Going over the assignment, I knew it would be interesting to incorporate and focus on activities with the children that involved technology, both digital and non-digital. Personally, setting up experiences that involved technology was not difficult, but in evaluating, reflecting and discussing in depth about the situations was a challenge for me.
Thinking about technology and what it meant to me and my practice with children was something to consider as I integrate technology into the children’s learning. When starting up my blog, I had no idea what I was getting myself into, although I’m a person who loves to experience new things, so setting up my blog would be an adventure for me. Through trial and error, I was able to successfully get my reflections done, which was something I felt proud of, going through the entries I had documented and achieving something I had not done before.
Coming into this assessment, I had no idea of how essential the impact of technology had on our professional practice as educators and on the children. It did not occur to me how the use of technology could benefit the overall learning and development of the children in our centres, but in having this time to reflect and analyse the different experiences I and my peers have encountered, it has really made me think, about the tools that we use everyday within our centres and consider whether they are forms of technology, whether it be digital or non-digital. Moreover, it has made me contemplate on my overall practice and reflect on ways in which I can make technology more interesting and at the same time, safe and secure for children within their environments (Ministry of Education, 1996).
One of the major things I’ve learnt through this experience, is the different forms of ‘non-technology’. I had no idea that ‘non-technology’ could be in the form of a stapler, cello tape, glue, magnifying glass, etc, but in researching and through class discussions, I have gained extensive knowledge about the wonders of non-technology and that we should be taking advantage of all that is in front of us. As Smorti (1999, p.5) states, “technology is about helping people and solving problems”, where in regards to our practice with children, it is our role as educators to encourage children to make use of the technology that is before them to make sense of the world around them, attaining new skills and knowledge for them to preserve for future encounters.
Some of the feedbacks I had received from my peers, requested that I make use of asking more questions to the children about their experiences with technology, in which I hope to improve on in my future practice, where Arthur & Beecher (2008) propose that through asking open-ended questions, we are encouraging the children to build confidence in themselves to express their thoughts and feelings about their own personal experience in an activity. I feel that this is important in order to see the child’s point of view and acknowledge their contribution towards group and individual experiences (Ministry of Education, 1996).
Overall, in reflecting back on this group blogging experience, I’ve come to understand and acknowledge the uses of different forms of technology and its benefits, not only to myself as an educator, but particularly to the children as we continue to enhance and strengthen their learning and development of assorted tools and skills. Through reading and commenting on my peers’ blogs, it has enabled me to have a broad insight into their experiences with technology within their centres and how they would address and facilitate the children’s learning about the unique tools. In receiving feedback from my group members, it has allowed me to consider improvements on my practice in the field of teaching technology to the children within my centre and ways in which I could build on their knowledge and my own, where Smorti (1999) suggests that in order for educators to extend on children’s interests and learning in technology, we must first broaden our own knowledge of technology.
Reference List
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (20008). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4th ed.). Victoria, Australia: CENGAGE Learning.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whaariki: He Whaariki Maatauranga mo nga Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No. 19 Autumn 1999.
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Reflection Three: Children's experience with Laptop Computers
An observation that I made in my centre was of one of the educators who had brought in her laptop computer to share to the children, as we had noticed the children’s increasing interest in the piece of equipment. The useful thing about the laptop computer is that it is accessible at any time, portable, convenient and suitable for bringing down to the children’s level. When the educator interacts with the children using the laptop computer, the children’s attention is immediately drawn to the machinery, as each child’s interest in the laptop is acknowledged with a turn to explore and investigate the countless education software programmes that the educator had installed. Each child examines each of the keys on the keyboards, as they further their exploration through fiddling with the mouse.
For myself as a growing educator, I want to help support the need for children to contribute to these learning experiences through allowing them the chance to explore, make decisions for themselves and feel that their contribution is valued by both educators and their peers (Ministry of Education, 1996). This could be done by enabling the children to learn to take turns on the computer, while during their turn, they are able to select any learning program that they want to do by using their decision-making skills, as well as having the comforts of enjoying their program in their own time and space.
When a child is exploring and discovering the computer keyboard, they are not only experiencing it physically through their sensory-motor skills, but are also experiencing a visual representation of numbers and letters. In addition, through using laptop computers in children’s learning and development, I feel that this would help capture their focus on essential learning needs, allowing them to stay interested in their learning, at the same time building on their knowledge and learning of different materials and concepts of their educational needs. It is vital for us, as educators, to attain the necessary knowledge and skills that are required to enhance and promote the learning and development for children in technology, in this case, computer laptops. By doing this, we are helping “enhance the teaching and learning process”, (Tsantis, Bewick & Thornton, 2003, p.3) through having the proficiency to extend on the children’s interests and knowledge of computers laptops, as well as encouraging children to master it’s techniques, tools and methods efficiently.I feel that in providing learning experiences that consist of using the laptop computers in my centre, the educators and I are accountable for presenting relevant learning programs and software for the children, also guiding and supporting their learning and usage of the equipment, in regards to their safety and time-management while using the laptop computers (Tsantis, Bewick & Thornton, 2003). Tsantis, Bewick & Thorton (2003) go on to suggest that this is a vital necessity for educators, as selecting appropriate software can have a major effect on the active learning and development of children.
Reference List:
Google image. Image of computer keyboard with numbers and letters. Retrieved from http://alignedleft.com/blog/wp-content/uploads/2008/06/macbook-keyboard-by-jason-michael1.jpg
Google image. Image of cartoon laptop computer. Retrieved from http://images.crestock.com/30000-39999/38316-xs.jpg
Google image. Image of child with laptop. Retrieved from http://www.niea-online.org/files/NIEA/girl_on_laptop.jpg
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whaariki: He Whaariki Matauranga mo nga Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early Childhood Curriculum (pp. 84-90). Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media Limited.
Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10.
Tsantis, L., Bewick, C., & Thornton, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about computers in the early years. Young Children on the Web, November 2003, 1-9.
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