Tammy Meyering
Introduction Overview  Narratives Exhibits Reflection
    Looking Back...

    What Went Well

        I feel that every lesson that I introduced to the children went very well.  The children were always very excited to use the technology and faced the new experiences with an eagerness to learn.  I found that using several different methods of technology (digital camera, computer software, video camera, and the Internet) provided the children with various experiences that helped build on their learning in different ways and to reflect and expand on their understandings on different levels.  One of the only drawbacks that I found when I began introducing technology to the students was that I was not able to keep up with the children's desire to learn about and experience new technology.  However, this is one drawback that I eagerly welcome and hope that it will encourage my desire to learn more in order to provide my students with more opportunities.

    How My Students Were Helped

        I feel that incorporating technology in the classroom helped my students in many different ways.  First, bringing technology to the students that the students are unfamiliar with provides them with new experiences that broadens their learning.   There were several experiences that would not have been as memorable without the use of technology.  For example, the lesson on the Sequoia tree made learning about measuring more exciting.  While we were measuring and charting the width of the children's trees, the students were engaged and interested.  But when I brought in information from the internet about trees in California that are big enough for cars to drive through, the children were ecstatic and eager to find out how wide the trees measured.  Finding the information needed off the Internet was quick and easy and it provided the students with an opportunity to make learning more enjoyable and memorable. 
         Another example is when we took pictures of each child with their tree.  This provided the children with more ownership of the tree.  Being able to look at a picture hanging in their classroom of themselves with their trees made the children more interested in learning about trees and the characteristics of trees.  Having pictures of their trees in the classroom also provided the children with a way to help their memory and recall skills.  When asked about their trees several days after adopting the trees, many children could not remember what their trees looked like.  However, looking at their picture instantly brought the memory back and they were able to talk about and draw pictures of their trees.
         I also feel that my students were helped by the technology introduced in the classroom because it provided the students with an easier way to record thoughts and ideas.  As kindergartners, many of their fine motor skills (such as the ability to write and draw with a pencil) are still developing.  Many of the children find themselves getting frustrated when drawing pictures or writing words with paper and pencil.  Often they can not make the image on the paper look like the image in their mind.  Or sometimes they are too focused on remembering what individual letters look like that they forget what words they were trying to write.  I found that with the Kid Pics pictures, the children were able to make more accurate pictures on the computer.  Their drawings were not limited by their developing fine motor skills and we are able to see what the idea was that they were trying to draw.  Also, they did not have to worry about what individual letter look like or how to draw letters.  Rather they were able to focus on the words they wanted to write and the thoughts they wanted to convey.

    What I Learned

        Through the MITTEN project, I learned that in order to provide my students with well rounded, rich experiences, I must be willing to incorporate technology in the curriculum.  Not only should I be willing to incorporate technology, but I also must actively seek out ways to provide students with new experiences that involve technology.  I feel that at the beginning of this project, I was apprehensive about bringing technology into an Early Childhood environment.  I was doubtful that the children would be able to use or understand the technology I introduced to them.  I found that I greatly underestimated the children and their physical and mental capabilities.  For example, the children were able to work through the Kid Pics software very comfortably.  In fact, the children found things in the software that I did not know about and were able to teach me!  I think that incorporating technology into Early Childhood settings is very important to the children's learning, because it provides them with experiences that encourage the whole child (physical, mental, and social development).
  
Questions or Comments: tmeyerin@hotmail.com