Brian J. Puerling, MS, NBCT

Brian J. Puerling, M.S., N.B.C.T.

Brian J. Puerling, MS, NBCT is the director of education technology at the Catherine Cook School in Chicago, where he works with teachers to connect students to new technologies that offer innovative ways to explore, play and learn.

An early fellow career fellow and former guest blogger for the Fred Rogers Center for Early Learning and Children’s Media, he is the recipient of the National PBS Innovative Educator Award and the National PBS Teachers’ Choice Award.

A former preschool teacher for the Chicago Public Schools, Puerling has also worked as an early childhood teacher coach, a curriculum reviewer and a professional development facilitator for the Chicago Public Schools and the Rush University Medical Center Science and Math Excellence Network.

As a consultant for PBS, he is currently developing an online, self-paced course for preschool teachers entitled, “Exploring the Partnership Between Meaningful Media Creation and Environment to Support Science Learning.”

He also serves as an educational consultant for Nickelodeon and is a former member of the Nickelodeon Curriculum and Content Advisory Board. As a former member of the Sesame Workshop Teacher Council, he shared his knowledge of trends in early childhood education and technology to help guide the planning for future Sesame Street television shows.

Puerling is also the author of the Teaching in the Digital Age series, which includes Teaching in the Digital Age: Smart Tools for Age 3 to Grade 3 (Redleaf Press, 2012), Teaching in the Digital Age for Preschool and Kindergarten: Enhancing Curriculum with Technology (Redleaf Press, November 2017) and the upcoming book, Teaching in the Digital Age to Support Social-Emotional Development in Young Children (Redleaf Press, November 2018). He is currently working on the fourth book in the series, which outlines practical strategies for integrating technology into early learning.

He holds a master of science degree in early childhood education from the Erikson Institute and a bachelor of science degree in early childhood and elementary education from the University of Wisconsin-LaCrosse and a Certificate of Advanced Education Leadership from the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

Posts by Brian J. Puerling, MS, NBCT

Designing Virtual Lands!

Wooden blocks, Magna-tiles, and Lego bricks have taken quite a residence in the childhood of young children. Toys like these and other building materials provide children with a fascination with creative opportunity. As an adult, I am still astounded by the ideas that come to mind when I open one of the Lego containers I […]

Creating Stop Motion Pattern Videos

I have consistently found that young children are always fascinated by anyone viewing photographs or videos on a smartphone. “Can I see, can I see?” they say as they mosey their way into your lap. Where children viewing what has been taken by a camera is important, it is also just as important to get […]

Creating I Spy Videos

Young children love to play games. For example, currently, my five-year-old daughter is in love with the game Chutes and Ladders, a board game that has the players climbing up ladders and sliding down chutes in an attempt to be the first player to reach the top 100th square. She not only enjoys the competition, […]

Using Daisy the Dinosaur to Support Early Coding Concepts and Computational Thinking

Coding and programming has become a popular trend in education today. It has become recognized that possessing a capacity for perseverance and a skill set to be able to understand the basics of coding and programming can provide individuals with an avenue to explore creativity and innovation in a way students have not before on […]

Composing Electronic Music Using ButtonBass

posted by Brian Puerling Electronic music is not often considered a vehicle for young children to explore music or mathematics for that matter. At Catherine Cook School, where I am the Director of Education Technology, I oversee our AV Studio which is equipped with a sound proof recording room and separate editing room. In the […]

Using Book Creator to Create Scavenger Hunt eBooks

posted by Brian Puerling Young children are usually up for the challenge of an exciting game whether it be a board game, hide and seek, or simply guessing something. Scavenger hunts provide children with the opportunity, at its best, to develop skills around collaboration, observation, and communication. Taking technology out of the home and the […]

Using ChromaKids to Support Co-Creation of Number Challenges

posted by Brian Puerling In 2016, I had the honor of being an Early Career Fellow for the Fred Rogers Center. In this role, my charge was to develop a concept for an application that brought art, communication, and language together. This open-ended application invites children of many ages to create stories independently or collaboratively […]

Using ChatterPix to Animate Number Stories

posted by Brian Puerling Note: Strategies provided in all four of February’s blog posts can be facilitated in both the home and the classroom, as well as other contexts. Young children are often intrigued by the sense of magic that today’s technology seems to possess. Though there is not magic in the devices, we can […]