Nap Time is Beneficial

One thing that is an issue in early childhood education is the doing away with nap time for kindergartners because it cuts into the academic day.Nap time is an extremely important part of a kindergartners day at school. They are still at that age where they have so much energy and they begin to crash after lunch time. Nap time gives the students a chance to unwind and rest their bodies and also their minds. Pediatricians recommend that kindergarten age children receive a minimum of 10 hours of sleep each night. Many children do not get anywhere close to this appropriate amount of sleep. According to the book, American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child's Sleep: Birth Through Adolescence , "Children who chronically fail to get enough sleep do not learn as well as better-rested youngsters. They also have a higher rate of behavior problems. In many cases, overtired children resort to hyperactivity and difficult behavior as a way of fighting off daytime drowsiness" (Cohen, 1999). Nap time also provides the student's with a routine so they know what to expect and can make them in a better mood when they wake up. When I was in kindergarten, I never slept at nap time, but I enjoyed the chance to be quiet and be still and have a chance to unwind from my long day at school. Even if a child does not want to take a nap they can at least lay their head down and relax or read a book. Not only are nap times important for student's they are also beneficial for the teacher as well. During nap time, a teacher can unwind and take a break from the busy day for themselves as well. They are constantly up and running around, tending to the needs of their students. They rarely get a chance to sit down. So not only is nap time beneficial for students, but also teachers. It should be kept in schools for these purposes.

Citations:
Cohen. American Academy of Pediatrics Guide to Your Child's Sleep: Birth Through Adolescence. 1999.

Technology & Copyright

I have learned many new things about technology and copyright these last few weeks, so I am going to share some of the new and interesting things I have learned so far.
As a teacher, technology is a very important benefit to have in the classroom. It provides students with a more creative learning experience that you may not be able to fully give them. Some of the technology equipment you will find in an early childhood classroom may include: a smart board, laptop, ipod, ipad, TV, DVD player, and play aways. These give students a chance to enhance their learning through visual aides, reading, listening to music, or watching an educational video. In a kindergarten through second grade classroom, some of the technology courses of study, according to ALEX, include: identifying basic parts of various technology systems and also the various applications and operations of them as well. Technology is also a great way for students to interact with each other and bring social interaction into the classroom. I also learned about the many learning perspectives, such as the behaviorist, cognitivist, and constructivist perspective and also about the different learning styles. These are important to understand how technology fits into instruction.
I learned many new things about copyright and how it is important in the teaching field. It is very important for a teacher to know the rules of copyright so you do not plagiarize or steal someone else's work. You also will need to know about the rules of copyright so you can teach your students the appropriate way to cite their work so they do not plagiarize. I also learned about how you obtain a copyright and how long a copyright lasts. I also learned the rights of a copyright holder which are: reproduction, adaptation, distribution, public performance, public display, and digital transmission. The last thing I learned was that some things can not be protected such as facts and methods.
These things that I learned about technology and copyright will be very helpful and valuable to use when I begin my teaching career.

Citation:
. "ALEX." ALEX. N.p., n.d. Web. 6 Jun 2012. <http://alex.state.al.us/standardAll.php?grade=0&subject=TC2&summary=2>.

Technology In Early Childhood Education

In the article, The Role of Technology in Early Childhood Programs by Francis Wardle, it states that technology will increase academic skills, reduce dropout rates, eliminate the racial divide in academic performance, and increase SAT scores. And it will make the lives of teachers easier. Well, it may not accomplish all of these goals, but educational technology does have a place in early childhood. Right? It depends on an early childhood program’s overall program goals and objectives, and the program’s goals and objectives for each student. And it depends on how computers are incorporated into the early childhood curriculum. Most experts believe computers are not developmentally appropriate for children under the age of three (Elkind, 1998; Haugland, 1999; NAEYC, 1996). However, these same experts believe children three years old and older can begin to effectively explore and use computers. Surely, many of the factors that make computers developmentally inappropriate for children under age three are also present in older children: active learners busily manipulating a wide variety of objects…and in the process of learning about themselves and their environment." Use of technology in the early childhood program must not be a goal unto itself: the purpose is not to teach children how to use computers; they can do this as they get older, just as they can learn to drive a car later in their lives (Wardle, 1999). Appropriate use of technology in the classroom is to expand, enrich, implement, individualize, differentiate, and extend the overall curriculum. And, obviously, curricula goals change with age, and differ from program to program. If a goal of the literacy curricula for a certain age child is to learn to write personal journals, then the computer can naturally support that through writing software, digital cameras, and other methods. A science goal that requires learning the habitat of different zoo animals can be augmented by using specific CD ROMS and accessing zoo web sites. Similarly, studying extinct and endangered animals becomes more real and educational through the use of specific software and websites. (Wardle) I agree with this article about integrating technology in to the classroom because it provides a great way for children to learn and enhance their learning capabilities. Technology often offers something that a teacher can not provide in the classroom. We as teachers, need to learn how to properly incorporate the use of technology in to our lesson plans so our students will get the best possible learning experience.

Citation:
Wardle, Francis. "The Role of Technolgy In Early Childhood Programs." EarlyChildhoodNEWS. N.p., n.d. Web. 4 Jun 2012.

Budget Cuts For Teachers

As a teacher I know I will face many difficulties and challenges and one of those could include having my budget cut. Budget cuts can affect me in many ways such as less pay, less spent of employee benefits, less to spend on classroom materials, less school-wide technology purchases, delays for new textbooks, less professional development opportunities, less electives, and larger classes. (Kelly) All of these consequences are very important to have while you are a teacher. Some of the consequences I would like to focus on are less to spend on classroom materials, less school-wide technology purchases, and larger classes. When a teacher does not have enough money to buy materials for her classroom then the students will be missing out on a lot of activities they could be learning from.They also may not learn to their full potential without the proper and necessary supplies. For a kindergarten teacher, supplies and materials in the classroom is very important because kindergarteners do a lot of activities to enhance their learning. When the school has to cut their funds, more than likely it will be on their technology purchases. When a classrooom does not have enough or up-to-date technology for their students, they will be missing out on a very important part of learning. Technology offers so much more that a teacher can not teach and it is also a great benefit to the teaching world. Larger classes are also a negative consequence to budget cuts. When the school can not hire enough teachers to supplement the students, this results in larger classes. This can be tough because more students and only one teacher means there is not going to be a lot of one-on-one time for the teacher and students. The class might be more out of control and more behavior problems that one teacher might have to struggle with. This can cause classroom distractions and make it difficult for the teacher to teach and the students to learn. These are some of the negative consequences for a teacher having their budget cut.

Citations:

Kelly, Melissa. "How Budget Cuts Affect Teachers." About. N.p., n.d. Web. 31 May 2012. <http://712educators.about.com/od/issuesineducation/tp/teaching_budget_cuts.htm>.

What Does Technology Mean For Me As a Teacher?

As a teacher, technology is very important. It opens doors for new and creative ways to teach. For teaching young children in grades K-3, you first have to introduce them to technology and show them how to appropriately work and handle technology and other media devices safely. Also, you would have to teach them the different basic parts of the technology device. You then would have to teach them about how to use their own orignal works and to not plagiarize. At this age, it is very important for children to work together and collaborate their ideas.Technology is a great way for childrent to experience things that they could not while they are in a classroom. Technology gives them a chance to widen their imagination and it brings a whole new idea and way of learning.It generally is a great establishment to have in the classroom.