Final reflection

Technology forms integral part of children’s lives. They see and use various equipment at home and they have access to these at their childcare settings too. Before this course started I wasn’t in favour of using digital technology in centres. From my experience these objects were always used only as ‘babysitting services’ and consequently not services I would pay teachers of my children for. It was refreshing to learn that there are centres and teachers who recognise the potential technology holds and foster children’s development appropriately. In my opinion, these educators validate Hatherly’s (2009) notion that “the greatest technology available is the teacher’s mind” (p. 7).

My biggest fear in using technology with children is that it takes them from their hands-on exploration of the world. When sitting in front of the screen, children cannot feel the wind, smell the flowers or touch the grass. Their senses miss out on many experiences (Shah & Godiyal, 2009). On the other hand, if this technology is used thoughtfully, it can actually enhance children’s knowledge and offer them invaluable learning opportunities (Hatherly, 2009). I guess the secret is in achieving balance between these two worlds. Moreover, Smorti (1999) argues that technology is not only ICT. It can be all objects in which “knowledge, skills and resources are combined to find solutions” (pp. 5-6). Therefore technology could be everyday objects that have been used for hundreds of years - like a wheel for example. This would mean that we all grew up surrounded by technology; the only difference being that nowadays technology can be also digital.

At my centre technology is used sparingly but one piece that we employ all the time is our digital camera. However, giving the camera to a young toddler was an anxious experience. I was glad to learn that my peers felt with me and actually congratulated me on the action. They advised me not to doubt the skills of young children and offer them these opportunities more often. This led me to an idea to make our old camera readily available. I’ll discuss this with the manager first but this practice would empower the children’s communication and creative expression visibly (Ministry of Education, 1996), especially if we created photo books from their photos.

Technological appliances used every day are our washer and dryer. After reading the feedback on my post I realised that there are many ways to extend both my and the children’s learning further. Next time we will sort the cloths by colours when folding them and count how many of each colour we have. We can compare and contrast and learn about shapes too. If pretend play helps children to play out real-life experiences (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008), we should set up an area in which the children can do this chore even when real washing doesn’t need to be done.

Reading the reactions to the worm farm post opened my eyes to new possibilities. I wasn’t aware that I wasn’t giving the children as much as I could. Children find it interesting to put the food scraps in but they want to know the whys and hows of the process; they want to develop skills and abilities they can use in their further life (Ministry of Education, 2007). That’s where I can help. I will set it as my goal to learn together with the children how we can support our planet. We will become the protectors – the kaitiaki – of our Papatūānuku (Clark & Grey, 2010).

Writing my reflections, researching literature and learning from my peers have changed my view on the use of technology in centres. I now believe that there is a place for digital devices and that children need to become knowledgeable about them if they want to succeed (Ministry of Education, 1996). It is up to their teachers to reveal the magical and unique world these objects present; it is up to me to do the same.

 

References:

Clark, B., & Grey, A. (Eds.). (2010). Āta kitea te pea - Scanning the horizon: Perspectives on early childhood education. North Shore, New Zealand: Pearson.

Gonzalez-Mena, J. (2008). Foundations of early childhood education: Teaching children in a diverse society (4th ed.). Boston, MA: McGraw-Hill.

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

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

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