Participate and share: Forum 
Preregistration Required
Educators who are responsible for, or interested in, the meaningful use of technologies with young learners (ages 3-8 years) often find themselves feeling isolated and in the role of constant “translation” of content, approaches, and materials to “fit” their setting, situation and learners’ needs. This forum will provide model STEM-rich learning activities, hands-on exploration of tools and approaches in the context of early learning, research tidbits related to technology and young learners, and discussions related to Computational Thinking and other "hot topics" in Educational Technology and Young Learners.
The purpose of this forum is to provide sustained, deeper exploration and discussion of the issues, challenges, opportunities and successes related to young learners and technologies while building professional relationships and informal support systems.
Key elements of the forum:
The forum will be highly interactive, providing formats and opportunities for participants to share and learn from each other as well as from invited experts.
The forum will include online tools for communicating between participants during and following the forum. These will include sharing lessons learned, additional resources, evidence of “what works” and more.
The forum will include a wide range of tools, resources, and activities which will provide active learning opportunities for participants around important topics, strategies and tools.
Participants will have a sneak peek at a preliminary ISTE guide designed for PreK- 3rd grade educators to support the application and integration of ISTE Standards in high quality STEM-rich, relationship-centered learning experiences.
Materials, links to resources and more will be provided to participants during the Forum.
Some baseline outcomes:
The participants are able to describe more than one approach to using technologies with young learners to others and explain some strengths and weaknesses.
The participants will have more than one implementable idea they can describe to others as a result of the forum.
The participants will have a growing interest and focus on ISTE Standards and young learners.
Outline:
Welcome (15 minutes)
Who’s in the room?
Session Goals and Introductions
Early Learners and Technology (15 minutes)
Interactive presentation with activity and discussion
Computational Thinking (30 minutes)
Presentation explores the 4 pillars of CT through early learning appropriate examples and activities. Interactive Presentation and Activities.
ISTE Standards for Early Childhood Education (25 minutes)
Interactive presentation and peer discussion on powerful applications of the ISTE Standards for Pre-K - 3rd grade learners.
STEM Concepts, Activities, and Technology (65 minutes)
Explore ideas and concepts for integrating technology in STEM learning PreK-3rd grade age groups. Hands-on activity samples and discussion, including a sneak peek of a preliminary draft of the ISTE Guide for Applying ISTE Standards to STEM Learning for Early Childhood Educators.
Reflection, Next Steps, and Call to Action (20 minutes)
DIscussion, Q&A, Sharing thoughts and ideas in the session and via an online site/document which can be referenced and updated after the Forum concludes.
Other Opportunities at the Conference related to Early Learning (5 minutes)
Evaluation (5 minutes)
Participants complete a short questionnaire about their experience in the forum.
The ideas articulated in this forum are supported by the four research-based guiding principles for use of technology with early learners articulated in the U.S. Department of Education, Office of Educational Technology’s Policy Brief on Early Learning and Use of Technology (https://tech.ed.gov/files/2016/10/Early-Learning-Tech-Policy-Brief.pdf):
Guiding Principle #1: Technology—when used appropriately—can be a tool for learning.
Guiding Principle #2: Technology should be used to increase access to learning opportunities for all children.
Guiding Principle #3: Technology may be used to strengthen relationships among parents, families, early educators, and young children.
Guiding Principle #4: Technology is more effective for learning when adults and peers interact or co-view with young children.
Bers, Marina Umaschi. (2022). Beyond Coding: How Children Learn Values through Programming. MIT Press.
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