Sunday 1st May
If we step back just for a moment we are soon to realise the significant role technology plays in or lives. Technology is an absolute need which we cannot escape from, it plays a very big role in most aspects of our lives. There have been major technological changes in the twenty first century, resulting in the changing experiences and demands of childhood education. In today’s world most children will experience a large amount of technologies as a part of everyday living (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Docket & Farmer, 2008).
It is truly amazing how much we are reliant on technology in today’s world. This course highlights the reality of what technology really is, from a pen and paper to a computer and webcam and most importantly the learning which fits in-between for children, which is absolutely inspiring. I have made such a valuable discovery as a result of this course which involves the idea that not only can adults learn through technology, they can also learn about it while developing the skills to use it competently. This type of understanding, knowledge and skills are indispensible towards my practice as an early childhood educator in supporting and ensuring effective learning takes place for children in today’s technological world.
I have been intrigued, challenged, thrilled and disappointed by the journey with technology in this assignment, it has forced me to reflect and refocus my thinking and practice even though my ideas and understandings of technology are still developing. I now have a greater understanding of the importance of and use of technology in the classroom as a valuable, open-ended resource in regards to promoting learning. Technology is such a useful tool in early childhood environments, as when applied into settings it helps to employ an emergent curriculum approach. The use of technology enables educators to simply adapt the curriculum in order to meet the individual learning needs of children (Talay-Ongan, 2005; Smorti, 1999).
I feel the journey of this assignment has been inspiring towards my use of technology with not only children but in my own life. I not only feel proud of the new information I have discovered but also value how much I’ve learnt while interacting with technology, as I now officially have a blog!! Which I have completed, upgraded and adapted myself to present my findings in a clear and exiting way, and what an accomplishment. Something which I found truly inspiring was how the class (including myself) shared knowledge and understandings to scaffold each other’s learning, ensuring no one was left behind. It just shows how technology prompts, engaged learning, conversations and shared education no matter what the age of the student is.
I really enjoyed how multiple perspectives were able to be explored regarding children’s learning through technology with the feedback comments. I was really lucky and had a large range of comments prompting me to reflect on experiences and potentially incorporate new ideas for next time. Nikola’s and Padma’s comments prompted a conversation I had with the children involved with the first blog, which as a result of this has now lead to a project on “emergency services” and the mechanics in how they work e.g. the differences between how a helicopter and fire engine work.
I found the comments which I received from Cathy and Julie to be indispensible towards furthering children’s learning within future experiences. Using other technology forms will bring another dimension to the processes and learning happening for not only children involved but also others who might be interested. Julie also suggested making DVD’s for parents, I thought this was a wonderful idea so I have researched the topic to share with other educators in the centre. Blagojevic & Thomes (2008) suggest that such digital recordings provide a window into children’s learning for parents, and also works as a great communication tool while providing information about the settings programme and curriculum (Blagojevic & Thomes, 2008).
The feedback was also great in assessing how effective my practice is with using technology with children, other educators were able to acknowledge the learning that was evident which I had aspired to provide. I also found that things were happening which I didn’t even realise, for example with Faith’s comment I discovered that it wasn’t just my idea which was supporting children and the use of video recorders within the centre it was the reciprocal relationships between myself other educators, and management which provided the time and resources for such meaningful experiences to happen. It really made me think how such reciprocal relationships between educators and management can affect the learning which occurs within the centre for children.
In conclusion I have found this course inspiring towards using technology with children no matter what form it may be in. My knowledge and understanding of technology and its influences have grown along with my own abilities. The fact that we interact with technology on a daily basis is undeniable, it influences the learning needs and aspirations of the generation we are teaching. Therefore this means it has become our responsibility as educators to provide, interactions, experiences and an environment which is challenging engaging and interactive with today’s technological world.
References
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., & Farmer, S. (2008). Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4th ed). Melbourne, Australia: Cengage Learning.
Blagojevic, B, & Thomas, K. (2008). Young photographers. Young Children, 63(5), 66-72.
Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in early childhood. Early Education, no. 19 Autumn 1999.
Talay-Ongan, A. (2005). Child development and teaching young children. Australia: Thompson/Social science press.
