EC Technology Today Survey FAQ

Q. How will you use the information collected through the surveys?

A. The results of the surveys will be made public through articles in journals, blog posts, and other publications, and the raw results will be made available when there is a critical mass of information to share. The results will help inform product developers about how we early childhood educators use technology, what we like and don’t like, and developmentally appropriate practice.  They will also help inform professional development and integration efforts for teachers and administrators.

Q. But why are you doing this? 

A. What you see is what you get… We know there is a serious lack of information about technology in early childhood classrooms.  As researchers and authors, we’ve scoured the literature for information about how technology is really being used, and have come up a few with old studies that don’t address the questions we have. So rather than being frustrated, we just set out to gather information.

We know our “collaborative” is bound to raise some eyebrows because we are not affiliated with think tanks, non-profit organizations, or universities, but we decided to go out on our own because we know we can mover faster if we work out of the traditional box.  We decided readers can take our survey for what it is… Sound work done by people who can move quickly.  We also know some people will decide to not participate or read our reports, articles, and books,. That’s OK with us if it is OK with you. Between the three of us, we have almost 90 years of on the ground experience working in jobs like yours and the experience of a solid researcher on our team (Dr. McManis), so our perspective is a little different.  We just want to gather information so we can turn it into useful content for the people who work with children and families every day.

Q. Is this a veiled attempt to improve products?

A. It is our STATED intent to improve products, reports, books and webinars! We want to provide information that will inform:

• product developers about what early childhood educators need, want, and believe.
• teachers, administrators, and others responsible for technology integration, professional development, and purchasing decisions.
• the media, funders, and the general public.

Yes, we want information so we can share it and improve everything available to the field.

Q. Is this a veiled attempt to capture our personal information for marketing purposes?

A. We do invite survey participants to provide their emails addresses if they want to receive future information.  You can choose to remain anonymous. We have invited participants to provide their email addresses because we do want to stay in touch with you, but we will NEVER send information other than requests to participate in future surveys, requests to involve your peers, and/or notices about launching results and/or reports. PERIOD!  We will NEVER share your email address with anyone for any purpose other than the aforementioned stated purposes.

If you have other questions, please contact us by email and we will get back to you right away.