Best Practices - Primary (K-2)

"Each experience with the environment offers opportunities to increase a child's understanding of the world. The important aspect of learning is how the experience fits into the child's life, how it connects. This is true with technology also. The computer does not cause the learning. The connection the child has with adults and other children, and the connection of the technology to the curriculum, together provide a basis for learning."
--Source: Northwest Educational Technology Consortium, Early Connections: Technology in Early Childhood Education. Available from http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/index1.html

According to the Northwest Educational Technology Consortium, children in the primary grades benefit most from technology when the following elements are present:

"The lesson or project is directly connected to the curriculum
The technology allows for active learning, with students making decisions
The software is interactive or discovery based
The lesson or project is open-ended, allowing learners to proceed at their own pace
Technology is applied to real problems with a real-life connection
The setting is designed to allow children to interact while working at the computer
Computers are included in the curriculum within the classroom rather than set apart in a separate room or lab."

Source: Northwest Educational Technology Consortium, Early Connection: Technology in Early Childhood Education. Technology and Curriculum. Available from http://www.netc.org/earlyconnections/primary/curriculum.html