Educational Issues and Technology Ideas
Technology and Early Childhood Education

Curriculum Connections... Does
your software support them?

Kidware- curriculum integration, developmentally appropriate, creative, non-violent, gender sensitive, realistic scenarios, research based KIDWARE-Simulation software, child-initiated, bilingual, promotes self-esteem,integrates to all areas of curriculum
Parents, too, can help children make meaningful connections and generalize concepts. At school, Alexandra mixes colors with Electronic Easel. At home, Dad extends this exploration with an activity suggested in the KIDWARE Parent Report. He makes finger-paint from pudding and food coloring.
There is increasing support for helping children make connections through an integrated school curriculum that provides conceptual organizers, units or projects (Bredekamp and Rosegrant, 1995; Katz and Chard, 1989).

So what does curriculum integration mean? Quite simply, it means helping children generalize concepts across different classroom activities and materials. Project work, themes and units facilitate such linkages. These organizing strategies help children construct and strengthen their understandings. Good software supports this process.
 Integrating technology into the curriculum offers educators opportunities to use computers to introduce, practice or extend children's learnings. When choosing software, evaluate it in the same way you select other classroom materials. Gender sensitive, non-violent, and realistic scenarios help support our educational goals.

The strategies used in delivering the content should also be examined. Open-ended, child-directed software programs help expand children's learning, encouraging meaningful experiences. Computers can be a very valuable tool for children and their teachers.

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