FINAL REFLECTION

 

Through this blog, I have learnt a lot about technology. By writing these reflections, I have realised the power of technology that is around us. Technology has changed our lives in many ways. It has made communication so much easier. It brings us luxuries in our lives in the sense that we can shop just by sitting in the comfort of our homes. It has changed our lives by bringing people closer to us where we can send them text messages in seconds, see families who are far away or go online and chat with them. While I am a great admirer of technology, but I feel that there are some disadvantages to it when using with children.

             Firstly, they do not have control over the use of it and are unaware of the power of it. I saw an advertisement on TV one day where a girl sent a picture message to her friend and soon all the students in her class had the same picture on their phone. There is so much abuse involved and cyber bullying involved with social networks that we need to be careful while using these latest technologies. I was living in a well when it comes to technology as I was unaware of these implications until I did this course.

Moreover, it brings in the issue of social justice as some children who are rich can afford these latest technologies and those who cannot afford are looked at differently. Their parents would also feel bad that they are not able to give such luxuries to their children and they go out of their way so that their children are happy. I think this is not fare on them.  

But technology is here already and we cannot deny it. We just have to prepare ourselves and our children for it so they are competent enough and in par with it. It is amazing to note how fast technology is advancing in the world today. With laptops taking over desktops and flat screen TV taking over the fat TV’s, we have much to cope with. As these digital technologies are advancing day by day and latest models are introduced, we cannot overlook the fact that our children be made known about these technologies.

“Children nowadays are very smart”; I have heard people say this many times. And they are indeed. I have experienced this myself when I was using laptop with children 4-5 years of age. I realised how much the children are ready to learn and want to learn and I thought how much opportunities I am providing for them to learn in terms of technology. Even with the camera, I saw how well they handled it and were excited to use. This is where our role as educators is crucial. We need to provide them with these experiences and provide them with the environment to learn. It makes me feel sad that teachers are not aware of the importance of exposing children to technology. There is no computer for the children at my centre and the laptops are for staff only. Children hardly have access to these and this is sad. My centre recently did a fundraising to take the children to Kelly Tarltons at the end of the year and I suggested to my centre manager if we could use that money to buy computers for the children. It was denied.

So I feel children need access to these technologies and there are many benefits for children when they use computers and these are stated by Bewick, Thouvenelle & Tsantis, (2003). These are supported by the early childhood curriculum; Te Wkaariki. It states children should “develop working theories of making sense for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds” (Ministry of education, 1996, p. 90).

So children need to know about technology and be allowed to use different technologies but with close adult supervision and guidance. This was they will learn to respect it and know the limitations it has. although it is fun, it is dangerous at the same time.

 

 

 

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga ngā mokopuna Aotearoa: Early childhood             curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media

Tsantis, L. A., Bewick, C. J., & Thouvenelle, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about   computer use in the early years. Young Children, 58(1), 1-9

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Reflection 3

Baking with Children

Today, I asked the children if they wanted to make pancakes with me for afternoon tea. Some children had been very interested in pretend play recently so I thought that this could be an extension for them as well. I had everything ready on the table so the children just washed their hands and came and sat down at the table. I explained to them what things we need and how we will be making our pancakes. I added two eggs, some butter and some sugar in a bowl and showed the children the egg beater and said that we are going to use this equipment to mix everything together.

 As I was explaining the children about the recipe that we are going to be following, I saw child J pick up the egg beater and asked me “What is this Seema?” I told the children what is was called and showed how we use it. I told them that it is for mixing the egg, butter and sugar together. Then I asked the children to mix it together with an egg beater. The children began using the egg beater. At first I demonstrated them how to use the egg beater.

 Then the children had a turn. as they mixed, child J said "Look its mixing". "Yes it is, look how fast the butter, egg and sugar have mixed together", I said. Then other children had their turn. As they mixed all the ingredients together, I asked the children "Do you know why we use the egg beater?" C said "so it mix". "That's right. And also it makes the mixing faster", I said. When the mixture was ready, I filled a cup with flour and another cup with some milk and child S added it to the ingredients. The children mixed it further and it was ready to cook.

 

Smorti, (1999), states that technology is about helping people. We used the egg beater and it made our work easier by mixing the egg sugar and butter quickly and properly. I told the children the name of the equipment we are using and showed them how it works. The children were having a very different experience today with the egg beater as when we do baking with the children, we are always using spoons. Today, I decided to use the egg beater so the children could experience for themselves what it does.

 

As I handed the children the egg beater, one of the children started to turn the handle which shows that children are naturally inquisitive. They want to learn how things work and what it does. So here, the children were doing problem solving as well. Smorti (1999) states that in cooking, “children use their knowledge and problem solving skills” in cooking (p.6). They also use their physical skills as they hold the bowl and work the egg beater.

 

 

 

 

             Te Whaariki: He Whaariki Maatauranga moo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa states that “children use technology for a variety of purposes as they explore their world” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 98). The children are experiencing to use an egg beater and how it can be used in cooking. Moreover, children are developing on their fine motors skills and hand eye coordination as they move the handle of the egg beater to mix the ingredients together.

            Colker & Dodge (1999) states that through cooking, children are learning to “play with rules” (p.277). Children learn that cooking involves following set of directions and they have to follow steps to have something made.

            The New Zealand Curriculum states through having technology as a subject, students develop technological knowledge and understanding as to how and why things work (Ministry of Education, 2007). This can be learnt through the concept of cooking.

I enjoy doing cooking and it is more fun cooking with children. They also enjoy this experience and I will continue to provide them experience in my centre as I feel that it has a special value in children’s learning.

 

Reference

Colker, L. J. & Dodge D. T. (1999). The Creative Curriculum for Early Childhood. Teaching            strategies, Wasington DC.

Google Images (n. d.). Retrieved on 25th August From

https://www.google.co.nz/search?q=images+of+cooking+using+beater&hl=en&prmd=imvns&tbm=isch&tbo=u&source=univ&sa=X&ei=Ygg4UOyPPMKoiAe--YCwDw&ved=0CB4QsAQ&biw=1280&bih=678

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga  ngā mokopuna Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum          http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/the_new_zealand_curriculum

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 1, 5-10.

 

REFLECTION TWO

CHILDREN USING CAMERAS

                        This afternoon, I was with a group of children at the art table. I was taking pictures of the children who were making shapes. As I was using he camera, child H came to me and said I want to see. So I showed her a photo I had taken of her. Child C also came to see her photo so I showed her photo. Then I decided to hand them the camera so they can take photo of me and show it to me just as I take their photo and show to them. So I gave H the camera first. I saw that she held it right way to take my photo and her fingers were in the right position! Then she asked me which button to press. I told her to press any button and see what happens. So she pressed a button and the camera turned off. She looked at me. “That is all right”, I said. So she pressed it again and it turned on. Then she pressed it again and again. She had learnt how to turn the camera on and off!

            Then I said to her that now the camera is on, take my photo. So she pressed another button and it went “click”. “Wow, H you took my photo”, I praised her. H smiled and said “again”. So I made funny faces and she took my photo. Then she wanted to show me. “Which one to press”, she asked me. “Why don’t you try and see which button it is”, I said. “This one”, she said. “Maybe, press and see what happens”, I said. She pressed and we saw my photo! “Wow, you did it”, I said proudly. She looked very excited. “Can I take C’s photo” she asked me. “Yes”, I said. Then she took C’s photo and then C and I posed together so H could take our photo. After a while C had her turn to take photos and other children wanted a turn as well. So I asked all of them to wait for their turn and be patient. Then C and H showed the other children how to use the camera. The children were very excited to use the camera and were taking photos of other teachers too and they posed as well. It was a fun activity for the children. After a while, the C came to me and said “it’s not on”. “Oh I think the battery is not working anymore’, I said. “Let’s go and charge the batteries”, I said. So we went together inside, I took the batteries out and showed to the children that we put the batteries to the battery charger so we can use it again. There were another set of batteries on the charger so I took them out and said “these batteries are charged so we can use them”. Then I put the batteries inside the camera. I asked C to on it now. It worked. Then the children took more photos.

            I realised what our children were missing all these while. The teachers at my centre never allowed the children to use the camera as they thought the children might break it. But today, I decided to take the risk and allow the children to take pictures and have fun using the camera. I was concerned about the children mishandling the camera like the other teachers would be so I closely supervised the children as they used the camera and they handled it well. They were becoming very skilful in using the camera and I decided that I will continue with this from today.

            The children developed their knowledge about cameras today. They explored with it for a while until they figured out which buttons to press to take photos and which one to press to see the photo. Again, the children did problem solving today to be able to use the camera. I used scaffolding and encouraged children to find out the answers to their questions by themselves. The children were very curious and that is needed for problem solving. Smorti (1999) explains that technology is about the process; “it is doing that it important rather than the product” (p.6). The photos the children were taking were not as important as learning how to take the photo.

            The children were displaying their curiosity as they explored how to use the camera. It was very important that I do not tell them what to do. Instead I wanted them to explore on their own which buttons to press as I wanted them to become confident and competent learner (Ministry of Education, 1996). Te Whaariki states that through exploration, children develop the knowledge that trying things out, exploration and curiosity are important and valued ways of learning” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 84).

            I used scaffolding as a teaching strategy (MacNaughton & Williams, 2004). First, I guided the children towards learning to operate the camera and then when I knew that they had grasped the skills, I moved back and let them use the camera more on their own. Using the camera also provided the children to interact with each other and communicate the skills needed to use the camera.

Reference

Google images (n. d. ) Retreived on 21st August From

http://www.google.co.nz/imgres?hl=en&biw=1280&bih=678&tbm=isch&tbnid=TTBuiaFZDCSPxM:&imgrefurl=http://softsupplier.com/why-are-the-digital-cameras-so-popular-108008/&docid=breofCOcE533yM&imgurl=http://softsupplier.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/09/panasonic_lumix_digital_cameras.jpg&w=640&h=440&ei=yBA4UNKqL8WyiQeH4IDYAg&zoom=1&iact=hc&vpx=490&vpy=

378&dur=1042&hovh=186&hovw=271&tx=131&ty=178&sig=106290388331108469135&page=1&tbnh=146&tbnw=212&start=0&ndsp=17&ved=1t:429,r:13,s:0,i:109

 

MacNaughton, G., & Williams, G. (2004). Techniques for teaching young children: Choices in theory           and practice (2^nd ed.). Melbourne, Australia: Addison Wesley Longman.

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga  ngā mokopuna Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.

 

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 1, 5-10.

Children using Laptops

REFLECTION ONE      

CHILDREN USING LAPTOPS

 

             Recently, the children at my centre are interested in musical instruments so today I planned to show the children how the different instruments being played on YouTube. I asked the centre manager for her laptop as we do not have a computer at the centre for the children, and used it with a group of children.  But I thought that instead of me pressing all the buttons on the laptop, I will let the children do it and I will sit with them and guide them.

            The children were very excited as I told them what we will be doing. I came to the You tube page and pressed a few buttons to play the music. The children watched. After listening to the first music, I asked the children if they wanted to listen to their favourite children’s songs. They said yes. I asked child A who was sitting next to me for her favourite song. She said “twinkle twinkle”. Then I said to her to type the song in the search tab which I showed to her. She seemed hesitant at first but then I assured her that she can do it and I will help her. So I pointed to the buttons on the laptop that she had top press like T, W, I and so on. When she finishes typing the words of the song, I said to her that she had to click the ENTER button. I showed her the button and she pressed the button. She was so happy to be able to do that and listen to her song.

 Some songs came on the screen. She pointed to a photo and said “I want this one”. “Okay, you will have to click on it first”, I said. I put my finger on the touch pad and said that we have to use this part to move the arrow on the screen to the song we want and press click. After explaining, I said to child A to try and move the cursor herself. She put her finger on the touch pad and said to me “it’s not moving”. “You try and see how can you make it move”, I said. Then she moved her finger in different directions and saw the arrow was moving. “It’s moving”, she said excitedly. “Yes, now try and get the arrow to the song you want”, I added. So she tried and got the arrow to the song. “Now you will have to click”, I said .  I showed her which the button and she pressed it and the song began to play. She was very happy.

When the song was over, other songs appeared on the screen. “I want this one”, she said again. “So you have to do the same thing to listen to that song”, I said. I saw her take some time to be able to move the arrow to the song she wanted as she moved it too fast but then she was able to take it there. Then put her finger on the left button and  looked at me for assurance. I smiled and said “press and see what happens”. She pressed and the song began to play! “Well done”, I said.  She was really pleased from her accomplishment. She did that and listened to another song. When it was the other child’s turn, I was so surprised that she did exactly what I showed A to do to choose her song from the screen. I didn’t have to tell her anything. She had learnt just by looking. From there on, the two children helped the others and showed them what to do and I just sat and watched how excited and happy they were to be using the laptop.

                 I asked our centre manager if I could borrow her laptop to use with the children so I could expose them to the laptop and let them use it as I think it is important for their learning. “It is vital that the early childhood curriculum...helps to engage children in a rapidly changing world” (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett and Farmer, 2005, p.10). And so I thought that I could expose the children to use internet to listen to songs. After being in a few classes of this course I reflected on how much the children at my centre know about technology and how competent they are. Then I thought that maybe my children are in a well as far as technology is concerned and maybe they do not as much as they need to know about computers or cameras or any other technology concerned. I feel that I am not doing enough to prepare them for this world of technology. And my children at the centre lack the computer literacy which they should know. The New Zealand Curriculum also states tha students "develop a broad technological literacy that will equip them to participate in society as
informed citizens and give them access to technology related careers" (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 34)


          Bewick, Thouvenelle & Tsantis, (2003), mentions that “Observations in early childhood programs across the country have strongly supported the importance of early computer awareness/literacy” (p.8). Moreover, research has shown that children’s early computer literacy skills at preschool level affect their ability to use computers at school level. When preschoolers have opportunities to use computers, their learning and ability to use to computers at school in enhanced (Cited in Bewick, Thouvenelle & Tsantis, 2003). Te Whaariki: He Whaariki Maatauranga moo ngaa Mokopuna o Aotearoa states that children gain experience in communication  technologies such as crayons, paintbrushes, pencils, calculators, books and computers (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.97).

            The children at my centre are from a low socio-economic background and I feel that they would not be able to get exposed to technology very much like playing games on the computer or TV. So they are not getting this experience form home and as well as the centre. Moreover, some parents would not allow children to operate the TV or computer because of safety reasons. For example when I was a child, my parents would not let me touch the TV or the remote saying that I might break it. 

            Adding on, we no longer have a computer at my centre because the children broke the computer that we had before so the Manager has decided not to buy any computers anymore because they might break it again. I was thinking the same thing until now. As Smorti (1999), “states that technology is influenced by the culture or the society in which it occurs” (p. 6).

            The children are learning about technology from the opportunity to use laptops. Technology is about problem solving (Smorti, 1999) and I think that it is also about overcoming a challenge in using something. We try and learn what makes it work.  Through scaffolding and being by her side, she grasped the skills and was showing other children what to do. She had developed her self confidence even more by learning to use the laptop to play songs. As Te Whaariki states that “capabilities in solving practical problems contributes to self-confidence and well-being” (Ministry of education, 1996, p. 94). They are also gaining skills for language development and decision making (Cited in Bewick, Thouvenelle & Tsantis, 2003).

Reference

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2005).  Programming and planning in early     childhood settings (3^rd ed.). Victoria: Thomson.

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga  ngā mokopuna Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum          http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/the_new_zealand_curriculum

 

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 1, 5-10.

Tsantis, L. A., Bewick, C. J., & Thouvenelle, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about computer use in the early years. Young Children, 58(1), 1-9.