What’s REALLY Happening with

Technology in Early Childhood Education?Voices from the Field:

2012 National Early Childhood Technology Today Survey

Lilla Dale McManis, Ph.D. Karen Nemeth, Ed.M. Fran Simon, M.Ed.

CS2277

Copyright 2013 by ECTC. All rights reserved.

Early Childhood Technology

Collaborative (ECTC)

• The Early Childhood Technology Collaborative

(ECTC) is a group of three early childhood

technologists with lots of questions:

• Lilla Dale McManis, Ph.D. from Hatch Early

Learning,

• Karen Nemeth, Ed.M. and

• Fran Simon, M.Ed. from Early Childhood Technology

Network

Rationale for Study

• How technology is used in early childhood education

classrooms not well understood (Prek-3rd grade)

• Current surveys often about home use of technology with

young children or mix passive with interactive

technologies

• There is a need to hear directly from educators about how

they are using interactive information processing

technologies with children in the classroom

Surveys to Date

• Many current surveys focus on home use

– Zero to Eight: Children’s Media Use in America

– Digital Childhood: Electronic Media and Technology Use Among

Infants, Toddlers, and Preschoolers

• Just a handful included or focused on early childhood

– Digitally Inclined

– Deepening Connections

– Tech in the Lives of Teachers

• Those with ECE educators asked questions about passive

& interactive technologies simultaneously

• Additionally, questions very global-rarely moving beyond

“do you have”

Methodology

• Online Survey series

– Survey I: Teachers & Administrators

– Survey II: Teachers

• Spring/summer 2012

• Open to anyone in the world

• Active = “Information Processing” Technologies

such as Desk/laptops, IWBs, Tablets, Smartphones,

Other Handhelds versus

• Passive = “Simple” Technologies such as Televisions,

CD Players, Digital cameras

Who Responded?

• These results are based on the 485 respondents in

the U.S.

• There were 116 Administrator respondents

• There were 369 Teacher respondents

• The demographics are comparable from Survey I and

Survey II were similar and are combined.

Demographics of Respondents

The main demographics are:

• Serve Pre-K (2-5 year olds) and/or School Age (K-3rd

grade)

• Public School, Head Start, Childcare, Private School

• Urban, Rural, Suburban

• Serve more children of poverty (50% or more), Serve

fewer children of poverty (less than 50%)

• New educator (less than 5 yrs), Experienced educator

(more than 5 years)

• Degreed (4 yr or higher), Non-degreed

About the Respondents

Community Type Poverty Children Served

About the Respondents

Program Type Ages Children Served

About the Respondents

Degreed (4 yr & up) Years Experience

Why ECE Educators Use Technology?

Our first area of interest was around the reasons that

early childhood educators use technology with the

children in their program classrooms…..

Main Reasons for Using

Most Important Uses

What Technology is Used?

Our next area of interest was in knowing which of the

active technologies are being used in the classrooms

with early learners….

Types of Technology in Use

What Educators Don’t Have

but Would Like for Children

How Much Time is Tech Used?

Next we explored how much time active technologies

are used in the classroom with the children….

How Many Days of the Week

Desk/Laptops

Believe Appropriate Actually Spend

IWBs

Believe Appropriate Actually Spend

Tablets

Believe Appropriate Actually Spend

Trends

• Used regularly but not excessively

• Used because children enjoy it & it helps meet goals

of program

• More a support than for direct instruction

• What’s used follows availability

• Differences but not easily discernible pattern between

beliefs and practices for amount of time with tech

What is the Focus of Activities?

We turned our attention next to the types of learning

activities in which the children engage…

How Often Tech is Used

Language/Literacy Mathematics

How Often Tech is Used

Science Social Studies

How Often Tech is Used

Logic/Problem Solving Approaches to Learning

How Often Tech is Used

Art Music

How Often Tech is Used

Social-Emotional

What is the Setting Like?

We wanted to know more about the setting in which the

use of technology by the children takes place such as

groupings and the involvement of the teacher….

How Children are Grouped

How Children are Grouped

How Children are Grouped

Who is Guiding Activities

Who is Guiding Devices

Who is Guiding Devices

Who is Guiding Devices

Trends

• Used more for traditional content areas

• Rarely used to support social-emotional goals

• Groupings (ranging from individual to whole group) vary

by device type

• Educators “drive” some kinds of tech more than others

• But give children lots of opportunities to “drive” too

• Do ensure balance between teacher-guided and child-

initiated for learning activities themselves

How are Goals Monitored?

We queried about how technology is used to determine

the extent children are meeting the learning goals of

their program….

Determining Learning

How Often in Lesson Plans

For Children Needing Extra Support?

We wondered about technology being used with

children who need extra support such as Dual/English

Language Learners (DLL/ELL) and children with special

needs….

DLL/ELL Learners

Tech with DLL/ELL Learners

Chosen specifically to meet needs

of ELL children

In every language spoken in your

group now

Special Needs Learners

Special Needs Learners

Devices used

with special

needs children

What is the Nature of Content?

The survey addressed the content used in early

education classrooms such as sources,

obstacles/weaknesses, and money spent….

How Often Sources Used

$ Spent on Websites Per Year

Program Personal

$ Spent on Software Per Year

Program Personal

$ Spent on Apps Per Year

Program Personal

Obstacles/Weakness of Content

Professional Development?

We were interested in the professional development

experiences of educators on using technology with early

learners….

Types Professional Development

Comfort Level Using w/ Children

Desk/laptops IWBs 1 = not at all, 5 = completely

Comfort Level Using w/ Children

Tablets 1 = not at all, 5 = completely Multi-touch Tables

Trends

• Being used to monitor progress

• Tech-learning activities not captured regularly in lesson

plans

• Seems available but low implementation for DLL/ELL

children and special needs children

• Teachers not spending personal dollars to a great

degree on content

• Educators overwhelmingly using free over paid content;

cost main concern

• Many different kinds of PD available

and most have received

• More comfortable with more established tech

What’s the Bottom Line?

We’re going to close with findings that to us sums it all

up….

Best Support for Using Tech

Q & A

Suggested readings

• Simon, F. & Nemeth, K. (2012). Digital Decisions: Choosing the Right

Technology Tools for Early Childhood Education. Lewisville, NC:

Gryphon House

http://www.gryphonhouse.com/store/trans/productDetailForm.asp?Book

ID=10023

• McManis, L.D. & Gunnewig, S. (2012). Finding the education in

educational technology with early learners. Young Children, 67(3), 14-

25. http://www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201205/McManis_YC0512.pdf

Acknowledgement

• The Early Childhood Technology Collaborative would like to thank Perry

McManis, M.A. Economics, for statistical analyses of the survey data

Evaluation

• Please remember to complete your FETC Evaluation: Session CS2277

Learn More-Stay Connected

• LinkedIn: Early Childhood Technology Network

• Twitter: #ecetechchat Every Other Weds. @

9pm ET

• http://www.ecetech.net/

• Facebook @ Hatch Early Childhood

• ISTE SIG ELT