Literacy Huddle

https://www.needpix.com/photo/519125/cartoon-kids-children-child-childhood-cartoon-kids-people-life-lifestyle

Welcome to the Literacy Huddle, a place to find resources about literacy and technology for early learners.

This website provides insight and resources about Technology, Early Literacy for Young Children. This website promotes literacy while providing ongoing resources for educators and families. Technology can help children explore the world, making sense of things they know when used appropriately. Families can use technology to support at-home learning with children. Early childhood educators can use technology in their programs to assist children with interactive media and technology. Digital storybooks support dual language learners in connecting with other children, and children can take virtual tours to make social connections with others (Friedman 2014).

What Researchers Say...

Children interact less with adults while engaged with screen time. The more young children engage with screen time, the less time they spend with healthy development learning.
Children start the use of media in infancy. In infancy, technology dominated lives, altering childhood. There are no real benefits for infants and toddlers with screen time.
To nurture healthy brain development, children need to be held and have plenty of positive face-to-face time with adults. Children benefit from exploring their world and connecting with nature.
There are many links to children facing health and social problems due to spending hours with screens. Children that engage in excessive screen time are not involved in hands-on give-and-take creative play, the activities that children generate control specific to their interests and abilities.
Childhood obesity shows the increasing amount of food intake and overweight linked to video game use. Sleep disturbance is linked to irregular sleep patterns related to children and video games. The exposure to harmful commercialism has been targeted toward young children by advertising products, including food, toys, clothing, accessories, and more.

(fairplayforkids.org 2012)

Keep in Mind...

Benefit-According to research, media may increase literacy skills. Electronic books provide practicing letters, phonics, vocabulary building, comprehension, and word recognition. Media reading apps strengthen literacy development.
Caution-Technology should be used as a distraction or to regulate children's behavior. When using technology as a distraction can hinder self-regulation skills.

(Radesky, Schumacher, & Zuckerman, 2015).

Guidelines By Age...

Infants: Infants should not have access to screen time unless it is facetime or Skype. Infants are highly discouraged when it comes to screen time.
Toddlers: toddler screen time is discouraged for children under two. Toddlers can use screen time to view family photos or assistive technology.
Preschoolers: A 1-2 hour limit of screen time is recommended per day. Children should be provided an interactive platform for creativity and exploration in preschool.
Kindergarten: There should be a 1-2 hour limit of screen time for kindergartens. Best practices to encourage brain development, kindergartens should be limited to functional technology and tv experience.
First/Second/Third Graders: School agers should also be limited to 2 hours of screen time. They should be allowed to view and explore multiple platforms to build a mastery of technology, such as literacy software, games, experimentations, and scientific tools to help them connect with others in their community and worldwide.

(Radesky, Schumacher, & Zuckerman, 2015)

Appropriate Uses...

Infants: Infants can explore digital media book sharing in an adult-child relationship. Adults are encouraged to use this time to talk with the infant, learn new vocabulary, and model the appropriate use of technology.
Toddlers: Toddlers can experience people, places, and things using media tools. Building vocabulary by viewing pictures of unfamiliar places encourages diversity and cultural awareness.
Preschoolers: Apps for preschoolers should be interactive and functional ways to build vocabulary and cognitive skills. To extend learning in school, preschoolers can use learning-to-read interactive apps.
Kindergarten: Children can use digital storytelling apps for an evening home activity. Exploring stories on an e-reader and learning new concepts would be an excellent start.
First/Second/Third Graders: Social and literacy skills are developed when children are encouraged to use media to write pen pals. They also build cognitive and literacy skills when they create stories.

(Radesky, Schumacher, & Zuckerman, 2015)

What Kind...

Infants: Human interaction with media is recommended. Safe, sturdy, and not easily damaged technology tools for infants and toddlers (NAEYC 2012).
Toddlers: Tablet computers can be used as interactive devices children can use by touching the screen to respond to commands and make cognitive decisions. With tablet computers being touch screens, children do not have to try to manipulate with a mouse or decipher a keyboard (Geist 2014).
Preschoolers: Tablets used in a preschool room studied showed preschoolers navigated the tablet quickly. With the use of tablets, the preschoolers shared their experiences with their peers (Geist 2014).
Kindergarten: Touchscreen use should be allowed. It has a wide range of developmentally appropriate interactive media experiences (NAEYC 2012).
First/Second/Third Graders: Children begin to use the technology of their society and culture at this age. A wide range of interactive media, including literacy software, games, and technologies with good quality that goes beyond drill and practice fostering creativity (NAEYC 2012).

Technology & Literacy Development: Age-Appropriate Ideas for Children & Families

Infants/Toddlers Activities

Infants and toddlers can use technology as an interactive tool with an adult to access portraits of family, friends, and objects. This is an excellent way for infants and toddlers to view photos of children worldwide in other countries. The children can learn about animals in their environment while adults communicate and share details. By engaging in this activity, children can avoid passive screen time (NAEYC 2012).

Digital book-shared time is also an excellent media activity for infants and toddlers to engage with adults. Adults can use this opportunity to communicate with infants and toddlers. The children can use and learn new vocabulary. During digital shared book time, parents can model the appropriate use of technology. Adults should mediate and co-play with children while sharing book time. Shared book time is a way to have conversations and interactions with digital media with your infant and or toddler (NAEYC 2012).

Preschooler Activities

The iPad can be used as a digital storyteller for children challenged with communicating. Some children from different cultures may speak other languages or have a language barrier. They can use the iPad to take pictures of their family, home, room, and neighborhood toys. An adult can support with organizing the photos to tell the story. When the child goes to school, they can share their story with the class describing their toys, home, neighborhood, and family in English and their spoken language. Some children may find the story interesting and be able to relate to the child finding ways to communicate (NAEYC 2014).

MarcoPolo Ocean on the iPad is for ages three and up. This game can be played at home or school. There is a menu for parents to visit to control the background music and adjust factual information. Parents are also able to reset their child's ocean. This sandbox-style app allows your child to build knowledge of the ocean, a fish, shell, or boat at a time. The drag-and-drop puzzle parts are interrelated. There are bonus areas with short factual descriptions narrated by a marine biologist. A child's emergent interest in oceanography is strengthened without getting their feet wet (Video:http://vimeo.com/8144234) (Buckleitner 2017).

Kindergarten Activities

This is a science activity, The Human Body, that is good for at home. Children get to explore the wonders of the human body without feeling ashamed or embarrassed. This activity is reviewed as one of the best human anatomy experiences on an iPad or iPhone. The animated graphics are clear and gore free. Individual profiles can be created. This app also has parent options that allow parents to track their child and multiple language options (Buckleitner 2017).

Pinsaic is an iPad activity good for home or school. The iPad screen is turned into a pegboard. You can do just about anything within a 22 by 33 dot grid. Tap a dot to fill in one of the dots. There is plenty of room on the 22 by 33 grid. There are symmetry options on the main menu; please don't overlook these options. Your child's work can be saved in a photo album on social media (Buckleitner 2017).

First/Second/Third Graders Activities

Another art and creativity activity on an iPad or Android is Draw and tell HD, Duck Duck Moose Design. This exciting new app features a narration of a drawing using a microphone. The iPad or Android is a flannel board and storyteller. This app allows you to draw and narrate to make east to do color commentary on the pictures your child creates. In the end, your child can tap the microphone to record their voice describing their work. This is an excellent language activity (Buckleitner 2017).

BeBop Blox music activity for the iPad and iPhone for home or at school. Children are challenged with one shape at a time by playfully dragging and dropping blocks in twelve musical puzzles. These blocks are noisy at times. An excellent element of structure to screen-based puzzle play is made because of how the blocks are presented (www.originatorkids.com) (Buckleitner 2017).

Great Apps for Young Children

Endless ABC'S: Late preschoolers and kindergartens can use this excellent interactive app. Children get to work at their own pace focusing on phonic awareness, letter formation, and using vocabulary in a sentence with timers or failures.
Endless Reader: This app focuses on Kindergarten and Elementary Age children. This app picks up after Endless Reader with sight words and reading concepts.
iWriteWords: Preschoolers and Kindergarteners can explore writing letters, sight words, and numbers up to 20. Children will learn letter and number recognition, enhancing fine motor skills used for writing.

References:

Buckleitner, W. (n.d.). Selecting apps to support children’s learning. Retrieved July 1, 2017, from http://families.naeyc.org/learning-and-development/selecting-apps-support-childrens-learning

Campaign for a Commercial-Free Childhood, Alliance for Childhood, & Teachers Resisting Unhealthy Children’s Entertainment. (2012). Facing the screen dilemma: Young children, technology, and early education. Retrieved from http://www.commercialfreechildhood.org/sites/default/files/facingthescreendilemma.pdf

Geist, E. (2014). Using tablet computers with toddlers and young preschoolers. Young Children, 69(1), 58–63. Retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=eue&AN=95762291&site=ehost-live&scope=site&authtype=shib&custid=s6527200

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2014). Technology that supports early learning - three examples [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/resources/blog/technology-supports-early-learning

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) & Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College. (2012a). Selected examples of effective classroom practice involving technology tools and interactive media. Retrieved from https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/topics/PS_technology_Examples.pdf

Radesky, J. S., Schumacher, J., & Zuckerman, B. (2015). Mobile and interactive media use by young children: The good, the bad and the unknown. Pediatrics, 135(1), 1–3. Retrieved from http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/135/1/1

https://www.needpix.com/photo/519125/cartoon-kids-children-child-childhood-cartoon-kids-people-life-lifestyle

https://sites.google.com/d/1TC0FD7kaW3qsJTxwmo55pXPErvQqjkA/p/1wjJWCYq4kDPBsvkf2IBD8qmZtkSJNCCn/edit

Page updated

Google Sites

Report abuse