Bloom into EdTech: The Blog

I started off my career over 12 years ago teaching preschool children computer technology. I can tell you a lot has changed in terms of computer technology education. Preschoolers are typing... Preschoolers are creating..... Preschoolers are problem solving..... Preschoolers are troubleshooting.... Preschoolers are coding! Go beyond the Hour of Code and  make code apart of you curriculum.  I love to introduce code to my Preschool and Kindergarten students by teaching them the basic fundamentals of coding: following directions. I begin by explaining to the class that to begin, we are going to pretend that you are robots and I am going to code you! After all, coding is simply giving a set of commands that need to be followed. I made this very basic "Program a Preschooler/Kindergartner" Google Slide here  (and you can grab a copy here ) that I used to introduce simple sets of directions (or algorithms). There are several ways in which you can employ this a...

Are you a daycare center, private in-home child care or preschool and are considering setting up a computer lab for children ages 3-4? You may be asking yourself- where do I start? What type of equipment will I need? My students look so little- what is the best computer hardware for their little hands? How long should a preschool computer class be? Well, I am here to answer a few questions for you! First we will start with some suggested technology hardware for the preschool-aged child: Suggested Keyboard to use - color coded. Try to find one that has vowels and constants in separate colors (helps with many lessons- of which you will find here) and that all the numbers are another color. Suggested Mouse: Small and multi-color is key. I personally found it easier to tell the 3-4 year old child to press on the blue-left side of the mouse than to say "left click". Suggested office furniture: Small- age appropriate desks like the one you see below that is best suited for ages 2...

Younger children who have just learned their ABC's in order, may have a hard time understanding, let alone memorizing the QWERTY Keyboard. This lesson is a fun way to learn basic keyboarding skills while revisiting the letters of the alphabet. At this age, you only want them to be comfortable at the keyboard- they soon will be proficient typists! For Grades: preschool-first grade Class time: 1 Class NETS Standards "6. Technology Operations and Concepts Students demonstrate a sound understanding of technology concepts, systems, and operations." Materials: Printable QWERTY Letters (PDF) Keyboard Optional: Electronic Whiteboard and Computer   Procedure: Prep: Print out and place the letters in QWERTY order on the floor in your computer lab. If you have tight space, a hallway would suffice. I would also suggest laminating the QWERTY letters. 1. Discuss the Keyboard while students are sitting at their seats. Point out that the letters are NOT in alphabetical order. I...