We were proud to sponsor and take part in a panel presentation in Washington D.C. last week for Congressional leaders and their staff about technology and early education.
The briefing titled, “Digital Initiatives for Young Children: Moving Beyond Screen Time,” brought together a panel of education experts from across the country – including our own president and COO Benjamin Heuston, Ph.D – to remind Congress of the need to be mindful of best practices and developmentally appropriate uses of technology for early learners when creating public policy.
The other three panelists were Rhian Evans Allvin, executive director of the National Association for the Education of Young Children; Chip Donohue, Ph.D, and dean of distance learning and continuing education and director of the technology in early childhood center, Erikson Institute; and, Kevin Custer, national board of directors of Autism Society of America and past chair of Autism Society of Colorado. Sara Mead, principal of policy and thought leadership, Bellwether Education Partners, moderated the panel discussion.
“Technology use with early learning allows students to be active, it allows them to be hands on, it allows them to engage in the world and empowers them,” Evans Allvin said. “Properly trained, teachers can use technology to give a child control, provide an adaptive scaffold to ease the accomplishment of tasks, and as one of many options to support a child’s learning.”
The panel emphasized using technology to deliver quality learning content for every child and stressed the importance of providing professional training for educators and getting parent support.
Here’s a full video transcript of Heuston’s statement:
You can see all of the panelists’ statements on the Waterford YouTube channel, or read the full story about the event here.
