BLC16

By the time students reach the early childhood classroom, many of them are already absorbing large amounts of content through technology. To keep up with 21st century demands, the term “literacy” should encompass the fluency with which children can interface with and manipulate new forms of media. Rather than seeing this as an obstacle to the learning we want children to do in the classroom, we should be building effective classroom strategies that apply what we already know about literacy to these new frontiers of communication. In other words, students should not just be users of digital media, but creators as well. By teaching students how to effectively communicate their own ideas through 21st century media such as icons and videos, students can apply the same critical thinking and analytical skills that we are teaching them in reading and writing to their experience with technology. This workshop will also look into how teachers can leverage different aspects of technology to enhance the traditional Reading and Writing Workshop in the early years. Media tools such as iPad apps help students to both create and reflect on their work, which help teachers to more effectively confer, assess, and form strategy groups. Taken together, the ideas in this workshop will enable early childhood educators to strengthen and diversify their core teaching methods by integrating them with the latest technology has to offer.