What will the world look like when today’s Kindergarteners become tomorrow’s adults?
It’s hard to predict, but what we do know is they must be armed with some critical skills – they need to be able to communicate, function and create change. They must be media literate. Today’s classrooms must be equipped with both the technological tools to facilitate these skills, but also the knowledge they don’t replace effective teaching and learning environments.
Why Technology For the Very Young
In the following video, Dr. Michele Jacobsen explains that children as young as two or three can gain essential social, reasoning and communication skills through the use of technology. Technology should be embraced as a tool of discovery, but it must be used effectively, and in moderation – not at the exclusion of other meaningful activities in the child’s life.
How Should Technology be Used in School
Technology is most effective when it enables us to do new things in different ways. As Dr. Michele Jacobsen explains in the following video, we don’t want to leave young children out when it comes to knowing how to use technology, and use it properly.
Using Technology at Home
In the following video, Dr. Michele Jacobsen shares how her children became effective users of technology at a very young age. From using apps on the iPad, to making music in GarageBand, and networking two devices to play an online game, it’s apparent that with proper guidance, children can do amazing things with technology. These are important skills as they learn in this participatory digital age.
Privacy and Security
Safety, security and privacy issues are realities of our digital world. In the following video, Dr. Michele Jacobsen talks about the importance of cultivating digital literacy from a young age. Also key is developing a shared understanding of the dangers, and not seeing it as a barrier to using and accessing technology.