What is Tinkering

Technology can be an amazing tool for teachers and teaching, but only when used in developmentally appropriate ways. With nearly 300 new applications being created everyday, it seems like teachers are staring into a technology-filled abyss that grows deeper and wider each minute. Teacher education programs can help preservice teachers be better prepared to consume, create, and collaborate in developmentally appropriate ways with children by: 1) unpacking what developmentally appropriate practice looks, feels, and sounds like; 2) exploring ways experts like writers or musicians authentically utilize technologies in their areas of expertise; 3) providing hands-on experiences with a range of technologies across content areas to build up preservice teachers' levels of comfort just in the technology realm; and 4) requiring preservice teachers to utilize technology in developmentally appropriate ways as they work with children. This chapter provides a theoretical foundation and exemplars-in-practice for each of the aforementioned topics.