Veronica Santos

ECED 12h30
Technology Awareness Reflection

Highlights from the article:

In the article “Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in

Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth to Age 8” found on
www.naeyc.org, it starts off by talking about the many different forms of technology they
are meaning. The article says that “when used wisely, technology and media can
support learning and relationships.” The article also mentions that technology and
interactive media that have a good developmental foundation can be beneficial in early
childhood. This position statement guides early childhood educators on technology and
interactive media, the help in all the areas of development. These include cognitive,
physical, social/emotional, and more. They give credit to Fred Rogers for guidance. The
article says “ By appropriately and intentionally using the technology of his day-
broadcast television- to connect with each individual child and with parents and families,
Fred Rogers demonstrated the positive potential of using technology and media in ways
that are grounded in principles of child development.”

Technology is all around and is only growing and developing more and more. The
article makes it clear that children need to have experiences with technology but they
won’t benefit from too much. Technology helps families with their daily lives and helps
teachers with education and professionalism. The number of hours children are
spending with screen time is growing. According to the article by NAEYC “...without
guidance, usage can be inappropriate and/or interfere with learning and development.”
In the article, it was said that The American Academy of Pediatrics and the White House
Task Force on Childhood Obesity day that allowing children under the age of two to
have access to media and screen time is not recommended. Children older than two are
not recommended to have more than two hours a day. It is believed that it may be tied
to a contributing factor of childhood obesity. The food commercials on ads can be
appealing to children but are not as healthy for them.

The purpose of this article is to inform people on the growth in technology and its
benefits but also the negative effect it can have when it’s not used purposefully and
correctly. The article talks about the different forms of technology and the ways that it
can be used to benefit educators and their students. I think this article was mainly
written to help educators understand that it’s beneficial if used correctly meaning not
above the recommended time for that specific age group. The second article does a
nice job of sharing technology tools along with media.

Critical analysis and application:

While doing my practicums one of the first things I noticed was all the technology and
the time limit with it. It was more so restricted in the preschool classroom than in the
school-age class. I saw technology used solely for lesson videos in the preschool room
and for go noodle. However, in kindergarten the children often use technology. They
use it for reading, playtime, watching videos for the lesson, like a microphone and more.
I one hundred percent agree with the article that technology can be helpful but also
needs to be used appropriately and not so frequently. I did not know that it is
recommended that children under two not have any screen time. I wish I would have
known this or I would never have let my brother and Linda start getting so addicted to it.
I also didn’t know childhood obesity was a thing. I knew some kids were lighter or
heavier than others but that is all I ever knew I didn’t know that a child could reach a
weight where they were considered obese.

I love that the article talked about making sure the use of tech. Is culturally appropriate.
It is so important that we respect cultures and other things that make us diverse. I also
liked the following statement from the article called “Technology and Interactive Media
as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth to Age 8” and it reads
... "The adult’s role is critical in making certain that thoughtful planning, careful
implementation, reflection, and evaluation all guide decision making about how to
introduce and integrate any form of technology or media into the classroom experience."
This tells of all the specific and careful work going into planning/ implementing it into
their daily schedule/curriculum. I however liked a specific statement from " Selected
Examples of Effective Classroom Practice Involving Technology Tools and Interactive
Media”, this article says that "If technology is used, it must be in the context of
conversation and interactions with an adult." I feel that this is super important for people
to know. Technology needs to be purposeful not just pointless entertainment to hush a
child. When I think about this I often remember how my aunt used to babysit children
and they sat in front of a tv. Those children now show to be behind in school. I really do
think the pointless use of technology can have that bad of an effect on children. The
same article also gave an example of allowing children to use tech for access to a
picture of their family.

Concluding summary:

Technology is not always bad but it can have a positive effect as well if implemented
well and used correctly. Technology should not be used without a specific purpose
behind it. It is very important to be purposeful about when, how, and what technology
you use. It is important that children however don’t spend too much time on Technology.
Too much time can have the complete opposite effect on them. It also talked about how
technology is developing and growing. This I agree with, I feel that technology is in fact
growing, and children are exposed to it at a young age but making this exposure
purposeful and communicating this same importance with their family can and will make
a huge difference. "As they do for young children, educators have a
responsibility to parents and families to model appropriate, effective, and positive uses
of technology, media, methods of communication, and social media that are safe,
secure, healthy, acceptable, responsible, and ethical.", this was quoted from the article
“Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving
Children from Birth to Age 8”. Educators spend so much time with children and I think
this quote highlights the fact that adults play such a big part in their learning and
teachers jobs are to give children the best possible experience/ exposure of technology.