Singapore University of Social Sciences

ECE374 Early Years Technology is designed to introduce technology as practical tools, robotics, coding, computational thinking and engineering design principles to preschoolers (4-to-6-year olds) in developmentally appropriate ways that promote playful learning, exploration, problem-solving and experimentation. Through Papert’s constructionist perspective, the course unveils how young children can think and learn with the use of screen-based and non-screen-based technology. The course also promotes the integration of literacy and engineering, specifically through the use of stories to provide humanistic contexts for engineering problems. To be successful in this course, participants will be required to have first-hand experiences with the tools introduced, so that they are able to plan and design appropriate learning experiences to engage preschoolers, promote the development of self-regulation and executive function skills, and nurture dispositions such as curiosity, persistence, flexibility, reflectiveness and a collaborative outlook to problem solving. The course is suitable for anyone who is interested to learn more about how young children can engage with technology appropriately and learn to utilise them in healthy ways.