Tech and Early Ed Incubator

01/25/2018

The most interesting thing about babies is that they are so enormously interested; the most wonderful thing about them is their infinite capacity for wonder.
Alison Gopnik, The Scientist in the Crib

In an article in Psychology Today, Tim Leberecht writes, "The National Head Start Association (with which I have worked as a consultant for more than a year) recently launched the HeadStarter Network, an independent non-profit organization with the mission to connect the learnings and innovations from Head Start with forward-thinking education professionals and the tech industry in order to help create next-generation models for early childhood education.

The HeadStarter's first-ever Tech and Early Ed Incubator, a two-day ideation challenge, took place in Austin...The task at hand was two-fold: first, to generate ideas for incorporating exponential technologies [Augmented Reality/Virtual Reality (AR/VR) Artificial Intelligence (AI) etc.] in the classroom; and second, to examine how AR/VR, blockchain, AI and the like can improve the effectiveness of early childhood education program management."

In the conclusion of his article, Leberecht writes: "In the best-case scenario, I hope my own eight-year-old daughter will be able to use exponential technologies to live in more worlds with more identities and more meaning, as a gardener, artist and healer, not just a tourist. But I also want her to grow up planting trees, writing songs, and playing her favorite imaginative game, 'Animal Rescue Center' with her stuffed animals...I want her to form an imagination rich enough to always strive for better tomorrows."

Source: "Can Exponential Tech Enhance Early Childhood Education," by Tim Leberecht, Psychology Today, December 12, 2017

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