Magical pictures

Digital cameras are amazing pieces of equipment. I remember how happy I felt when I bought my first digital camera. It was like magic seeing photos on the screen straight away and not having to wait for them to get developed. I believe it must be the same for children. It must feel like magic seeing their own picture on the screen, knowing that a little piece of them is in this little metal box.

One 18-month old girl at my centre, A, was especially interested in cameras after coming back from holidays. Her mum revealed to me that they had a very busy travelling holidays and photographing the scenery and them in it was a big part of the adventure. Every evening they would look at the photos on the computer and naturally A loved this. She was the star of the show. This experience would have showed and explained the world to A in a new way – with her being part of it (Ministry of Education, 2005). It would have helped her to realise who she was and how she could affect and contribute to her wider world by using technological media (Ministry of Education, 1996).

The second day, I decided to offer A the experience from her holidays but from the other end of the camera. I believe that A’s interest was connected with her need to tell us what she did during her time off. However, not having the necessary verbal skills, she decided to do this in a non-verbal way and the digital camera proved to be the perfect instrument (Ministry of Education, 1996; Shah & Godiyal, 2009). I gave A the real camera as one of the available “tools for exploration and communication” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 32). I was a bit nervous letting the camera off my hand given the young age of the child. I had many questions running through my head: ‘Am I doing the right thing? Is the camera safe? How close do I need to stay to A to protect the centre equipment? Is she going to be able to understand what to do with it?’ However, I didn’t need to be worried at all. A showed me how careful and competent she was. She looked after the camera very well and held it safely in her hands. To me it seemed that she was aware of the preciousness of her ‘new toy’. She took many photos and suddenly became the most important person in the world; everyone wanted to be in her presence. She had the power over the camera, the power of choice, the power over her proximate world. The camera provided her with a great sense of confidence and helped her to fit again into the group of her peers and contribute to the centre family (Ministry of Education, 2007). A’s sense of belonging to the setting had suddenly increased remarkably (Ministry of Education, 1996).

These are some examples of the photos A took on this occasion (she took many more but in most of them her friends were clearly recognisable):



A’s exploration of the real camera and her previous awareness of it gained from her parents helped her to “develop knowledge particular to technological enterprises and environment and understandings of how and why things work” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 32). A learnt which button to press, where to look and even how to view the photos on the screen. She was empowered by her knowledge and the opportunity to share her knowledge with others (Ministry of Education, 1996).

During this experience I realised how responsible children can be when given the trust and opportunity. Yes, plastic toys fly straight to the floor; children know what is real and what isn’t, what can break and what can’t. They are conscious of their world and want adults to know their abilities. In the age of technology, exploration has to involve technological equipment. This is their age and we have to comply with it.


References:

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, (2005). Foundations for discovery. Retrieved from http://www.educate.ece.govt.nz/~/media/Educate/Files/Reference%20Downloads/foundationsfordiscovery.pdf  

Ministry of Education, (2007). The New Zealand curriculum: For English-medium teaching and learning in years 1-13. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents

Shah, A., & Godiyal, S. (2009). ICT in the early years: Balancing the risks and benefits. E-journal of All India Association for Educational Research (EJAIAER), 21(2). Retrieved from http://www.ejournal.aiaer.net/ARCHIVES2009.htm

 

 

Technology made by nature

In my country having compost is considered normal. Everyone’s garden has a little corner reserved for this ‘smelly heap’. Growing in this environment I therefore never gave much thought to this (apart from the times when I had to spread it on the garden).

Until I started working with children I didn’t realise that compost, especially in the form of a worm farm or a bokashi bin, is an amazing piece of technology. I must admit that I don’t have any experience with bokashi bins but worm farm is very popular with the children at the centre. When I think of a worm farm now, I see a food disposal with all the metal knives being replaced by worms. They both are pieces of technological equipment and work in a similar way. You put food in them, the worms or knives shred it and from the bottom comes the juice. The major difference is that the worm juice is wonderful for the garden and the disposal juice is wasted down the drain. This is the way I always explain the process to children who seem to grasp the concept really fast. Thanks to this they have learnt to understand what wasting is and why we don’t want to do it. On the example of worms versus food disposal they have become aware of the fact that some technology can affect the environment in a positive and some in a negative way (Ministry of Education, 2007).

From my observations of children I know how remarkable they are with composting. It didn’t take them long to learn what the worms like and what would hurt them. They engage in the process of sorting the food into proper containers conscientiously. As sorting is a basic mathematical concept, the worm farm is also helping children with their beginning math skills (Ministry of Education, 1996). There are even children who bring their dinner leftovers from home. It is lovely to see the involvement that reaches out into the community. The children have learnt the technological process of food decay, what the worms’ roles in it are, how to get the juice out and what the reason behind composting is. They are enticed by the whole process of transformation of their leftovers and have started to consider their little worms as their pets.

Children are not put off by the smell, instead they want to know and see exactly what happens inside. One child said that we needed a glass barrel so that we could see better. He was given the opportunity to draw a plan for this glass barrel and show everyone what he thought happened inside. He was certainly capable to problem-solve and represent his thoughts in reality (Ministry of Education, 1996). What a great showcase of creativity in trying to find a solution to the limited visibility issue. Maybe one day this child will make a barrel like that and validate the aspiration of the Ministry of Education for the technology learning area that “students learn to be innovative developers of products” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 17). Wouldn’t it be great if an experience from early childhood led to a new innovation some twenty years later?

Thinking about the processes involved in composting and the behaviour of children during their worm farm explorations only affirmed my belief that composting is technology indeed – technology made by nature. Smorti (1999) says that “technology is about helping people” (p. 5) and that it must have purpose and produce something. Worm farms together with the children’s involvement and the teachers’ support certainly fulfil all of these criteria (Hatherly, 2009).

References:

Hatherly, A. (2009). ICT and the greatest technology: A teacher’s mind. Early Childhood Folio, 13, 7-11.

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, (2007). The New Zealand curriculum: For English-medium teaching and learning in years 1-13. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents

Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 19, 3-10.

YouTube. (2010). Building a worm farm on the cheap [Video]. Retrieved from http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUGWMPAxxBc

What's so special about the washing machine?

“It’s supposed to be automatic, but actually you have to push this button.” This quote from John Brunner’s 1968 science fiction novel Stand on Zanzibar seems to be the perfect introduction to this post.Web quote

 

At my centre I work with young toddlers. Given the age of the children, they don’t have many opportunities to explore digital technology in the setting. However, two objects they do explore every day are the washing machine and the dryer. Our children are not interested only in button pushing, though; it is the whole technological process of washing that entices them. They help to take the cloths and sheets to the laundry room, put them in or take them out of the washing machine or the dryer, push the buttons (of course), carry them back to our room and fold them. I believe that the popularity of these two products lies in the fact that every child at my centre has got at least one of them at home. Ministry of Education claims that familiar objects can help children connect their life at home with their life at the setting (Ministry of Education, 1996). From my own experience I know that this is true. We have had many positive feedbacks from our whānau saying that suddenly their children want to help out at home. In my opinion, these two objects are promoting our children’s achievement of contribution; a sense that their actions are in the interest of and being valued by the whole group (Ministry of Education, 1996). Is it any wonder that they want to gain this feeling in the heart of their family too?

Contribution is not the only disposition children acquire when helping with the washing. As it is never only one child engaged in this task, the skills of turn-taking, sharing and cooperating are greatly exercised. Even though our children love this job, they had to learn that not always they get to come or push the button. They had to learn to problem solve and work together when carrying the large washing basket and they had to learn to share the time and space allocated to this task. They realised that “by working effectively together, they can come up with new approaches, ideas, and ways of thinking” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 12). In this case, technology is helping children to achieve important life skills; skills that they can easily apply to other areas of their exploration and play. I agree with Shah and Godiyal’s (2009) thought that using technology in meaningful ways encourages children’s exploration of their expression of communication, emotions and senses. I am convinced that our practice of involving children in doing the laundry is giving them ample opportunities for exactly this kind of expression.

However, it is not only children who learn during this routine task. I have learnt a lot from and about the children too. I believe that it was only after one or two visits when the children knew the whole process. Now they open the draw, prompt me to put the washing powder in, shut the draw and patiently wait with their finger on the start button until I turn the knob to the correct programme and then push. This process also involves looking at the dryer and either shaking head knowingly if it is still turning while saying "not done” or pushing the basket underneath if it had stopped. Did I know that children not even two years old can do that? Well no, I didn’t.

Interacting with these two pieces of technological equipment and with each other has taught the children “when to lead, when to follow, and when and how to act independently” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 12).

It has taught me to trust children’s knowledge and respect their abilities greatly.

References:

Brunner, J. (1999). Stand on Zanzibar. London, United Kingdom: The Orion Publishing Group.

DIYTrade. (2013). Front loading washing machine [Photo]. Retrieved from http://img.diytrade.com/cdimg/527522/26523879/0/1340680332/Front_loading_washing_machine.jpg

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, (2007). The New Zealand curriculum: For English-medium teaching and learning in years 1-13. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents

Shah, A., & Godiyal, S. (2009). ICT in the early years: Balancing the risks and benefits. E-journal of All India Association for Educational Research (EJAIAER), 21(2). Retrieved from http://www.ejournal.aiaer.net/ARCHIVES2009.htm