ICT is not imperative to living in the 21st
century, but it is definitely vital for people to thrive and stay connected with the
rest of the world (Archard, 2013). Due to this, ICT is able to provide endless opportunities
for teaching and learning that will, in turn, help young children to develop
into individual learners who have a deeper understanding of technologies and
their world (Archard, 2013). These ICT opportunities and experiences are extremely
valuable for children within early childhood centers as technology provides material
and cultural features that help children to develop cognitively, physically,
emotionally and socially in the environments that they are growing up in
(Stephen & Plowman, 2013).
It was by accident that I stumbled across the toddlers
interests in camera’s while at work within my own center. We had a small class
of six children on the 24th of August 2015 and I had set up a table with
small whiteboards and white board pens for the toddlers to explore and play
with. The images the toddlers were creating were fantastic so I decided to take
some photos of their process and end products so that I could write a learning
story about it all later. One child in particular noticed me taking photos of
her and starting saying “Cheese” with a big smile looking right at the camera.
This lead to her reaching for the camera saying “My turn”. I handed over the camera
and let her investigate. Two of her friends noticed her enjoying this and
tried to take the camera off her to have a turn. I collected a second camera
and started a turn taking system with the two cameras to allow all children
interested to have a turn with the camera. This unplanned moment lasted a total
of 20 minutes.
The children within the toddler’s room at my center
are provided very little opportunity to explore ICT and build their digital
literacy skills due to the center not having child cameras, computers or i-pads,
although there could be possibilities for some toddlers to have these
experiences at home. Despite the lack of experiences we provide, I was
astounded at how intrigued and curious the toddlers were to explore the buttons
and how to hold the camera. Three of the four toddlers who engaged with the
cameras began to master simple technical skills such as holding and controlling
the camera and two of these three began to show signs of creative thinking,
problem solving and an increased awareness of the role of ICT within the
classroom (O’Rourke & Harrison, 2004). This could be seen through their
ability to explore buttons and what they did to the screen of the camera,
talking photos of the same thing at different angles and including their own
and others work in their photographs (O’Rourke & Harrison, 2004).
Although these skills were just at a basic level, it
was obvious that at some point outside of the center two of these children have
had opportunities to explore cameras. Through allowing the toddlers to explore
and play with cameras, their leaning is leading to opportunities for “genuine participation,
agency and a welcoming of the diversity and creativity of thoughts” that
teachers and other adults are able to value and recognize (Archard, 2013, p28).
By providing a democratic environment where children can explore these types of
technologies, we are able to build children’s confidence to express themselves
and inquire their interests alone or alongside their teachers and peers
(Archard, 2013). Te Whariki states that
“New Zealand is part of a world revolution in
communication, technology, work and leisure. Change in these and other spheres
is a feature in everyday life. To cope with these changes, children need both
confidence to develop their own perspectives and the capacity to continue acquiring
new knowledge and skills” (Ministry of education, 1996, p18).
I believe that through abiding by this statement and
allowing children to explore the cameras, I have begun to provide them with
technological knowledge and understandings of how and why things work, forming appreciation
for how technology is socially embedded and appropriate behaviors surrounding technology
and there uses (Ministry of Education, 2007).
This prepares children for further technological development at a school
level.
References:
Archard, S. (2013). Democracy in early childhood
education. Early Childhood Folio, 17(2), 27-31.
Ministry
of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o
Aotearoa: Early Childhood Curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning
Media Limited.
Ministry
of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum: for english-medium teaching
and learning in years 1-13. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media Limited.
O'Rourke,
M., & Harrison, C. (2004). The Introduction of New Technologies: New
possibilities for early childhood pedagogy. Australian Journal of Early
Childhood, 29(2), 11-18.
Stephen,
C., & Plowman, L. (2013). Digital technologies, play and learning. Early
Childhood Folio, 17(2), 3-8.
Your blog entry has a thought-provoking introduction and a good overview of what ICT is all about along with a description of the significance of technology in the lives of adults and children. I personally found this helpful because it set the tone for your blog entry. Essentially, I love that you took the opportunity for an experience to be built around the whiteboards that the girl in your centre was playing with and it is amazing that you knew how to respond to the girl’s interests at your centre (Ministry of Education, 1996). Tegan, giving the toddlers an opportunity to explore with the camera is superb for them because by introducing them to digital learning experiences prompts new interests in the children under your supervision. When we do not plan learning experiences for the children, this is when they feel like they can explore freely without any boundaries. As teachers, we should continue recognise the importance of free play because more often than not, we say we believe in free play but do not demonstrate that in our daily teaching practice. While progressing through your blog entry four, it illustrated how the lack of digital resources can be overcome if the opportunity would arise (Ministry of Education, 1996). This experience showed that you used what had and created something unforgettable and intriguing for the toddlers you teach. Furthermore, by exposing toddlers to these sorts of digital experiences you allow them to build respect and construct autonomous behaviour towards technology. Subsequently, you started building upon the toddler’s digital literacy with this learning experience. Lastly, the things that I would ask you are, how you would now build on your experience? and how will you work around the fact that your centre does not really provide digital exposure for toddlers? (Stephen and Plowman, 2013).
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