Jumping in with Both Feet

 

Jumping in with both feet.

 

A preschool teachers’ framework is different than the frameworks used by elementary and secondary educators. As I looked over the various framework options, I felt like I utilized a combination of two, the TPACK and the Triple E.  As I delved further, the TPACK framework kept coming back to light, especially after the last six months.

 

What is TPACK?

 

TPACK
Schoology Exchange


The TPACK framework provides more of a map for understanding how to integrate technology into the classroom effectively.  The three forms of knowledge intersect.  The pedagogy-the practice of teaching, the content-what we are teaching and the technology-how we teach or present it.  Each overlap creating subsets and, in the center, -the deepest level of understanding as an educator-the TPACK.


My Journey so far…

As an early childhood educator, I always felt like technology had a limited place in my classroom.  I am a “hands-on” teacher, and in preschool, we learn by doing-not by watching or even interacting with a screen. As the title of my blog implies- “preschool is messy”-the littlest of learners learn by doing: touching, smelling, feeling-using all their senses to take the world in and learn from it.  Although we had I-pads at our disposal, and a program directive that students would receive ten minutes a week to utilize them, for the first year I had them in my possession-they stayed in the cabinet.  I know all too well, how much “screen time” these littles get.  In the car, when mom is making dinner,  before bed-digital technology has replaced some of the most important pieces of development in a child’s daily life-like bedtime stories and “back-seat” conversations.

 

Building Bridges
Personal Photo: Alyson DeLaney

I-Pad Station
Personal Photo: Alyson DeLaney 

Messy Play
Personal Photo: Alyson DeLaney


 

When technology is used in a preschool classroom, “it needs to be developmentally appropriate for young children and be integrated into the classroom”.  I integrated the use of our I-pads (begrudgingly) into our free-choice time.  I set up a special place in my classroom, a “technology zone”-where children could go on,” I-pad Fridays”-and spend their ten minutes.  There was a timer that all the children knew how to use. There was also a checklist so that we all knew who had already used up their ten minutes.

In March, when our world completely changed, I had to adapt my teaching style to a new way of learning.  The technology that I so abhorred was thrust at me like lightning. I now had to find a way to fuse my “hands-on” teaching strategies into a Zoom call.  I received a crash-course in IT and technology in those early months.  I taught myself how to create and post a Screen-castify videos.  I streamlined my lessons into short bursts of knowledge-so the littles would not have to sit endlessly in front of a screen.  I worked with parents-sharing my knowledge and guiding them through the hills and valleys of this new “classroom”.  When the school year ended, I reflected upon the entire experience, and thought “I did the best I could.”

 

Where I am at now…

August 10th came out of nowhere.  I spent a week with my colleagues learning new guidelines and software pieces for a digital school year. I synthesized my thematic units and modified my schedule to reflect several new plans-remote students, hybrid learners, and in-person instruction. I intermixed the knowledge from two summer technology classes to the new information from my district. I created a plan-and beginning on Tuesday-I get to implement it. How have I incorporated the technology I once so shunned to this new way of teaching? Have I aligned my content to appropriate instruction?  I am excited, nervous, petrified, and happy all at once. I have no idea how it is going to turn out.   

Comments

  1. Devin HSeptember 9, 2020 at 9:19 PM

    Hi Alyson! I enjoyed reading your blog because I know very little about preschool, and I had not thought about how technology use might differ in a preschool classroom versus in a K-12 setting. While I mainly explored the Technology Integration Matrix framework this week, I did spend some time looking into the TPACK. I like that it aims to help teachers hit the “sweet spot” where all three knowledge areas - content, pedagogical, and technological - work together. I also like that it prompts teachers to think about how technology can be incorporated to enhance a lesson and make content more accessible.

    I can understand why you’ve been weary of incorporating technology in your classroom. While I think technology can enrich instruction, there are potential pitfalls. For instance, technology can be distracting and addicting. There is definitely something to the hands-on learning you describe where children are engaged in using all of their senses. I imagine that this is particularly important for our youngest learners. I just did some research to find examples of effective technology usage in preschool and found a great resource from the NAEYC here: https://www.naeyc.org/sites/default/files/globally-shared/downloads/PDFs/resources/topics/PS_technology_Examples.pdf. I like how technology is viewed as just one "outlet" among many for this particular age group to “demonstrate their creativity and learning.”

    I hope your first week of implementing your plan for this year is going well!

    ReplyDelete
  2. Megan SchibelkaSeptember 10, 2020 at 5:54 AM

    Hi Alyson,

    Your blog post is of great interest to me because I, too, see myself as a teacher to very "hands-on" learners. The students in my self-contained Special Education classroom are also far too familiar for my liking with iPads and screen time outside of the classroom, so I do my best to minimize the use of this technology during instruction. However, much like you said, our world took a turn, and iPads are now our best option for delivering instruction. Finding new software programs, learning games, etc. that meet our students needs while keeping them engaged (without becoming too distracting) is a serious challenge, but we are in this together and will figure it out.

    I like that you are honest with your evaluation of your technology utilization. I think using the iPad for ten minutes per week during Free Choice time is a great starting point. My hope is that, by the end of this difficult and crazy time of remote learning, we will all be more confident and more comfortable with our technology tool usage in our classrooms.

    Please keep us updated on your remote/hybrid learning journey! I would love to learn from you and the resources you choose are worthwhile during online instruction.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Ms. Feltman in 4thSeptember 12, 2020 at 6:43 PM

    Hi Alyson! I loved reading your blog and learning about life in preschool! Preschool should be messy! It should be full of paint, blocks, coloring, glue, and toys galore! I couldn't agree more that kids are on their devices way more than they should be. I don't know why, but it breaks my heart when I go out to a restaurant and a child is sitting there with headphones plugged into their iPad while they are watching YouTube or playing games. My family has always had a "no technology" rule at dinner so we can communicate with each other and unplug! Sounds like you are doing everything in your power to adapt to this new world of e-learning we are all experiencing! Give yourself some grace, you are doing the best you can! I just finished my first week of being fully remote and was so impressed by my 4th graders and finding a way to make this work! Hang in there!

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. MrsDSeptember 13, 2020 at 6:10 AM

      We also have always had a "no technology" rule at dinner as well! Long before I-pads and android phones, I had a friend who would keep their television on all through dinner (she even had it on one evening while we were at a dinner party-needless to say the dinner conversation was minimal!)-this was before I had my daughter, and I vowed we would never be "that family". We also do not have televisions in our bedrooms. I just feel that technology has a place-and although it is important, it should NEVER take the place of personal contact. I was forced to integrate technology into my classroom, and I'm trying to make it work-but it is difficult, so I rely on my colleagues and my classmates to help me through my insecurities! :)

      Delete
  4. NMZumpanoSeptember 13, 2020 at 7:37 AM

    Alyson this is a well-written piece. I appreciated both your honesty about technology and your willingness and mindset to adapt when the world went upside down! Thanks, too, for adding pictures of your littles and for blocking faces!

    ReplyDelete

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