Children’s Learning Center Receives Hatch Learning System

The Children's Learning Center at Texas A&M University-Commerce added the Hatch Learning System to their program with new child-friendly tablets, computers, and the new Hatch WePlaySmart Table. The Hatch system is specially designed technology that allows children to extend their learning beyond the traditional classroom.

“This is taking our center to the next level of education,” said Tiffany Spigner, assistant teacher at the CLC. “It is setting us apart from other child care facilities and ensuring our children's education for the future.”

This new technology will allow teachers to extend student knowledge into skills that can be used for a lifetime such as teamwork and cooperation. The WePlaySmart Table, a large multi-touch table with over 275 different games, is specifically designed to teach students how to work together and take turns. The CLC also received three new tablets and two new computers that can be integrated into the learning program by giving each student specific lesson plans and letting them customize their own learning experience.

“Our center now has 21^st century technology that will give our students skills they can take with them for a lifetime,” said Cindy Bannert, lead teacher at the CLC. “This is more than getting them ready for Kindergarten, this is using technology and education to get them ready for challenges they will face every day.”

The Hatch system will also make it easier for teachers to measure how much a student is learning. From academic skills to social interaction skills, the Hatch system will measure each student's individual ability based on how they play with the equipment and each other. This information will be available for the teachers to review and adjust lesson plans and activities to better suit the needs of the children.

“We know that technology is the future and we want to offer the chance to our children to learn everything they can about it,” said Lisa Rhoades, Director of the CLC. “This is an extension of the classroom and a chance for children to learn cooperation and about working together. These are skills that they can take with them for a lifetime after they leave the Learning Center.”

The Children's Learning Center is available for parents who are university students, faculty, and staff. They are a nationally accredited, 4-star program that offers worry-free, on-campus child care in a learning atmosphere.