Busting some of the myths about using technology in the Early Years Classroom

This is another in a series of blogs from my Early Years classroom. For the USA this is Elementary school (ages 5 - 8), for Victoria, Australia it is called Primary School - Foundation, Grade 1 and Grade 2 and in England Reception, Year 1 and Year 2.

When I began teaching in this classroom I had come from teaching upper primary for many years. I was told that Early Years students could not use technology for a variety of reasons.

I did not agree with this and I wanted to find out how to make it work. I also wanted to find the balance between traditional "Early Years" teaching methods and beliefs and 21st Century pedagogies.

So lets see if I can bust some of the myths!

1. Young students can't read, so they can't log in.
My students have iPads to use for reading storybooks and practising sight words, alphabet, phonics and spelling (just to name a few areas of early literacy curriculum). They are not required to log in. This is an example of substitution and the students are able to find the correct app in the same way that they can find a box labelled 1 if they are reading at Level 1. Another example is Skoolbo - a site where students can log in by clicking on their name, then a colour and an animal.

2. It takes forever to train them how to use a computer.
It takes the same amount of time to train them in school routines. I can't see the difference between using an iPad and sharpening a pencil or finding a book box.

3. You don't know if they're actually doing the work set.
You don't know if they are doing any of the work you set unless you sit next to each student every second of the day. This comment tells me that some teachers do not trust that students can learn or are motivated to learn. This is a problem of educational philosophy not of student ability to complete computer work.

4. Technology is a distraction that disrupts learning.
Life today is full of high stimulation environments where there is music, television, computer, tablet and phone screen activity occurring each day. Our students are born into this environment. They cope with it better than adults do and can be taught how to manage distractions, in the same way that students in the 1970s were taught to concentrate on the work in class, rather than look out the window. Students also respond to the model their teacher provides when responding to distractions. A teacher who "loses their cool" when something doesn't work will have students who do the same thing.

5. Early years students can never find their log ins
Students can find their log in cards (laminated with pictures and logins) in the same way that they can find their bag or lunchbox with their name on it. An organised teacher can resolve this perceived problem pretty quickly.

6. Students these days have too much "screen time"
Digitally rich early years classrooms like mine have students working on a variety of activities - tech based, paper based, group based, using hands on materials and providing regular movement breaks. An effective 21st century teacher will provide this so excessive screen time is not an issue.

Do you have any other myths about digital learning to share?