Early Childhood Educators' Use of Digital Technology in Personal and Educational Settings

• In Event: Digital technologies in ECD

Proposal

The increasing penetration of digital technologies into educational settings has changed how teachers communicate, select and structure educational resources, and even their teaching practices (Bourbour, 2020). Providing well-designed activities using digital tools has a positive impact on children's skills (Biancarosa & Griffiths, 2012; Mertala, 2019). Applications such as computers, tablets, educational games, and multimedia presentations increase children's motivation (Çakıroğlu & Taşkın, 2016; Huffstetter et al., 2010; Istenic et al., 2016). Again, with the use of digital devices such as tablets, computers, and mobile phones, children develop basic literacy skills such as writing letters, seeing words, spelling, vocabulary, comprehension, understanding and telling stories, and grammar (Blackwell et al., 2014; Pervolaraki et al., 2017). Kucirkova et al. (2014) found that iPad storytelling apps had a positive impact on children's individual and collaborative engagement and problem-solving skills. Similarly, Lieberman et al. (2009) concluded that digital media products positively affect cognitive skills such as observation, thinking, collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving. Research emphasizes the importance of using digital technology (DT) in early childhood education to support children's development and learning. However, for this to be possible, in addition to research focusing on educators' views on the use of DT and its impact on children, it is necessary to determine the current use of DT and the areas of DT use that can be supported. This research is part of a project supported by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TUBITAK) to examine early childhood educators' use of DTs through observation, interview, and document review methods. This research aims to examine educators' use of DTs inside and outside the classroom, focusing on preferences in DT use, comfort in use, and frequency of use. Sixteen educators from three different schools participated in the study. All participants worked in non-profit schools in Michigan, 9 (56.25%) in kindergarten and 7 (43.74%) in preschool. Participants ranged in age from 32 to 65 years old and had between 7 and 35 years of teaching experience. Their educational level was one bachelor's degree (6.25%), one doctorate (6.25%), and 14 master's qualifications (87.5%). Among the teachers, 3 (18.75%) were working as administrators, 1 (6.25%) as a special education teacher, 2 (12.5%) as a 3-year-old, 1 (6.25%) as a 3-4 mixed age, 3 (18.75%) as a 4-year-old, and 6 (37.5%) as a 5-year-old teacher. Thirteen (81.25%) participants have an elementary teaching certificate and 10 (62.5%) have ZA/ZS endorsement. The DTs that the participants have at home and in educational settings, their comfort with using DTs, how long they use them, and how often they use DTs in educational settings were evaluated. Data were collected through a questionnaire form with questions developed concerning previous studies (Marsh et al., 2015; Thorpe et al., 2015) regarding the participants' personal information and opinions. The questionnaires were sent via e-mail and received back. In the questionnaire, along with personal information, participants' comfort with digital technology was assessed using a 13-item self-report questionnaire. Participants were asked to answer the question “How comfortable are you with using the following technologies?” about a range of different DTs from “1 not at all comfortable” to “5 very comfortable”. Participants were asked to indicate how often they use educational games, Web searching, word processing, and drawing programs, which are computer-based activities in the educational environment, for themselves and the children in their classrooms, ranging from every day to never/not in class. The numbers and percentages of the participants were calculated and graphs and tables were created. As a result of the research, it was seen that 12 of the participants used the internet between 1-3 and 3-5 hours (37.5%); some participants used the internet for only 1 hour (n=1, 6.25%) and over 7 hours (n=1, 6.25%). It was observed that the participants had the most laptop computers (n=15, 93%) and all of them had smartphones (n=16, 100%). Participants were most comfortable using e-mail (n=12, 75%) and mobile programs (n=10, 62.5%), while the DTs that they were not comfortable or only slightly comfortable using were using storytelling programs such as Microsoft Photo Story (n=11, 68.75%) and editing digital photos (n=8, 50%). Looking at the DTs in the participants' educational environments, it was seen that the participants had the most desktop computers (n=15, 93.75%) and the least electronic whiteboards (n=4, 25%). It was determined that the participants used computers and the internet (n=14, 87.5%) the most and audio recording devices, social media and communication tools, and television and educational videos (n=3, 18.7%) the least. It was seen that the participants used computer-based activities for themselves during the education process every day or most days, mostly Web-searcing (n=14, 87.5%) and word processing (n=14, 87.5%), while the use of computer-based activities for children was very low (n=2, 12.5%). It was determined that the participants did not use drawing programs for themselves and their children (n=11, 68.75%; n=13, 81.25%) with the option of never/not in class. The results of the study underline the extent to which early childhood educators use DT in their lives and educational environments. When the related studies are examined, it is noted that although educators have positive attitudes toward the use of DT, the use of DT in educational settings is limited (Bay, 2022; Demir, 2015; Konca & Erden, 2021; Thorpe et al., 2015). It is very important for the educator, who has a key role in the use of ICT in the educational process, to enrich the educational environment by using technology (Bourbour, 2020). It is thought that the results of the research will contribute to diversifying and increasing the DT tools available in educational environments, empowering educators through training on DTs that they do not feel comfortable using, and increasing the use of DT tools and computer-based activities that educators prefer to use less in educational environments.

Authors

• Dondu Neslihan Bay, MSU

• Douglas K. Hartman, Michigan State University