Early learners — students in pre-kindergarten through second grade — have developmental needs that are markedly different from older students. These children can certainly benefit from edtech, but they must also have a supportive and age-appropriate environment that helps them develop meaningful interactions with teachers and parents. With an eye toward managing this delicate balance, NewSchools began exploring the promise and potential of edtech tools for early learners.

We recently announced the NewSchools Ignite Early Learning Challenge – Pre-K – 2nd Grade, which is informed by research we conducted on early childhood education, and which is supported in part by Omidyar Network. Our initial research revealed a number of interesting findings:

  • Only 40 percent of four-year-olds are enrolled in publicly funded preschool programs, which means many children enter kindergarten developmentally behind their peers in social-emotional and academic skills.
  • Children’s learning experiences in pre-kindergarten through early elementary are shaped by many factors, including race and income; consequently, they often face school readiness gaps that could be addressed with technology solutions.
  • Educators want to see more pre-K through early elementary alignment, specifically around academic, social-emotional, and executive function skills.

Teachers we spoke with are using technology in a variety of ways:

  • for professional development purposes; they are watching videos of high-quality instruction, recording classroom observations and receiving real-time feedback from coaches to seamlessly adjust their instruction.
  • for student-facing learning; they are fueling creativity by building stories with audio and visual components, and supporting non-academic developments like social-emotional learning and executive functioning.
  • as a classroom management tool, especially in observation and assessment documentation—allowing educators to spend more time focused on quality instruction.

Read the full article about how edtech can help early childhood education by Tonika Cheek Clayton at EdSurge.