The idea for this story came, oddly enough, from the U.S. Secretary of Education. In a speech to reporters gathered for the Education Writers Association conference last month, Arne Duncan spoke about how technology continues to change how today’s students learn and specifically mentioned kindergarten classes that use iPads.
My colleague, Diane Rado, suggested the story to me when she returned from the speech. Here's the result.
My first interview with a preschool teacher who added the use of four iPads to his classroom repertoire this year intrigued me. But it wasn’t until I visited two classes – one with a roomful of preschoolers and another with kindergarten students – that I became convinced the story would fascinate readers too.
What parent hasn’t noticed how cell phones and computer screens enthrall their kids? And how a 2-year-old seems to intuitively know how to slide the icon to start a game? (Note of disclosure here: this reporter owns neither an iPad nor an iPhone and still keeps a daily calendar in my planner…my paper planner, that is.)
Q: What makes touchscreen tablets a fit for little fingers?
A: The tablets have flat, wide screens with large colorful icons that little fingers can easily tap and swish across the screen. They also do not have a mouse. So, young children who don’t have the dexterity an older student might can still access the technology, educators and tech experts alike told me.
Q: Does every student get one?
A: No. At least, not yet. While one school district in Maine made national headlines last month when it unveiled a plan to provide every kindergartner with an iPad, none of the dozen or so Chicago area districts that we consulted will give every kid their own tablet. Some opt for a classroom set of iPads that a teacher can reserve for a lesson and others keep two or four iPads in the room for student use.
Q: What about finger paints?
A: They’re not going away, teachers told me time and again. The youngest students still learn best by exploring, discovering and playing with one another. iPads won’t replace books or block letters.
Rather, they’ll be one more tool for kids to use in the classroom. One teacher we interviewed takes pains to keep the four classroom iPads tucked away where students cannot see them unless they are used in a specific lesson. Once a day, for instance, he uses an iPad to look up the day’s weather with his students.
Q: Why is this topic – technology and the youngest students – such a hot button?
A: I posed this question to Peter Pizzolongo with the National Association for the Education of Young Children.
He offered two insights: first, many educators worry about the rise of high-stakes testing pushing down more advanced curriculum to younger and younger grades. The presence of a computer in a preschool classroom – a scene more commonly found in advanced grades – may spark concerns that 4- and 5-year-olds will not have time for unwired and imaginative play.
But so long as the iPad does not limit a child’s creative play and comes at a developmentally appropriate time, Pizzolongo said it can be an appropriate learning tool.
Q: Coming soon to a school near you?
A: Not necessarily, no. School principals and local school boards will determine whether and when to invest in touchscreen tablets for their youngest learners. While some schools are clamoring to get the iPads into classrooms, others are taking a wait-and-see approach. But one thing is clear, said Sandra Calvert, founder and executive director of the Child’s Digital Media Center: “Technology should not be seen as a replacement for teachers. …The teacher is the person who will make the platform work for kids and maximize what they can learn.”
Q: Now that you've read a little more, how does this strike you?
A: Share your thoughts in the comments!