Practical Connections: Future Implications for Technology Use as a Future Early Childhood Educator

(Ulley, 2018)

The points discussed in this blog hold many implications of how I should act as a future early childhood educator. In this field, I will highly likely that I will be working with children in the early childhood age range (0-6 years old), and it is important to understand how to deal with technology use in the classroom when working with these children. We live in a world of ever-evolving technology, and there is no way to realistically eliminate technology from children’s lives, nor should we try to. Instead, as a future early childhood educator, it is important to understand how to incorporate technology into children’s lives in an effective, and non-harmful way. We can do this by following recommendations to limit the amount of digital technology use implemented in the classroom (including complete avoidance for infants as it is recommended that infants avoid screen use entirely), and by being sure to also implement ample opportunities for physical and outdoor play (American Academy of Pediatrics, 2019b). Rather than allowing it to be harmful to children’s development, as a future early childhood educator, I can take the steps to use digital technology in non-excessive ways that are beneficial to children’s physical development. This can be achieved through learning ways to use digital technology with early childhood aged children to promote active play and health (Chassiakos, Radesky, Christakis, Moreno, & Cross, 2016) as well as using technology to enhance children’s outdoor experiences (Jong, Chan, Hue, & Tam, 2018). I have personally experienced how digital technology can be used to enhance outdoor play through my placement with preschool children in an early childhood setting. The educators used and allowed the children to use iPads outdoors to document the children’s experiences and findings. As a future early childhood educator it is important to be aware of the risks and benefits of digital technology use and learn how to be able to find the right balance between technology use and other forms of play in early childhood.