Jamie Mei Professional Development Chapter summary Book: Digital Decisions By: Fran Simon and Karen Nemeth

Chapter 13: Parents and Commonsense, Technology-Rich Classrooms An effective curriculum includes parents involvement to enrich children's early learning experience, which includes technology. The passback effect: when parents use technology to pacify their children. This type of media use places separation between parents and young children. Our role as early childhood educators is to help families develop healthy media habits, while making the most technology available to them. For example co-participation, when parents or adults spend time engaging in interactive technology with children. It is also important to inform parents the importance of finding balance between technology use and the child's physical, social, emotional, and intellectual needs. The ways in which technology can be a linked to your relationship with families: 1. creating opportunities to educate parents about using technology at home. 2. Planning equal access for individual children and the group. 3. Using technology to connect and communicate with parents.

Chapter 14: Digital Literacy for Teachers and Children Digital literacy is having the ability to find and use information and to communicate using digital technology. Teaching digital natives and leveling the playing field. Digital natives are people who are born into a digital world and know no other way of life. These people will intuitively absorb the skills because they already know the language. Media literacy- understanding and using all type of media Consumer Literacy - Understanding and analyzing commercial messages. Digital Literacy - Understanding and using technology Language and Literacy - Understanding and using language to communicate.

Digital literacy in the context of the classroom, top five priorities: 1. Basic hardware and software skills 2. Internet skills 3. Online safety, security, and privacy 4. Media literacy: communication and locating and analyzing credible information online 5. Online consumer awareness Chapter 16: Building and supporting Commonsense, technology rich programs How to evaluate, implement, and manage technology in your program. The elements needed to set your program for success: 1. developing a clear vision: an idea of what you want your staff to do and provide 2. Knowing what is possible 3. Arranging professional development for your staff 4. Setting up an internal network for you and your staff 5. setting up an external network for you and your staff 6. creating a technology plan that includes policies and procedures 7. outlining your expectations for success 8. being willing to communicate with parents about the technology program 9. obtaining funding 10. setting up an evaluation and reporting system Technology should not be used to entertain some groups of children while one teacher is working with another group. It should not be used as a reward. It should not be used without a specific objective in mind. Technology should provide a appropriate level of challenge without excessive frustration or boredom.

Chapter 17: Technology Plans for Commonsense, Technology-rich programs The planning process for including technology in your curriculum should be: 1. collaborative and inclusive: teachers, parents, board members, and community member involvement 2. Be compressed: have a written plan in a month to six weeks. It needs to correlate to your budget 3. Result in a plan that can actually be implemented: it should not be over ambitious. It should be broken down in phases that c an be accomplished over five years. 4. Based on realistic financing and funding Reflection These chapters were informative. It provided much information about planning and evaluation. Moving forward, I feel that I can used the material that I learned here to help myself in planning to incorporate technology into my curriculum.