Autism: The New ADD, or A National Epidemic?

Is the autism “epidemic” truly a national and even global crisis, as news media have reported, or has autism become the most popular medical diagnosis, as was the case with Attention-Deficit Disorder (ADD) in the ‘90s? A recent study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) estimated that 1 in 88 children in the U.S. have an Autism...

Finding the Education in Educational Technology with Early Learners

There is growing recognition of the importance of incorporating technology in meaningful and authentic ways into classroom curriculum and day-to-day practices, and of the teacher’s crucial role in the full development and use of technology in the early childhood classroom. The May issue of the Young...

How Do We Know Progress Monitoring Works?

Research has demonstrated that when teachers engage in the progress monitoring of their students, the children learn more, the decision making of the teacher improves, and children become more aware and reflective of their own performance. A large body of research carried out over the past three decades...

What is Progress Monitoring?

Progress monitoring is vital to effective early learning instruction and the key to improving child outcomes. Monitoring a child’s progress is a scientifically-based practice for assessing their performance and evaluating the effectiveness of instruction. It’s cyclical, targeted, standardized and...

Survey Research: Participating is a Valuable Professional Activity

Why Participating in Survey Research is a Valuable Professional Activity Many times individuals in larger communities with many research organizations and universities get ample opportunity to participate in research, while those in smaller communities often don’t have these same opportunities....

The Research We’re Following

If you’re craving more early learning technology research, we’ve updated our website with the latest studies. Enjoy! Learning: Is There an App for That? Investigations of Young Children’s Usage and Learning with Mobile Devices and Apps Reports the findings of three new mobile device surveys...

Childhood Obesity: Code RED For Our Future

Yes, it’s that serious. Childhood obesity is a national crisis of epidemic proportions. A group of retired senior military leaders, warned Congress that at least nine million 17- to 24-year-olds in the United States cannot serve in the military. Because they are overweight, they cannot pass basic physical fitness requirements. That’s 27 percent of all young adults...

All Hands on Deck!

Balanced Early Learning Educational Technology Research & Evaluation Needed  I read many pieces that say something along the lines of “Researchers and Industry should do more research on….” and then name an issue related to educational technology for young children. I agree. However, I feel we...

The Importance of Teaching Multiculturalism & Diversity

It is vital to provide inclusion of multiculturalism and diversity in your preschool lesson plans and it is not just because NAEYC & ECERS & NECPA and every other accreditation organization says so! An emphasis of multicultural activities across the curriculum can help improve positive socialization...

Equating Math Estimation Skills with “Let me Google that” Doesn’t Compute

The recent January 31 article in Exchange EveryDay began with “Young people today when confronted with a question are most likely to use the “let-me-Google-that” approach to seeking an answer.  However, according to researchers interviewed for an article, “Good Guess,” in Time...

A Head Start Re-Compete FAQ

The big Head Start Re-Compete is underway – the first schools required to compete for continued funding were notified in December – so here’s a quick FAQ to catch you up on all the details. What is Head Start Re-Compete? As you probably know, Head Start does not operate early learning centers itself....

Random Apps May Make for Random Learning or Worse-No Learning at All

How can we maximize the app experience to be used in formal education settings to individualize learning?