Stretching And Motivating Young Minds Through Technology

My Students

One of my favorite quotes is, "A mind stretched by a new idea can never go back to its original dimension." - Oliver Wendell Holmes. My goal as a kindergarten teacher is stretch the young minds of my students and instill a passion for new discoveries.

My students come from a wide range of socio-economic backgrounds.

Our school is in California and does not have funds to provide students with the resources they need to flourish in the twenty-first century. Their prior school, play, and technology exposure vary greatly. For this reason (and as technology continues to play a larger role in classroom learning and state testing) it is important that all of my students have more frequent and richer experiences with technology at school. In addition, what child does not enjoy learning through play and games? Whether they are reading proficiently or just learning to speak English, most children pick-up concepts more quickly when they are engaged in what they perceive is a game. As for today's generation, the game platforms they gravitate towards are often technology based such as iPads. My goal is for all of my kindergartners to experience the levels of learning that technology can provide.

My Project

I would like two iPad Minis with kid safe cases and styluses for my class of 30 to share during our daily centers, transition time, whole group learning, intervention, and as a special student reward. With the ever growing number of educational apps, I will be able to keep the students engaged with challenging and relevant learning experiences that were once only available in labs or on field trips. Those kids who already have a strong understanding of the alphabetic principle can use the tablets for more challenging activities. Those struggling on letter recognition may focus on that. All students will be able to work on problem solving math programs, phonetic building activities, and science applications. There are endless possibilities the iPads can provide.

The diversity that technology offers seems to motivate both struggling and exceptional students.

If I can bring two iPad minis into the classroom students will become opportunities to explore non-fiction literature, work on problem solving math, and explore areas that interest them. Struggling students will receive extra time to work on engaging reading and math activities and more experienced kids can progress to higher level learning!