The computer is probably one of the most common forms of digital technology that a young child has in their own home and may well be responsible for their level of ICT capability and digital literacy that you may understand when they enter your early childhood learning environment.
This may not just be because they have used it themselves but as young children learn the most through observation, they could have observed their parents using either a desktop computer or a laptop. Additionally, as they are common in society they might have seen adults operating computers in banks, or in mum and dad’s office, or even on television.
It is important for children to feel comfortable and safe and be allowed maximum independence to further their learning when they come to your early childhood learning environment.
What questions do you need to ask yourself as an early childhood practitioner, when teaching computers to preschoolers?
Here are nine questions that you need to consider.
- Is the child’s eye level with the monitor? It is a good idea to have an adjustable monitor so that even if you just have one computer, you can adjust the height. This also goes for adjustable chairs.
- Are they sitting at a comfortable distance from the monitor? Not too close or too far away.
- Are their feet firmly on the ground? If not, you could use a block to support their feet.
- Is the chair the correct size? If you look around, there are companies who sell children’s computer chairs that are not on castors.
- Is the mouse child-size? Don’t use an adult size mouse as this will not be comfortable for young children. They are affordable so look around for one that is developmentally appropriate.
- Can children with additional needs access the computer? Switches that are operated with pressure from the whole hand are ideal and are easier to use. Have you considered tracker balls?
- Is the keyboard child friendly? Nowadays, there are many different types of keyboards and you can find ones that have large clear lower case letters. Also consider the keyboards that have a thin skin that prevents sand from dropping inside. You must choose the ones that have all the relevant keys to allow for experimentation of punctuation and symbols.
- Is the software appropriate? This relates to the DATEC guiding principles that it must be educational and transparent along with being to use and understand.
- Are adults using the correct vocabulary? This is important that you and any other adult sitting down with the young child on a computer to do so as it further develops their ICT capability. It is also useful so that the children have the language to ask for help when it is needed.
Some other ideas that you can employ when teaching computers to preschoolers includes:
- Using a sand timer to show children how to self-regulate their time on the computer.
- Display a range of programs that the children can access at their own level of understanding and development.
- Add role play software to laptops that you can set up alongside children’s role play.
- Use software to support peripheral hardware such as webcam software that will capture still and moving images.
- Consider the use of laptops in different areas of the room to enable meaningful and independent use of a computer.
Developing children’s autonomy with digital technology in preschool activities is essential. When teaching computers to preschoolers these are the key questions that you need to consider in your planning to make learning meaningful and independent today.
