Technology for communication and transition.

My last reflection on Technology has been influence by my last two posts.  I’ve become increasingly interested in how technology aids communication with children and parents, so thought I would step a bit out of my comfort zone and try something different at kindergarten (Hertzog and Klein, 2005; Talay-Ongan, 2005; Tsantis, Beswick & Thouvenelle, 2003; Wang, 2008 and Yang; 2009).  I know this is not child initiated but my thoughts were if children do not know the options how can they make informed choices.

 

 

Today I brought in my flip camera and asked the children if they wanted to make a News Time that we could play on the flat screen TV at mat time.  I got many volunteers and we decided the fair way to do it would be for me to record the first one and then each person that had been interviewed could become the camera person with me helping them.  I got many different perspectives of news as we went around and quite a lot of interest in visiting family on planes.  Maybe a new project in the making but best I get back to this reflection.  This was all going well until my camera ran out of batteries.  This is an important consideration with technology and I need to remember to be a little more organised.

 

So I agreed with the children that we would carry on when I came back to kindergarten on Thursday.  When I arrived back I straight away had children asking if I'd brought in my movie camera, which I explained that I did.  Now that the camera was charged I was able to download the images.  I explained that I was attaching my camera into the computer “so that they could talk to each other”.  I remember the presenter from NetSafe had said "good to role model our own learning journey in technology for children" and this is also a valid teaching strategy (MacNaughton and Williams, 2009).  This was going really slow and A stated “I can’t hear any talking going on”.  Which really made me laugh, as I was getting frustrated myself at the amount of time it was taking.  I explained that the camera was sending messages that we could not hear and the computer understood these messages and making the movie move onto the computer. 

While we were waiting I noticed that a mum was trying to say goodbye to her daughter but she was crying and really didn’t want her to leave.  Thinking on the spot I asked if R wanted to give any news for mat-time and we could record it on the camera.  I showed her some of the news we had caught on Tuesday.  R agreed as long as mum was in it too.  Mum had time and so that is exactly what we did.  M was the camera person and without any prompting R sat with her mum and as they cuddled they talked to the camera about rainbow flowers.  I've noticed that R loves anything to do with rainbows.  R was intrigued how she would get to talk on the TV as she joined the group of five that was around the laptop.  She easily said goodbye to mum and was comfortable and relaxed as mum left.  I showed the children MovieMaker and we decided where we were going to place each child and we laughed as we made different effects between children on the screen. 

 

All I can say was to watch the expressions on the children’s faces was priceless I wasn’t expecting to feel quite as emotional as they beamed at me as their images came up and R was the best, there she was with her mum.  I never imaged that I could use this as a support for transition into the centre. Through this experience R was able to have a  “feeling of belonging, and having a right to belong, in the early childhood setting” (Ministry of Education, p58) and for me a very new understanding of the benefit of transition with the help of technology.

Going back to some of my first thoughts; I can see the benefit of technology I am still of the opinion that there needs to be a balance but I think this particular reflection has been very powerful to me about how technology can help a child feel safe, have a place and be valued as a member of the community. 

From this my head teacher was impressed how the children had responded to seeing themselves taking news time. She has agreed that I can trial a private blog with a couple of the children that I have observed have a keen interest in technology.  We've talked about getting consent forms and who knows if it's successful we might have a kindergarten blog.

Reference list 

Hertzog, N., & Klein, M. (2005). Beyond Gaming a technology explosion in early childhood classrooms. Gifted Child Today, 28(3), 24-65.

 

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.

Talay-Ongan, A., & Ap, E. A. (Eds.). (2005). Child development and teaching young children. Southbank, Australia: Thomson Social Science Press

Tsantis, L. A., Bewick, C. J., & Thouvenelle, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about computer use in the early years. Young Children, 58(1), 1-9.

Wang, H. (2008) Exploring educational use of blogs in U.S education.  US-China Educational Review,5 (10) 34-38.

 Yang, s. H. (2009) Using blogs to enhance critical reflections and community of practice.  Educational Technology & Society, 12 (2), 11.21.

All movie and images from YouTube and Google image.

Technology for culture and non-modern technology

The children at my centre have been really interested in harvesting the kindergarten garden.  They have been taking home some of our produce and we have also been looking at ways that we can cook the vegetables.

A noodle making machine.  Not a pasta machine.

 

Today one of our teachers brought in a noodle machine.  When I first saw it I exclaimed “Oh we’re making pasta today!”  but no Y corrected me “we are making noodles”  Y is Chinese and this is the machine that she makes noodles on at home.  We have a number of  children from Chinese backgrounds at my centre and I think it is very important to emphasis and explore the different cultures that make up our community.  Food is a beautiful way of sharing our lives with each other and for the teachers and the children to get to know each other better.  Here the planning was to look at the curriculum communication goal of “an increasing familiarity with a selection of the art, craft, songs, music and stories which are valued by the cultures in the community” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.80).  In addition Smorti (1999) would suggest that technology is influenced by the culture of society that it occurs in.    

 

China on the map.  Helping children to think about different countries

The very first thing that we let the children do was explore the machine.  We could have just put it together but instead the children enjoyed the process of working out how to place the rods in the holes to make the machine move.  Just like in creativity I believe that it is the doing that is important rather than the product produced (Smorti, 1999).     

 

The children all made their attempts and there were some great conversations on what they could do to make it move.  The children were co-constructing and problem-solving their ideas together (MacNaugton & Williams, 2009).  Mindes (2006) would continue by highlighting that as children discuss their viewpoints and solve problems together they learn how to critically analyse information, consider different points of view and learn how to work together.

When we were all ready we mixed the flour and water, let it rest and then had great fun pushing it through the machine making worm like noodles!  There was pure joy around the table and much excited talk by children to parents as they were collected.  

 

I chose this experience to reflect on because for me it represents technology as an influence for culture and non- modern ideas of technology.  This was a new understanding of technology after reading Smorti’s (1999) definition of technology “technology is about helping people and solving problems” (p.5). 

 

This course has really made me think about technology.  Today in the 21^st century we have had rapid technological changes resulting in changing experiences for children (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Docket & Farmer, 2007).  When I was growing up in the 1970s we didn’t have computers, video recorders and things that I consider technology now.  But in my day there were new advancements and things that my parents had never seen that I just accepted.  I believe there is a place to show children both the current and the past to show the journey of where we have come from and help them to think deeper about the world.  The New Zealand curriculum also suggests this when it highlights the aim for children to have a broad technological literacy (Ministry of Education, 2007).

 

Leading on from my last blog item my thinking keeps coming back to: wouldn’t this be wonderful for parents to experience their children’s wonder of the world.  My centre doesn’t have a blog but I really think that there might be a place for it.  I would have loved to capture the children being so capable and competent as they worked out together how to use the machine.  Hertzog and Klein (2005) and Yang (2009) suggest to us that technology can influence and build on how we communicate with parents and enrich our learning environment.

 

This was such a simple experience but so much learning happening for myself and the children.

 and just for fun.... this is how we would have to make it without the machine!  maybe next time!

 

 

References

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.

Hertzog, N., & Klein, M. (2005). Beyond Gaming a technology explosion in early childhood classrooms. Gifted Child Today, 28(3), 24-65.MacNaughton, G., & Williams, G. (2009). Techniques for teaching young children: Choices in theory and practice (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forrest, Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall.

MacNaughton, G., & Williams, G. (2009). Techniques for teaching young children: Choices in theory and practice (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forrest, Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall.

Mindes, G. (2006). Social studies in kindergarten. In D. F. Gullo (Ed.), K today teaching and learning in the kindergarten year (pp.107-115). Washington, DC: National

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. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

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

Tsantis, L. A., Bewick, C. J., & Thouvenelle, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about computer use in the early years. Young Children, 58(1), 1-9.

Yang, s. H. (2009) Using blogs to enhance critical reflections and community of practice.  Educational Technology & Society, 12 (2), 11.21.

 

All movie and images from YouTube and Google image 

What can I hear? Technology for enquiry

Recently, I approached two brothers as they were discussing a noise they could hear.   M (aged 3) had his hand to his ear.  "What is that sound?"  he said I've heard it before.  " I know!" Said N his 4 year old brother "it's a cricket... dad told me?"  "is it?" said M "I thought it was something else?"  "what do you think it is M?"  I asked but he wasn't sure.

At my centre I am very lucky to have access to two laptops that teachers generally use for documentation, that I can connect to a flat screen TV in the play area.  I suggested to the boys that they could look up some ideas on YouTube which they were delighted to do.

The first YouTube site I tried was this one.  The cricket that N suggested. 

 

 

The boys raced outside listened and then came back in again "No not that one" they stated.  Some other children had seen what the boys were doing and came over to investigate.  I now had a group of 10 children moving from the computer to outside, all chatting and discussing with each other.

 

"OK what about this one?"  as I put up a cicada

 

 

 

 

 







The energy in the room was a joy to watch as they ran out the door and back to me "put the other one on again." ..."Yes Yes... that's it what is it?"

 

This lead onto more questions of "What's a cicada?"  "What does it eat?" "Does it sting?"  There was such energy from the children.  We even found out as we listened to different clips that cicadas can sound different and we made the theory together that this must be because they live in different countries.  There is no way that I could have planned for such energy in the learning if I had decided that the children were going to learn about insects but by following their lead and motivations this took us on the most wonderful journey that morning.  As a teacher you have to be flexible.

 

What the children found

 

 

What I loved about this is that technology had helped me to answer the boys' own questions.  Or as the New Zealand National Curriculum would suggested expand human possibilities by realising opportunities (Ministry of Education, 2007).  As a teacher I love the opportunity to develop children's curiosity about the world and support them to question the world around them, technology is about people and solving problems (Scholl, 2005).  What happened in this episode clearly links to the exploration goal in our early childhood curriculum: Te Whāriki when it states that "children develop the ability to enquire, research, and modify their own working theories about the natural, social, physical, and material worlds" (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.90). 

 

Fleer and Jane (2011) stated that how teachers feel about technology reflects the opportunities that we give children to use it (p.19).  This is relatively new technology for me but I am open and flexible to look at new ideas and different ways to teach, I remember the days when your only option was to look up in a book; no sound or motion.  Technology has allowed me to capture this teachable moment in ways that I would never have thought possible as a young person myself.  Computers have allowed us to readily look up information (Scholl, 2005).

 

I think one of my concerns when I started this course is that technology could reduce social interaction.  Just like this experience Tsantis & Berwick (2003) highlight that for many children the computer is a catalyst for sharing information, communication and decision making.  For  me I think in my philosophy on technology it is about getting the balance right and listening to children. 

 

But with all this stated I did have concerns when I used to go on YouTube or the internet, there have been times when I have been shocked by what has come up on my screen, due to my poor spelling.  I'm always worried that these same images might come up when I'm with children at my centre.  So with this in my head I found the talk from NetSafe in class so beneficial.  I just need to go back to kindergarten and put the security setting on our laptop.  This experience has really made me think about cybersafety and I came across an interesting article during my refecting by Grey (2011) which gave me more to think about on my role in collaboration with parents and how maybe my role was to share my professional learning on internet safety with them. 

 

 

I also captured this moment before the blog talk last Friday.  This has really made me think about how I share the wonderful learning that has happened.  What I have done is written a learning story for both brothers folders but how amazing for parents if I could have captured them running in and out of the building testing their theories or posted the YouTube videos on a blog so that the learning in centre could flow home and back again.      

 

References

 

Fleer, M., & Jane, B. (2011). Design and technology for children. Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson Australia.

Grey, A. (2011). Cybersafety in early childhood education. Australasian Journal Of Early Childhood, 36(2), 77-81.

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. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Scholl, M. (2005). Social studies in action. Young Children, 62(4), 1-5.

Tsantis, L. A., Bewick, C. J., & Thouvenelle, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about computer use in the early years. Young Children, 58(1), 1-9.

All movie clips and images from YouTube and Google image