Apps and Software in Early Childhood Classrooms: A Continuum of Teaching Tools, Kate Highfield

This session is sponsored by The TEC Center at Erikson Institute.

Increasingly young children have access to a broad range of engaging technologies including educational software, web based resources, interactive multimedia and Apps. While many of these resources have the opportunity to positively enhance learning and play, teachers also need to consider the pedagogic approaches afforded by these tools. Further, we need to reflect on the design of technology tools and on how this changes children’s engagement and learning.

This session will:

• Explore some of the amazing technology resources available for teaching and learning with young children.

• Discuss how the design of interactive multimedia, educational software and Apps alter, enhance or enable teaching and learning with young children

• Investigate some of the pedagogical and philosophical decisions that educators make about the use of technology in learning and play.

The TEC Center at Erikson Institute

The TEC Center at Erikson Institute empowers early childhood educators to effectively, appropriately, and intentionally use technology with young children. The Center develops and aggregates a variety of resources for emerging technologies and new media for educators and children in an online community where promising practices are demonstrated, shared, and discussed. This innovative approach to professional development uses technology tools and proven distance education methods to translate research into effective practice and enhance the technology skills and digital literacy of early childhood educators.