Duluth, GA, Jan. 08, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- ChildCare Education Institute® (CCEI), an online child care training provider dedicated exclusively to the early care and education workforce, is proud to introduce CUR123: Robotics in Early Childhood Education: Hands-On and Playful Approaches to the online child care training course catalog.
Children are growing up in an increasingly digital world. Because of this, technology, coding, and robotics in schools is getting a lot of attention these days. But for many early childhood educators, it is still difficult to picture new technologies, like robots, being used playfully in early childhood settings. Robots can be useful tools to teach children about design, building, engineering, and programming beginning in preschool.
It is important that early childhood educators understand the value, both short and long term, of introducing robotics to their students. Robotics can be a challenging subject to teach and can require substantial planning and prep on the teacher’s part, especially the first time the subject is taught. Focusing on the many benefits of teaching this domain can help motivate teachers. Additionally, it can help teachers articulate the need for support and resources to program administrators and colleagues.
Research has shown the following benefits of robotics in early childhood:
- Facilitates fine-motor skills: Through manipulation of robotic parts such as motors, wheels, and more.
- Facilitates social development: Through working socially in groups/partners and persevering through challenging tasks, and learning to get help from one another.
- Builds sequencing skills: Through programming a robot, children practice “sequencing”- the ability to put actions in a logical order- which is an important pre-math and pre-literacy skill.
In addition to these, research has shown that robotics can foster a range of cognitive development skills, promote visual memory, and reinforce mathematics skills.
This course provides participants with an understanding of the benefits of using educational robotics kits in early childhood settings (prek-2nd grade). It explores foundational facts about robotics, programming, and engineering. Participants will be exposed to several different kinds of educational robotics kits designed specifically for young children. Participants will also discover ways to incorporate robotics activities to support creativity, play, and hands-on learning in the learning environment.
“This course will help ECE professionals who tend to avoid technology become more familiar with the benefits of robotics, in hopes that they will explore new elements of technology with students in their classrooms,” said Maria C. Taylor, President and CEO of CCEI. “Children will benefit from new experiences with novel and engaging materials that promote critical thinking, problem-solving, and other skills related to the 21st century job market.”
CUR123: Robotics in Early Childhood Education: Hands-On and Playful Approaches is a two-hour, intermediate-level course and grants 0.2 IACET CEU upon successful completion. Current CCEI users with active, unlimited annual subscriptions can register for professional development courses at no additional cost when logged in to their CCEI account. Users without subscriptions can purchase child care training courses as block hours through CCEI online enrollment.
For more information, visit www.cceionline.edu or call 1.800.499.9907, prompt 3, Monday - Friday, 8 a.m. - 5 p.m. EST
ChildCare Education Institute, LLC
ChildCare Education Institute®, a division of Excelligence Learning Corporation, provides high-quality, distance education certificates and child care training programs in an array of child care settings, including preschool centers, family child care, prekindergarten classrooms, nanny care, online daycare training and more. Over 150 English and Spanish child care training courses are available online to meet licensing, recognition program, and Head Start Requirements. CCEI also has online certification programs that provide the coursework requirement for national credentials including the CDA, Director and Early Childhood Credentials. CCEI, a Council for Professional Recognition CDA Gold Standard™ training provider, is nationally accredited by the Distance Education Accrediting Commission (DEAC), is accredited as an Authorized Provider by the International Association for Continuing Education and Training (IACET), and is authorized under the Nonpublic Postsecondary Educational Institutions Act of 1990, license number 837.
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