Reflection One: Laptop
2 August, 2012
Teacher S. and I recorded the science experience
we did on the digital camera. On Monday we show the recorded footage to the
children using the centre’s laptop. The children watched themselves in the
video, this has helped them recall the learning experience that we had last
week. They were able to retell the story with excitement. Video helps children
to remember the events that have happened previously (MacNaughton &
Williams, 2009). Our centre’s children
enjoy the use of the laptop with the teachers for audio stories and online
programmes. They especially enjoyed watching themselves in the video on the
laptop, wanting us to play it over and over again.
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In our centre teachers have access to a computer
and laptop for recording children’s development and their learning stories. We
do not have computer or laptop as part of our resources in our centre specify
for children at this stage. I wonder if computers are an essential tool for an early
childhood centre in order to educating the children? What is the teacher’s role
when it comes to teaching children information technology?
Personally I think
digital technology is fantastic. Many children have experienced this kind of
technology before, firstly in their home environment. For example, digital toys
like a talking doll or action figures. They also learn how to switch on and off
the T.V, computer, video game and navigate websites.
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I believe digital technology
(Computers) has many positive sides to support the development of early
literacy and numeracy or information gathering, but I also feel pro-long usage
of the computer might also distract the social interaction with parents, peers
and teachers. Parents commonly observe that their child's attention is easily
drawn to the television, computer and ipad for extended periods of time,
despite other activities being available. Unfortunately my personal experienced
with family and friends using digital technology as form of baby sitter.
Teacher’s perspective that laptops, computer applications and
educational programmes are tools to help them develop strategies to motivate
and individualize, assess and plan, stimulate family involvement, and even link
homes with schools, like newsletters through emails and blogs. However it is
the teacher’s knowledge and skills about how to use the technology that makes
the difference, not the technology itself (Tsantis, Bewick & Thouvenelle, 2003).
A study has been done by Wheatley, which observed
preschool children with and without a computer, found there were no immediate
differences between the user and non user at preschool level. However the data
also shows positive difference on young children who start using computers in
early childhood centres enhance better confidence on information technology in
primary school (Wheatley, 2003, cited in Tsantis, Bewick & Thouvenelle, 2003).
Before taking this course I thought technology
only involved electronics/digital things that are in our daily life. I have learnt
from our classes that technology is all around us and is not just restricted to
digital technology. New Zealand
curriculum and Te Whāriki suggested that technology gives opportunities for students to develop their
independence, sustaining attention, building confidence gained from
accomplishment. Students become aware of their responsibilities, able to make
decisions, evaluate their own choices and finding ways of addressing real
problems (Ministry of Education, 1996; ministry of Education, 2007). Technology changes the way how people live
their lives by addressing needs and realising opportunities and make things
safer, easier, faster or cheaper to help people solve problems (Smorti, 1999).
References
MacNaughton,
G., & Williams, G. (2009). Techniques
for teaching young children: Choices in theory and practice (3rd ed.).
Frenchs Forrest, Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall.
Ministry of Education.
(1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga
mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa : Early
childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education.
(2007). The New Zealand curriculum.
Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Smori,
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.
Dear Wendy, I am stronger agree with you that the teacher is the key to effective use of technology in early childhood education (Tsantis, Bewick & Thornton, 2003). Teachers’ personal computer skills and their attitude toward ICT have great impact on how they can effectively meet children’s learning needs by using technology. So why it is so significant for educator to understand the importance of using technologies to better meet children’s needs?
ReplyDeleteAs Hatherly (2009) highlights, nowadays, our children are born into an ICT environment, they are the Digital Natives. Computer, digital camera and other digital devices have become parts of their life; it is unrealistic to ask children forget about it when they enter the centre gate. There’s an old Chinese proverb that you can’t stop eating just because you’re afraid of choking on your food. We should not prevent children from using ICT because of our concern of the damage of misuse. Rather, teachers need to increase own ICT capability, once teachers themselves are skilful and confident in using ICT, they are more likely to adapt technology as resourceful tools to enhance children’ learning.
Hi, Wendy. One of technology’s contributions is to present information in various forms, such as sight, sounds and movement (Loveless, 2003). In your reflection, you used camera to record children’s learning and displayed the information through laptop. I believe this is a very good technology using example that I can implement in my home centre. Through what I have noticed about children’s interests in technology, they seem to like to see things presented in different visual format, for example, photos or video. Presenting children information with visual technology enhances children’s learning in many areas such as, literacy, mathematic or art (Siraj-Blatchford & Siraj-Blatchford, 2006). Therefore, I believe that with technology teachers can provide better quality of teaching for children’s learning.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you that teachers’ knowledge and skills are the main factors of influencing children’s learning, rather than technology itself. Children are in the world full of technology. Teachers who are not aware the importance of technology and do not improve their technological knowledge and skills, may take children out of realistic society (Hayes & Whitebread, 2006). Therefore, I strongly believe that teachers should embrace technology in early childhood education setting so that children’s learning can be promoted to a higher level.
Hi Wendy, I really agree with that technology is tool for helping children’s learning. Some people do not have positive perspective on digital technology, such as computer, ipad and ipod while them talking about digital technology for children’s use. They think these kinds of technologies only provide digital games for young children. However, through your reflection, I believe in the early childhood setting, digital technologies can be very useful tools for enhance children’s learning through teachers’ guidance. Just like Tsantis, Bewick and Thouvenelle (2003) say that teachers’ knowledge and skills about how to use the technology that make the difference about the learning not the technology itself. I also agree that teachers’ perspective is directly related to their use of computers in the classroom Joshi, Pan, Murakami, & Narayanan (2010). As teachers, we need to have the knowledge about how technology enhances children’s learning in different areas. Through this course we learn that there are lots of positive supports for children’s learning in technology.
ReplyDeleteHi, Wendy, I really agree your ideas in this reflection. Using computer for children’s in the centre supports teaching and learning curriculums (Bullard, 2010). For example, computer supports arts through providing software as art tools. Computer also can support children’s early literacy skills through provided programmes, such as audio stories, doing numbers and letters.
ReplyDeleteThere are both advantages and disadvantages of children’s using computers. There are possibilities that children get addicted to the computer games, and becoming isolated. However, apart from the benefits I mentioned above, I believe computer also can support children’s social studies. For example, children are able to learn and communicate with children from other places in the world by using computer, which is a most convenient technology tool.
Teachers are working as an instructor and facilitator alongside with children (Bullard, 2010). We introduce children the proper ways of using computer, explain to them software, programme in the computer. As a facilitator, we promote children to have a positive ways of using computer through focusing on the learning task, and the problems need to be solved (Smorti, 1999).