Tablets in Early childhood classrooms

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Permalink Reply by Frida Leman on April 15, 2008 at 3:23am

Hi Jane,
What do you mean with 'a tablet'? Is it like a block made of wood?

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Permalink Reply by Jane Sparks on April 15, 2008 at 7:04am

It is an IBM laptop but has a pen so the students can write on the screen instead of just typing on the keyboard. This can be projected on the wall if you have a wireless projector. I will be trialing one in my Kindergarten classroom next year.

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Permalink Reply by Meg Ormiston on April 15, 2008 at 2:06pm

I love watching teachers using tablets with young children. One of my schools have them in k-8. Really some amazing applications. This school is using the Toshiba tablets.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Sparks on April 16, 2008 at 7:09am

I would love to hear how Kindergarten teachers have used them!

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Permalink Reply by Meg Ormiston on April 16, 2008 at 7:53am

One example for using the tablet computer in kindergarten is to use Windows journal which comes on the tablet. A teacher can find an image they want to use, select print, print to journal, and then they can use the pen to write or color on the images. We have found this to work well, Ink annotations in word are also used.

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Permalink Reply by Wade Welch on April 15, 2008 at 7:31pm

I believe an actual interactive whiteboard would be a better value at this age. The manipulation of an IWB wouldn't be near as fine as with a tablet. I think a tablet is definitely better than standard computer with a projector, I just think a board with bigger objects would be more beneficial.

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Permalink Reply by Jane Sparks on April 16, 2008 at 12:50am

Budgetary restraints at our school have meant that in the early childhood we will not be getting the whiteboards, but I believe that with the tablet and the wireless projector I will be able to project the work on the tablet onto the wall.

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Permalink Reply by Wade Welch on April 16, 2008 at 5:44am

In that case it is better than nothing!

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Permalink Reply by Jane Sparks on April 16, 2008 at 7:07am

I am sure this will be looked at in the future. The school has spent a huge amount on ensuring that every teacher has a laptop for the following school hyeare.

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Permalink Reply by Wade Welch on April 16, 2008 at 8:07am

If I were you, I'd talk to them about this. An IWB like a Smartboard will be less of an expense than a tablet PC, I think. Just something to ponder and look at before these purchases are made. I have never used one, but I hear the Mimio boards are a great compromise. Good luck with where you're going either way!

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Permalink Reply by Meg Ormiston on April 16, 2008 at 7:50am

Agree about a IWB (Interactive white boards) with younger children, another tool to explore if a IWB nor a tablet computer is possible is one of the wireless teaching pads. The IWB companies sell these names like the airliner, schoolpads, etc. Still the board with the younger kids is wonderful!

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Permalink Reply by Frida Leman on April 16, 2008 at 2:49am

My school always encourages the teachers to use technology (using a laptop, browsing information through internet) in the classroom. I believe it can improve the learning process. Unfortunately, I can't trial it in my class because the school can't afford one computer for each class. So far, I just use a whiteboard in the class.

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