When I was five years old I met some of my best friends while stood around the sandbox in kindergarten. I still have very clear memories of learning about sharing and manners (and who had them!) with 4 guys I would spend the next 13 years in school with.
So I can’t help but wonder if all this technology in the classroom might be robbing very young students today of opportunities for engaging socially with each other – without the use of twitter handles or hash tags. I think about how much time I spend with my face buried in a computer screen now, and I wouldn’t dream of inflicting that on a child. I wonder if all emphasis we place on innovative tools and techie gadgets might actually be crippling the imaginations of children at a very formative age.
These were my fears until I read this article, by Beth Holland, which included a video about a kindergarten class using iPads to learn about butterflies. I was genuinely impressed by how enriched their experience appeared, and how engaged they remained throughout the process. Now I think I would like to go back to kindergarten, with an iPad, and do it all over again. I would love it if five-year-old me new how to edit videos, publish photographs, and find information at the tips of his fingers!
Learning Is What Tylers Do Best! 