Look What Kindergarten Children Can Do with Technologies!

Yost, N.

The early childhood field is still divided around the use of technology with young children. This demonstration project shows that young children can be involved in technology interactions that are very much like the traditional early childhood activities. As the kindergarten children began to prepare for daily videoconferencing activities with a kindergarten in Illinois they had the opportunity to see an actual television station weather set, engaged in dramatic play utilizing real computers and cameras, and used several Internet sites to explore the weather across the United States. This project provided an excellent opportunity for my children to construct new understanding of weather in ways not available to them without the technology. The children had opportunities to look at several types of technology, not just computers. What began as a simple exchange of the weather became an exciting interdisciplinary project combining math, science, social studies, literacy, and communication skills into authentic and meaningful experiences.

Cite as: Yost, N. (2003). Look What Kindergarten Children Can Do with Technologies!. In Proc. Young Children and Learning Technologies. Selected papers from the International Federation for Information Processing Working Group 3.5 Open Conference, Melbourne, Australia. CRPIT, 34. Wright, J., McDougall, A., Murnane, J. and Lowe, J., Eds. ACS. 113-115.

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