People, Places,Things and Events :Final reflection and links To comments

 Technology:  A Blogging Journey

On reflection,   the learning that has evolved in People, Places, Things and Events has been an amazing journey. My eyes have been opened in how I now view technology; I look about me with a different perspective and can only feel that I have grown so much in the learning throughout this paper.  My blogging journey began with difficulty and while everyone else seemed to make great progress this was not to be the case for me! However through the guidance and support of my fellow class friends I was able to get started!  This highlights that technology has its challenges with results sometimes out of our control. Smorti (1999) suggests that as educators we need to broaden our understanding of technology and continue to extend our knowledge and skill base.

 I have really enjoyed the learning process and feel proud when I see the end product, there have been highlights and many challenges but I believe this is how we all grow and learn. I like the way that technology has been a sharing process with everyone very willing to pass on their knowledge whether it has been through blogs or in class where we have been able to share and problem solves with each other. It is important that we can embrace different ideas and adapt to change; through being able to share with each other we are promoting environments that reflect strong team awareness (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2008

There is no doubt that our lives evolve around technology in today’s world. I think that because we rely so heavily on technology that we also take it for granted.  Where would we be without our mobile phones, our laptops and automated banking systems? The down side is what happens when these systems crash and fail us. Should we teach our children skills that will enable them to cope when technology fails and are we slowly putting our children at a disadvantage with their total reliance on tools of technology? An example of this is that often children today do not have the skills to entertain themselves; they need to be entertained with television, play stations, iPods and computer games.

I have valued the comments I have received in my blogs and liked Rachel and Lisa’s suggestions on how my sewing experiences could be extended with the children, this supports an environment that allows changing experiences for children with a range of technologies that support our everyday lives (Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett & Farmer, 2008). Nikola commented on my use of ICT with children to empower them to make their own decisions. The children really enjoyed being able to follow through with a process with the final product being their very own learning story. Berson and Berson ( 2010, p.75 ) suggest that the production of learning stories using ICTs has value in allowing children to reflect on their learning of which they are able to share with their peer, teachers and family.

 We now live in a technological world with so many exciting opportunities and possibilities. I think as educators we have such an important role in being able to introduce children to a wide variety of technology (Siraj-Blatchford & Whitehead, 2003) I think it is important that we provide children with experiences that have the ability to enhance their growth and development.  With the technology experiences that I have used in my blogs I have tried to use a range of technology because I believe that first hand experiences are important.

In conclusion, there have definitely being challenges in learning to blog but the benefits far out way the disadvantages. I have grown in my knowledge of technology through this course and value my growth in learning. There is no doubt that as early childhood educators we have a responsibility to our children and each other to keep up to date with technology so that we provide environments that support and foster children’s learning and development in technological ability, thinking and creativity.

        Arthur,L.,& Beecher,B.,&Death,E.,&Docket,S.,&Farmer,S.(2008).Progamming

                  &Planning:In Early Childhood Settings. (4^th ed.).Victoria,Australia: Thompson.

         Berson.I., & Berson,M. (2010). High Tech Tots. Childhood in a Digital World. America:  Information Age         Publishing.

        Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No. 19 Autumn 1999.

 

            

Links to Comments

http://tamarwk.blogspot.com/2011/03/martin-robot-man.html

http://tamarwk.blogspot.com/2011/03/fostering-adults-learning-about-and.html

http://lisastechlog.blogspot.com/2011/04/our-walk-to-see-digger.html

http://nikolastechnoblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/what-do-you-see-as-technologyand-where.html

http://kristastechblog.bhttp://niriasblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/researching-using-

 http://niriasblog.blogspot.com/2011/04/researching-using-internet.html

http://padma-technology.blogspot.com/2011/04/computer-games.html

What Can We Sew?

People, Places, Things and Events:

What can we sew?

8/4/11

 As educators we have wonderful opportunities to introduce children to technology.  I believe that we have to be mindful that the technology that we introduce is appropriate and inclusive to all children and that it enhances their learning experiences (Berson & Berson, 2010).  To extend the children’s interest on shapes we asked the children if they would like to sew their own shapes. With positive feedback I bought my sewing machine in and set it up on the activity table a long with the bag of material.

What was interesting were the comments from different children as they came to investigate the sewing machine on the table. A little girl said “my mum’s got one of those things” another asked “what’s that” another said “my grandma has a machine and she sews clothes for us”.  We had some really interesting discussions about the sewing machine.  Because unless the child had some knowledge of what it was how and why would they know. It was food for thought as children began to think about and understand that our clothes and many other things that we buy are actually made by machines in a factory before they go to the stores to be sold. The Ministry of Education (1995) suggests that technology helps children to make real connections in being able to understanding how a machine can be used to achieve a desired result and how it impacts on our

everyday lives.

I grew up with a mother and grandmother who were very good dressmakers. Therefore sewing machines were a part of my life however today for many that is not so because we live in a world where advanced technology means clothing can be mass produced and as result of, cheap to buy.

At first some of the children were a little apprehensive however curiosity soon prevailed and they were eager to give sewing ago. Over the day there was a continued interest and this was because they could see the results of other children’s sewing.

It was important to talk to each child before we began about safety and that machines

of any kind can be dangerous therefore we have to have safety rules in place so that we do not get hurt. It was important that the children understood a sewing machine is an electrical appliance that is run by power. And that the sewing needle is very sharp. We also need to keep our hands away from the needle so we need to concentrate on what we are doing such as keeping our eyes on the machine. I gave the

 children a demonstration of how the machine worked by sewing a small piece of material.

 By introducing new technology children gain an increasing competence in their fine motor skills which provides them with the confidence to explore a wide range of activities. MacNaughton and Williams (2009) suggest that children learn best when you explain a process followed by a demonstration of a new skill and then allow children to practise what they have learnt.

The children were able to participate in an environment that was supportive; it provided opportunities to develop communication skills, turn taking, sharing and ways in which to be creative and able use their individual imaginations. This supports our early childhood curriculum Te Whāriki where we offer environments that provide children with opportunities to develop

 working theories for making sense of the world around them (Ministry of Education, 1996).

Each child chose their own material and together we cut out our shapes. I was very conscious of the individual abilities of each child and would scaffold accordingly. One little girl did not like the noise and was a little frightened by it. With support and encouragement she soon overcame her fears and enjoyed the experience. Some seemed to have a natural ability and could understand the concept of using a foot control to drive the machine, others were unsure and did not want to use the foot control but were happy to hold their material as it was sewn. I have to admit we had some scary moments at the speed of which some of those little feet went on the foot control!!

We started with small squares that we made into little bags then one little girl asked could she please make a bag to put her teddy in. This inspired the imaginations of others who wanted to make pillows and sleeping bags for their dolls and teddy bears. The lists grew longer and requests bigger!!

I liked the way that the sewing machine created such a curious and social environment, it was very inclusive and seemed to inspire wonderful conversations. It made me think about all the technology that children are now exposed to and how technology can effect the development of children’s social functioning skills. The children began to learn about a process and design that once implemented gave them a product at the end (Smorti, 1999).

There is such an interest in sewing technology that there are many possibilities in where this interest will take us but at this stage I am happy to let the children lead the way.

 Who has some interesting ideas for sewing with children?

Ministry of Education. (1996) Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o  Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (1995). Technology in the New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Siraj-Blatchford, J. & Whitehead, D. (2003). Supporting Information and  Communications . Technology in the Early Years. Maidenhead: England. Open  University Press.

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No. 19 Autumn 1999.

Can we make Biscuits Please?

People, Places, Things and Events:

Cooking up Shapes

6/4/11

Imitation play is considered a driving force in a child’s development, with symbolic behaviour and role play being an essential process of learning (Siraj- Blatchford & Whitehead, 2003, p10). During play children use many forms of technology as part of representational behaviour such as in cooking.

 An extension of family play saw a group of girls wanting to bake. They wanted to make biscuits, after a little discussion we decided that we would make shortbread. The girls asked if they could use shape cutters and chose four shapes that they wanted to use. After washing our hands we got our ingredients’ together and soon we were measuring quantities, weighing and mixing the ingredients’ together. As we worked together we discussed what we were doing and why. For example why we turn the oven on to heat up before we put our baking in and why we need to measure out the right quantities when we cook? As we mixed our ingredients’ together we watched the mixture change and turn into a nice dough. It is important that we teach children how to develop strategies that give them the confidence to think logically and to make sense of why things are (Ministry of Education, 1996).

Smorti (1999) suggests that technology is a creative and purposeful activity.  Children are able to build on their learning experiences and use this knowledge to extend on and learn the skills needed to problem solve.  An example of this was that there was a big ball of mixture in the bowl but the girls wanted to roll and cut out their own shortbread. I encouraged the girls to think about how they could solve the problem. Our solution was that if I divided the mixture up into equal amounts they could all have their very own ball of dough.
It is important that children develop strategies in being able to think and evaluate their ideas and outcomes (Ministry of Education, 1995).

The mixture was divided up and the girls each had their own rolling pin and ball of shortbread. I gave them a little demonstration of rolling out the mixture using a little flour to stop the mixture from sticking and have to say, I was very impressed with how they all rolled their mixture and then cut out shapes with very little guidance.  This is an example of children actively learning while at the same time developing an understanding of the uses of technology equipment (Ministry of Education, 1996).

 Soon it was time to place our biscuits on the tray and put them into the oven. Taking turns they had to carefully put their biscuits onto the biscuit slice and onto the tray. While doing so we talked about safety precautions when we are near the oven and how we had to be very careful around heat and electricity. I believe that it is important that we teach our children to respect technology such as our ovens so that they grow up with the knowledge that they always have to be careful. Children need to know that ovens can be very hot and dangerous. If we shelter our children from such realities we are not teaching them the safety skills required to keep them out of harm’s way.

Food technology is interwoven with science, mathematics and culture, it is very much about people and a process followed by a method that results in a product. It is an activity that involves children learning language skills, they develop questioning and describing skills, they learn to use fine motor skills and physical skills such as how to hold a wooden spoon, to stir and mix, they learn to use different appliances. Food technology teaches children to develop an understanding of how a process such as the preparation of a recipe can produce an end product that can be eaten and enjoyed (Ministry of Education, 1995).

Introducing food technology to the children is always a pleasure; it is a creative and fun way to teach children many lifelong skills that can only enhance their growth and development (Smorti, 1999).

Ministry of Education. (1996) Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o       Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (1995). Technology in the New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Siraj-Blatchford, J. & Whitehead, D. (2003). Supporting Information and         Communications .  Technology in the Early Years. Maidenhead: England. Open        University Press.

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No. 19

             Autumn 1999.

Technology can be creative

People, Places, Things and Events:

Shapes/ crayons and an Iron can be Fun

5/4/11

Both Piaget and Vygotsky believed that play was an essential component of development. Children do not make the distinction between play and work or if you like learning, therefore we have to believe that play is a rich and varied medium for learning (Berson & Berson, 2010).   We can incorporate technology into activities that children enjoy such as the art experience that I am going to write about.

To continue with our focus on shapes in the environment we took the children for a walk through a park near to our centre. We wanted to see how many different shapes we could collect from the beginnings of the autumn fall and compare them to shapes that we were familiar with. We gathered baskets, bags and put on our high visibility jackets and off  we went on a leaf hunt down into the trees.  This activity was about exploring, developing and representing learning experiences to help the children to make sense of the world (Berson & Berson, 2010).

Some of the children used my camera to take pictures of leaves as we walked and enjoyed being in control of the camera. I had some scary moments especially when one little boy darted quickly to a stream with my camera in hand!! There were many different shaped leaves, some looked like hearts others like ovals. After gathering enough leaves we set off home and compared them to the photos of shapes that we had seen during another walk into the community such as on road signs, letter boxes and buildings. We then talked about how we could use them in a creative way.  We came up with lots of ideas and decided that we would concentrate on two; the first was the children used crayon rubbings to making leaf prints, making exciting patterns and shapes. Do you think of paper and crayons as technology?

 The second was to create art using Iron Technology. We placed our leaves onto wax paper shiny side up then grated crayon over the paper. The children chose their own colours as they did the leaves, we then placed another piece of wax paper on top of the leaves and grated crayon shiny side down. We then gently on a low heat ironed our pictures!! The children had such fun and enjoyed the many processes that took place to produce the end product. We had to talk about safety when using an electrical appliance and how we needed to keep our fingers away from the hot part of an Iron.

Art activities are a wonderful way to introduce new technology concepts and ideas such as the grater for grating,wax paper, crayons and Iron. It also provided an opportunity for me and other teachers to support and scaffold the children’s learning. This supports an environment where children learn strategies for active exploration and develop working theories for mak

ing sense of the natural, physical and material worlds (Ministry of Education, 1996, p88).

I believe that it is important to foster children’s imaginations and encourage their curiosity and awareness about their surrounding environments. Smorti (1999) suggests that it is important that we continue to broaden our own understanding of technology by extending our own knowledge and skill base so that we can meet the needs of our children.

 I think that it is important to stop and reflect on the challenges we face as teachers, to explore and encourage new technology experiences for our children. Sometimes our daily routines are so busy we forget to take time to stop and think would you agree?



The finished Product

 

Berson.I., & Berson,M. (2010). High Tech Tots. Childhood in a Digital World. America:   Information 

        Age Publishing. 

Ministry of Education. (1996) Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o   Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No. 19  Autumn 1999.

















People, Places, Things and Events

Technology with children:

23/3/11

This is my story

We are surrounded by technology in our everyday lives, no sooner have we managed to master how to use the latest technology whether it be a computer, iPods or television it has become outdated and is replaced by something bigger or as the case may be smaller faster and better. I began to ponder as I sat with a small group of children about how technology has changed our way of thinking and learning. Not so many years ago a child would have drawn a picture and the teacher would have asked what it was about and written a brief description. Technology has changed how we document learning providing us with so many more possibilities.

 Today as I sat with a group of children who were drawing pictures at the activity table they began to talk about what they were drawing. “I am drawing our trampoline” said L. Another was drawing herself as a baby so I asked the children if I could help them to write their own stories on the computer. There was much excitement; the children were very excited at being able to use my laptop.

 A learning process began. Once L had finished her drawing she took some photos of it, we then down loaded the photos onto my laptop. L was very interested in the process and made a comment that her dad has photos on his computer. We went into word document and L chose a title for her story, she chose the colour and the font. L is not yet able to write her own story however she was given an opportunity to develop an understanding of the concept of literacy through technology. This supports an environment where L is encouraged to take some ownership of her learning and is able to develop communication skills for a range of purposes such as by choosing her own font and the colours she would like to use, (Ministry of Education, 1996).

We then up lifted the photo and inserted a text box and her story began. As L told her story I typed it out word for word, once it was typed we went to the printer to print then retrieve the story. She chose to put her story into her portfolio and because she was so proud of her work. I printed off another for her to take home and share with her family.

 Digital media such as the photo taken of the drawing provide opportunities for children to tell their stories in a narrative way. With adults facilitating digital and computer activities this provides support for children in their development of technological literacy, (Siraj-Blatchford & Whitebread, 2003). Educators play an important role in providing environments that encourage a wide variety of experiences for learning.  

We had a fabulous afternoon. I began with a small group of children but curiosity caught on and soon we had the interest of other children.

The children were very excited about writing their own story and to be able to follow a process that enabled them to see a published result. It is important that children have the opportunity to develop their confidence in technology so that they can continue to increase knowledge and skills and begin to understand that there are many possibilities to explore in being able to learn in a fun way, (Smorti, 1999).

I would like to extend the learning from this experience by suggesting that we write and publish an illustrated story that we can put together using the same process. The result would be a published book that can be placed in the library to be enjoyed by all.

Children really enjoy projects that have started from a chance event that is a reflection of their real life experiences. It was fun to be a partner alongside the children in their learning with my role being to provide the recourses, support and guidance in their journey of discovery ( Siraj-Blatchford & Whitebread, 2003).

Ministry of Education. (1996) Te Whāriki: He Whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o       Aotearoa. Wellington: Learning Media.

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No. 19 Autumn 1999.

Siraj-Blatchford, J. & Whitehead, D. (2003). Supporting Information and Communications Technology in the Early Years. Maidenhead: England. Open University Press.

The wonders of YouTube

The internet provides a wonderful source of multimedia resources that enables many options for children’s learning and fun. YouTube offers a great access for educational opportunities and can help to inspire imagination and creativity. This video captured the attention of my one year old granddaughter who really enjoys music.

When searching in YouTube we need to be very vigilant and careful to check our sights properly to ensure that they are appropriate and safe for our children to watch.

welcome everyone to my blog

Hi everyone, setting up this blog has been difficult !!! but now that I am here I hope to have some fun