Use of iPads With Early Childhood Instruction

With all of the many different technologies available on the market, it can be overwhelming to try and decide which is right for you and your students. Cost, availability, training, and resources are all aspects to be considered. From my personal experience, the iPad has been an effective way of successfully integrating technology in the classroom. They are easily mobile, easy to store, offer a wide variety of configurations, and are always improving the design and updating educational functions.

There are many tools or applications (apps) that can be used free of charge with the iPad. While some apps cost money, they are reasonably affordable and you may be able to get a grant! iPads can be used for classroom management in addition to instruction in all of the content areas with options for assessment and scaffolding. Below is an infographic displaying some of the varieties of iPad use for both teachers and students:

In addition, there are many sites devoted to iPad use in early childhood education including: iPad Kids and the education.com educational technology section. 

Below is a video highlighting the top 10 free iPad apps to use with young children in education:

If your school is lacking in monetary resources or technology, there are many other private donation sites that may provide assistance. Donor's Choose (http://www.donorschoose.org) is one way to begin a grant for your classroom's iPads or other technology. I highly recommend this site!

Using Technology With English Language Learners

As an educator of diverse students, I am constantly looking for new and meaningful ways of using technology in the classroom. I received my T-ESOL (Teachers of English Speakers of Other Languages) endorsement with my Bachelor's degree from Georgia State University and many of my current students are English Language Learners. While many schools and districts offer additional educators to work with ESOL students for a specified time throughout the day, the homeroom teachers are still responsible for teaching these students the majority of the time. 

I began to notice a pattern of teachers simply placing their ESOL students on the computer to the same site and activity over and over again. These teachers seemed unsure about strategies and effective technology use with English Language Learners. Fortunately, there are a variety of successful and meaningful ways to use technology to provide differentiation and effective instruction with our students learning English as a second language. 

There is a website (TESOL.org) fully devoted to helping educators successfully work with English Language Learners. In a journal on the site about using technology, the issue is tackled by saying,  "This is what is currently lacking: the use of ICT [information and communications technology] applications to promote learning and interaction rather than [teachers'] just using a site to dump notes onto and expecting learning to automatically occur." Of course, if a child is learning a language, communication is a key component with which technology can enhance. There are many technological resources that can be used to promote and develop communication. The video below explores many of these methods including Skype, Blogger, Wikis, recording tools, and much more:

Many of our current uses of technology within the classroom can easily be adapted and/or modified to meet the needs of English Language Learners. Using technology in a meaningful way that promotes communication and language acquisition is an effective way of teaching English Language Learners.

For more information on successfully using technology with English Language Learners, visit the sites below:

Technology Resources Available for ESOL Teachers

EduBlogs to Promote Communication Via Technology

Technology and Second Language Teaching

Thank you for reading :)! 

K.Fountain