Dr. Dale McManis' slides from her presentation on evaluating early childhood educational technology from NAEYC 2013.

1. WANT
TO
EVALUATE
EDUCATIONAL
TECHNOLOGY?
AN
INTERACTIVE
TOOL
KIT
COMES
TO
THE
RESCUE!
NAEYC
Annual
Conference
Nov.
2013-­‐Washington,
DC
Lilla
Dale
McManis,
M.Ed.,
Ph.D.
Research
Director-­‐Hatch
Early
Learning
dmcmanis@hatchearlylearning.com
LillaDaleMcManis@DrLDMcManis
Copyright
2013.

2. Road
Map
• What
is
educaIonal
technology?
• What
does
the
research
say?
• How
can
we
evaluate
it?
• How
do
we
integrate
it
into
the
program/classroom?
• What
would
you
like
technology
to
look
like
in
your
program?
*Disclaimer:
Photos
do
not
imply
endorsement.

3. What
is
Educa0onal
Technology?
.

4. From
an
Adult
Expert
“
Educational technology
is the study & ethical
practice of facilitating
learning & improving
performance by
creating, using &
managing appropriate
technological processes
& resources.
”
Associa'on
for
Educa'onal
Communica'ons
and
Technology,
2008
.

5. From
a
Child
Expert
“
I like computers because they
teach me so much and if I had
a friend who didn’t have a
computer, I would tell him the
cat and cow story is my
favorite because it is so funny!
They go to another country
with the cat on the cow!
”
Sebas'an,
5
years
Mudpies
Child
Development
Center
Winston-­‐Salem,
NC

6. Groups
.

7. How
Children
Learn
Best
• Experiences
that
are:
– Meaningful
– Engaging
– Allow
children
to
be
successful
– Can
result
in
self-­‐efficacy
• Belief
that
one
has
the
necessary
skills
and
competencies
to
complete
challenging
and
important
tasks

8. What
is
Developmentally
Appropriate
Prac0ce
for
Technology?
• Accounts
for
age
&
developmental
status
• Promotes
progress
• Maintains
interest
NAEYC/Rogers
Center
Tech
Posi'on
Statement
2012

9. NAEYC
/Rogers
Center
Technology
Posi0on
Statement
Guiding
Principle
EffecIve
uses
of
technology
and
media
are:
• acIve
• hands-­‐on
• engaging
• empowering
• give
the
child
control
• provide
adapIve
scaffolds
to
ease
task
accomplishment
• one
of
many
opIons
to
support
children’s
learning

10. How
Not
to
Use
Technology
with
Children

11. Outcomes-­‐Based
Research
The
quesIon
is
no
longer
should
we
have
educaIonal
technology?
The
quesIon
now
is
how
can
we
best
use
technology
for
educaIon?

12. Why
has
the
Ques0on
Changed?
• 30
years
of
Research
• PosiIve
Outcomes
for
Early
Learners
• Tools
of
the
Culture

13. Cogni0ve
Development
Language/Literacy
Preschoolers’
language
acIvity,
measured
by
words
spoken
per
minute,
has
been
found
to
be
almost
twice
as
high
at
the
computer
than
during
other
other
acIviIes,
including
playdough,
blocks,
art,
or
games
(Muhlstein
and
Cro).
In
story
telling,
Riding
and
Tite
found
that
preschoolers
told
longer
and
more
structured
stories
when
they
saw
graphic
presentaIons
on
a
computer
than
when
they
did
not.
see
reviews
by
Penuel
et
al.
2009;
McCarrick
&
Xiaoming
2007;
Glaubke
2007;
Clements
&
Sarama
2003

14. PBS
Content
on
iPods/Smartphones
(Chiong
&
Shuler
2010)

15. Children
make
gains
in
math
&
reading
• children
spend
more
Ime
engaged
Wood,
2001
ZiVle
2004;
Swan,
Schenker
&
Kratcoski
2008

16. 82% Ready
to
Read
&
92% School
Ready
in
Math
Children
make
gains
in
math
&
reading
McManis
et
al.,
2010

17. Touchscreen
Computers
iStartSmart
Efficacy
Study
showed
staIsIcally
significant
literacy/language
&
math
outcomes
for
children
(2012).
Improvement
in
Standardized
Test
Scores
10
9
8
Difference
score*
7
6
5
Control
(n=70)
4
iSS
(n=55)
3
2
1
0
TOPEL
Bracken
Standardized
Test

18. eBooks
• PBS
study
with
parents
reading
ebooks
basic
and
enhanced
and
print
books
with
their
3-­‐6
year
olds
• Looked
at
narraIve
recall
&
comprehension
• MulImedia
features
of
enhanced
e-­‐books
grabbed
children’s
ahenIon
• Those
same
features
also
distracted
young
readers
and
led
more
to
“non-­‐content
related
interacIons”
(Chiong
et
al
2012)
(Photo
from
Cooney
Center)

19. Cogni0ve
Development
WriIng
&
Math
• Computer-­‐based
wriIng
can
allow
for
more
fluid
ideas.
Young
children
are
freed
from
mechanical
concerns,
so
they
have
fewer
mechanical
errors
AND
less
worry
about
making
mistakes
(Bangert-­‐Drowns;
Jones
&
Pellegrini).
• Moxley
et
al
found
3
year-­‐
olds
using
the
computer
to
write
showed
steady
improvement
in
spelling
and
story
wriIng,
including
invented
spellings,
and
at
age
4
they
outperformed
children
without
computer
based
wriIng
experiences.
• Concrete
experience
with
3
dimensional
objects
is
a
fundamental
approach
for
teaching
math
that
shouldn’t
change,
however
Brinkley
&
Watson
found
3-­‐year-­‐olds
learned
sorIng
from
a
computer
task
as
easily
as
from
a
concrete
doll
task;
so
it
is
a
comparable
approach.
• When
doing
these
tasks
on
computers,
children
learned
to
understand
and
apply
concepts
such
as
symmetry,
paherns
and
spaIal
order
(Wright).
see
reviews
by
Penuel
et
al.
2009;
McCarrick
&
Xiaoming
2007;
Glaubke
2007;
Clements
&
Sarama
2003

20. IntervenIon
group
of
kindergartners
made
significant
gains
in
comparison
to
the
non-­‐intervenIon
group
in
increased
levels
of
mathemaIcal,
representaIonal
and
symbolic
development
of
fracIons.
(Goodwin
2008)

21. Social-­‐EmoIonal
Development
• Encouragement
• CooperaIon
• CollaboraIon
(see
reviews
by
Penuel
et
al.
2009;
McCarrick
&
Xiaoming
2007;
Glaubke
2007;
Clements
&
Sarama
2003
&
Sarama
2003)

22. • Muller
&
Perlmuher
found
that
children
at
the
computer
spent
9
Imes
as
much
Ime
talking
to
peers
than
when
they
did
puzzles.
• Praise
and
encouragement
of
peers
is
prevalent
when
at
the
computer
(Klinzing
&
Hall).
• Rather
than
disrupIng
ongoing
play,
the
computer
center
has
been
found
to
facilitate
posiIve
social
interacIons
such
as
cooperaIon
and
helping
behaviors
(King
&
Alloway;
Rhee
&
Chavnagri).

23. Interac0ve
Whiteboards
Children
collaborated
more
&
spent
more
Ime
engaged
Wood
2001

24. • McManis
&
Gunnewig
(2012)
found
preschool
children
exhibited
high
levels
of
cooperaIve
and
collaboraIve
play
when
using
mulI-­‐touch
table
with
acIviIes
designed
to
teach
and
support
these
behaviors

25. WPS
Hatch
Study,
2012

26. Advanced
Skills
• MoIvaIon
• Higher-­‐Order
Thinking
• Meta-­‐CogniIon
(see
reviews
by
Penuel
et
al.
2009;
McCarrick
&
Xiaoming
2007;
Glaubke
2007;
Clements
&
Sarama
2003

27.
• One
skill
is
being
able
to
stay
interested
in
a
task
long
enough
to
learn
it
which
Shade
found
when
children
used
the
computer
together.
• When
children
are
in
control
(which
is
key
for
these
outcomes)
there
is
increased:
• creaIvity
(Escobedo)
• problem-­‐solving
skills
• decision-­‐making
ability
(Nastasi
et
al.)
• understanding
of
cause
and
effect
(Goodwin,
Goodwin,
&
Garel)
• longer
ahenIon
span
(Haugland)

28. Special
Needs
•
•
•
•
•
•
Social-­‐EmoIonal
Fine
Motor
Gross
Motor
CommunicaIon
CogniIon
Self-­‐Help
Hu'nger
&
Johanson
2000

29.
• HunInger
and
Johanson
found
that
special
needs
preschool
children
in
a
computer
based
program
made
progress
in
all
developmental
areas,
including
social-­‐emoIonal,
fine
and
gross
motor,
communicaIon,
cogniIon,
and
self-­‐help.
• When
they
joined
the
program,
the
children
were
only
making
an
average
gain
of
½
month
per
month.
However,
while
parIcipaIng
in
the
program
they
were
making
on
average,
gains
of
1.8
months
per
month;
the
results
indicated
that
the
computer
made
a
unique
contribuIon.
• AddiIonally,
looking
across
11
common
classroom
acIviIes,
result
showed
that
computer
use
was
most
oen
followed
by
desirable
behaviors
such
as
sharing,
communicaIng,
taking
turns,
and
focusing
and
least
likely
to
be
followed
by
aggression

30. ELL/Dual
Language
Learners
• PosiIve
astudes
toward
learning
• MoIvates
learners
to
develop
strategies
for
successful
learning
• Results
in
improved
sentence
structure
and
breadth
of
content
• Strengthens
the
development
of
auditory
skills
Waxman
&
Tellez
2002

31. • With
100
million
first-­‐grade-­‐aged
children
worldwide
having
no
access
to
schooling,
the
One
Laptop
Per
Child
organizaIon
did
something
unique
in
two
remote
Ethiopian
villages—dropping
off
tablets
with
preloaded
programs.
• Children
were
sIll
heavily
engaged
in
using
the
tablets
aer
several
months.
• Observed
reciIng
the
“alphabet
song,”
and
spelling
words.
One
boy,
exposed
to
literacy
games
with
animal
pictures,
used
a
paint
program
and
wrote
the
word
“Lion.”
(hhp://mashable.com/2012/10/29/tablets-­‐ethiopian-­‐children/)

32. Where
are
we
going?

33. Affordances
•
•
•
•
Touch
responsive
InteracIvity
CustomizaIon
Child-­‐friendly

34. Types
of
Interac0ve
Technology

35. Survey
Says….
NaIonal
survey
of
almost
500
teacher
and
administrator
respondents…
•
Almost
all
have
desktops/laptops
•
Half
have
IWBs
•
A
third
have
tablets
• Learn
more
@Simon,
F.,
Nemeth,
K.,
&
McManis,
D.
(2013).
Technology
in
ECE
classrooms:
Results
of
a
new
survey
and
implicaIons
for
the
field.
Exchange
Magazine,
213,
68-­‐75.
hhp://hatchearlylearning.com/ece-­‐tech-­‐survey-­‐2012/

36. Mobile
Technologies
• Children
learn
to
use
them
quickly
• Encourages
independence
• Explore
more
complex
and
abstract
concepts
Michael
Cohen
Group
&
USDOE
2011;
Couse
&
Chen
2010;
Shuler
2009

37. • Enhances
mastery
of
concepts
• Vocabulary
• Phonological
awareness
Chiong
&
Shuler
2010;
Horowitz,
Sosenko
&
Hoffman
2006;
Bebell,
Dorris
&
Muir
2012
.

38. Mul0-­‐touch
Tables
•
•
•
•
Can
handle
a
large
number
of
touches
simultaneously
Offers
a
360°
birds-­‐eye
view
Promotes
cooperaIve/collaboraIve
learning
Most
of
the
research
is
with
older
children.
If
there
are
not
enough
‘assets’,
this
can
hurt
cooperaIve
and
collaboraIve
learning
just
as
it
does
in
any
non-­‐tech
sesng.

39. SelecIng
Appropriate
EducaIonal
Technology
• Goals
• Technology
• Content

40. Food
for
Thought
“
Just spending money on
computers without a plan will
have a low probability of
increasing achievement…
”
Clements
&
Sarama,
2003

41. Building
Blocks
for
Good
Educa0onal
Technology
for
Early
Learners
• Based
on
theory
– Child
development
– Learning
– Teaching
• Based
on
good
design
principles
– Child-­‐friendly
– Promotes
progress
– Supports
teaching
• Based
on
meaningful
and
relevant
outcomes
– Knowledge
– Skills
– Self-­‐efficacy

42. Driving
Theory
• Piaget—Cogni0ve
Developmental
Theory:
Children
acIvely
construct
knowledge.
• Vygotsky—Sociocultural
Theory:
Modeling
&
language
essenIal
for
children’s
learning.
• Skinner—Behaviorism:
Children
learn
based
on
environmental
acIons
and
reacIons.
• Bandura—Social
Learning
Theory:
Children’s
learning
occurs
socially
through
observaIon,
imitaIon,
and
modeling.

43. Key
Steps
to
Evalua0ng
Ed
Tech
1.
Establish
learning
goals
for
the
children
2.
IndenIfy
the
hardware
or
device(s)
you
have
or
would
like
to
have
3.
Analyze
features
and
content
of
the
soware
in
meeIng
learning
goals
4.
Plan
how
the
educaIonal
technology
will
be
integrated
into
the
curriculum

45. Learning
Goals
• Approaches
to
Learning
• CogniIve
• Social-­‐EmoIonal

46. Hardware/Devices
Much
wider
variety
of
types
of
technology
and
content
available:
– Desktops/laptops
– InteracIve
whiteboards
– Tablets
– Tables
– eReaders,
smartpens,
iPod
touch,
digital
cameras
(Rideout
2011;
Gutnik
et
al.
2010)

47. EducaIonal
• Focus
• Standards
• Feedback
#

48. Is
this
content
learning
versus
winning?
• Valuable
instrucIonal
Ime
is
not
used
for
“gaming
entertainment”.
• Rather
game-­‐like
with
specific
and
appropriate
learning
goals.

49. Research
&
Standards
Based
Ensure
that
the
skills
the
soware
is
designed
to
teach
or
enhance
are
deemed
necessary
by
research
(and/or
the
curriculum,
framework
and/
or
standards
of
your
program).

50. Teaching
&
Feedback
• Correct
developmental
course
• EffecIve
teaching
paths
• Learning
sequence
obvious,
process-­‐
oriented,
and
correct.
• Teaching
component
before
responses.
• For
example,
the
names
of
the
lehers
are
taught
before
asking
children
to
idenIfy
them.

51. Age
Appropriate
•
•
•
•
•
Subject
Maher
Skill
Level
Interest
&
Appeal
Pre-­‐readers
Free
of
Bias

52. Subject
Ma[er
&
Skill
Level
Meets
developmental
needs
f
children
using
it.
o
•
• For
example,
soware
should
introduce
counIng
before
addiIon;
or
the
names
of
emoIons
before
asking
children
to
apply
to
situaIons.
• Consider
too
if
soware
will
be
used
by
children
older
or
younger
than
intended
range
and
how
they
may
react-­‐from
frustraIon
to
boredom.

53. Interest
&
Appeal

54. Survey
Says!
Teacher
or
Child
Led?
We
asked
teachers
to
consider
a
typical
week
for
a
child
in
their
classroom
and
describe
their
use
of
technology.
• A
third
indicate
a
balance
of
half
teacher-­‐directed/
guided
and
half
child-­‐iniIated
learning
acIviIes
• About
equal
numbers
of
a
quarter
each
indicate
they
fall
on
the
side
of
mostly
child-­‐iniIated,
with
some
Ime
for
teacher-­‐directed/guided
learning
acIviIes
• or
the
side
of
mostly
teacher-­‐directed/guided,
with
some
Ime
for
child-­‐iniIated
learning
acIviIes

55. Child
Friendly
• Clear
&
Simple
Choices
• OpportuniIes
for
Success
• Independent
Learning

56. Enjoyable
&
Engaging
•
•
•
•
Variety
Rewards
Graphics
Audio

57. Assessment
&
Progress
Monitoring
Most
valuable
role
to
inform
instrucIon
at
individual
child
level.
To
become
a
part
of
the
instrucIonal
cycle
means
progress
monitoring-­‐assessment
feature
must
be
easy
to
interpret.
Ability
to
share
with
parents
can
moIvate
and
support
them
in
increasing
engagement
with
children
at
home.

58. Digital
Porzolios
sIll
VERY
appropriate!

59. Detailed
reports
help
teachers
keep
children
well
on
track

60. Updates
&
Alerts
Feature
that
gives
teachers
and
administrators
reminders
and
reports
at
a
high
level.

61. Survey
Says!
Tech
for
Progress
Monitoring
• Eighty
percent
of
teachers
report
using
technology
for
progress
monitoring/child
assessment
• Followed
closely
by
three
quarters
of
administrators
reporIng
technology
used
for
this
purpose

62. AddiIonal
Features
• CustomizaIon
• Create
AcIviIes

65. Your
turn
to
Evaluate!

66. Let’s
Use
the
Toolkit
Together!

67. Your
Assignment!
•
Find
a
soware
program/content
you
are
familiar
with
being
used
by
young
children.
• Complete
the
EvaluaIon
Tool.
• What
score
did
it
receive?
• Did
it
rate
as
you
expected?
• Differently?

68. Educator
Support
Sufficient
InteracIon
Time
Integra0on
is
Essen0al
Sustained
Staff
Development

70. “Training
must
be
ongoing
and
systemaIc
if
teachers
are
to
properly
complete
the
‘learning
cycle’
of
technology-­‐related
professional
development”
(Kinneman)
Takes
Ime
to
fully
support
children’s
learning
Sheingold
&
Hadley,
1990

71. Summary
• Research
supports
young
children
can
benefit
from
using
educaIonal
technology
• But
it
must
be
of
high
quality
and
developmentally
appropriate
• There
are
key
aspects
that
must
be
considered
• EvaluaIng
in
a
thoughzul,
intenIonal,
and
regular
manner
will
help
pracIIoners
make
the
best
decisions
for
early
learners

72. Q
&
A

73. Evalua0ng
Educa0onal
eBook
with
Tool
Technology
&
•
References,
Webinar
&
Journal
arIcle
h[p://
www.hatchearlychildhood.com
/pages/evalua0ng-­‐technology-­‐
for-­‐early-­‐learners
h[p://
www.hatchearlychildhood.com
/pages/webinar-­‐sept-­‐2011-­‐
evalua0ng-­‐early-­‐learning-­‐
technology
h[p://www.naeyc.org/yc/
ar0cle/finding-­‐educa0on-­‐in-­‐
educa0onal-­‐technology

74. Good
places
for
connec0ons
• LinkedIn:
Early
Childhood
Technology
Network
• Twi[er:
#ecetechchat
• ISTE:
Early
Learning
&
Technology
SIG
hhp://www.iste.org/connect/special-­‐interest-­‐groups/sigelt
• NAEYC:
Technology
and
Young
Children
Interest
Forum
hhp://www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201211/OnOurMinds1112.pdf
• MeeIng
of
The
Technology
and
Young
Children
Interest
Forum
welcomes
new
and
returning
members
to
our
annual
meeIng.
Join
us
as
we
explore
technology
innovaIons,
share
research,
collaborate
on
new
project
ideas,
and
plan
technology
and
young
children
Annual
Conference
sessions
for
next
year.
For
more
informaIon,
contact
Lynn
Hartle
at
lhartle@hotmail.com.
Thursday
6:00-­‐7:30
p.m.
Washington
Conven0on
Center,
Room
153

75. Main
Sources
•
•
•
•
•
•
InternaIonal
Society
for
Technology
in
EducaIon.
(2008).
Na'onal
Educa'onal
Technology
Standards
for
Teachers.
hVp://www.iste.org/standards/nets-­‐for-­‐teachers/nets-­‐for-­‐teachers-­‐2008.aspx
McCarrick,
K.,
&
Xiaoming,
L.
(2007).
Buried
treasure:
The
impact
of
computer
use
on
young
children’s
social,
cogniIve,
language
development
and
moIvaIon.
AACE
Journal,
15
(1),
73-­‐95.
McManis,
L.D.,
&
Gunnewig,
S.
(2012).
Finding
the
EducaIon
in
EducaIonal
Technology
with
Early
Learners.
Young
Children,
67
(3),
14-­‐24.
hhp://www.naeyc.org/yc/arIcle/finding-­‐educaIon-­‐in-­‐educaIonal-­‐technology
NAEYC
&
FRC.
(2012).
Technology
Tools
and
Interac've
Media
in
Early
Childhood
Programs
Serving
Children
from
Birth
through
Age
8.”
hhp://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-­‐and-­‐young-­‐children
Public
BroadcasIng
Service
and
Grunwald
Associates.
(2011).
Deepening
Connec'ons:
Teachers
Increasingly
Rely
on
Media
and
Technology.
Report
of
the
Public
BroadcasIng
Service.
Arlington,
VA:
Public
BroadcasIng
Service.
www.pbs.org/teachers/grunwald/pbs-­‐grunwald-­‐2010.pdf
Simon,
F.,
Nemeth,
K.,
&
McManis,
D.
(2013).
Technology
in
ECE
classrooms:
Results
of
a
new
survey
and
implicaIons
for
the
field.
Exchange
Magazine,
213,
68-­‐75.
hhp://hatchearlylearning.com/ece-­‐tech-­‐survey-­‐2012/

76.
Slides
will
be
posted
via
our
blog
@
hhp://hatchearlylearning.com/resources/blog/
Where
we
will
be
next…..
We’d
like
to
stay
in
touch…..
• NaIonal
Head
Start
AssociaIon
Conference
April
18
in
Nashville
– Using
Technology
to
Support
Social-­‐EmoIonal
Development
in
Young
Children
Dale
C Twi[er:
• McCormick
Center
for
Early
on
hildhood
Leadership
Lilla
Dale
McManis@DrLDMcManis
ConnecIons
Conference
May
10-­‐12
in
Chicago
– EvaluaIng
EducaIonal
Technology
in
Early
Childhood
• InternaIonal
Society
for
Technology
in
EducaIon
(ISTE)
Conference
June
25
in
San
Diego
– School
Readiness:
Outcomes
and
Approaches