Group Blog Project: August 2012

Thursday, 30 August 2012

Part 3 - Reflective Blog

As I reflect on what I have learnt from other student’s feedback on my posts: I am glad to know that I encourage and support the use of technology within my setting in a positive manner. As the feedback I have been given supports this. The other students in my group were able to see my attributes and focus on the positive: however they are also able to point out things that I could improve on (O’Connor & Diggins, 2002). This I feel is really important in early childhood education. As teachers we can always make improvements in what we do and how we do it (O’Connor & DIggins, 2002). I appreciate how one group member noticed that through certain learning experiences I make the children feel valued from the beginning of the process: By certain things that I do. It was great that she noticed this as my personal philosophy believes strongly in encouraging this in children. I have learnt a lot from the comments my group has made on my blog and I have already started to put some of their ideas and suggestions into practice. For example: When making play dough with the children we have been experimenting with different ingredients for texture rich experiences it has been great.

I also enjoyed how members of my group were able to pick out some learning outcomes I may have missed. It’s also interesting to hear that some of my group members would like to incorporate some of the learning experiences I have done in my centre into their centre. Throughout my comments in nice to hear that my group members support my beliefs and my personal philosophy as these beliefs are very important to me when working with children “Education can only be as effective as the capabilities and dedication of teachers. A sound philosophy, teaching in innovative ways, being flexible, and providing an interesting curriculum, are all important but insufficient if teachers are not committed to their own personal and professional well-being and growth” (Gibbs, 2006, p.56).

I feel from the other student’s feedback on my blogs I have learnt the importance of more than one persons opinion and contributions. I understand that we need to work together to provide the best and highest quality learning experiences for children.

The use of technology in early childhood settings is very important to children’s learning and development. The skills they develop when using a range of technology is proven to be very beneficial in the learning and development of children (Smorti, 1999). From using technology children are able to learn operational skills through using different types of technology like scanners, ipads, computers, laptops, mobile phones, radios, watching DVD’s on TV (Tsantis, Bewick, Thornton, 2003).

When children develop the knowledge of how to use and operate these types of technology when new technologies come out the children are able to easily use this technology from being provided these experience within their settings. Technology is so common in our world and we use all types of technologies in everyday life (Smorti, 1999). It is everywhere and we need to encourage children to develop this knowledge. However children are very competent in using technology I feel as long as we as teachers continue to provide these resources children will use them (Ministry of Education, 2004).

Children develop mathematical concepts through using different technologies like measurement and counting through making play dough for example. Children develop science concepts when they experiment with materials or recipes (Graham, Nash & Paul, 1997). When using technological equipment children learn and develop in a range of ways. Here are some I have noticed throughout my teaching experiences: observing others, researching skills when (using the internet or books). Children explore the world around them (Blake, 2009). Numeracy, literacy and physical skills are developed. Children develop confidence when using a range of technologies and develop their teaching skills. Children often teach their peers how to use technology within our setting. The social skills that develop within these times are priceless and so important for children (Ministry of Education, 1996).

Reference List:

Blake, S. (2009). Engage, investigate, and report: Enhancing the curriculum with scientific inquiry. Young Children. 64 (6). 49-53.

Gibbs, C. (2006). To be a teacher: Journey towards authenticity. Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson Education New Zealand.

Graham, T. A., Nash, C and Paul, K. (1997). Young Children’s Exposure to Mathematics: The Child Care Context. Early Childhood Education Journal. 25. (1). 31-38.

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, he whaariki mätauranga mo nga mokopuna ö Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2004). Kei tua o te pae assessment for learning: Early childhood exemplars. Wellington, New Zealand, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

O’Connor , A., & Diggins, K. (2002). On Reflection: Reflective practice for early childhood educators. Lower Hutt: Open Mind Publishing.

Tuesday, 28 August 2012

Hyperlinks

Friday, 10 August 2012

Non - Digital: Making Playdough

Making play dough is a significant technological learning process for children. From participating in these learning experiences children learn and develop a range of useful and beneficial skills. In our centre children often approach me asking if we can make play dough. When the children approach me I ask them to help me to get all the required tools we need. We support children to use their initiative by collecting all the resources by doing so children develop independence. I encourage the children to make the play dough themselves although for safety reasons I add in the hot water (Ministry of Education, 1996). During these learning experiences children often talk about previous experiences they’ve had making play dough and contribute their opinions of what they have done that was different or the same (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008). The children take the instructions and look at the pictures to help refresh their memory and see the process of what we need to do to make the play dough. The children learn that the picture symbols represent the play dough process. Our instructions have pictures on them, I read out the number we need to measure and the children measure out all the ingredients (Hamer & Adams, 2003). These pictures teach children that the print and pictures have a purpose. As the children follow the play dough recipe they are developing their literacy skills and knowledge of print awareness. Children are able to then make the connections between written and spoken words (Campbell, 2000).

The children often ask if we can make the play dough certain colours by doing so developing their vocabulary, language and inquisitive skills. If children want to change the ingredients in the play dough they will go over to the resource cupboard and get what they want to put into the play dough. In these learning experiences children are learning science concepts by experimenting with different ingredients and observing the different results (Ministry of Education, 2007). When experimenting children can document in different ways what happened and see what to do differently next time. The children learn to make confident decisions and develop creativity and creative thinking skills when exploring other options (Ministry of Education, 1996). When making play dough we use a big bowl to mix all the ingredients together and children use both arms to mix developing their physical gross motor skills. Children are also able to develop their hand-eye co-ordination and controlled movements when measuring out ingredients and placing them into the bowl (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008).

When making play dough children learn basic mathematical concepts when they measure out the different amounts of particular ingredients. Children learn to count when measuring out cup sizes and numbers of spoonfuls. The children experience working with the different textures of the play dough before and after it is made (Peters and Rameka, 2010). Children explore and experiment with the play dough and learn about temperatures when feeling the play dough when it is hot, warm and cold.

This non digital technological learning experience encourages social interactions between children (Doyle& Connolly, 1980). At times during these learning experiences children decided they don’t want to share the tools we use. I leave the children to work these problems out for themselves. My personal philosophy believes that when children are given the opportunity to work things out for themselves they develop confidence, problem solving skills and become more competent in doing so in future situations (Ministry of Education, 1996).

Reference List:

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2007). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4^th ed.). South Melbourne, Australia: CENGAGE Learning.

Campbell, R. (2000). Language acquisition development and learning. In R. Campbell & D. Green (Eds), Literacies and learners: Current perspectives (pp.77-89). NSW, Australia, Prentice Hall.

Hamer, J., & Adams, P. (2003). The New Zealand early childhood literacy handbook. New Zealand: Dunmore

Doyle, A., & Connolly, J. (1980). The effect of playmate familiarity on the social interactions of young children. Child Development, 51, 217-223.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2009). Foundations of early childhood education: Teaching children in a diverse society (4^th ed.). Boston, Ma: McGraw Hill.

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. (2004). Kei tua o te pae assessment for learning: Early childhood exemplars. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Scanner

Children in our centre often draw pictures or do writing tasks and ask the teachers if they can use the scanner to upload their work onto the computer to look at.

Technology is defined as being a tool that will fix a problem or help us out so it is very significant in the learning and development of children (Smorti, 1999).

The children do not use the scanner a whole lot in the centre so when we use the scanner we encourage the children to recall on past experiences on how to use the scanner (Smorti, 1999). My personal philosophy feels strongly in providing practical experiences for children. These practical learning experiences ensure higher quality hands on learning experiences for children so if required I model to the children how to use the scanner then encourage the children to upload their own pictures (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008).

The world we live in is very technological and technology is expanding and being used more and more in everyday life, therefore I feel it is essential for early childhood settings to provide tools to help children grasp the basics of ICT as they will need these skills in future. By giving children new resources and tools to experiment with opens their learning and opportunities to greater levels (Ministry of Education, 2007). During these technological learning experiences children are able to develop operational skills from using the scanner. When using the scanner children are able to develop and extend their problem solving skills (Ministry of Education, 2004). For example when the children forget which button to press for scanning the experiment and are encouraged to work out for themselves what button to press. Often in this kind of situation there are other children who remember and show their friends which button to press (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008). The children develop their social skills by sharing, taking turns and helping each other when using the scanner and supporting each other through the process showing aspects of tuakana teina relationships. Children developed knowledge of being able to use ICT for a purpose (Ministry of Education, 2004).

Arthur, Beetcher, Death, Dockett, Farmer, (1993) discusses the importance and the ways in which teachers can document children’s learning “It is important that educators explore and advocate new theoretical approaches to documentation that enable them to work collaboratively with families and children while still meeting the intent of systems such as quality assurance, regulations and mandatory curriculum” (Arthur et al, 1993, p.275). It is very interesting to observe how children create and come up with new ways of doing things and bring new ideas into the way things are done in the centre. When reflecting on these learning experiences I understand how scanning could be a great way for teachers to document children’s work to add to their learning stories or save on a USB for their parents implementing new ways for the children to learn and look at their own work if they wanted to. I see that this piece of technology can be very useful as occasionally through transitions children’s artwork can be misplaced so by scanning the document the centre could still have the children’s work available on the laptop (Smorti, 1999). After doing some research into the significance of technologies in relation to learning experiences using the scanner I feel we could research on you tube on what is a scanner and how to use a scanner rather than me just demonstrating to the children. I feel by doing this I would be helping to ensure that the children develop the independence to access certain tools to extend on their own learning (Ministry of Education, 1996).

Reference List:

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2007). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4^th ed.). South Melbourne, Australia: CENGAGE Learning.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2009). Foundations of early childhood education: Teaching children in a diverse society (4^th ed.). Boston, Ma: McGraw Hill.

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. (2004). Kei tua o te pae assessment for learning: Early childhood exemplars. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

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

Laptops

The interests of the children in our centre range and their interests change every day. The children often have a lot of discussions about what their interests are and ways of finding out answers to questions they may have. Our centre believes in child-initiated approaches so I constantly support children by asking questions to direct and extend their thinking on their current interests (McNaughton & Williams, 2009). I often encourage the children to think of what we can use to find the information we need. The children often come to the conclusion that a laptop is the best way to get the information we need (Ministry of Education, 1996). The children learn to recall on previous experiences when they have found information on the laptop at home or in the centre (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008). Through discussions the children learn about how to use the laptop, mouse and the keyboard and why we need to look after it so it doesn’t get broken. Through these experiences with laptops children develop operational skills and develop the ability to follow instructions. We discuss with children how to be safe on the internet and how a laptop is similar to a computer (Smorti, 1999). The learning experiences children have with using the laptops encourage a lot of discussions and children feel empowered and develop confidence in expressing their feelings and ideas “The curriculum enables all children to develop an enhanced sense of self-worth, identity, confidence and enjoyment” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.40).

Children learn to work their way around the laptop to find out what they want to know. The children are able to develop and extend on their researching skills by doing so children develop self confidence in knowing that if they want to find out and answer to a question they are quite capable in doing so (Ministry of Education, 1996). From having the opportunity to research on the laptop the children are able to nurture their inquisitiveness about what they want to know (Ministry of Education, 2004).

I feel it is important for children to have the time using laptops and developing further computer skills as these skills are becoming essential for getting by in our everyday lives as more technology is being developed for our use (Smorti, 1999). However I find that children are very knowledgeable already in using the laptop and become more and more confident every time they experiment with them. Ministry of Education (2007) states that “Our vision is for young people: who will be creative, energetic, and enterprising...........who will be confident, connected, actively involved, and lifelong learners”.

Our centre sees laptops as great learning tools to use with children as they are very mobile and we can use them in any area of the centre (Tsantis, Bewick, Thornton, 2003). I understand that most children in our centre have computers or laptops that they have access to at home (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008). Ministry of Education, (1996) discusses how The New Zealand early childhood curriculum discusses the importance of educators ensuring routines, learning experiences and environments link children with their home to their centre. By providing these valuable learning experiences for children with using laptops we are able to meet these needs of children so children learn to feel secure and comfortable in their surroundings. However we understand that there are children who don’t have a laptop or a computer at home so it is important for all children to be given the opportunity to learn and develop using these technologies Ministry of Education, 2007).

Reference List:

Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2007). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4^th ed.). South Melbourne, Australia: CENGAGE Learning.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2009). Foundations of early childhood education: Teaching children in a diverse society (4^th ed.). Boston, Ma: McGraw Hill.

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. (2004). Kei tua o te pae assessment for learning: Early childhood exemplars. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

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