KidSmart- GUIDE TO EARLY LEARNING AND TECHNOLOGY


PARENTS – INTEGRATING TECNOLOGY

How can I make computers a part of my household routine.

Adult Participation
How do I make sure my child gets adult help on the computer?
Having Conversations
How can I make computer activities part of the conversation at home?
Connecting With School
How can I incorporate computer activities into the rest of our daily routine?
Computer Placement
How can I integrate the computer fully into our household?
Sharing Creations
How can I share my child’s computer work with others?
Sharing Discoveries
How can I help my child share computer discoveries with others?
Taking Turns
What are some strategies for taking turns when using the computer?

Adult Participation

Adult participation is as essential for computer play as for any other aspect of early learning. The computer does not teach; it provides opportunities for learning. Parents still have to observe, monitor, supervise, and guide children's play with the computer as with all other materials.

Carol: I don’t really watch my kids as they play. I figure, they're fine on their own. They seem busy and happy. But since I don’t know much about the computer… I decided to watch to see what it was all about. I started noticing that sometimes my daughter seemed to be just clicking around. Sometimes, she's didn't seem to be paying attention — the computer could have been unplugged for all she knew. So now I give her a hand when she needs it.

Rob: Yeah, it's a good idea to check in, to see if they're stuck or not. When I’m near my son - either next to him where I can see the screen or just in the same room… I can get a feel for how he’s doing. When he's not stuck, when he's really getting something, he loves to show off.

Marta: But sometimes it’s not just what they can show you, which is great, but what you can do together. When I’m playing with my daughter, we can use some of the more advanced features that she can't do alone. Like yesterday, we made a story about going to the moon. I wrote the words… and she made the pictures. Then together we recorded some goofy sound effects to go along with the story.

Follow Up
  • Even if you don’t know a great deal about the computer, your participation in your children’s play is important.
  • Check to see if children understand a game or activity or if they are randomly moving from one area of the software to the next. Don’t assume that the computer is doing the teaching.
  • Offer suggestions for new games and discuss any challenges that children encounter while playing.
  • Be an attentive listener when children want to show you something they’ve learned to do.
  • Sometimes, sit alongside children and play with them, using some of the more advanced features that they are not able to manipulate on their own.

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Having Conversations

Even though children enjoy playing with the computer alone, most children benefit from the kinds of conversations that occur when several children play together or when adults interact with children around their computer play. Conversations about what they are learning in their computer play are an important way for children to share their knowledge and their pleasure with each other and with adults.

Ruben: Lately, I’ve been asking my daughter what she's up to when she's playing on the computer. I started this because I wanted to get her take on what she was doing. It’s remarkable how doing something and talking about something can be so different. One time I thought she was having trouble figuring out a matching game, but it turned out she had this whole story worked out about why certain things would go with others. She said that because the pretzel and the licorice were both tall and skinny they would get married. She had a whole different sense of matching.

Carol: Yeah, that’s kind of like this routine we have: when I pick up my son from school we spend the entire car ride talking about what he did that day. I ask questions and he tells me what went on and what he learned. I know it sounds silly but when he started telling me about using a computer, I didn’t even know what to ask. I don't use the computer much. Kind of like my husband. He used to be turned off by computers. He would see the cartoons on the screen and figure the kids were wasting their time. It was only after he started talking to the kids and asking them questions that he found out that their computer play was worthwhile. Talking to them got him a lot more interested.

Follow Up
  • Talk to children about what they’re doing on the computer, asking them questions about what they like and what they know about a game they are playing.
  • Invite children to talk with one another and other adults about their computer activities, giving them a chance to share their knowledge and accomplishments.
  • Encourage children to involve others in their computer play. This may lead them to discuss their game strategies in a way that playing alone does not permit.
  • Find time away from the computer to talk to children about software and games they like to play. They may recall something more complex than what appeared on the screen, letting you in on their imagination and their way of thinking about what they saw and did.

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Connecting With School

Children need opportunities to encounter the same concepts and practice the same skills in many different settings. Skills learned in computer play at school can be extended and deepened through other activities at home.

Rob: My son’s teacher is doing a unit on ponds. I first heard about it at Back-to-School Night. For the last two weeks, the kids have been having a ball learning about pond animals and plants. It occurred to me that we have some software at home about frogs and tadpoles. Whenever I can, I try to talk to the teacher about what they’re doing at school and make connections to something we can do at home.

Marta: That’s funny you should say that. I do the same thing but in reverse. I ask the teacher what computer games she uses in the classroom and then I try to come up with things we can do at home that teach the same thing. Last week, they were using software that was about seasons. So we went outside and tried to find as many different colored leaves as we could.

Ruben: Yeah, we try to make connections between home and school, too. Whenever I’m in my daughter's class… I talk to the teacher to get her recommendations for new software that she likes. Then we go to the library where my daughter can check out the games her teacher suggested.

Follow Up
  • Find out what lessons your child’s teacher is doing on the computer in class and find ways to support these lessons at home. You can make connections by doing similar activities on your home computer or outside in the park. What’s important are the ideas, not the medium.
  • Ask your child’s teacher for software recommendations.
  • Ask your local librarian or media specialist for software and book suggestions that may be parallel to classroom lessons.

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Computer Placement

Creative play allows children to determine the rules of their games, to invent their own action and to express their own feelings and insights. Computers can present children with good opportunities for creative play.

Carol: One of the main reasons we got a home computer was to get our daughter ready for school. We’d been hearing about a lot of different software programs — how she could learn letters and numbers with quizzes and activities. But then we discovered that it’s a great way for her to use her imagination.

Rose: Yeah, I thought the same thing. One of my son’s favorite things is making up a story with pictures. He also likes to make greeting cards when it’s somebody’s birthday.

Carol: Computers are amazing in that way. Even though my daughter can’t write yet she can tell the story in her own voice. I think kids learn more making up their own stories than playing one of those quiz games.

Follow Up
  • Experiment with games and computer activities that allow children to express themselves creatively, like drawing and storytelling software.
  • Check to see if you can set software to "exploratory mode" rather than "game mode," allowing children to explore rather than learning the rules of the game.
  • Suggest ways for children to make cards and pictures that they can give to other people, like grandparents and friends who are having birthdays.
  • Help children continue to create once the computer is turned off, either starting from something they began on the computer — an outline of a picture they’ve made and printed and that they may color with crayons or add to with glitter and pipe cleaners — or that has nothing to do with the computer. Constructing forts and other buildings with old blankets and chairs and making up imaginative "Once upon a time" tales are example of creative play.

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Sharing Creations

Children's computer-supported work can be shared and celebrated. Many software programs allow children to share their creations by printing them. Children feel as much ownership of the things they make on the computer as they do of things they make by hand.

Marta: Okay, let’s talk printer cartridges. It seems like we go through one a week! I am constantly putting in a new one. My son loves printing pictures and giving them to his grandma or grandpa. It’s great that he gets a boost from his creations, but I try to encourage him to slow down and work on a picture a little longer instead of just hitting "print."

Carol: Yep, we’re in the same boat with our daughter, but with our son it's different. He can be reluctant to share what he's made. Sometimes he'll cover the screen, not wanting us to see. We tell him that he can always work on it more if he likes, but we'd like him to let us take a look at what he's made. We want him to know that we’re proud of his work and want him to share what he's done. And, we put everything he gives us onto the Refrigerator Hall of Fame.

Rob: My kids are the same way — always making stuff on the computer. They like showing one another what they've done and try to outdo their last picture or story. Sometimes they’re happy just showing us what they’ve done by pointing at the screen rather than printing it. And occasionally, we use the function that lets you take a picture of the screen; then we can e-mail their creations to relatives who are far away.

Follow Up
  • Encourage children to share what they’ve made on the computer, such as pictures, stories, and recordings of their voices.
  • If children seem too eager to print, rushing through the creative process, suggest that they slow down and spend additional time refining what they are trying to make.
  • Display children’s work — on a refrigerator, in a keepsake album, or on children’s bedroom doors — to let them know that you value what they’ve made.
  • Suggest that children share their creations with other special people, like grandparents, aunts, and uncles, even if they do not see these people on a daily basis.

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Sharing Discoveries

Children need to learn from one another. Providing opportunities for children to share their knowledge and the discoveries they have made reinforces their learning. Encouraging children to share their discovery process, rather than just reporting on what game they played, helps children learn better.

Carol: When my daughter’s playing I try to ask her questions and get a feel for what she’s doing. She gets most excited when she's discovered something on her own. Like when she figured out that all the backgrounds in her storytelling software do silly things when you click on them.

Rose: Yeah, that’s like when my twins discovered how to save a game. Before they figured it out, they got frustrated when it was time for dinner and they had to stop playing. But once they learned how to stop and save where they are in a game, it was fantastic. They love telling their dad or me about something new they’ve learned.

Marta: It almost seems as though getting to say out loud what they’ve discovered makes them remember it a little better. When my son exclaims, "I got it," and I ask "Got what?" you can bet that he won’t forget it any time soon. He gets so excited he wants to tell all his friends.

Follow Up
  • When children are playing on the computer, ask them what they’ve discovered. Keep in mind that what they’ve done is not the same as what they’ve discovered. You may need to ask them guiding questions, such as "What did you do that was new?", to get them to talk about a discovery.
  • Encourage children to share their discoveries with older siblings and others, as well as parents.
  • Ask children if they want to share their discoveries with their friends, perhaps creating an opportunity for them to teach someone else what they’ve learned to do.

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Taking Turns

There are many ways for children to take turns playing with the computer. Adults have to help determine how children select specific computer activities or when they have access to the computer.

Rose: One of our home battles was over computer time. With three kids and lots of friends over, we had to come up with a way to give everyone a turn ­ and keep peace. I asked my daughter’s teacher, who manages 20 students and one computer, what she does to keep everything fair. That’s where I got the idea to use a board to keep track of who’s used the computer and when.

Marta: I did the same thing, but I was more interested in knowing what system the teacher used in class. My son can be kind of shy at times, so I called the teacher to make sure that he was getting his turn. It was great to find out that she had come up with a way of rotating all the kids through the different learning centers which included the computer, and tracked it on a chart.

Rob: For our family, it was less about kids going out of turn and more us. My wife and I kept bumping our kids off the computer. Then it occurred to us, they needed to learn that they get to have a turn, just like we do and we need to give them a chance to play.

Follow Up
  • Set up a system to ensure that everyone in the family has opportunities to use the computer. The more transparent the system, like putting names and a checklist on a board that children can see, the easier it will be for young children to understand. Timers also can be part of a turn-taking system.
  • Ask classroom teachers how they keep track and encourage turn- taking in the classroom.
  • Don’t let the adults and older children in the house jump turns. While young children need to learn how to wait, they shouldn’t have to do so indefinitely.
  • Look for ways to support turn-taking that don’t involve using the computer. For example, rotate which child gets to choose what’s for dessert or gets to be the first to go down the slide.

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