Technology and Child Development
My wife referred me to an article today she found on the Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory (NWREL) website that had some amazing findings that really support the concepts of Inspired Classrooms. I highly recommend that you take the time to read the whole article, but for the sake of time, here’s a few highlights:
“Computers and software can serve as catalysts for social interaction and conversations related to children’s work. A classroom set up to encourage interaction and the appropriate use of the technology will increase, not impair, language and literacy development. Strategies to build socialization into computer use include placing two seats in front of the computer to encourage children to work together, placing computers close to each other to facilitate sharing ideas, and locating computers in a central spot to invite other children to participate in the activity “
“Technology use that is connected to what children already know and can build upon leads to greater motivation and self-direction. Loss of creativity can be a problem if children use drill-and-practice software. Open-ended software — software that provides opportunities to discover, make choices, and find out the impact of decisions — encourages exploration, imagination, and problem solving.”
“Technology offers additional ways to learn, and to demonstrate learning. For some children who have unique learning styles, computers can reveal hidden strengths. At the computer, children can approach learning from a variety of perspectives and follow various paths to a goal. The teacher’s role is to set up the environment and activities, matching technology use to the curriculum as well as to the children’s needs and interests. The teacher is less involved in directing the activities, and more involved in monitoring student activities, intervening as necessary to guide and pose questions that encourage thinking.”
If this hadn’t been in their archives from June of 2001, I would have thought that they had been reading this website. I guess they already knew what I have been busy discovering over the last year. What’s amazing is their forward thinking approach, given the limited education tools available in mid-2001. They were envisioning exactly what we are seeing today, and what they describe sounds a lot like Inspired Classrooms.
