From ArabNews, by Molouk Y. Ba-Isa:
The highlight of the conference was the presentation "From Toys to Technology: Considerations for the 21st Century," by keynote speaker, education consultant Ellen Alquist. The presentation was designed to help teachers of young children decide how, when and what types of technology to introduce into their classrooms.
"Think about the technology," said Alquist. “Is it developmentally appropriate? Is it consistent with how a child develops and learns and is it within the current developmental strategy? Will the activity benefit the child or will it replace some other more meaningful learning activity?”
Alquist explained that young children have come to see technologies such as computers, televisions and camcorders as a normal part of everyday life. Thus, there is no reason to exclude them from the classroom. In fact bringing technology into the classroom in appropriate ways can greatly enrich the learning experience for young students. Having worked with computers and tots since 1978, Alquist pointed out that there was nothing to fear from letting children use a computer.
"Short of taking a bucket of water and dumping it on the machine, children can’t hurt computers. So letting them play with computers is fine," said Alquist. "The key here is in letting the child use the mouse and the keyboard or other input device. It’s all right for the teacher or parent to give directions and point, but the adult should never be the one touching the keyboard or mouse. It’s up to the child to learn to use the machine with direction and it can be hard for an adult to learn to keep hands off. It’s also always important to remember that other toys are as important as computers."
Alquist advised that young children should use the computer in groups of two or three so they interact with both the software and each other. Teachers should thoroughly test software before introducing it into the classroom, even making mistakes similar to those that their students might make so they will know how the program reacts under all circumstances.
Computers can expand children’s horizons by allowing them to travel virtually through time and space. Computers are also infinitely patient when a child is learning new concepts. The young student can make mistakes again and again or try infinite combinations of words, numbers or ideas, and the computer won’t mind.