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Research on e-Learning and ICT in Education pp 39–57Cite as

Educational Software Use in Kindergarten

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Abstract

This chapter addresses educational software use in the kindergarten. It presents research findings of a study which investigated the existence and use of a computer in class by children, the voluntary participation of kindergarten teachers and the natural classroom environment (lack of artificial intervention). Seventeen Greek state kindergartens participated in this study, and the data were collected by interviews with the teachers and class observations. It was found that computer use took place, mainly, daily during the hour of free activities. The most commonly used programs were the MS Paint, commercial and educational CD-ROMs, and the MS Word, while the use of the Internet was rare. Teachers intervened and guided children throughout the use of different programs except for computer games, where children played on their own. The study revealed some difficulties children encountered when using the programs MS Paint and MS Word. The crucial role of childhood teachers is also discussed.

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Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Early Childhood Education, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens, Navarinou 13A, 10680, Athens, Greece

    Kleopatra Nikolopoulou

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  1. Kleopatra Nikolopoulou
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Correspondence to Kleopatra Nikolopoulou .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Special Education, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Charalampos Karagiannidis

  2. Department of Primary Education, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Panagiotis Politis

  3. Department of Pre-School Education, University of Thessaly, Volos, Greece

    Ilias Karasavvidis

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Nikolopoulou, K. (2014). Educational Software Use in Kindergarten. In: Karagiannidis, C., Politis, P., Karasavvidis, I. (eds) Research on e-Learning and ICT in Education. Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4614-6501-0_4

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