Brandman University

Technology Decision Making Grid for Early Childhood Professionals

Week 6 Discussion Board
Jennifer Janes and Christy Reece

Decision Making Grid for Adopting Technology for Young Children

Questions
What is the technology tool,
application, website or technological
process I am considering?
What is the cost?
What are the long term costs?
Who will benefit? (Teachers, directors,
children, families, others)
What is the purpose of using this
technology?
What child learning outcomes will this Language and literacy, early reading and writing, creativity, imagination, visual
technology support?
Level 1 Developmentally Appropriate Practice Screening
Screening Questions
Is it isolating?
Is it passive?
Does it replace creative play, physical
activity, and/or outdoor activity?
Is the media content biased, violent,
misleading or otherwise harmful?
Level 2 - Developmentally Appropriate Practice Support
DAP Question
Is it playful, interactive and hands-on?
Is it engaging AND empowering?
Does it support the child’s relationship
with self?
Answers
https://www.mystorybook.com/
Free for unlimited storybook creations, personal image upload, and story book
sharing- email required. $5 for printable PDFs.
Children, family, friends, teachers, others
This website is for children to be able to make their own story books using their
own ideas and imaginations. The website is creative, engaging and interactive.
It’s intended for teachers and educators who want an interesting digital tool for
students to create stories, at the same time teach literacy and support integrated
learning. Development of stories can be done in relationships, peer to peer, child-
adult, or adult-adult.
arts, self-expression, inquiry-based processing, cause and effect
Yes/No
No If the answer is yes to any of these questions, then you may not want
No to adopt this technology.
No
No
Yes/No How will it do this? How do you know this?
Yes The website is playful, hands-on, and interactive because children, or
adults, get to make all the choices about the book. On the website,
you can choose the fonts for the writing, colors, shrink or enlarge
items, backgrounds, and pictures from the website. There is an option
if you want to draw your own pictures with a variety of instruments,
such as a tiny pen stroke or fat paint brush. There are easy options for
editing, deleting, adding pages, and starting over features. Also,
choice for uploading personal images.
Yes Yes, children have the power to make the choices about the book and
their relationship with themselves is supported by their personal
choices they make with the book. They can share their creations with
others, which builds confidence and community.

Does it give the child control? Yes The child has control to choose the story line, colors, pictures of
people and items, and fonts and if they want to draw something. They
have access to decide who to give permission to see it, edit, go back

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Dr. Julianne Zvalo-Martyn jmartyn@brandman.edu www.brandman.edu

Does it provide scaffolding to ease the Yes
accomplishment of tasks?
Does it support/promote language Yes
interactions and socialization? How
does it support the child’s relationship
with others (teachers, other children)?
Does it support creativity, exploration, Yes
pretend play, and/or active play?
Does it support inquiry and cognitive Yes
skills?
Does this technology support Dual Yes
Language Learners and their families?
Does this technology promote digital Yes
literacy and access?
Does it support access for children Yes
with special needs?
Does it help build the home/school Yes
connection? Does it nurture families?
If satisfied that this technology is cost effective and supports learning goals, then it may be one to consider!
What is your final decision about integrating this
technology? Explain your rationale clearly and
precisely.
If the technology is for adults….
Screening Questions
Dr. Julianne Zvalo-Martyn jmartyn@brandman.edu
later to revise, and revisit their own personal library. They can see
other community book creations.
There are a number of helpful tutorials and the options have written
and visual labels. Also, there are story book examples.
Language is supported through creating the story line of the book.
There is socialization and support for the child’s relationship with
other children and adults if the children work together to make a
book, share, or if the child has help from an adult.
Creativity is supported by making the book and choosing what to put
into the book. Exploration can be supported by playing around with
the website and all the options.
Inquiry is supported when children engage in using the technology,
through practice, ask questions about what a font is, or what the title
page is. Cognitive skills are supported when children think about the
story line and use their language and literacy skills with writing and
images to explain their thoughts.
Dual Language Learners (DLLs) and their families can use this to make
a book in another language, besides English. The family can show the
child how to write in another language, besides English and can read
the book in another language, besides English.
You will need Internet access and you can sign up and make a free
account to log in to. Digital literacy is promoted through learning how
to use a computer, laptop or whichever device you use.
There are audible tutorials, visuals and the website is hands-on.
The family can make an account for their child to save their book
progress and then the child can log back on and work on the book at
school with their teachers. Their teachers can talk to the family and
give them ideas for their child’s book.
MyStorybook is a great website that is interactive, engaging and
creative. This is a tool that can be integrated into the early
childhood classroom and the home. Children learn language and
literacy, early reading and writing, and visual art skills. As well as
develop inquiry and processing, and self-expression.
Yes/No How will it do this? How do you know this?
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 Does it support education and training of teacher decision-
makers?
Does it build relationship and collaboration skills?
Does it build technology and/or digital media skills?
Does it support assessment and evaluation of teaching,
programs and/or children’s progress?
Does it support communication of children’s progress and
activities to families?
Does it help build the home/school connection?
What is your final decision about integrating this technology? Explain your rationale clearly and precisely.
I would recommend integrating MyStorybook into the classroom and home. The ease of access, big colorful features,
image uploading, language and literacy, social/emotional, and visual arts skills building, family and peer connection
Dr. Julianne Zvalo-Martyn jmartyn@brandman.edu
Yes The website gives tutorials, lesson resources,
tips, and a blog for teacher support.
Allowing them to make the decision as to
whether or not they think this website is age
and developmentally appropriate for the
children in their classes, how they can
integrate it into the classroom, and ways it
supports learning.
Yes This website requires parents and adults to
give children access to technology devices,
create a user name, password, and have an
email if they wish to save and edit work if
their child is under 13 years of age. In doing
so, children build relationship and
collaboration skills by communicating with
an adult for assistance and guidance. Also,
it’s natural appeal for creativity makes it
more fun to work with another child or an
adult to make and share the book.
Yes Technology and digital media skills are built,
because of how this website is simple to use.
It’s large colorful animated designs that give
immediate awareness to the intended use.
The site cleverly offers a few select buttons
for young children to work with. This gives
children an ability to gain quick mastery.
Yes This site provides educators ways to assess
children’s progression. Because the work is
saved in a library and can be shared.
Evaluation is possible through
documentation. It also allows educators to
reflect on teaching subjects matters and
concept building.
Yes The way this site is developed it is easy for
families to follow their child’s progression
and gives them ways to engage in active
participation in their work.
Yes The connection is built because children can
make their account and work on their books
at school with their teachers and at home
with their families.
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 possibilities, support for DLL’s and their families, and ability to assess children’s work makes this a very useful and
meaningful website for educators.

Questions for analyzing media messages with young children. (adapted from Rogow, Faith, Media Literacy in Early Childhood,
Donohue, 2015)

Who made up this story? Who created this? What was their motivation?

What does this want me to do?

Who makes money from this?

Is this good for people like me? Is this good for other people?

How does this make me feel?

What could I do about it?

What does this want me to think?

What do they want me to notice?

How do they know this is true?

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Dr. Julianne Zvalo-Martyn jmartyn@brandman.edu www.brandman.edu