When this course started I saw the first assignment was
about blogs and technology. My first
reaction was “oh boy, blogs, digital technology! How am I going to deal with this?” While I have used computers for work purposes
for many years it has mainly been Word and Excel I have used as well, of
course, as emails and the internet.
Anything more has been a mystery until two and a half years ago. Digital cameras were (and still are) a
mystery to me; being told to aim and shoot isn’t helpful.
I am not keen on Ipads, computers and televisions in
centres as I feel that, at times, these appliances are used as babysitters or
just to keep the children quiet. I have,
however, seen during the course of this assignment how Ipads, especially, can
be used to extend children’s learning.
The blog about where the Ipad was used to download information about
sharks is a good example of Ipads being used for educational purposes. As The New Zealand Curriculum states ‘technology
is never static and influences as well as impacts on the cultural, economic and
political conditions of the day (Ministry of Education, 2007,p.34).
These days the word association between technology and
electronics is strong so it was a pleasant surprise, as the assignment unfolded,
to realise technology is much wider than just “electronic or digital
technology”. Smorti’s (1999) article was
helpful in understanding what technology means and I now have a much better
understanding. Fleer & Jane (2011)
say that every-day items surrounding us and used by us is technology, for
example, tools, medicines and clothes.
This idea of technology links into one of the learning outcomes in Te
Whāriki where children develop an understanding of the links between the
outside world and centre life through images and objects that are familiar to
them (Ministry of Education, 1999). According
to Smorti’s (1999, p.5) ‘technology is about helping people and solving problems’
and the blog examples have highlighted that aspect of technology. Learning that a bowl and spoon was
technology was a revelation; such simple items can do so much to transform
ingredients into a product.
As a student teacher I have looked at the children’s
learning through the lens of maths, art, science and language; technology never
featured but without technology the children would have difficulty in
learning. Another aspect of technology I
had not considered before was that technology has a creative purpose to it
(Smorti, 1999). This creativity is aimed
at meeting the needs or opportunities that may arise through developing
products, systems or environments (Smorti, 1999). I learnt that cultural context has an impact
of how technology produces products that suits a particular cultural need
(Fleer & Jane, 2011).
From the comments received from my fellow students we all
had the same learning journey, looking through the activities we experience
every day with a technological lens. A
theme coming through from the blogs is concept of Ako where we are the learners
with the children often being the teachers (Grey & Clark, 2010). The suggestions relating to the carpentry
table blog were helpful for example, getting the children to draw their ideal
car and then build it and getting parent help. Using clay to extend the children’s
learning from the play dough making session is a good idea, however, as
resources are limited I can’t see that happening, mores the pity. It was interesting to see the different types
of non-digital technology being highlighted in the blogs and it was relatively
easy to find ways of extending the children’s learning. Where I struggled was with the digital blog
examples as there is only so much you can say about the use of Ipads and
cameras.
Lastly, I have grown to appreciate how blogs are a useful
tool for keeping people informed of what is going on, especially in the early
childhood education context. Using blogs
enables parents to be informed on what is happening in the centre as well as
being able to comment. While face to
face communication is also preferred, blogging is a useful tool for keeping
everyone in the loop.
Clark, B., & Grey, A. (Eds.). (2010). Perspectives
on early childhood education: Ᾱta kite ate pae-scanning the horizon. Rosedale,
Auckland, New Zealand: Pearson.
Fleer, M., & Jane, B. (2011). Design
and technology for children, (3rd. ed.). Frenchs Forest,
Australia: Pearson Australia.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki:
He whāriki mātauranga mō ngāmokopuna 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
Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in
early childhood. Early Education, 1, 5-10
