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Technology in Preschool with the Kurio XTreme

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My preschool classroom is a play-based one, meaning that the kiddos are learning through play and exploration. In my opinion, technology in preschool really needs to enhance the children’s learning experiences. So I’m very particular about what technological products come into the classroom! This post, sponsored by Kurio Xtreme, will show how my students and I integrated building, technology, and literacy. technology in preschool with kid made photo books As mentioned above, this is a sponsored post. All opinions and thoughts are (as always) my own. Please read my disclosure for more detailed information.

Technology in preschool with the Kurio Xtreme Tablet

My students, like many preschoolers, love the building center. They plan, create, and demolish every day. Our building area doubles as our circle time and meeting area. This means that the students can’t keep their structures up past center time, which can be a little upsetting. For the past few years, I’ve taken to snapping photos of structures and displaying them near the building center. The children love this, and they tend to ask me to take pictures when they’ve worked hard building. Since I can’t always be at the kids’ beck-and-call for photos, I brought the Kurio XTreme in. technology in the classroom - Kurio xtreme used in the block center The tablet is made for children, so it’s durable and it comes with a protective bumper (we chose the blue one, since my son’s favorite color is blue and he’ll be using it at home). I showed the children how to work the Kurio’s camera, explained how to take care of it, and off we went! Let’s just say it was a hit with the preschoolers! I’m glad I established some ground rules for using the tablet so there weren’t too many problems taking turns with it. The boys and girls were so excited to capture their buildings using the camera!

using technology in preschool to make books

Taking a picture of me!

Of course, the kids spread out beyond the building center to snap photos! They took pictures of friends reading, of sorting and exploring in the science center, their buds swinging outside, and even of younger siblings in the toddler room window. I had to laugh as I went through the hundreds (yes, hundreds!) of photos that were taken – there were photos of teachers making funny faces, special books, and even of their feet. In case you’re wondering, many of the pictures were indeed blurry – but a surprising number weren’t!

taking photos with technology in preschool

The photo on the right was taken by one of the kiddos in our science area.

 

Literacy and technology in preschool

At the end of the day, I loaded the photos onto my computer and chose a variety to use for a book entitled “Our Structures”. I love creating books with my students, as it makes literacy even more meaningful to them. Each photo was paired with a simple sentence – for example, “Isaac made a tower.” I’m going to mount each page on construction paper, laminate them, and turn them into a book for our reading center!

using technology in preschool to create a book about structures

The front cover of our class book about the kiddos’ structures!

I plan on getting the kiddos to help choose more photos to use in creating more books about our preschool day. I’m excited to see how the children build upon this over the course of the year! My son has already decided he’s going to use the Kurio’s camera, too. So far, he’s planning to create a LEGO structure book for the house. He’s also talking about using it to make a video of his artwork and structures. I may need to learn more about video editing in the near future! encouraging kids to use technology in preschool to create books

More about the Kurio XTtreme Android Tablet

In addition to a front and rear camera, the Kurio comes with close to a hundred kid-appropriate e-books, apps, and games. My son and I were most interested in the motion games, as we’ve never seen that in a tablet before! The motion games seem like a great way to keep moving when stuck inside on rainy or snowy days. I also really like the parental controls – I can set them up to stop the Kurio after a certain amount of time, block apps and websites, turn off wifi access, etc. The tablet also has an internet filtering system that ensures kiddos don’t happen upon inappropriate content in apps or online. For more information about the Kurio XTreme, pop on over to the Kurio XTreme site and explore to your heart’s content!  

Would you like your own Kurio Xtreme tablet? Just leave me a comment telling me your favorite feature of the Kurio Xtreme and you will be automatically entered for a chance to win!

Sweepstakes Rules:

No duplicate comments.

You may receive (2) total entries by selecting from the following entry methods:

1. Leave a comment in response to the sweepstakes prompt on this post

2. Tweet (public message) about this promotion; including exactly the following unique term in your tweet message: “#SweepstakesEntry”; and leave the URL to that tweet in a comment on this post

3. Blog about this promotion, including a disclosure that you are receiving a sweepstakes entry in exchange for writing the blog post, and leave the URL to that post in a comment on this post

4. For those with no Twitter or blog, read the official rules to learn about an alternate form of entry. This giveaway is open to US Residents age 18 or older. Winners will be selected via random draw, and will be notified by e-mail. The notification email will come directly from BlogHer via the sweeps@blogher email address. You will have 72 hours to respond; otherwise a new winner will be selected.  

The Official Rules are available here. This sweepstakes runs from 11/12/2014 – 12/8/2014.

Be sure to visit the Kurio’s brand page on BlogHer.com where you can read other bloggers’ posts!  

Comments

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    • Mary Catherine says

      Thanks so much for the kind words, Chelsey! My students have looooooved it, and I have a feeling we’ll be using it for age-appropriate learning games AND more kid-made books in the near future! 🙂

      Reply

  2. Liska says

    Once in a while my son likes taking videos with our old ipod – he is only turning 2 next month, so he is not very conscious of how it works, but he is very excited to see everything around him on the small screen. Even though I am all for limiting screen time for kids, I also think that teaching kids to use electronic devices creatively is very important, so Kurio Xtreme seems like a fun idea.

    Reply

    • Mary Catherine says

      Kate, you’re so sweet – thank you! I’m excited the kiddos are so engaged with the process. I’m also very proud of how well they’re taking care of the Kurio XTreme in the process.

      Reply

  7. Nicole Dz says

    My favorite feature of the Kurio Xtreme is the body motion gaming where you can play 10 Kurio Motion Games, like Swim, Race, Run, Play Soccer, Ski and More! Very interactive.

    Reply

  9. Kimmy Ripley says

    My daughter is in preschool and I think that this tablet would be so wonderful for her! The app selection is perfect for a 4 year-old!

    Reply

    • Mary Catherine says

      The selection is very age-appropriate, and I like how the apps can appeal to different age groups. Since you can also link up to the Google Play store, there are many possibilities. My son’s having fun creating his own profile on the Kurio XTreme – I like that I can have it set up for my preschoolers on one profile and my son on a different one.

      Reply

  13. Meloney robles says

    One of my favorite features is the camera kids love taking pictures on my phone this would be a great alternative to my phone. Plus all the great games!

    Reply

  20. D Schmidt says

    My favorite feature is definitely the Kurio Genius Filtering System. Filters 450+ Million sites daily to block inappropriate content and keep kids safe online!

    Reply

  43. Gina M says

    I love that up to 8 profiles can be created on the device!

    Thanks for the chance to win!
    wildorchid985 AT gmail DOT com

    Reply

  48. Anastasia Falling says

    I really love the motion feature 🙂 It’s so cool that they have apps and games kids can play WHILE adding movement into it! Very cool how far kids tech has come 🙂

    Reply

  55. Sonya Morris says

    I love the parental controls! I would hate to explain to my daughter something questionable she saw on the internet! I would NEVER hear the end of it!!

    Reply

  62. Ashley says

    Everything about this tablet is really cool! My favorite features are the parental controls and the motion sensor games.

    Reply

  68. Mary Hampton says

    I like the parental controls. I can set it up for my kids and then give them some independence in using it on their own rather than monitoring every app or all of their internet time. I think they’d have fun with the body motion games.

    Reply

  69. devin m says

    I’m excited because this would be a great way for my kids to have fun on long, snowy days, long trips in the car, or waiting at the dreaded doctors office! 🙂

    Reply

  77. cris says

    Oh, how I miss teaching preschool. Thanks for this wonderful post explaining a brilliant and completely appropriate use of technology in pre k. It is such a heated topic but I believe strongly that it is a great addition to learning when used responsibly. Again thank you for your great example.

    Reply

  84. Theresa Woehrman says

    My son goes to a co-op preschool and we love it. This pre-school is a play based one and is working out great. I love the parental controls this offers. I also love how creative the kids can be. I am imagining all the things my son and daughter can do.

    Reply

  87. Betty C says

    I like the body motion games that will get them up and moving. I wouldn’t be happy to see them stuck in one spot just watching the screen.

    Reply
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