Learning andTechnology

A great deal of the learning in using a computer at an early age comes from the interaction between the child and the adult, not from the interaction with the computer. By the age of three, a child can begin to use a computer and discovery-based software meaningfully, with the help of an adult or older child. Remember to plan for the important tasks of the early years before allowing children to be distracted by too much electronic stimulation.

Social Development

Conversations with children increase their social and language skills. Nurturing and attention provided by an adult increase the child's feelings of worth and self-esteem. For social development, plan for plenty of interactions.

• Place 2 or 3 chairs at each computer and plan activities that require the help of peers
• Ask open-ended questions about children's work and offer suggestions and comments about what you see them doing
• Display children's work
• Encourage parents to use computer time to talk with their children – asking questions, exploring programs together, and sharing experiences with one another

Approaches toward Learning

Children can be successful in school in many ways. Curiosity, creativity, independence, cooperativeness, and persistence are some of the approaches that enhance early learning and development.

• Plan for using all the senses when working on the computer. For example, if you use musical software, make sure children can experience a variety of instruments in the "real world" along with their experiences in the "electronic world." Let them hear music from a real instrument, smell and feel the wood, strings and keys, and feel the shape and weight of different instruments.
• Provide plenty of interactions with things in their environment.
• Balance time on the computer with greater time with physical objects, such as building blocks, modeling clay, paints, dolls, or toy cars.
• Increase attention and build memory and visualization skills. Children need time to develop memory and imagery before the images are provided for them.
• Limit screen time (television, computer or VCR) and temper it with activities requiring sustained attention. Flashing images or constantly moving graphics on television and computer screens make it harder for children to pay attention for sustained periods. Young children's attention naturally jumps from thing to thing, but some forms of electronic media may prolong this immaturity.

Language Development

At this age language development is best supported through

• conversations with adults and other children
• reading books to children
• sharing stories
• dramatic play
• singing and poetry.

Experiences with three-dimensional manipulatives provide the connection between letter and number symbols and concepts in the real world. Most alphabet or number software programs do not build this connection needed for language development. These programs should be used sparingly. See Software Selection for more information.

Cognition and General Knowledge

During the preschool years, children’s intellectual knowledge can be developed with the use of some software programs. Mathematics programs can help provide practice with patterning, classification, seriation, and numerical relationships. Other programs can give them practice with time (clocks) and dates (calendars).

• Provide information to help young children understand the "if-then" sequences of computer programs
• Talk with children while they are at the computer and explain what is happening; "If you move the mouse, the arrow on the screen will move like this."
• Pay attention to social interactions and to social situations in software programs in order to help teach social-causal reasoning
• Ask questions such as, "When you took the mouse away from Jimmy, how do you think that made him feel?"