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Early Childhood (Pre-K and K)

Page history last edited by Megan Farver 11 years, 4 months ago

Types of Differentiation Using Technology for Early Childhood Students

 

"Computer use with young children in early childhood has been shown to have major, positive impact on social, emotional, language, and cognitive development" (Shade, 1996a).

 

Video in Early Childhood Education

  

  • Early Childhood Educational Videos
    • "We can keep students mentally and physically active in today's technology-saturated world by combining video with active learning experiences" (Lamb and Johnson, 2012). 
    • "Screen media sources like video may be viable sources for word learning, and perhaps more relevant...that learning a word from a video may not be all that different from learning a word from a speaker" (Allen and Scofield, 2010).  
    • Students at this age react best to graphics, animated pictures, and bright colors. 
    • One site for excellent learning videos (math and reading):

 

Websites for Early Learners

 

Students will need experience with websites not only because it helps them to learn, but also because "the use of computers is growing, such that almost all preschools have computers" (Mohammad and Mohammad, 2012).

  

  • Great Learning Websites for Kids
    •  Learning Games for Kids: Games for every subjec; Instructional videos in reading and math
    • Barnaby Bear: early childhood games and stories
    • Nick Jr: learning games that revolve around little ones’ favorite shows
    • Bobinogs: games, creativity, and learning resources for preschoolers and kindergarteners
    • Childtopia: educational games, listen and read comprehension, drawing activities, and stories read to children
    • I Can: online activities to help students learn to listen
    • Seussville: games and activities that revolve around Dr. Seuss books (especially great for rhyming skills)
    • Kindersay: sight Word videos for ESL students to help them learn English
    • Mother Goose Caboose: rhymes, poetry and games
    • Kideos: videos made especially for early childhood students
    • The Kids Page, Jigsaw Puzzles: jigsaw puzzles for students to build problem solving skills
    • Fisher Price Online Kids Games: especially for preschoolers and kindergarteners
    • TIPS: technology Projects for early childhood 

 

Resources for Teachers to Create Differentiated Materials

 

Both of these are online resources for teachers. Since best practices say that students in early childhood classrooms should be involved in hands-on learning, this site provides printable materials for teachers to create hands-on materials for students.

 

 

Other Online Resources and Devices 

 

  • Symbaloo
    • Teachers create a website board for students, and each website is differentiated for that student’s needs on that day
    • For early childhood students, the student’s picture could be placed on the Symbaloo tile instead of the stock image so that the tile is easily recognizable to the student
    • Kinderchat Symbaloo boards are built for early childhood students and include e-books that can be read to students and many reading activities
      • Symbaloo Kinderchat Boards
  • Leap Pad
    • User-friendly for little students
    • Teacher can differentiate using different games for each student

 

The Importance of Reading with Early Childhood Students

 

Perhaps the most fundamental aspect of early childhood education is teaching students to read. "Researchers know early intervention is of the utmost importance for children to learn to read and to avoid problems with literacy as children develop" (Irwin et al, 2012).

   

Below are websites that teachers can use to differentiate online reading instruction with early childhood students.

 

  

Tag Reading System- A Differentiated Reading System

  For students in the early childhood grades

  

 

  • "Converging evidence suggests the skills that best prepare children for later reading success include alphabet knowledge, concepts about print, phonological awareness, and expressive vocabulary" (Irwin et al, 2012). The Tag Reading System develops all of these concepts in your readers. 
  • Children use special pens and special books that interact with each other. 
  • The pens will either help the student sound out the word or say the whole word. 
  • This aids students in learning to read as it develops phonemic awareness and blending skills.
 
References
 

Allen, R., & Scofield, J. (2010). Word learning from videos: More evidence from 2-year-olds. Infant & Child Development, 19(6), 649-661. doi:10.1002/icd.712

 

Irwin, J. R., Moore, D. L., Tornatore, L. A., & Fowler, A. E. (2012). Expanding on Early Literacy. Children & Libraries: The Journal Of The Association For Library Service To Children, 10(2), 20-28.

 

Lamb, A., & Johnson, L. (2012). Jiminy Cricket revisited: A dozen ways video can activate learning. Teacher Librarian, 39(6), 55-59.

 

Mohammad, M., & Mohammad, H. (2012). Computer integration into the early childhood curriculum. Education, 133(1), 97-116.

 

Saltzman, M. 2010gameguy (Poster). 2009, September 10. Leapfrog’s Tag learning system [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=25I89UY7kSk

 

Shade , D. (1996a). Are you ready to teach young children in the 21st century?  Early Childhood Education Journal 24(1), 43-44.

 

 

 

 

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