Sunday, November 29, 2009

Pre-K Technology Foundations (The Key to Learning)

The Pre-K Technology Application TEKS give Texas Pre-K students the skills to operate various forms of technology which lay the groundwork for future student success in utilizing technology appropriately. The students use these basic skills to help them learn various aspects of curricula. By the end of Pre-K, Texas students are required to open and steer through software programs, use and identify a variety of computer input devices, manage voice/sound recorders and touch screens, use software applications, and comprehend that information is accessible through technology. In order for this to happen, teachers must be able to work these technologies, have time in their curricula, and know how to teach students how to use these programs.
The best way for children to learn most curricula (including technology) is through spiraling and scaffolding. The spiraling and scaffolding of curriculum is a technique for teaching which uses the student’s prior knowledge as a foundation, then adding a layer of more information and using this as the basis for the next layer. This allows for the increased difficulty and complexity, thus higher-level thinking is the end result. This is a methodology which is an on-going process that continues throughout the student’s education. These foundations have to be taught in order for the student to be successful in later grades. Eventually, if this spiraling of curricula has been accomplished appropriately, the students will become competent problem-solvers, self-directed learners, and responsible citizens.

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