The First Online Workshop is Tonight 9/16 6:30 pm PST

Pop UP! Light, Shadow, and Technology in the Early Childhood Classroom

Online Via ZOOM

Date: September 16th  6:30–8:30 PM PST

$50.00 Register

Unlike many objects in our environment, light is constantly changing—it appears, disappears, stretches, flickers, and moves in response to even the smallest actions. This unpredictability captures our attention, as curiosity and wonder. Light also becomes the gateway for technology, as we harness it’s use to change out viewpoint, create mystery and develop new perspectives. In this Branches Atelier 100 Languages Access Program workshop, educators are invited to explore light, shadow, and their intersections with technology as dynamic languages for thinking, research, and expression in early childhood classrooms. 

The workshop highlights the role of documentation and technology as tools for observation, reflection, and communication both for children and adults. Educators will see examples of how photography, video, projection, and digital media can deepen inquiry, make learning visible, and support children in revisiting and extending their theories over time.

Together, we will ask:

• How can light and technology become languages for thinking rather than simply tools for instruction?
• How can we design environments that provoke curiosity, experimentation, and collaboration?
• How can documentation practices support children in revisiting, refining, and sharing their ideas?
• In what ways can light and shadow create opportunities for interdisciplinary learning across science, art, mathematics, literacy, and design?

Join us as we reflect on creating classrooms where wonder, aesthetics, and inquiry intersect—spaces where children are seen as capable researchers and communicators who use many languages to understand and transform their world. Through collaborative reflection on environments and inquiries, participants will gain practical strategies for integrating light, shadow, and technology into everyday classroom experiences while honoring children’s agency, creativity, and unique ways of knowing.