Lisa Guernsey: Saying Yes to Digital Media in Preschool and Kindergarten

Digital Media in Preschool and Kindergarten? As a mother my gut screams, 'No way!' but as a lover of technology my mind is saying, 'Why not?' As I watch my two year old who has been able to navigate her way around an ipod and ipad since she was 18 months old and yet STILL has no interest in watching tv or a dvd I don't see how it can't happen. She has been a techie since she could move. Using body language and some sort of Jedi mind trick to convince people to give her their cell phone to play with. Usually within moments she had it unlocked and was placing calls, taking pictures or finding games to play. She is the same with cameras. Not as savvy with our desktop but she hammers away on the keyboard and clicks around until settings have been changed and icons moved. For her the world is, and always has been, interactive. Phone calls include seeing the person on the other end. So whenever anyone shows up on our computer that is an invitation to say hello and perhaps do a little dance. Screens are meant to be touched to make things happen. The youngest of four she is the truest native of touchscreen technology in our family. And if her world is like this for her at two, who knows what it will be like when she enters preschool and what her idea of it will be. The main difference I see is she is involved when things are interactive. Sitting zombie like in front of a screen has no interest to her and she quickly moves on to other things. However, she will fight tooth and nail for time on the ipad and would spend endless amounts of time on it if allowed to do so. There's something there and if teachers are able to harness that desire and use these tools for the betterment of their early childhood education, I say all the power to them.