Little Learners & Power Tools — How, When and Why (No Safety Goggles Needed)

Purpose & objective

Working with diverse young learners, defined as 3 to 7 or 8 year olds, has long been a rewarding challenge. When the presenter began teaching with technology tools in the 1980s there were very few tools which could be used by little learners, particularly those who were not yet reading. WOW how things have changed! There are now a myriad of technology-rich, technology-enabled and technology-delivered tools and resources now available, often touted as being for young children... and SOME of these are really great. As the Covid-19 Pandemic struck the world, many families and educators turned to technology as a way to help young learners, sometimes with great success, sometimes with limited educational outcomes, sometimes with laughter and sometimes with tears. There was little time for planning, training, study, and reflection, there was no time to lose. Educators worldwide did their best to use tools they had and new tools as they became available to provide good learning opportunities for their young students. There is a lot to be celebrated, and there is always more to learn. In this session we will explore together a few tools, online and/or app-based, and examine how we can use them to provide powerful learning experiences for young learners with active, creative uses in mind.

This session will be layered. Participants will experience tools as learners and also as teachers and/or families and will explore methodologies which can provide active learning and sharing opportunities for their learners.

Interactive tools which will be the focus of this session. These tools may include Padlet, Book Creator, Jamboard, Google Slides, digital cameras, and more. The specific tools will be decided closer to the conference as new tools are always being developed.

The session will be successful if participants leave with new confidence in their skills and new ideas about using tools (new or familiar) in active learning settings with young learners. The success of the session will also be evident in the sharing of work during the session.

Outline

This session will seek a balance of discussion, exploration, development, and reflection all in a format to encourage working together in parallel actions, paired or group activities and individual reflection. (depending on platform and environment (online or face-to-face).)

1. Introduction (via online tool and discussion) - individuals and then large group discussion (as entering, 5 min)
- This will be using a tool which will be revisited as a learning tool for young learners later in the session.

2. Discussion, Exploring the Issue/Challenge:
Discussion lead by the presenter related to the need for powerful uses of technologies with and for young learners. This will include an examination of the developmental needs and the technological possibilities non-examples and better examples will be included. - presenter lead, small group discussion, examples, first-hand experience (20 min)

3. Exploration of tools:
Typical format for each tool will be:
--- Presenter overview
--- Participants exploration
--- Discussion about tool, educational goals
--- Creation/exploration by participants with guidance/support by the presenter

4. Development of Own Project(s):
Time allowed for participants to create (or begin to create) an activity or tool they might use with their own students. Presenter will support, circulate and encourage.

5. Sharing:
Participants will use a presenter-provided tool to share their "works-in-progress" or "ideas to refine" so all can learn from each other.

6. Reflection:
As John Dewey reminds us, we learn not by doing, but by reflecting on doing (paraphrased). There will be time for participants to reflect on the session and how they might use things they learned, or NOT use things they learned, going forward.

Supporting research

Here are just a few links related to the content and format of this session:

https://ies.ed.gov/ncee/edlabs/regions/midwest/blogs/online-education-young-learners.aspx

https://www.oapub.org/edu/index.php/ejoe/article/view/3080/5717

https://pressto.amu.edu.pl/index.php/rp/article/view/28379

https://www.atlantis-press.com/article/125945308.pdf