skills if desired. Patterning: Seeing how objects and numbers relate builds a concrete understanding of math. Patterning or drawing software can provide children with practice in seeing relationships and predicting what comes next in a series. Many of these programs can be used in conjunction with building blocks, patterns in music, or other curricular activities. Classification: Learning to identify and sort objects by their attributes is basic to both science and math. Classification software encourages children to group objects by attributes such as size, color, and shape, as well as to create groupings of their own objects. Seriation: During the preschool years, children learn to order an array of objects by size. Objects can be manipulated on the screen in much the same way that physical objects can be ordered in the classroom. Numerical Relationships: Software programs can help children work with the concepts of “more than,” “less than,” and “the same as” and learn this necessary skill for understanding mathematics.