My Technology Lesson Plan (Using Tech with Young Toddlers)

ECDE Activity Plan- Alexis Evans by Anonymous MzSIO0Dxl on Scribd

Reflecting on Educational Tech

Hi guys! I'm glad to have made it this far into my blog. In my last post, I told you all about my dream school. A school that includes everything that I feel a child needs to succeed including tech throughout the classroom with projectors, computers, iPads and websites/applications to keep learning updated and fun. I already teach in an Infant Room so the things I need are a little different now, of course. My classroom tries to limit technology use to promote the basics and get all of our infants talking, exercising/playing, eating and sleeping independently before they transition over to the Toddler Room. This leaves us using little tech like iPads, a television and radio in class. These come in handy for the lesson plans and when we have the young toddlers engage in baby yoga. Although when I begin to teach K-3, I hope that it will be an abundance of technology to choose from to make my students experience the importance of technology in learning. My only concern is becoming so tech-centered that I allow it to overshadow the things that would be learned better with hands-on experience, or reading a good book. I've been working on researching how often technology should be used in a classroom and while I haven't decided from myself yet, I plan to have another post coming soon with my findings.

I will be working with children from the ages of 5-9 years old after I graduate with my BA. The biggest issue that I'm concerned about is accessibility outside of school. The other thing that comes to mind when I think of the age range I'll be teaching is the importance of good classroom management with children this young around expensive technology. I think that schools that send home tablets are working towards closing the gap in resources that may not be available at home. In the classroom for the classroom management, it is important to set rules for the students to follow. The hardest part is knowing that students won't always have help with the technology at home due to parents working, lack of time, etc. I think a website with videos explaining all the assignments again in depth is something I'd like to look into to help students.

I grew as a digital native, it was always technology all around me especially in middle and high school. I think that the issue that I've been running into is if I think that technology is as important in elementary education as it is in secondary education. I think that it is so many things at a early age that is better taught on paper and hands-on. I think getting passed that mindset and finding a nice balance will be my biggest challenge. I also recongize that because technology is such a big movement in modern day that it needs to be taught in the classroom at earlier ages now so learning how to type is fundmental in lesson planning now because it would be unlikely from them to not need that knowledge/skill in everyday life. I have mixed emotions with technology in the classroom but mostly it is just an adjustment that I'm excited to make.

Classroom Design

I've designed what I think to be my dream classroom for an Early Childhood Education class. I want a first-grade class in the future so this is Miss Lexi's 1st-grade class. Some of the things that I explain in my dream classroom I'd be unable to show on the model (i.e. lighting, plants, flags, diverse posters/pictures). The computers are something that I added to the side of the classroom to allow students to start learning hands-on with technology when necessary. Ideally, I'd be able for all my students to have tablets for more tech related assignments. The project is added for us to review homework, watch clips and special occasions. The classroom believes that we learn by experience and gives a lot of opportunities for inquiry-based learning and experiments. We embrace the diversity of our classroom and work to add that into our lesson plans so that our children are well-rounded in understanding each other and being able to empathize with classmates.

Natural lighting is one of the main components that I wanted to be sure to include when I was picturing how my ideal classroom would look. I thought this was important because it gives the kids vitamins from the sun, they can embrace natural and it provides sunlight for the plants. Plants are significant in a classroom at this age because they play a role in teaching children responsibility along with the process of life. It is an easier way to show children at a young age that things can live and pass away. The other component that was important in the layout of the classroom was to make sure that it was very natural colors. I wanted to make sure that I wasn’t over simulating the children so that they could feel relaxed at downtime and focus during academic learning time.

At their age, I wanted to also make sure that I was adding something for them to continue to grow in their reading skills and develop a love for books. This is why I added a reading zone that also doubles as a cool down area. This zone has books and bean bags for children who want to relax or who are having a bad day and need some time to cool down to collect their thoughts. Cooldown is the alternative to a healthy version of time out. Instead of punishing the child, the child is asked to cool down and think about their actions and come to talk it through with whomever when they feel ready.
The area of the room that has the rug and art easel is where we will do circle time to include reading, emotions, arts and diversity learning. The thought is to read to the children and we work to find what we got from the story to make art of how it made us feel and how the characters may have felt or what the could’ve done differently to promote cognate thinking and problem-solving skills. This will help the children develop empathy for others and learn from the experience of how their friends feel. I’m hoping this further develops their theory of mind.

If you look around the classroom you may also notice that all of the learning materials that are on the wall are eye level this was done purposely so that the students can see them better. I was hoping to gain attention and learning by making sure that they were visible and not too high for the students to see. I made sure to do this with the classroom rules as well to promote good classroom management which is very important when teaching is making sure that my students know the rules and the list is short enough for them to remember and also sets the grounds for the year. The plants are also placed where students can see them and have the responsibility to water them.

I talked a little about how the classroom was built to encourage inquiry-based learning so the seating of the classroom falls into that category. The tables were arranged to make it easy for experiments/labs, arts, etc. It also gives students that opportunity to work with their classmates to help each other grow. One of the top things of importance to me was that every culture in the classroom was represented and that is why the flags are on the wall and Fridays are cultural experience day and we learn a little about a country.