Activities, displays, presentations, and resources in the Early Learning Playground will focus on the ISTE Standards, Computational Thinking (CT), and active learning with technologies for young learners ages 3-8 years.
There will be activities facilitated by educators using robots, collaborative software, online and offline tools and resources, and concrete manipulatives and objects, always with a focus on young learners and their learning and development. These activities will encourage hands-on use, peer-to-peer discussion, and problem solving in a supportive, fun atmosphere. Additionally, there will be interactive presentations, collaboration spaces, and maybe even some typical classroom materials (paper-based books, classroom manipulatives, and more) with examples of ways to connect technologies with other learning tools.
The Playground is developed to provide hands-on explorations and minds-on discussions in a playful, non-threatening environment. It is a goal that participants will leave with new colleagues, new ideas, new strategies and an eagerness to develop meaningful technology experiences for children and others.
After this session, participants will be able to adapt a wide variety of tools, approaches, and learning opportunities to best fit their learners ages 3 to 8 years. Participants will have increased their knowledge of ISTE Standards for young learners and will be more aware of the ISTE STEM in Early Learning Guide (free, published in 2025 https://iste.org/steminearlyed ) and how they can use this resource with other educators and their students.
An additional outcome is that participants in this Playground will find others who are interested in young learners, and will be encouraged to join in ISTE's online community on Connect to continue connections begun in the Playground.
Research related to active learning and choice for adult learners:
https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1143328.pdf
https://elearningindustry.com/interactivity-in-adult-learning-what-need-know
https://www.leadingagemn.org/assets/docs/15_Workforce_103_CreatingEffectiveOrientationPrograms-CRasmussen.pdf
https://www.canr.msu.edu/od/uploads/files/PD/Facilitating_Adult_Learning.pdf
Presenter Background *
Presenters and facilitators will be selected if the Playground is selected. Presenters/facilitators will provide their qualifications within the Playground Materials Tote.
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