Using Technology in Early Childhood Education

Innovations in early education can be overwhelming, but the use of technology to enable learning, support administration and improve communications can enhance the quality of child care programs.

Using technology in early education is rapidly becoming an integral part of teaching children the essential skills they need to form the basis for future learning. But how can technology be used to enhance the curriculum of your child care center and make the day to day operations of your facility simpler?

If used appropriately and effectively, technology in early childhood education will not only benefit the child, but will also simplify the administrative and communication tasks that staff undertake each and every day. In this blog post, we will take a look at the ways that technology can be leveraged to improve the programs in your child care center.

Technology as a Learning Tool

Computers and related technologies now play a major role in delivering components of a child care center’s curriculum. Online educational games and developmentally appropriate software designed for early childhood education can help children develop the skills they require for future learning. There are many computer programs available to assist in a child’s development of reading, letter and sound recognition, counting, patterns and classification for different children ages. Using the internet and computers in the supervised environment of child care centers can also teach children research skills and how to locate information. Learning to navigate online and browse websites can help develop a child’s motor skills, social skills and cognitive skills.

Technology and Administration for Child Care Providers

Technology can greatly benefit the staff of many child care centers when it comes to administrative duties and reporting. The average childcare worker spends 45 minutes per day on documentation tasks, taking valuable time away from the children in your care. With software created with child care staff in mind, reporting time can be drastically reduced, as information can be easily entered into a tablet or mobile device rather than recorded on paper.

Child care center technology also allows all documentation to be stored digitally, allowing for easy access to any record you need from anywhere at any time.

Childcare Technology for Communication

Platforms designed specifically for the needs of child care providers (like HiMama!) make it simple for caregivers to stay in touch with parents while they are at home or work. Parents appreciate real-time email communications and updates about their child’s progress and child care services.

Using tablet computers or mobile along with innovative childcare apps, caregivers can easily share photos, videos and news about each individual child directly with their families. These updates offer parents peace of mind and can ease their fears about missing important milestones in their child’s development while they are absent.

As childcare technology continues to progress, it will no doubt become an even more integral part of early childhood education and online learning. The history of early childhood education explains many of the influences that have shaped the field of early childhood education into what it is today.

Stay tuned to the HiMama blog to learn more about how you can incorporate technology effectively into your child care facility and curriculum and to stay up to date with the latest news about our child care center apps and digital solutions.