“Do worms have eyes?”, “What are those things on top of the ladybug
for?”, “Why can we see the moon in the day?”
These are some examples of the many questions that I have heard young
children ask about the natural world that surrounds them. As an educator I want to develop this
curiosity and provide opportunities for children to question and explore with
hands on experiences (Scholl, 2005). One way of fostering
children’s developing working theories is through providing opportunities for
children to investigate through digital technology, what the answer may be or
what other people theorise the answer is (Wang, Kinzie, McGuire, Pan,
2010). The New Zealand early
childhood curriculum: Te
Whāriki says that “Children
develop the ability to inquire, research, explore, generate, and modify their
own working theories about the natural, social, physical and material worlds”
(Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 90).
Our centre is based on the
Reggio-Emilia philosophy where the environment is considered the third teacher
(Gandani & Edwards, 2001). The
outdoor environment is a high priority in our philosophy, as we believe that
through experiencing nature children learn about the world. Digital technology
is also part of the world that surrounds children. Young children see digital technology being
used all around them, for example computers, phones, cameras, tablets. As an educator I believe that we should also
provide opportunities for children to use and develop their skills in
technology. By combining hands on
natural experiences in the outdoors together with new technology, we enable
children to gain deeper insights into the world around them.
Technology such as
computers and smart boards can be used to increase visual understandings of the
world as well as offer information in order to help children solve problems and
develop greater understandings of the world (Hoffman and Ritchie, 1997, cited in
Wang, Kinzie, McGuire, Pan, 2010).
The use of computers and similar types of digital technology is
beneficial in readily accessing information (Scholl, 2005). When investigating a topic with children in
my centre, we often use the two children’s computers in their room. Another option is to use the staff computers. With the recent addition of a smart board in
our centre, this has been very beneficial in showing educational you-tube clips
with a large group of children. This is
especially convenient when children are interested in subjects in the world
that cannot physically explore in the centre or at least daily, for example
rockets taking off and wild animals.
Furthermore as
children research topics of interest and engage in the use of knowledge seeking
devices they are developing in social interactions with peers, educators and
parents. I have noticed that when a
child is interested in a topic, such as trains, other children also become
interested. As the children play with
trains, read about them through books and the computer and go on trips to visit
trains they have a common interest which is a base for building their
relationship. Furthermore as children
discuss their viewpoints, findings and solve problems together children learn
to critically analyse information, take consider different perspectives and
learn how to work together (Mindes, 2006). Educators and parents also build relationships with children
by spending quality time, questioning and engaging in research into these interests. The technological device is also a great
means of inclusion. Children are often
drawn to technology and this can be a base for new children or children on the
outside of groups to be included as others see that they have similar interests
and can relate to them (Glass, personal communication, August 23, 2012).
In conclusion, I see the
significance of providing and facilitating young children’s use of technology
for information gathering, critical thinking, social competence and making
sense of the world around them. In fact technology is a big part of this world,
so it seems fitting to include it. Computers are a convenient accessible way of
researching topics and facilitating learning (Hertzog
and Klein, 2005).
Children love to investigate what they are interested in and technology is a
useful means of doing this (Scholl, 2005).
References
Gandini,
L., & Edwards, C. (Eds.). (2001) Bambini:
The Italian approach to infant/toddler care.
London, England: Teachers College Press.
Google images. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://www.broadlearn.com/files/image/parent%2520photos/daddaughter.jpg
Google images. (n.d.). Retrieved from http://www.google.com.au/imgres?imgurl=http://ehlt.flinders.edu.au
Hertzog, N., & Klein, M.
(2005). Beyond gaming: A technology explosion in early childhood classrooms. Gifted child today 28(3), 24-30.
Mindes, G. (2006). Social studies
in kindergarten. In D. F. Gullo (Ed.), K
today teaching and learning in the kindergarten year (pp.107-115).
Washington, DC: National Association for the Education of Young Children.
Ministry of
Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, he
whārriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington,
New Zealand: Learning Media.
Scholl, M. (2005). Social studies
in action. Young Children, 62(4),
1-5.
Wang, F., Kinzie, M.B., McGuire, P., & Pan, E. (2010). Applying technology to inquiry-based learning
in early childhood education. Early Childhood Education Journal. 37,
381-389.
Hi Beth,
ReplyDelete“Why can we see the moon in the day?” Haha… We do see the moon in the late afternoons sometimes, don’t we? Welcome to 2012!! : )) Just kidding!
Get back to the business. I indeed enjoy reading your post. It is very informative and inspiring. Many blurry ideas become clear to me now. Thank you for sharing your reflection.
After reading this post, I can see that you focus on the role of technology in children’s learning and development in general. You value digital and non-digital technology equally and that is great. You also remind me of the benefits and the necessity of outdoor learning for children.
Besides, I really like your point that the same interests bring people together. An old Chinese proverb says Birds of a feather flock together. I agree with you that digital devices can encourage peer relationships and help new children settle in.
Moreover, it is so true that digital tools are very useful when children are interested in subjects in the world that cannot physically explore in the centre. That is a great point.
Overall, Well done: ))
Ki ora Beth
ReplyDeleteI do agree with you that digital technology helps children to answer their curiosity and probably develop it further.
I also believe that while letting children use digital technology to research, we teachers learn a lot as well.
I liked the point you made that children need to use digital technology in order to better their skills at using them. Especially in this world, where we believe that things are a button away, it is essential that we expose children to digital technology like computers. However, from my perceptive it is equally important that we teach our children the ethics around it.
You also mentioned that technological device is also a great means of inclusion. I definitely agree because it caters for all and brings people together.
Thanks for yet another interesting blog.
Beth, this is yet another great blog post. I always look forward to seeing what you have to say. I really enjoyed reading this blog post. It is true that technology is all around us. I too believe that it is important to use technology with children in centres.
ReplyDeleteIt seems that you are very lucky to be in a centre that believes technology is important for children, and has various resources available. As Tsantis, Bewick, & Thornton, (2003) state “it is the teachers knowledge and skills about how to use technology that makes the difference, not the technology itself” (P. 4). From reading this reflection I can see that you believe that using technology with children is important, and you therefore find ways to do this appropriately, keep up the good work.
I can see from this reflection that you use technology to help children solve problems and gain new knowledge about what they are interested in. This is really great. I noticed you mentioned that you have just recently acquired a smart board, perhaps there are other ways you could use your new smart board. I found the following link. You may want to have a look at it. http://smartboardlessons.blogspot.co.nz/2011/04/preschool-smartboard-lessons-and.html
Another interesting blog, thanks for sharing it Beth. In the blog, you have mentioned a lot of benefit that technology could bring to children such as include children, extend their interests, I totally agree with you, in our centre, we sometimes use computers to extend children’s interests, and very often, teachers learn new knowledge together with children from searching on the internet. I believe in the information age, getting familiar with new technologies is necessary to our children, we should take advantage of the new technologies and make our life more efficient. You are lucky to be working at a centre which has sufficient technological facilities!
ReplyDeleteYou have also mentioned about providing opportunities for children to explore with hand on natural experiences, I believe that will also be a good way of nurturing children’s ability of exploring based on their curiosities. Well done Beth, I hope you could carry on combining the hands on natural experiences in the outdoors together with new technology because they could benefit children a lot.