Technology Resouces for Early Childhood

 There are tons of ideas and resources out there, but here are a few specifically for Early Childhood, Pre-K through 4th Grade teachers.  This is a fast list to help out some of my friends who are writing lesson plans that use technology.

FCSTAT Handout: Millard-Measure tech use handout

FCSTAT Computational Thinking: Computational Thinking Skills

T-TESS Must Have: T-TESS and the Blended Learning Environment (1) from D. T. Benner’s site.

Gold Mine Resources

• TCEA Texas Computer Education Association has resources for all ages. Specifically, check out Tots & Technology. The handouts and presentations for the conferences are available. This is where I found most of my resources.
• D.T. Benner’s site https://sites.google.com/site/dbennerorg/presentations  She is a trainer for TCEA and presentations include videos, notes, links, and handouts.
• T-TESS blended learning and how to increase your technology use in the classroom is on D.T. Benner’s site as well.
• Technology Matrix: The Technology Matrix is not just a tool to measure technology use in the classroom. It also provides professional development, instruction, and ideas with explanations. The videos of lessons using technology show teachers and students using the concept in the classroom. The site has pages sorted by grade level, subject area, and practice videos.

Specific Apps

• Green Screen– take a picture of the students on a green background in the app and history, science or other pictures to make a new picture.
  • Video on Using DoInk
  • Toontastic by Google
• QR Codes in the classroom by Sarah Strom and Michelle Harwood. QR codes are those squares you scan and it goes to links.
• Creating a flipped classroom by Emily Turner
• Blippar This is an app that uses smartphones to create “dynamic digital content.” Lots of potential here for turning the smartphone into a learning tool.
• Sphero Edu: A website of programs written by other students that can be saved and redesigned by your kids.
• Sohero Sprk App:

UnPlugged Activities

Computational thinking is more than working on the computer. There are activities we can use that are unplugged that teach computational thinking. These ideas are from a presentation by Angela Tacket of Harmony Schools.

• Team Building Coding Exercises
• Great idea for day 100! Index Card Tower Engineering Challenge – Google Docs
• Unplugged activity similar to LightBot  The worksheets are from Hour of Code but the idea can be modified and changed up for any lesson or topic the teacher desires. It takes a grid and arrows. You can add noises and other instructions.  The computational thinking occurs as the child works through how to get from point A to point B within the limits/parameters/rules of the instructions provided by the teacher.
  • Tiny Tots – Tiny Tots – HappyMapsAssessment1-Move The Flurb
  • Tiny Tots – Tiny Tots Coding Assignment – Happy Map

Videos

• Brainpop-Computer Viruses
• Faux Paw The Techno Cat

Originally posted July 27, 2017; https://lynnmillard.wordpress.com/2017/07/27/technology-resouces-for-early-childhood/