Technology and Young Children : Bridging the Communication-Generation Gap

Teachers of young children are the technology gatekeepers in childcare programs. They are vital to the appropriate use of technology, yet little is documented concerning training and understanding of teachers’ role in classrooms. Technology and Young Children: Bridging the Communication-Generation Gap presents the view that beliefs, history, research, and policy are essential to changing the educational system with technology. The content should help teachers reflect on what is happening as the center of learning power moves outside the classroom. The suggestions for use of technology are designed to help educators ease into the use of technology rather than leap off the cliff of innovation, developing confidence and competence in their teaching.

Sally Blake is an associate professor in early childhood at the University of Memphis. Sally has been the PI on more than $600,000 dollars of Eisenhower funds and $700,000 of NASA funds for teacher training and professional development. Sally Blake was the Director and Co-PI of the NSF sponsored Partnership for Excellence in Teacher Education (PETE) and the Noyce Scholarship program at the University of Texas at El Paso. She was also a research fellow with the NSF Center for Research on Educational Reform,(MSP project) a teaching fellow with the NSF Center for Effective Teaching and Learning( MIE project), co-developer of the Research Pedagogical Labs and the MAT degree in the College of Science (MSP project), and Co-PI on the NSF GK-12 grant. She is the Faculty Research Director of the Barbara K. Lipman Early Childhood School and Research Institute.

Denise L. Winsor joined the academic community after working as a clinical psychologist. She piloted the Family Builders and Family Preservation grants in the 1980s. She has developed the Dynamic Systems Framework for Personal Epistemology Development, a systems model which aids the understanding of early childhood cognitive development. Her research interests include an emphasis on preschool-age children's knowledge and understanding and how to more effectively educate preschool children using developmentally appropriate practices in early childhood classrooms. Currently, Dr. Winsor is working in collaboration with multiple research teams to develop a science curriculum for preschool using science inquiry methods and utilizing a systems approach (i.e., child, teacher, parent and peer interactions) to better understand the epistemological development of very young children as they become school-ready. She is interested in teacher preparation methods, specifically metacognitive strategies that integrate theoretical, conceptual and applied tasks that aid students in high-order thinking related to real world settings.

Lee Allen is an Associate Professor of Instructional Design and Technology and Information Science at the University of Memphis. Dr. Allen has previously served as an Assistant Superintendent for technology services in the Dallas, TX public school district and as a teacher, school librarian, technology trainer and director of instructional technology in Santa Fe, NM. Dr. Allen's primary research interests are technology as a vehicle for organizational/institutional change, online teaching and learning, electronic portfolio development and situated learning in communities of practice. He is a Fulbright scholar, recently returned from the Ukraine.