All Hands on Deck
Area of Focus and/or Research Question:
Does developmentally appropriate technology support preschoolers social and emotional development through opportunities of cooperation and collaboration?
ACTION PLAN:
One concern about using technology is that it might lead to children having fewer interactions with others and becoming socially isolated. I plan to incorporate a multi-touch table to encourage cooperation and collaboration during small group interaction activities. Several digital programs will be loaded and utilized by the students. All preschoolers will have the opportunity to visit the multi-touch table, and with the encouragement of staff, participate in several activities to promote peer interaction. During the use of the interactive multi-touch table I will measure its success by the display of observable and distinct cooperative and collaborative behaviors by my preschoolers. These behaviors will be documented and graphed to show the positive and negative outcomes of the blending of technology and preschool children. Documentation will occur in the fall and spring to compare results over time.

EVALUATION OF PROJECT:
Staff will document cooperative and collaborative interaction among the preschoolers in the fall and spring. All evidence will be collated in graphs and examined for negative and positive outcomes. Graphs from the fall and spring will be compared for similarities.

PROJECT SUMMARY:
Does developmentally appropriate technology support preschoolers social and emotional development through opportunities of cooperation and collaboration? Many people feel technology supports isolation instead of opportunities for social growth. To encourage social and emotional development I plan to integrate an interactive multi-touch table. I will provide preschoolers opportunities to work with partners and groups with a variety of interactive digital programs. Our staff will model appropriate social behavior and encourage cooperation and collaboration among the preschoolers. Staff will integrate the interactive multi-touch table during science, art expression, language and math development. Sixteen preschoolers will have several choices to develop their social skills while attending the preschool.
Our staff will monitor students during their interaction at the interactive multi-touch table and document collaboration and cooperation among the preschoolers. We are convenienced that the multi-touch table will provide preschoolers an opportunity to build social skills and not isolate them from socializing their peers. If our preschoolers are able to independently work together at the table without the assistance of an adult then we feel our goal will be met. We also hope to see their social skills transfer to outdoor play, interaction during centers and conversations during lunch and hands on activities.
A student growth goal will be developed and success will be documented by observation of participation in activities. All information will be compiled into graphs and shared among colleagues.
Our staff feels that not one technique or activity will be the contributing factor to the success of our goal but a culmination of activities. The interactive multi-touch table will be our focus for social interaction but opportunities to interact will also be provide during outdoor play, centers, and games so that social skills are transferred during various opportunities. Parents will be encouraged to follow through with activities at home.

BUDGET NARRATIVE
The interactive multi-touch table will provide sixteen preschoolers the opportunity to practice collaboration and cooperation among peers. Our goal is for students to be able to transfer what they learn into other situations. Staff will model appropriate behavior and encourage students as they practice their social skills. The interactive multi-touch table will cost $2,200. We are asking for the $1,000 from the ARI Grant and our program will provide the $ 1,200 needed to purchase the table for the preschool classroom.