KidSmart Early Learning Program
written by Jessica Roake
Tech News Staff Writer
A site visit to Helen Owen Carey Early Development Center, Brooklyn, NY
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The primary-colored exuberance of the Helen Owen Carey Early
Development Center extends to every corner of the pre-school
classrooms: the arts and crafts tables, the building blocks, the
books, and...the computer? Yes, in the middle of a pre-K classroom in
Brooklyn a bright blue, yellow, green and red computer module is made
available to the city's youngest learners as part of the KidSmart
Early Learning Program. Though the children's technological tool
looks more like a giant Lego than a standard computer, 'Young
Explorer' is expanding the educational possibilities for
thousands of New York City children every day.
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The KidSmart Early Learning Program is a partnership project with IBM
and the United Way which seeks to bridge the digital divide for
traditionally under served children. Since 1998, KidSmart has placed
Young Explorer computers pre-loaded with Edmark early-childhood
software into publicly-funded child care centers, offering computer
literacy and other early learning advancements to children throughout
the five boroughs.
Without access to technology at home and at school, many children in
low-income communities may face serious learning disadvantages
compared to children exposed to computers early in their development.
According to Millicent Bishop, a teacher at Helen Owen Carey, "Some
children do not have a computer at home and this is their first
experience with technology." Programs like KidSmart provide hands-on
technological experience to preschoolers, giving them the skills they
need to succeed in elementary school. |
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Child care centers involved in KidSmart like Helen Owen Carey receive
a donation of three Young Explorer computer workstations manufactured
by IBM and Little Tikes pre-loaded with age-appropriate award winning
educational software on a variety of subjects, from science and math
to literacy skills and foreign languages. Ms. Bishop says that the
KidSmart 'tinytikes' machine "enhances what we are teaching in the
class." The programs start at the age of 3, and are designed to
improve hand-eye coordination, thinking skills, numerical comfort, and
spatial aptitude.
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United Way of New York City, IBM, and other partners such as Bank
Street College of Education, the Education Development Center, the
Federation of Protestant Welfare Agencies, the Hispanic Federation,
and the Catholic Charities in Brooklyn & Queens volunteer assistance
with assembling the Young Explorers and train teachers in the use of
the software and computers.
Guadalupe Mitsigiorge, a Program Associate for the KidSmart Program at
the United Way of New York City, considers the program a success. "I
see that it is a success when I see teachers from past training
sessions who could not even maneuver a mouse return to other workshops
feeling confident and comfortable with using technology. I hear about
the program's success when directors tell me about how some of their
families have purchased computers to use in their homes as a result of
their children having the Young Explorer in their classrooms. And, I
especially see the success of this program when I watch the children
socially and appropriately use this technology in their classroom,
just as they would any other material in their classroom - blocks,
paints, dramatic play. The joy and excitement on their faces and in
their words shows me that this program has successfully impacted their
lives."
A multi-language Web site, www.kidsmartearlylearning.org, was created
by IBM, Bank Street College of Education and The Center for Children and Technology (CCT) to
engage parents and teachers interested in expanding upon academic
subjects raised in the classroom and by the Young Explorer technology.
The site offers home learning opportunities to parents—both computer
and non-computer based-- linked to classroom curriculum and designed
to strengthen and deepen their children's development.
In addition to community and family support, teacher training is
essential to any technology-based program's success. Ms. Mitsigiorge
says that "Through research and observation, it has been determined
that teachers who feel most comfortable with these computers and who
can mediate appropriate interactions between themselves, their
students, and the computers are most effective and successful in
advancing their children's technological development. Therefore, much
effort has been taken to fully support teachers in integrating this
technology and to providing teachers with practical "best practices"
to use in their classrooms. Bank Street College of Education has
developed a series of staff development workshops to help teachers
best integrate technology into their classrooms, as well as to help
teachers' select appropriate software to use with their children."
Teachers may use the "Promising Practices" section of the KidSmart
site, a forum for curriculum ideas, special topic discussions and
integrated activities on a variety of subjects. Edmark software-- in
addition to covering traditional academic areas-- works to integrate
issues of gender, stereotypes, culture, urban environments and
learning differences into the technology curriculum.
One KidSmart affiliated teacher used her Young Explorer to help her
students understand cultural differences and similarities while
literally teaching the students another language. She shares on the Promising Practices section of the site, "Our preschool classroom is made up of children who only speak English and one child who only speaks Spanish. To assist in the Spanish-speaking child's transition to our school we installed on our computer a software program that teaches Spanish. We use this program by pairing the Spanish-speaking child with various English-speaking children and have them learn Spanish together. …Originally our Spanish speaker was very shy and would not talk; he is now much more outgoing. We see a vast improvement in his social skills that we believe will help in his future school experiences."
In 2005, United Way of New York City and IBM brought an additional 135 Young Explorer computer workstations to 45 more publicly-funded child care centers throughout the city, trained over 270 teachers and hosted three KidSmart curriculum workshops. While the KidSmart Early Learning Program has impacted the lives of many individuals through their donation of Young Explorer computers throughout the country and in developing nations, Ms. Mitsigiorge says, "there are still many individuals who do not have access to technology. There is still a long way to go before playing fields are leveled and every child has an opportunity to move from a life in need of access to technology to a life where technology is fully accessible. All children deserve access to the most up to date technology."
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