1-095 - • Effective Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Integrative Statement

Over the past two decades, technology has become increasingly prevalent in early care and education settings, growing out of the recognition that technology may be used to improve program practice and, ultimately, children’s learning and development. Yet, little is known about how and to what degree programs use technology to support and improve the quality of practice. The goal of this symposium is to present the results of a recent review of practitioners’ use of technology and highlight one evidence-based use of technology to support early childhood practice in each of three domains: 1) instruction and assessment, 2) parent, family and community engagement (PFCE), and 3) professional improvement.

The first paper will describe both widespread and cutting edge uses of technology across all three domains, and outline the most common facilitators and barriers to successful integration of technology to support practice. The second paper will examine the effective use of the C-PALLS+ formative assessment and instructional platform to improve student outcomes by optimizing differentiated instruction. The third paper will explore home visitors’ use of cell phones to significantly increase PFCE and improve family and child outcomes. The fourth paper will investigate the use of the MyTeachingPartner program to enable and enhance practitioner professional development through web-mediated coaching. This symposium will create a unique forum where researchers and practitioners interested in understanding the impact of technology use in early childhood education can learn about and discuss some of the most innovative uses of technology that have been rigorously evaluated to date.

Sub Unit

• School Readiness/Childcare

Chairs

• Marc W Hernandez, NORC

• Susan Walker, University of Minnesota

Individual Presentations

• Review of the Uses of Technology to Support Early Childhood Practice - Presenting Author: Marc W Hernandez, NORC; Kathleen M. Dwyer, Administration for Children & Families, US Dept. Health & Human Services; Elc Estrera, NORC at the University of Chicago

• Using Technology to Provide an Integrated Professional Development System for Early Childhood Educators - Presenting Author: Susan H. Landry, University of Texas Health Science Center - Houston; Michael Assel, University of Texas Health Science; Tricia A Zucker, University of Texas-Houston Health Science Center; April Crawford, Children's Learning Institute, University of Texas Health Science; Jeffrey Williams, Children's Learning Institute, University of Texas Health Science; Pauline Monseque-Bailey, Children's Learning Institute, University of Texas Health Science

• Using Cellular Phones to Enhance Parent Engagement in Home Visiting Parenting Programs - Presenting Author: Judith J Carta, University of Kansas; Jennifer Elizabeth Burke Lefever, University of Notre Dame; Kathryn Bigelow, Juniper Gardens Children's Project; John G Borkowski, University of Notre Dame

• MyTeachingPartner Video Coaching: What We Have Learned about Impacts and Teacher Engagement - Presenting Author: Bridget K. Hamre, University of Virginia; Robert C Pianta, University of Virginia; Jason Downer, University of Virginia; Jennifer LoCasale-Crouch, University of Virginia