New Book Explores How Early Childhood Educators Can Use
Technology in the Classroom

Newest title in NAEYC’s best-selling Spotlight on Young Children series shares ideas for integrating technology into the curriculum and promoting children’s learning
 

WASHINGTON —The National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC) is pleased to announce the publication of Spotlight on Young Children and Technology, edited by Amy Shillady and Leah Schoenberg Muccio. In this book, the newest addition to NAEYC’s best-selling Spotlight series, early childhood educators will learn about approaches for using various technologies to support their work with children and families.

The book, a collection of articles from NAEYC’s award-winning journal Young Children, explores how teachers can integrate technology into the curriculum in appropriate and meaningful ways to promote children’s learning. Articles cover a range of technology topics and tools, including using whiteboards in elementary school, introducing touch tablets in preschool, and using assistive technology devices to promote inclusion in early childhood settings. Each article includes a study guide that offers questions and activities that invite reflection and build on the content of the articles.

The book also includes the joint position statement “Technology and Interactive Media as Tools in Early Childhood Programs Serving Children from Birth through Age 8,” from NAEYC and the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College, as well as a resource list.

“A few years ago while teaching kindergarten, I started thinking more about the implications for teaching young children in a digital age,” said Muccio. “With technology so fundamentally woven into the lives of children, how can we use it to support children’s learning and growth? How can we build children’s digital literacy and digital citizenship? The articles in this book offer answers and examples of ways teachers can use technology to provide appropriate and meaningful learning experiences for young children.”  

The book is part of NAEYC’s Spotlight seriesœ—compilations from Young Children on key topics for early childhood educators. These best-selling books are useful resources for the college classroom and for professional development. Teacher educators and professional development specialists can use the study guides to facilitate learning, while readers can use the study guides individually or in small groups with colleagues or fellow students.

Shillady is a senior editor of periodicals at NAEYC and holds an MA in applied developmental psychology. Schoenberg Muccio is an editorial associate and a former early childhood classroom teacher. She recently graduated from George Mason University with a PhD in early childhood education and will begin a position as an assistant professor of early childhood education at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa in the fall.

Spotlight on Young Children and Technology ($14.00; 72 pages; ISBN 978-1-928896-86-9) is available for sale from NAEYC’s Online Store. Review copies are available upon request.