Ipads in Preschool?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Very bad idea. Young kids need to interact with the environment. As for developing "skills," by playing with the iPad--these can be learned in a couple of hours. There is no need to teach kids how to use touch screens. There is a tremendous need to teach kids how to share, wait in line, use the toilet, use words, observe the natural world, and run around.

I couldn't agree with you more, PP!

[Anonymous]

I wouldn't like it if this happened at our preschool.

[Anonymous]

To me it depends how they are being used and how much they are being used. If they are just out in one space and free play is allowed on them, then no, I wouldn't be ok with it. If they are using they for specific occasional projects that lead to other hands on projects then I'm ok with it. I don't see it as that different than using computers which I don't have a problem with.

[Anonymous]

Technology changes pretty fast. In a few years, iPads will be replaced by something else. I think using an iPad in preschool will not do much. It is designed to be intuitive. Its like teaching some to turn on a tv. It's more about the programs/ games on the ipad. They should learn c++!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I am a preschool teacher in a fantastic school in St. Louis. Our curriculum is a constructive, play-based curriculum. We do not have "themes" or teacher-directed activities. We provide provocations for the students and follow their lead as they discover. I am currently collaborating with two other teachers to write a grant for our school so that each classroom will have two ipads--one for the teachers and one for the students. Instead of vilifying the use of technology in the classroom, I believe that it might be better to take a step back and see how the technology will be used. Talk with the teachers to determine their plan for the use of the iPads. Are they used simply for games, or are they being used to follow up on the wonderings of the children in the classroom? Preschool is a place for exploration. Are the students wondering about weather and tornados? Use the iPad to look at how a tornado is formed...look at video of the wind in a tornado...extend that into classroom experimentation and create tornados in a bottle. Move your body like it is in a tornado. The children can brainstorm ways to be safe in a tornado. They can create their own video about tornados with the video capabilities of the iPad. The video is THEIRS. They decide what goes in the video, they create the content, they create the format. The video can be posted to their classroom blog. Parents watch the blog and see what their children are accomplishing through play. The teacher can use the iPad to document this process and explain the learning that is occurring with the students.

Preschool IS a place for play. And, play is the medium for learning in a good preschool. There is no place for worksheets, flashcards, or rote memorization. Children wonder; children create; children navigate relationships as they play. Technology is not the enemy. Technology is merely a tool to be used by good teachers as part of the learning experiences that children have. I encourage parents to ask questions, gather information, and engage in an ongoing dialogue with their child's teachers. Children learn everywhere. Our job as parents and educators is to make sure that they have access to many opportunities to learn and encouragement to investigate their world in as many ways as they can.

Couldn't you accomplish the same viewing with a laptop or TV? And, those would create a bit more distance. And, wouldn't drawing a picture of a tornado a be an imperative first step to learning about the design processes and aesthetic necessary for creating a video? It seems to me that it would essentially be teacher's product. I don't know, I'm old fashioned, but I don't think my kid needs to be a blog contributor at that age.

[Anonymous]

our school has computers... imagine my suprise when I picked my preschooler up and he was playing Plants vs. zombies. (and yes he plays it at home with old siblings but NOT the point the fact the 4/5 were allowed to play it at school was not acceptable)

[Anonymous]

I would be really disappointed if our preschool used iPads but I'm a big believer in the power of play and imagination. Just look up that article on all the Silicon Valley execs who send their kids to Waldorf schools and specifically avoid technology at an early age to encourage creativity.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Technology changes pretty fast. In a few years, iPads will be replaced by something else. I think using an iPad in preschool will not do much. It is designed to be intuitive. Its like teaching some to turn on a tv. It's more about the programs/ games on the ipad. They should learn c++!

Why?

[Anonymous]

My son's play-based preschool started using Ipads this year. The owner of the place wanted to bring more technology into the classroom. At first I was weary about it, but they really don't use them more for more than 10 min and it's usually some sort of game that involves phonics or tracing letters. Could they do these activities without the Ipad? Of course, but the kids really don't feel like they are doing "schoolwork", they look at tracing the letters as a game, not some mundane worksheet they have to copy.

Now if they were playing other non-school related games or using the ipads for extended amounts of time, then I would be concerned. But as long as they are used responsibly I think it's just fine.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Technology changes pretty fast. In a few years, iPads will be replaced by something else. I think using an iPad in preschool will not do much. It is designed to be intuitive. Its like teaching some to turn on a tv. It's more about the programs/ games on the ipad. They should learn c++!

LoL c# not c++

But yes we better get on board i am sure other countries don't have earthy Natural bs self taught "expert" parents fighting technolgy, vaccines, growing their own food, freaking out about organic,l.

[Anonymous]

No way. And who the hell is paying for this?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:
the dcps in my neighborhood is doing this. we don't like it. Parents should weigh in. They won't change their policies unless you do, and more and more pk's are starting to think this is a good idea.

Same, and we are not going to use the school in part because of it (and also because there is no focus on anything but reading and math...but....alas).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:My son's play-based preschool started using Ipads this year. The owner of the place wanted to bring more technology into the classroom. At first I was weary about it, but they really don't use them more for more than 10 min and it's usually some sort of game that involves phonics or tracing letters. Could they do these activities without the Ipad? Of course, but the kids really don't feel like they are doing "schoolwork", they look at tracing the letters as a game, not some mundane worksheet they have to copy.

Now if they were playing other non-school related games or using the ipads for extended amounts of time, then I would be concerned. But as long as they are used responsibly I think it's just fine.

I teach at a play based preschool and we don't use computers with the kids at all. They can trace their letters in the sand table, make them with play-doh, build them with blocks. Children learn more when they experience things, and using an electronic device takes away from those experiences.

[Anonymous]

DC privates don't use computers until 3d or 4th grade. Totally unnecessary.

[Anonymous]

This would cause me to pull my child out of the preschool. Developmentally inappropriate, unnecessary, possibly harmful.