Cross-Cultural Reactions to Using Computers in the Early Childhood Education Classroom

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to explore teacher and student use of KIDWARE as an integrated element throughout a countywide summer enrichment program. In particular, the intent of this research study was to look specifically at how elementary school English as a Second Language (ESOL) teachers and students used the KIDWARE program. This study was conducted under the assumption that technology has the capacity to allow students to work in authentic environments and create meanings based on their understanding of the teaching and learning task, and that computer software constitutes a human artifact and as such expresses the culture of its creators. This study was designed to engage with such software and to explore how it was used in an early childhood setting for ESOL learners.