Gadgets in the sandbox. Do preschoolers need technology?

Playing is the leading type of preschool children’s activity, which is constantly evolving, the main way of learning is imitation or simulation, and their own experience makes the basis of knowledge.
Preschool childhood is still the most favorable time for sensory and speech development, learning of daily routine, mastering movements and social skills.
I (Elena Ignateva) like the image of the preschool childhood as a big playground with a sandbox, sensory and creative corners, slides, sports complexes, swings, children’s exercise equipment and many other things. Here children communicate, coordinate, solve different and always new tasks in the field of their current development, which are related to learning, creativity, social interaction, and physical development.
The adult on this playground is an OBSERVER – MODERATOR – FACILITATOR who helps to explore the environment, establish interaction with it, learn new behavior models.

The first task of the adult is to consider all shades and nuances of the child’s psychological reality and to determine how his or her individual characteristics correlate with the age norm. This is done through observation or examination, which together form the assessing process.
The SmartSchoolPro system quickly identifies the developmental challenges based on tasks offered to the child as well as on teacher observation protocols.
The data are processed and compared to the neurotypical profile that is used as a benchmark, and a conclusion of the child’s development level is made according to each line of development. The system results are as accurate and certain as possible.

Another area of analytics where technology is relevant and necessary is the monitoring and assessing of the educational process.
Smart School Pro educational technologies allow collecting, analyzing, interpreting information and displaying it in a convenient form, e.g. in the form of graphic images. The system generates and saves conclusion reports for each child automatically. In this way, a holistic view of the child’s development level is formed.
Another field for application of technology in education is the creation of a unified information space for educational institutions, including preschools.
However, it’s important to remember that technology is a tool for an adult, for use outside the conditional playground, not inside it.