ABSTRACT
During the last decade, even very young children have had more and more contact with digital media in general and computers in particular in their everyday lives. Hence, it is not surprising that practitioners are alienated by and not sure how to deal with new technologies in the preschool classroom. The chapter then presents a study on preschool educator's attitudes towards the use of computers and consequences for the ways computers are used in German kindergartens. The chapter overviews the developmental preconditions of preschoolers and the current state of the pedagogical discussion on the benefits and detrimental effects of computers on young children. It analyses the results of a questionnaire study with 493 headmasters and teachers of kindergartens from two German federal states North-Rhine Westphalia and Rhineland-Palatinate. Thus, to enhance the quality of technology education in the field of digital media, an improvement of teacher education and advanced training is essential.
