WINSTON-SALEM, N.C.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Early Childhood Technology Collaborative today launched a series of surveys, The Early Childhood Technology Today Survey 2012: Ready to Ask New Questions (ECTechToday2012), to gauge administrators’ and classroom teachers’ views and practices with interactive educational technology in early childhood education programs. Results of these focused surveys are expected to fill a void in the research and teaching literature about educational technology use in early childhood classrooms The series begins with an overview survey and will be followed by surveys focusing on individual interactive technologies in order to explore in-depth how each of these is used with early learners.
“Based on a recent review of literature, The Early Childhood Technology Collaborative identified substantial gaps in the knowledge-base about what actually happens between children and technology in early childhood programs and classrooms,” said Dale McManis, co-founder of the Early Childhood Technology Collaborative. “This information gap is causing teachers and administrators to make ill-informed decisions about educational technology, potentially compromising children’s positive learning experiences.”
The Early Childhood Technology Today Survey 2012 includes a series of focused questionnaires being administered to educators in public and private preschools and early elementary programs through spring and early summer 2012. As new surveys are released, respondents will have an opportunity to participate in earlier surveys. Key findings will be released after each survey and the aggregated results of the survey series will be available in late summer 2012. Surveys can be accessed through http://ow.ly/9u5Vp.
“Administrators and teachers have to make serious decisions about how to spend money and time on technology tools but yet there is a lack of availability of appropriate professional development and ongoing technical support for technology implementation in early childhood programs. We want to assess how early childhood educators feel about their ability to use technology tools properly, and if they receive the support they need to use technology effectively,” said Karen Nemeth, co-founder of the Early Childhood Technology Collaborative.
“As an early childhood technologist and former child care program director, I have seen first-hand how well educational technology really works in the hands of teachers who are confident and well-prepared. On the other hand, I’ve seen many examples of costly mistakes and poor implementation that hampered outcomes,” said Fran Simon, co-founder of the Early Childhood Technology Collaborative. “The Early Childhood Technology Today Survey 2012 is intended to begin clarifying what is needed to inform and support administrators as they make technology decisions for use in early childhood education settings.”
About The Early Childhood Technology Collaborative:
The Early Childhood Technology Collaborative was established by Lilla Dale McManis, Ph.D., Karen Nemeth, M.Ed., and Fran Simon, M.Ed., to bring experts from different aspects of the early childhood education field together with the goal of developing an in-depth understanding of the experiences of young children and early childhood educators with interactive technologies. For more information about The Early Childhood Technology Today Survey 2012 project, please visit: http://www.ecetech.net/surveys.
McManis specializes in research on educational technology and early learners with a focus on school readiness and early school success. She is currently the Research Director for Hatch Early Learning, an organization which develops original evidence-based learning technology for educational settings.
Nemeth is an author and consultant, co-founder of www.languagecastle.com, and frequently writes and speaks on the use of technology in preschool classrooms as a means to support diverse learning needs and different languages. Her book, Digital Decisions: Choosing the Right Technology Tools for Early Childhood Education, co-authored by Fran Simon, will be released fall 2012.
Simon is a consultant and founder of Engagement Strategies, LLC, founder of Early Childhood Investigations Webinars, co-founder with Karen Nemeth of ECEtech.net, and co-author of Digital Decisions: Choosing the Right Technology Tools for Early Childhood Education.