NAEYC is an international membership organization overseeing the promotion of high-quality early childhood education services. Thus, the present agency is highly relevant and relevant to social agendas, and therefore the issue of technology use is of fundamental importance in NAEYC policy. Consequently, the organization recognizes the dynamism of the times and encourages (to some extent even mandates) the use of computer technology in teaching to improve children’s digital literacy.
However, such use must be accompanied by an adequate assessment of outcomes and timely program adjustments, as it is known that computer technology can have detrimental effects on students if overused (NAEYC, 2012). These include non-interactive media, which is implemented through passive viewing of instructional content on TVs or projectors. Using this approach proves to be detrimental as it not only fails to engage children in the learning process but also accumulates their total interaction time with electronic technology, which is detrimental to their health.
For the use of technology to be of quality and effectiveness for young children, it must have some of the properties outlined by NAEYC. For example, such digital technology use must be intentional, age-appropriate, planned, non-harmful, balanced, culturally appropriate, and accessible. Only on the integration of the above traits is a curriculum created that is highly contemporary and relevant to the technological agenda of the present and allows for academic achievement through play. Among all the principles of the NAEYC position statement, the postulate that teachers need to be prepared to use technology has attracted the most personal interest.
This is an extremely important and incredibly pressing issue, as teachers may often be unfamiliar with interactive media in schools and universities. Technical questions — such as how to turn on a projector, how to enable full-screen presentation mode, or how to connect students to a distance learning activity — can take up valuable lesson time and demonstrate an unprepared teacher. In teaching young children, this is critical because their attention spans are highly scattered. Thus, being prepared and trained to use technology is just as important as utilizing it directly.
Reference
NAEYC. (2012). Technology and interactive media as tools in early childhood programs serving children from birth through age 8 [PDF document]. Web.