Final Post

This has been a valuable learning experience for me, enhanced by the feedback that I received from my peers on the three reflective post that I made in relation to technology in early childhood education.

Before starting this course my idea of technology in Early childhood, and I guess in general, related solely to the use of digital technology. I was looking at technology through a very narrow lens indeed, believing that my centre and I were providing the tamariki with meaningful experiences with technology, solely through the use of computers, scanners, laminators and cameras. This idea was challenged from the beginning as my views on what technology entails were broadened and extended.

I saw technology as a product, rather than the process that it actually is (Smorti, 1999). This is an area of learning that was strongly enhanced by the feedback that I received from the four ladies that were kind enough to post their own comments on to my blog. The comments that these ladies provided me with, built a foundation of understanding for me that was strengthened as the process went on. By including interesting and insightful ideas of their own and links to relevant literature they enabled me to deepen my own understanding, as well as providing excellent examples of how I could improve the experience for future implementation.

Receiving this constructive feedback from fellow students who are in the same situation as me in regards to being both a student and teacher is of extreme relevance as we continue to travel on this journey of learning together. I can only hope that they gained as much from my comments as I did from theirs.

This course has shown me the significance of technology in early childhood education for both tamariki and kaiako (teachers). Teachers need to build their own skills and knowledge of different areas of technology, both digital and non digital in order to foster effective learning experiences for children in these areas.

We live in a world that is moving so rapidly, and at times it seems almost impossible to keep up, but the reality of the world we live in is that the future generations need our support to build their own skill base, that will be even more relevant for them in the years to come as they look to complete their educations and move into the workforce.

There is alot of focus put on digital technology through early childhood education, and I feel that it is just as important to shine a spotlight on non digital forms of technology, that the tamariki may not be so familiar with.

Overall this experience has been a real highlight for me, deepening my understanding and helping me to widen my horizons in this area. I would like to thank the four ladies who took the time and effort to post comments of each of my blog posts, your contribution has been a valuable part of my learning in this area.

Little Puddings

As I gain more knowledge on the use of technology in early childhood and what technology actually entails I started to look at experiences around technology differently. We have been doing a lot of cooking in the centre lately as a group of ten children head off to preschool gymnastics on a Friday morning, we are left with a smaller number of children in the centre, which is more practical for food technology experiences.

We had made cupcakes, and brownies as well as savoury pinwheels, this week I thought it would be good to use a simple recipe for little puddings that are cooked in the microwave. The children helped me to collect the ingredients from the kitchen cupboards and the fridge. The recipe has pictures as well, so the children choose the equipment and utensils that they thought they would need based on the pictures and their previous cooking knowledge.

During this time I questioned the children on their choices, and asked them if they could think of any other tools they could use instead. I was surprised at just how much knowledge the children had in way of technology used in the kitchen.

 "My Mummy has a cake mixer, it's to mix all the stuff up so you don't get any bumps or a sore arm". Said D. I then explained to her and the group of children that, that was a perfect example of technology in the kitchen. A tool created to make a particular task easier. The children seemed to grasp what I was telling them and continued to tell me about the different gadgets and appliances that they had in their own kitchens at home, as we began to put the mixture together.

The pudding mixture was put into the mugs and as we took the first lot over to the microwave, some of the children looked very concerned! "You can't cook it in their Carly!" exclaimed M. "Why not?" I asked. "Cos the microwave is just for making stuff hot, you have to cook stuff in the oven." I couldn't help but smile at this comment. It made me realise that technology is in fact deeply influenced by the context in which it occurs (Smorti, 1999). D had only seen the microwave used to reheat food rather than actually cook it.

I explained that we could use a microwave to actually cook food as well a heat it, and I used to cook book we were using to show them the all the recipes in there that were cooked using only the microwave. The children seemed be gaining an understanding of this, but still looked quite shocked when their puddings emerged from the microwave!!!

This experience was both enjoyable and valuable as the children were able to use their mathematical, science, reading and physical skills in the process, as well as their social skills as they worked together to reach a common goal (Smorti, 1999).

As an extension from this experience, the children had the opportunities to choose three more microwave recipes for us to cook over the next couple of weeks.

You Tube It!

Following the current interest that the children in the centre have in music and dancing, the teachers in the centre had a discussion based on how we could extend on the interest. As a team we plan on the floor, so that the children have access to the teachers, and the opportunity to contribute to the weekly planning. K was sitting at the table with us and mentioned that she needed some more songs to dance to and some new moves.

I asked her how she thought that we could some more music and some different dance moves. "Just Youtube it!" she replied, with a look on her face that said, obviously!!! I was surprised at her answer at the time, but looking back now I'm not really sure why. Technology is influenced by the context it occurs in (Smorti, 1999). With this in mind, is it really any wonder that the children of today are so well aware of the information readily available on the world wide web.

I am familiar with You tube and use it regularly, so I was confident in using it as a research tool with the tamariki. Due to this I am pleased that I was the teacher who received this response, as some of the teachers in the team are not very confident in the use of ICT, and have a strong resistance to using computers both for themselves and with the children. I agree with the statement that computers are a more effective tool when teachers are comfortable using them. It is the teachers knowledge and skill with
technology that make the difference not the actual technology itself (Tsantis, 2003).

Searching You tube with the tamariki was an exciting experience for myself and the children. The tamariki provided me with the names of their favourite singers and songs and we found lots of great videos online. We even found some videos of other children doing "Jump Jam". This is a fitness programme done to popular music that is implemented in many primary schools. Some of the children's faces were absolutely beaming when they recognised some of the movements as ones that they have seen their siblings practising at home.

This made me realise that researching a topic with the children doesn't have to be based on learning about something entirely new, in fact children's desire to learn more is sparked by researching something they already know and care about.

This experience also sparked an excitement in me as we start implementing the kindyrock music and movement programme in the centre, gaining an understanding of the growing love that children in the children have for music and movement.




References:

Scholl, M. (2005). Social Studies in Action. Young children. Vol 62 (4) pp. 1-5.

Smorti, S. (1999). Technolgy in Early Childhood. Early Education, No. 19 Autumn 1999.

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