Technology

How to Use This Book Technology Technology can be integrated into many of the activities in this book, and it serves as a powerful tool for communicating and partnering with families . Here, we provide a few suggestions of technology tools and their applications to phonological awareness development . Some tools are recommended for teacher use . Others can be used by families or children; in that case, we recommend that teachers begin by identifying the digital tools that children and families already use and build from there . In addition, it is important that educators collaborate with special education teachers to ensure accessibility and appropriate accommodations as needed . The following tools can be incorporated for communication purposes and to extend, enhance, and vary implementation, or these tools can provide opportunities for independent practice of the activities in this book: ■ Class webpage on which to share activities for home use ■ In-class document camera to project and magnify objects, such as chips used to represent phonemes, thus increasing visibility for all children ■ Video-based software, such as Flipgrid™, to model and share activities, poems, songs, and stories with children and families, which can be viewed multiple times ■ Screencast technology to create a video recording of your computer screen with audio narration to share an activity or explain a concept to families ■ Interactive video technology which allows teachers to record how to do an activity and solicit digital responses from children ■ Interactive online tools, such as Google Jamboard™, Google Drawing, and Padlet™, that act as virtual whiteboards, to demonstrate on and have children manipulate objects on, such as images to be moved and sorted by initial sound or to be grouped based on the number of syllables ■ Online presentation tools, such as Google Slides™, on which children and/or families can post images that are examples of objects that consist of a target number of phonemes (e .g ., they post images of a bell, cat, and rug because those spoken words each contain three phonemes) ■ Digital cameras, such as those on cell phones, to take pictures of objects that rhyme or start or end with a target sound to upload onto a class website, or to record families sharing songs and aspects of their cultural backgrounds with classmates ■ Polling tools to have children respond, such as indicating “yes” or “no” when asked if a pair of words rhyme or begin with a target sound, whether a spoken word has one, two, or three syllables, and so on Tips for Success (cont.) sample sample 34

How to Use This Book Technology (cont.) Please note that any uploading of student work or images on a class website should be done in compliance with school policies . Many wonderful resources are available online . We share several here: ■ The Early Childhood Technical Assistance Centre at the University of North Carolina has excellent videos and resources for supporting young children through online learning: ectacentre.org/topics/disaster/preschoolpandemic.asp ■ The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) shares examples of effective practice for preschoolers and kindergarteners here: www.naeyc.org/resources/ topics/technology-and-media/preschoolers-and-kindergartners ■ More is available on their page titled Technology and Young Children: Online Resources and Position Statement: www.naeyc.org/resources/topics/technology-and-media/ resources ■ Early Edge California developed a webinar on “Best Practices for Engaging Young Children and Their Families through Technology” that provides helpful advice: earlyedgecalifornia.org/webinar-technology-best-practices-for-engaging-youngchildren/ ■ The organisation also makes other related webinars: earlyedgecalifornia.org/distancelearning-webinars-from-early-edge-california/ ■ The International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) shares student standards, including videos, here: www.iste.org/iste-standards ■ In 2021, the California State Board of Education adopted the California Digital learning Integration and Standards Guidance, which provides many examples of digital learning, including for synchronous and asynchronous distance learning in grades K–12: www.cde. ca.gov/ci/cr/dl/documents/dlintegrationstdsguide.pdf Tips for Success (cont.) sample