How Technology Helps Us LearnActivities & Teaching Strategies
Active learning lets young children connect digital tools to real skills, making abstract ideas concrete through touch and talk. For this topic, hands-on trials with apps and websites turn passive screen time into purposeful practice that mirrors classroom lessons.
Learning Objectives
- 1Compare the interactive features of three different educational apps, identifying how each supports a specific learning goal.
- 2Explain how digital tools, such as educational websites, offer different learning experiences than traditional books.
- 3Design a simple concept for a new educational app, outlining its core learning function and target audience.
- 4Identify at least two ways technology can provide immediate feedback to a learner.
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Stations Rotation: App Discovery Stations
Prepare four stations with tablets: phonics app, maths game, story reader, drawing tool. Small groups spend 8 minutes at each, recording one learning help like 'sounds letters'. Gather to share notes on charts.
Prepare & details
How does your favourite learning app help you get better at something?
Facilitation Tip: During App Discovery Stations, circulate with a clipboard to note which apps prompt children to verbalize their strategies, not just tap the screen.
Setup: Tables/desks arranged in 4-6 distinct stations around room
Materials: Station instruction cards, Different materials per station, Rotation timer
Pairs Activity: Book and App Match-Up
Pairs select a topic like animals, read from a book, then use a related app. Draw or list three similarities and three differences, such as 'book has pictures, app speaks words'. Present one pair finding to class.
Prepare & details
What is the same and what is different about learning with a computer and learning with a book?
Facilitation Tip: When pairs complete the Book and App Match-Up, ask guiding questions like 'How does the app show you your answer was right?' to deepen reflection.
Setup: Varies; may include outdoor space, lab, or community setting
Materials: Experience setup materials, Reflection journal with prompts, Observation worksheet, Connection-to-content framework
Small Groups: Design Your Learning App
Groups choose a skill like shapes, brainstorm features such as games or rewards, and draw two app screens with labels. Explain designs in a class showcase, answering 'how does it help learning?'
Prepare & details
If you could make a new app to help children learn, what would it do?
Facilitation Tip: While small groups design apps, provide sticky notes labeled 'skill', 'feedback', and 'fun' to help children structure their ideas before drawing.
Setup: Varies; may include outdoor space, lab, or community setting
Materials: Experience setup materials, Reflection journal with prompts, Observation worksheet, Connection-to-content framework
Whole Class: Favourite App Circle
Each child shares their top app and one way it helps, using a talking stick. Class votes on common benefits and adds to a shared poster. Follow with quick paired try of a new app.
Prepare & details
How does your favourite learning app help you get better at something?
Facilitation Tip: In Favourite App Circle, model how to describe a feature and a learning benefit in one sentence to scaffold concise explanations.
Setup: Varies; may include outdoor space, lab, or community setting
Materials: Experience setup materials, Reflection journal with prompts, Observation worksheet, Connection-to-content framework
Teaching This Topic
Young learners benefit from seeing technology as a tool that requires effort, not magic. Spend time modeling how to notice feedback and adjust actions, just as they would with a book or worksheet. Avoid assuming children intuitively transfer classroom routines to apps; explicitly link the app’s language to the skill you’re practicing. Research suggests that guided reflection after screen time helps children connect enjoyment with learning outcomes.
What to Expect
Students will explain how technology supports specific skills, compare digital and non-digital learning, and contribute ideas for new tools. Success looks like focused engagement, clear explanations, and thoughtful designs that show understanding of learning goals.
These activities are a starting point. A full mission is the experience.
- Complete facilitation script with teacher dialogue
- Printable student materials, ready for class
- Differentiation strategies for every learner
Watch Out for These Misconceptions
Common MisconceptionDuring App Discovery Stations, watch for children who believe apps teach automatically without effort.
What to Teach Instead
Pause at each station and ask, 'What did you do when the app gave you a hint? How did you try again?' Use the device’s feedback screen to point out the child’s actions and improvements.
Common MisconceptionDuring Book and App Match-Up, watch for children who see apps only as fun games unrelated to real learning.
What to Teach Instead
Guide pairs to read the app’s short description aloud, then point to specific words like 'count', 'read', or 'solve'. Ask, 'How is this like the work we do with books or counters?'
Common MisconceptionDuring Design Your Learning App, watch for children who assume computers always outperform books.
What to Teach Instead
Provide a simple comparison chart with two columns: 'Books show pictures quietly' and 'Apps let me touch and hear'. Ask groups to add one example under each heading before designing.
Assessment Ideas
After Favourite App Circle, ask students to choose one learning app they used today and share how it helped them get better at one thing and what they liked most about using it. Listen for specific examples of skills practiced and features used.
After Book and App Match-Up, provide each pair with two cards: one with a picture of a book and one with a tablet. Ask them to draw one way learning with the book is the same as learning with the tablet and one way it is different. Review drawings for understanding of comparative learning methods.
During Design Your Learning App, give each student a small piece of paper and ask them to draw one idea for a new learning app and write one sentence about what it would help children learn. Collect these to gauge creativity and understanding of app functions.
Extensions & Scaffolding
- Challenge: Ask fast finishers to design a second app page that teaches a different skill to the same character.
- Scaffolding: Provide sentence starters on cards for pairs matching books to apps, such as 'The app helps me... by showing...'.
- Deeper exploration: Invite students to interview a partner about their favorite app, then present one surprising fact they learned about how it works.
Key Vocabulary
| Educational App | A software application designed to help people learn a subject or skill, often interactive and engaging. |
| Interactive Website | A website that allows users to actively participate, such as by clicking, typing, or playing games, to enhance learning. |
| Digital Tool | Any electronic device or computer program used to help with tasks, in this case, learning. |
| Feedback | Information given to a learner about their performance, helping them understand what they did well and what they need to improve. |
Suggested Methodologies
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Spotting Technology Around Us
Students take a walk around the school or classroom to identify various pieces of technology and discuss their functions.
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Input and Output Devices
Students understand that they interact with technology by giving it instructions (input) and receiving a result (output) through various devices.
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Technology at Home and School
Students compare and contrast the types of technology used at home versus at school, discussing their different purposes.
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Smart Choices with Technology
Students discuss how technology can be used for good and the importance of balancing screen time with other activities.
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The Future of Technology (Simple Ideas)
Students imagine and draw future technologies, considering how they might solve problems or make life easier.
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