Controversies Over Technology in Early Childhood Classrooms
The role of technology in early childhood education is a controversial topic to both teachers and parents. The main concerns of both teachers and parents is the potential benefits for young children’s learning and development.. Supporters and non-supporters agree on the importance of young children’s social, emotional, cognitive and physical development. Supporters feel children should have the opportunity to use the computer as another tool to aide in and encourage their development. Non-supporters agree the computer may be a useful tool for young children but feel many teachers may not be using the computers in the best way to promote a healthy development in the child. They also contend that introducing the computer takes away from important learning experiences such as play and art (NWREL, 2001). School programs are now working on ways to better integrate computers into the classrooms in order to offer the young children the opportunities to develop the necessary skills to grow as students (Gimbert, 2004). The purpose of this research paper is to examine the controversies that surround technology use in early childhood classrooms.
Introducing Technology into the Classroom
Properly introducing technology into early childhood classrooms is the first and crucial step in producing a new and useful tool for students to use to enhance their learning. Many researchers do not recommend introducing computers to children young than three because they are not developmentally ready ((Haugland, 2000). It is useful to start off introducing a computer to young children in a group setting because it is general information all children need to know. The teacher may begi...
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...about the different ways in which young children experience computers in the classroom setting. It included a study done of kindergarteners from about 22,000 different public and private schools and examined they availability of computers to these children.
Romeo, G. (2003). Touching the screen: issues related to the use of touch screen
technology in early childhood education. British journal of educational technology, 3, 329-339.
In this Journal there was a study performed on early childhood students and their reaction to touch screen computers. The results were more negative rather than positive proving that it was more productive to use the mouse and keyboard for young children.
Shade, D. (1999). Integrating technology into the early childhood classroom: the
case of literacy learning. Information technology in Childhood Education Annual. 1999, 221-254.
... it attracted many visitors. Even Princess’ and Dukes came to visit his prized telescope. While living in Slough, Herschel discovered four moons, two orbiting Saturn and two orbiting Uranus. Herschel’s telescope also showed 75 million stars that weren’t able to be seen before.
According, to the History website composed by A&E, the airplanes were hijacked by 19 militants who were associated with al-Qaeda. These individuals hijacked four planes. Two of the four planes were crashed into the Twin Towers. A third plane was crashed into the Pentagon and the last plane crashed into a field in Pennsylvania. The tragedies of September11, 2001 led to the creation of many acts, security systems and groups of anti-terrorism.
Imegoni thiri wes e pirsun whu lovid thior intori lofi on e sefi babbli whiri nu uni cuald hart hom. Hi lovid thiri fur thi mejuroty uf hos lofi end iviryuni thiri wes tuld huw end whin tu ontirect woth hom. Thos buy wes cumplitily aneweri uf thi foltirs iviryuni hed tu pat un eruand hom, bat uni dey hi fuand uat. Hi hed tu chuusi tu iothir lievi hos sefi babbli fur thi chenci tu hevi netarel cunvirsetouns woth uthirs end lievi thi sefity uf hos wurld ur hi cuald stey thiri end bi sefi bat hevi ivirythong eruand hom cuntrullid. Whin tryong tu meki ondipindinci end sefity cuixost, en ondovodael uftin hes tu hevi muri ondipindincy then seftiy on thior lofi. Thi muvoi, “Thi Tramen Shuw”, os en ixcillint ixempli. In thos muvoi thiri os e men whu os pat on e sotaetoun uf cumpliti sefity end viry lottli ondipindincy.
The morning of August 6, 1945 in Hiroshima, Japan did not begin in any exceptional way; in fact the people had no idea that they were about to be part of one of the most significant mornings in all of history. At 8:15 am, the United States Army Air Forces dropped the first atomic bomb, ironically called, when one considers the enormity of the bomb's significance, the "Little Boy" Three days later the U.S. dropped a second bomb nicknamed the "Fat Man" on the town of Nagasaki, Japan. Historically, the use of the atomic bombs is seen as a decision that the United States made during WWII in order to end the war with Japan. Regardless of the motivation for using the bombs, they left a death toll of 210,000 in Hiroshima and Nagasaki. This essay will focus on the first bombing in Hiroshima. The bombing of Hiroshima, Japan not only changed the physical and emotional health, and culture of the Japanese people, but also changed the world. The inhumane bombing of Hiroshima had severe short and long term effects on Japan due to the reckless and inconsiderate actions of both President Truman and the United States.
...ent of the colonial settlers (McBride). The English wanted to control and own the land that their God has given to them, but it was already owned by Native Americans. There was a huge amount of fighting between the years 1632 to 1638 relating to the war. Barely any English settlers died, but about 400-700 Pequots died because of the war (Bitter). In conclusion, the war ended in a treaty, which erased the Pequot tribe.
In today’s world, children are beginning to learn how to use computers and technology at a very young age. They are shaped through
Technology is a recent development that has been widely used in many fields to enhance productivity and output. For instance, it has been incorporated in the education sector to allow easier access to information. Mostly, technology in education has taken the form of using computers and related accessories like software to enhance the learning capacity, information access, and development of students’ learning capabilities. In essence, extensive use of technology in classrooms has reduced the workload of tutors while enhancing the overall performance of students through employment of various programs aimed at developing the learning of students. Technology is used on all sorts of classroom scenarios including early childhood education. Some technologists and educations specialists, however, cite that use of technology in early childhood may be detrimental. This paper seeks to explore both the positive and negative attributes of use of technology in early childhood education.
Basic computer skills should be a requirement for children to enter preschools because it has been introduced into the home setting by the parents. Today’s technology has become more advanced, the requirements for preschool education should adapt to the changing times to fit into the academic world. Therefore, introducing computer technology should be a remarkable source of entertainment and learning to preschool children. Computers have become intuitive in much of our everyday lives and the dynamic trends of technology have greatly improved our society today. Because of this, many parents believe that the introduction to computer devices early in their children lives, can help them to become more advance in the future. More important, the proficiency in technology has become significant and has changed our lives when a child comes into this world.
Subrahmanyam, K. (2000). The Impact of Home Computer Use on Children’s Activities and Development: The Future of Children and Computer Technology, 10(2), 123-143. Retrieved from http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/Web/People/kraut/RKraut.site.files/articles/subrahmanyam00-Compute%26kids.pdf
There are many negative issues surrounding the use of computers as educational tools. These range from ineffective learning, impacts on children’s health, creativity, brain development and social and emotional growth. Also, besides the issue of computers affecting children’s development, there is the ongoing issue of costs of this new and constantly updating technology. These issues, combined with many others, are beginning to emerge, and we can see why many people are reconsidering the validity of computers in education, especially that of young, primary school-aged children.
Not many people would argue that computer technology is bad for the K-12 classroom. There is, however, a serious and thought-provoking debate going on regarding computer technology in the classroom. At issue is to what extent and at what age should computers be integrated in American classrooms. There is no question that a certain level of technology will bring improvements in academic achievement. In one study on children of low socioeconomic status a definite improvement was seen. It was noted that, “Increasing the technology available to students encourages, facilitates, and supports student achievement – at the elementary level, the most profound effects were found in the area of mathematics” (Page 391). Page also states that, “numerous studies have demonstrated that young children’s self-esteem or self-concept directly affects their academic performance” (Page 391).
After the September 11th attacks many conspiracy theories surfaced. Some involve fake 911 phone calls and others address government secrecy. However, the most compelling theory about the 9/11 attacks suggest that the World Trade Centers were demolished by bombs. Many speculate that the towers were in fact blown down with explosives placed in selected areas. Dozens of first hand survivors of the attack can support this theory. Also, the engineers that designed the towers and scientists combine their knowledge and compare opinions to make a confident conclusion that bombs were in fact planted in the twin towers on September 11th, 2001.
It is no surprise that technology is rapidly taking over the world, and defining the day to day lives we live. As humans we are constantly engaged in some form of technology. However, the role of technology in early childhood classroom is a growing and controversial topic. The bottom line question for most teachers is whether or not computer based technology is developmentally appropriate for early childhood students, and if they benefit from using computers as a primary learning tool. Technology is the branch of knowledge that deals with the creation and use of technical means and their interrelation with life, society, and the environment (Webster Dictionary). Technology has been present in the world for centuries, from cave men to the industrial revolution which brought on a whole new era of technology to the United States. The Department of Education is granting schools with seven million dollars to help fund technology based learning just this year (Luebbe, 2011). Schools are now starting to be judged by the student to computer ratio, to determine the schools ability to provide a “quality” education. It’s no wonder everywhere we look and everything we do is a counterpart to technology.
With computers all around us, it is inevitable that children will be exposed to them, and they will eventually be facilitated into their daily lives. The purpose of this research paper is to explore the advantages, disadvantages, and methods of integrating computers into the early childhood classroom. How Computers Effect Young Children Early childhood experiences should maximize young children’s overall growth and development. Their eyes should be opened to the wonderment of learning and the pleasures of discovery.
Technology in education is a touchy subject in the United States. Many parents believe that technology will only hurt their child in future, while some believe that technology will help their child. Parents have to be open and must allow themselves, to see what is happening before they make their decision.