Jasmin Crawford

Professor Ingerski

EDEE 326

Personal Technology Review

September 4, 2018

When deciding on a technology that would be beneficial for teachers, I knew I

wanted one that geared toward the Early Childhood Education. I knew I wanted to incorporate a

technology that will aid in a child's literacy skills I came across a website that does just that. We

live in a world where this generation and future generations are exposed to technology at an early

age, and I believe that implementing educational technology in the Early Childhood Education

classrooms would be beneficial to the child developmental skills. According to the Starflall.com

Teachers and Parent Center, the main mission of this website is to create an environment “Where

Children Have Fun Learning to Read.” (The Starfall Parent-Teacher Center 2002-2018) This

website provides a developmental and comprehensive English Language Arts or ELA curriculum

for student’s preschool through second grade. Starfall is designed as a child-centric site that uses

bright and colorful navigational system that is easier for a child to navigate.

This website provides features for the Preschool and Kindergarten age groups that

allows them to learn their alphabet. For example, the feature “Let’s get ready to read” where it

teaches students the alphabet by providing a picture with the letter on it as well as an image of an

object that begins with that letter and how to letter sounds. There are also features for the

primary grade age groups that aids in students learning sentence structure. For example, the

feature “Learn to read” where students can choose an ending suffix and the site provides a
picture and the student has to determine what letter the picture begins with in order to determine

the word. One thing I also found interesting is that the site also provides access to templates

teachers can use during in classroom activities as well as homework activities. In addition,

because this an accessible website this is a great way for parents and students can engage with

the different learning options provided to promote the developmental skills not only in class but

at home as well.

Although the average child has access to technology, a digital divide is prevalent in

today's society. According to an article” children's skills in areas such as (social, cognitive and

early literacies) have increased through the use of technology.” (Quesenberry, A., Mustian, A., &

Clark-Bischke, C. (2016) Children coming from low-income families are often put at a

disadvantage from their peers because they are often unable to access technology. With that in

mind, I believe that implementing technology such as Starfall or others educational technologies

in classrooms will help with changing the digital divide. It allows all children the access to the

technology, which help develop those social skills. We as future teachers, our goal is to

effectively aid in the development of a child, it is important that we implement materials that

assist all children's need and provided equal opportunity.

Due to technology, being so commonly used by the younger age group implementing

technology in the Early Childhood classroom would not be such a bad thing if used properly.

According to the National Education Technology Plan, “technology based learning and

assessment systems will be pivotal in improving student learning and generating data that can be

used to improve the education system at all levels.” (Quesenberry, A., Mustian, A., & Clark-

Bischke, C. (2016). Technology in the classroom at an early age can be very beneficial in

developing or enhancing the social skills they may have. In order for a teacher to effectively
enhance digital literacy, he or she must be well versed in the technology aspect of their lesson

plan. Providing workshop for not only the teachers but also the parents, to not only get families

involved in their child’s developments but will also allow teacher as well as parents to know and

understand the technology that is being used. According to an article discussing the benefits of

family involvement, it states, “parental involvement and engagement with what is being learned

in the classroom can have positive effects on a child's learning,” (Daugherty, L., Dossani, R.,

Johnson, E., & Wright, C. (2014)

I plan to use Starfall in my lesson plans to allow my students to experience learning how

to read as a fun experience. I would first have to spend some time explaining how to use the

website and the different features on the site, and then I will be able to use those features in my

lesson plans. For example, after the morning meeting one way to just into the lesson is to access

one of the activities from the website in a larger group, or beginning the lesson with a daily song

that promotes literacy. This website can also be used to aid in developing the skills of helping

peers, sharing, and interacting cooperatively. (The Starfall Parent-Teacher Center 2002-2018) I

also plan to use Starfall in smaller groups by assigning a particular activity that corresponds with

my lesson plan and it allows the students to work groups rather than just have me teaching in

front of the classroom, which will aid in the development of those skills.

Technology in Early Childhood School in is not beneficial in aiding the child

developmental skills in digital literacy it also aids in the social and cognitive aspect child

development. Starfall is a fun way for students to not only develop in their literacy skills in the

classroom, it allows parents to be able to get involved in their child's learning for positive effects

on their child's development.

 References

Daugherty, L., Dossani, R., Johnson, E., & Wright, C. (2014). Families, Powered On:

Improving Family Engagement in Early Childhood Education Through Technology. In

Families, Powered On: Improving Family Engagement in Early Childhood Education

Through Technology (pp. 1-8). RAND Corporation. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.nuncio.cofc.edu/stable/10.7249/j.ctt14bs2fx.1

Morrow, L., Barnhart, S., & Rooyakkers, D. (2002). Integrating Technology with the

Teaching of an Early Literacy Course. The Reading Teacher, 56(3), 218-230. Retrieved

from http://www.jstor.org.nuncio.cofc.edu/stable/20205183

Starfall: Learn to Read with Phonics, Learn Mathematics, www.starfall.com/.

“Starfall - Web 2.0: Screencast Tours.” Google Sites, sites.google.com/a/mail.ic.edu/web2-

0/home/academic-subjects/english-reading-language-arts/starfall.

Quesenberry, A., Mustian, A., & Clark-Bischke, C. (2016). Preschool and Kindergarten: Tuning

in: Strategies for Incorporating Technology Into Social Skills Instruction in Preschool

and Kindergarten. YC Young Children, 71(1), 74-81. Retrieved from

http://www.jstor.org.nuncio.cofc.edu/stable/ycyoungchildren.71.1.74