Final Reflection

 

 

A focus on technology through a blog has been a definite challenge, although also very enjoyable. The amount that I have learnt about my technological ability as well as the use of technology within my setting has really helped me grasp the concept of WHAT technology is and the ways in which it helps the learning and development of children.

 

My initial understanding of technology was purely limited to that of the technical kind- knowing what it is but not necessarily how to use it. My ideas were immediately expanded when I read that "...technology is about helping people and solving problems..." (Smorti, 1999). Having to define non-digital technology, observe the children exploring with it, and then analyse the different ways that it aided in a child's learning highlighted the important skills that children learn from technology.

 

I appreciated the feedback that I got from the other members of my group as I have found that through adapting to my centres environment, I become very closed off from other ideas and experiences. I think that sharing ideas and experiences, and gaining different perspectives have proved very beneficial towards my view of technology, and that of the other members of my group.

 

Te Whariki (Ministry of Education, 1996) states that "children use a variety of technologies as they explore their world" (p. 98) which is also supported within the New Zealand Curriculum (Ministry of Education, 2007) by placing a direct focus on "...technological literacy that will equip them to participate in society as informed citizens and give them access to technology-related careers" (p. 32).

As technology is embedded throughout the curriculum, I now have an understanding to better support the children  in the development of their own understandings.

 

 

Reference List

 

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whariki: He whariki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media

 

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media 

 

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10.

 

 



Hyperlinks

Sonia

http://10720633.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/entry-two-digital-one.html?showComment=1345329006162

http://10720633.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/a-snail-that-hid-away-in-its-shelll.html?showComment=1345330272961

http://10720633.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/non-digital-entry-dinosaur-that-lived.html?showComment=1346026274696

Carmen

http://thom794.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/digital-camera-use-by-children.html?showComment=1345201444059

http://thom794.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/how-can-we-encourage-technology-if-we.html?showComment=1346027515866

http://thom794.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/technology-and-making-bark-garden.html?showComment=1346032194893

My Personal Response To Blog Feedback 

http://whit750.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/30-july-2012-is-it-digital-camera-ipod.html?showComment=1346295274775

http://whit750.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/14th-august-2012-pram-rides-on-agenda.html?showComment=1346328862411

http://whit750.blogspot.co.nz/2012/08/20-august-2012-blackboard-or-whiteboard.html?showComment=1346361777558



20 August 2012

 

The blackboard or the whiteboard?

 

 

Usually during whariki (mat time) we use a whiteboard to  draw or write down the children's ideas or other relevant things that the teachers or children need to remember. Due to the lack of resources within our centre, at the end of whariki time, all of the whiteboard markers are placed out of reach of the children, to prevent them from going missing, being damaged, or from streaks of marker appearing across the walls and floor.

Naturally, if the children see a whiteboard marker within reach, they all run for it and fight over it! There seems to be something that they get from drawing on the big whiteboard as opposed to drawing on paper. Perhaps its being able to step back and see their artwork as big as them, or maybe it might be a case of modelling, as many of them slip into the role of a 'teacher' when they get their hands on a whiteboard marker.

Today while everybody was playing outside, 'G' (four years old) found the whiteboard marker and began drawing on the whiteboard, telling a story and humming as she drew.Careful as not to interrupt her, I tiptoed around and continued to tidy the dining area up from morning tea, taking a sneak peak at the whiteboard when she was unaware. She had filled the whiteboard up with many different shapes, resembling letter formation. Once she had filled the whiteboard, she put the pen down and went outside.

Wondering if she stopped writing because she ran out of space, I moved a container of large chalk pieces, and an old blackboard easel outside, and set it up near the garden. I didn't take long for all of the children to find themselves a piece of chalk, and start drawing on the wood of the garden box. I began drawing some lines on the blackboard, yet none of the children were interested. Perhaps its because they weren't used to the blackboard? Or that the blackboard is never used within our daily routine so they don't find it relevant to them? Or even that the blackboard is a lot smaller that the whiteboard?

 



I was surprised that the children were avoiding the blackboard, and treating it like the newer piece of technology, one that they weren't very familiar with, and reluctant to use.

Initially, I had given 'G' her space while using the whiteboard marker because I immediately recognised how engaged she was in her writing. Adams and Hamer (2006) states that "when given the appropriate resources, experiences and opportunities, children also develop their self-concept as literate persons" (p. 57). Within our centre, it is very rare to witness a child become so engaged within literacy, or even to have the opportunity to engage in play without being disrupted by other children. It didn't matter whether G's hard work made any sense to anyone else, as it was her play, and her exploration.  

 The use of the whiteboard marker was also 'G' exploring communication technology, which is embedded within the communication strand within Te Whariki (Ministry of Education, 1996) in which it states "children gain experience in using communication technologies such as crayons, paintbrushes, pencils,calculators, books and computers" (p. 97). Many children are reluctant to pick up or hold a pen or a pencil, so allowing them to play with chalk outside is one way to introduce them to writing basics, such as how to grip a pencil, letter formations on the concrete, writing from left to right and the development of fine motor skills (Adams & Hamer, 2006; Benson, 2004).. 

I believe that literacy is absolutely an area that needs to be addressed more within our daily routines, but it is about utilising many different communication technologies to implement a successful approach to literacy within my centre.



Reference List


Adams, P. & Hamer, J. (2006). The New Zealand early childhood literacy handbook: Practical literacy ideas for early childhood centres. North Shore, Auckland: Cengage Learning

Benson, H. (2004). Emergent writing. Retrieved from http://www.pbs.org/teachers/earlychildhood/articles/emergentwriting.html 

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whariki: He whariki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media

14th August 2012

Pram Rides On The Agenda Today!

Sometimes as a teacher, one of the most challenging things that I find is reflecting in action, while attempting to cater for the many needs of children- especially while stuck inside on a rainy day.
What is amazing is seeing the children doing the same- thinking and reflecting in action. Making do with the resources they have and the space they have, and creating their own fun and learning. Today the fun and exploration was from a pram tucked away in the corner. And on realising that it was there, 'T' (3 years old) promptly brought it out of hiding, and immediately children were lining up for a ride or a turn to push.

This quick thinking and imagination on their behalf meant that they took control of their learning by extending on the ideas that they already had around the use of prams. Ministry of Education (1996) states that "...using many materials for different purposes enables children to recognise that different technologies may be used in various places and settings (p.95). Once the children had lost interest in their pram rides, 'T' then proceeded to load it up with blocks, transporting them from the block area on the deck, to the mat area inside. This was an example of her utilising the pram for another purpose, without any prompting or encouragement from others.

Initially, the learning and development that I noticed happening was in the form of social skills- through taking turns, role modelling 'mum' or 'dad' or the 'baby', compromising on the route that the pram would be pushed around the centre and decking, as well as problem solving when they were faced with a barrier in their path.

Although this brilliant piece of technology was created to transport babies around, today it also aided in the gross motor skills of our children. As we don't have a decent amount of space within our centre to effectively extend and challenge the children's gross motor skills, we have to find ways to let them exert their energy positively, stretch their muscles, and develop fundamental movement skills (Sanders, 2002).

From playing with this piece of technology, they were able to push and pull each other up and down the ramp, climb into and out of the pram, and also stand on front foot rest and balance while another child was being pushed around. These concepts are just a few that are very important within a child's physical development, and also with the development of their gross motor skills (Greenfield, 2007; Gonzalez-Mena, 2008).

In terms of risk taking, sadly we don't have a variety of challenging equipment for the children to explore, and this is obvious to us in the way that the children use existing equipment. When they began to climb on the front of the pram and balance while it was being pushed, we identified a need for more risk taking opportunities within our setting (Greenfield, 2007). Again, much of this is beyond our reach as a centre, with barriers such as finances, space and council boundaries preventing us from addressing these issues.

Some realistic ways that we can extend on this learning is by providing more opportunities within our setting for the children to enjoy outdoor resources with wheels, such as trolleys, scooters, and small bikes.

Reference List

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Foundations of early childhood education: Teaching children n a diverse society. New York, United States: McGraw Hill

Greenfield, C. (2007). Outside is where we need to be: A guide to providing outdoor environments in early childhood settings. Manukau, New Zealand: Manukau Institute of Technology

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whariki: He whariki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media

Sanders, S. (2002). Active for life: Developmentally appropriate movement programs for young children (pp. 31 -41, 91). Washington D.C.: NAEYC. 

• 

30 July 2012

Is it a Digital Camera, Ipod, or Camera Phone?  Introducing our Tamariki to this complex piece of digital technology.

The most common use of digital technology within my centre would be a digital camera, although the use of the camera is very rare, as my centre doesn’t actually own any. Because the documentation of children’s learning in the form of learning stories and portfolios occurs very rarely, on the odd occasion when a camera is required, the teachers provide their own.

To capture pictures of a creative activity, one of staff members grabbed his Ipod, and used the camera setting to take pictures, with the intention of emailing them to himself to print. As the children are familiar with ipods and camera phones from their home setting, they weren’t phased by this, asking to see the photos and then continuing with their work.

Once the photos were printed and shown to the children, the confusion began as they tried to understand how their photos managed to get from the ipod {‘the music pod’) to the pieces of paper in his hand. Having to pull his ipod out and show them the different functions (music, clock, camera, messaging) they began to develop a deeper understanding for a piece of technology that they see utilised in their everyday lives.

From this view point, I feel that this absolutely directly impacts on the learning and development of the children within my centre, as suddenly their thoughts, understandings and working theories have been challenged and extended, allowing us to introduce them to different ways that this piece of technology can be used to assist us with everything from waking up early, to calculating our shopping. Surprisingly, most of the children were either familiar with, or quickly grasped the idea of email, and easily understood how their pictures were able to transfer from his Ipod, to a laptop, and then to the printer. Could this be because of the normality of text messaging within our lives?

So how significant is this piece of technology within the lives of our children? And how will it aid in the development? Ministry of Education (1996) states that "...children use a variety of technologies for different purposes as they explore their world" (p. 98), and although the term technology can broaden and be inclusive of non-digital technology, I can't help but feel that we may be modelling and encouraging the younger generations to be reliant on technologies latest developments.

 According to Bewick, Thornton and Tsantis (2003), finding an appropriate balance while introducing computer technology into the curriculum is important in making the integration successful, as many educators have different approaches and ideas on computer technology with an early childhood setting. Within my particular setting however, our barrier to digital technology lies in lack of access to finances, meaning that much of our documentation is through drawings and stories, without the support of a photographs. In turn, this also effects the child's view of their learning progress, as they lack the visual of their personal progress that many children get from learning stories, portfolios and wall displays. Parents and whanau also miss out on the visual of their child's learning journey.
Lack of finances also means that we aren't able to expose the children within our setting to this sort of technology as often as we would like to allow them these consistent experiences.

 Although this particular experience had a positive outcome with these children, I don't necessarily feel that an Ipod has any direct place in an early childhood setting, and like most digital technology, exploration of these technologies should be done with hands-on guidance from adults (National Association for the Education of Young Children, 2008).




Reference List


Bewick, C., Thornton, S., Tsantis, L. (2003). Examining some common myths about computers in the early years. Young Children on the Web, November 2003, 1-9.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whariki: He whariki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2008). Meaningful technology integration in early learning environments. Young Children on the Web. September 2008, 1-3