Digital Learning

Getting Started Guide

Transitional Kindergarten

Technology in Transitional Kindergarten

Framing

Intention & purpose of this guide

kindergarten

This “Getting Started” guide has 3 objectives:

LOGISTICS: To provide guidance for systems and structures for effective classroom management of technology that promotes student agency and leadership.

STUDENT SKILLS: To help teachers understand age appropriate skills and expectations for digital learning for each grade level.

DEEPER LEARNING: To provide an entry point with actionable resources to lay the foundation for ongoing use of digital tools for deeper learning.

Who made this guide?

kindergarten

SFUSD’s Digital Learning team is part of the Department of Technology, and we support both technical and instructional needs in the district.

We are former teachers and educators, and we lead professional learning, coaching, program development, and content creation centered on technology-enabled 21st century learning.

Learn more about the Digital Learning team and our initiatives.

Digital Fluency

Digital Fluency

in kindergarten

Technology Skills

Technology Care Practices

Family Technology Partnerships

• Navigate with arrow keys
• Recognize specific keys on the keyboard + know what they do (shift makes capitals, etc)
• Finger-type numbers
• Identify the parts of a Chromebook
• Use the trackpad to move the mouse and click
• Login with Clever badge

• Devices are in carts - students pick up and return by table group
• Keep Clever badges at students’ desks
• Student tech helpers can plug in devices, plug in carts, and count devices after using them
• Include device care and on-task behavior (tools vs toys) in co-creation of classroom rules
• Device use in class might look like centers, two students sharing 1 device, students learning a skill with time to explore it more freely later, and/or offering differentiated choices for using devices for other lessons.

• Tech Welcome packet:
• Letter home about device usage at school
• Digital Agency resources (possible homework assignment around Media Balance at home)
• Ways to connect with Families
• Seesaw app �(resources to help family login)
• ParentVue �(resources to help family login)

Digital Fluency: Typing in Kindergarten

Is touch typing developmentally appropriate for �kindergarten students?

Currently, there’s no scientific consensus on when students should start learning �touch typing. Some researchers say it’s okay to start as young as 7 years old, but others argue it’s more effective at ages 10-12 (Kahn & Freyd, 1990; NBEA, 2006; Weerdenberg & Meijden, 2019).

While there’s no clear right answer to when is the best time to introduce students to typing, many researchers agree that there’s no harm in starting simple concepts early, especially with focus on keyboard familiarity (Knox, 2003; Poole & Preciado, 2016). Students first need to learn where keys are located on the keyboard and what they do, so the goal of typing in kindergarten is to familiarize young students with where keys are on a keyboard and how keyboards generally work. Touch typing instruction typically starts in 2nd or 3rd grade, when students’ hands are bigger and their coordination is stronger.

kindergarten

References

Kahn, Jessica, & Freyd, Pamela. (1990). Touch Typing for Young Children: Help or Hindrance? Educational Technology, 30(2), 41–45.

Knox. (2003). Comparison analysis of grade -level implementation of published keyboarding skills based on International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) standards and states in the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools (SACS). ProQuest Dissertations Publishing.

National Business Education Association (NBEA). (2006). Elementary/Middle School Keyboarding Strategies Guide (3rd ed.). Reston, VA: National Business Education Association.

Poole, & Preciado, M. K. (2016). Touch typing instruction: Elementary teachers’ beliefs and practices. Computers and Education, 102, 1–14. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.compedu.2016.06.008

Weerdenburg, Tesselhof, M., & Meijden, H. A. T. van der. (2019). Touch-typing for better spelling and narrative-writing skills on the computer. Journal of Computer Assisted Learning, 35(1), 143–152. https://doi.org/10.1111/jcal.12323

Digital Fluency: Typing in Kindergarten

SFUSD’s Kindergarten keyboarding goals:

• Understand what a keyboard is used for
• Navigate with arrow keys
• Recognize most keys on the keyboard & know what they do
• Examples: numbers, letters, shift, space, return/enter, backspace, esc, caps lock, etc.
• Finger-type numbers
• Use the trackpad to move the mouse and click

kindergarten

Keyboarding activities for kindergarten students

Note: Activities with a keyboard icon(⌨️) next to them are done on a device such as a Chromebook or an iPad with an onscreen keyboard. These digital activities can be done as a station or a choice time activity that can be reset quickly using version history or they can be put on Clever for students to access their own copy.

• ⌨️ Magic pictures - numbers 1-10 - As students type the numbers 1-10, parts of the picture are revealed. Each tab has a different magic picture.
• ⌨️ Magic pictures - numbers 1-20 - As students type the numbers 1-20, parts of the picture are revealed. Each tab has a different magic picture.
• ⌨️ Magic pictures - alphabet - As students type their way through the alphabet, parts of the picture are revealed. Each tab has a different magic picture.
• ⌨️ Magic pictures - capitals alphabet - As students type the alphabet in capital letters, parts of the picture are revealed. Each tab has a different magic picture.
• Chromebook coloring page - Students can color certain keys a certain color or can color the letters that spell a specific word. The bottom space on the page is empty and can be used to write words for them to pretend to “type”.

SFUSD’s Kindergarten keyboarding goals:

• Understand what a keyboard is used for
• Navigate with arrow keys
• Recognize most keys on the keyboard & know what they do
• Examples: numbers, letters, shift, space, return/enter, backspace, esc, caps lock, etc.
• Finger-type numbers
• Use the trackpad to move the mouse and click

Digital Agency

Digital Agency

Pending input from Devorah

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My Digital Life: Tool vs toy

kindergarten

Deeper Learning Core Instructional Priorities

Seesaw is a great digital tool (available to all SFUSD classrooms) for young students to “show what they know” by using multiple mediums, including voice recording, drawings, text, and photos. It's simple to get student work in one place and share with families.

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kindergarten

Technology Tools that Support SFUSD Core Instructional Priorities in Kindergarten

Google Slides (apart of the SFUSD Google Suite of Tools and available to all SFUSD classrooms) can be projected onto a screen and used as a form of digital chart paper, making it easy to recall and return to lists of questions. Google Slides can also make it easier to compare questions with other classes or to format the questions in a graphic organizer, such as a KWL chart.

Google Jamboard is a digital collaborative white board (apart of the SFUSD Google Suite of Tools and available to all SFUSD classrooms) where students can join simultaneously in a small group setting or projected onto a screen for whole group lessons

Equitable

Access &

Demand

Equitable Access and Demand is about ensuring access for all students, with a focus on cognitive demand for “each and every” student. It works toward fostering independence, not dependence.

Kindergarten students come to into the classroom with a wealth of strengths and lived experiences. Instruction should honor their roots and cultivate an environment where students can tap into the joy of learning.

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Equitable Access & Demand in the classroom can support students to find a way in (“access”) and be challenged (“demand”) to think or produce in new or expansive ways. Ultimately, we want every Kindergarten student to carry the cognitive load within the classroom.

kindergarten

kindergarten

Inquiry

Kindergarten students are natural inquirers, having spent much of their lives learning through asking questions about the world.

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Inquiry in the classroom can lean into student curiosity and questions by using technology tools to document and track class questions.

Inquiry pedagogy centers student thinking and student-generated questions to determine a learning path. Students build connections to prior learning and experiences, as independent learners who make their thinking visible.

kindergarten

kindergarten

Collaboration

Kindergarten students learn best in environments where interdependence is centered.

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Collaboration in the classroom can create multiple opportunities for students to express thoughts with a partner or small group of classmates by using technology tools to foster dynamic group work, support discussion protocols as well as provide space for ongoing sharing and feedback.

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Collaboration means students interacting in meaningful ways through conversation and other collaborative protocols, in groups of varying sizes. The educator’s role is a facilitator, adopting a collectivist or communal approach to learning.

kindergarten

kindergarten

Assessment for Learning

Kindergarten students need time and space to learn and explore to see what they can do on their own. Learning in Kindergarten is at its best when it’s both structured and exploratory.

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Assessment for Learning in the classroom can support student eagerness to learn about the world for themselves by using technology tools to share their learning/information with different audiences.

In Assessment for Learning, students are provided with time, space, and support as they work to set goals, assess their learning, track progress, and present their growth. Students are enabled to be co-designers of their assessment, owning and sharing their learning.

kindergarten

kindergarten

Going Deeper

Going Deeper

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kindergarten

Going Deeper

with Digital Learning Resources

Seesaw

Google

*Device Organization

Technology Integration

• Getting Used to Seesaw
• Seesaw Kinder lessons - featured author

• Choice Board Toolkit
• Examples

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• SAMR Model of Technology Integration in the Classroom

• Use Seesaw to post pictures of students working in class for families to see
• Encourage families to “like” and write supportive comments on their student’s posts

Technology Skills

Technology Care Practices

Family Technology Partnerships

Going Deeper

with Digital Fluency

in Kindergarten

• Devices live in carts - students pick up and return by table group
• Keep Clever badges at students’ desks
• Student tech helpers can plug in devices, plug in carts, and count devices after using them
• Include device care and on-task behavior (tools vs toys) in co-creation of classroom rules
• Device use in class might look like centers, two students sharing 1 device, students learning a skill with time to explore it more freely later, and/or offering differentiated choices for using devices for other lessons.

• Finger-type some words
• Beginning to edit and revise writing
• Taking more ownership in how they are showing what they know ( appropriate use of creative tools; when to record voice vs. typing response)

Resources

Popular Digital Learning Team resources

kindergarten

Seesaw resources - sfusd.edu/seesaw

• Seesaw is the first core tool in SFUSD’s Digital Learning tool progression, and it’s perfect for kindergarten students to explore and show their learning.

Google resources - sfusd.edu/google

• Learn which tools kindergarten students have access to and how to connect Google tools with SFUSD’s Deeper Learning Core Instructional Priorities.

Clever & the Digital Backpack - clever.sfusd.edu

• Clever is the tool we use for SFUSD’s Digital Backpack, your students’ personalized portal to their easy-to-access apps and your customized teacher resources.
• Educators can get up to 4 hours of PD credit for completing the Clever Academy.

Approved apps - sfusd.edu/apps

• SFUSD teachers and students have access to digital tools that have been vetted for instructional use and compliance with student data privacy laws (e.g. COPPA, CIPA & FERPA).

SFUSD’s Digital Learning team

• The Digital Learning Team, part of SFUSD’s Department of Technology, leads professional learning, coaching, program development, and content creation centered on technology-enabled 21st century learning.

Family Partnership GSG Slide

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Technology Resources for

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