My discovers about technology - Final Post

While I was reading my comments from my group members I began noticing common themes in their comments, such as creativity, social skills, processes and problem solving. All of these themes portray the significant influence that technology can have on young children’s learning and development and I am able to see that a lot more clearly now that my understanding of what technology is has grown. As Smorti (1999) suggests throughout his reading that technology helps people and solves problems, it is also creative, solves questions, by using knowledge, skills and materials and often involves two or more people to find a solution.

My first post talked about an experience that I had observed of a group of children taking part in construction play. I discussed how the children were so used to only using the materials in the specific areas, that when a boy wanted to use an object from another area, he hesitated bringing it back to the area he was playing in. While I was observing this boy, I actually felt sad for him that he had associated taking an object from one area to another with a sense of guilt. This experience is a prime example of Erikson’s Psychosocial Theory, initiative versus guilt stage, as this age of children (3 to 5years old) are still discovering the world around them, they are exploring possibilities and facing challenges. Teachers should be encouraging the children to try things out, rather than setting boundaries and making the children feel guilty about trying new ways to solve problems (Santrock, 2010).

One of my group members suggested that perhaps I could discuss this issue with the other teachers in my room and advocate for the children’s learning. This could be done by letting the teachers know what happened, then informing them that children should be encouraged to use different technologies in a range of areas and that not all materials need to stay in a specific place or setting (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.95). So after I read her comment, I talked to the teachers about it and we are all going to work together by supporting each other to support children’s ideas and findings.

I really appreciate the honesty of one of my group members who mentioned in one of her comments that spell check does not pick up on everything, especially words such as boarder and border. I feel that as a professional we document so much of the children’s learning in forms of learning stories, planning books, project books and wall displays that it is so important to get into the habit of double checking your spelling and grammar. Even though they are sometimes just tiny mistakes which are bound to happen, it just shows your level of professionalism to parents and families and the amount of respect that you have for the children’s learning and work.

Overall I am very happy with my discoveries of technology. Throughout this process I have been exposing the teachers to the significance that technology can have on children’s learning and development by talking to them about my observations and by including literature during those discusses to show them that it is not just me who supports technology in the classroom, but that there are a range of people who do.

I strongly believe that during these years of a young child’s life, they are continually developing ideas and a sense of creativity. It is no surprise that they are naturally curious and are eager to learn about the world around them. They are continually exploring different ways to be creative, solve problems and communicate using a range of different pieces of non digital technology such as pencils, paper and blocks. However, digital technology also provides them with opportunities for them to explore their creativity and learning (NAEYC, 2012). This is why I believe that it is up to us as teachers to provide them with a range of experiences with a variety of different technologies, and not limit them to what they can do with it all.

Reference

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (2012). Technology and Young children. Effective Classroom Practice: Preschoolers and kindergartens. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/content/technology-and-young-children/preschoolers-and-kindergartners

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa : Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Santrock, J.W. (2010). Lifespan development: International student edition (12^th ed.). Boston, Ma.,

    United States of America: McGraw Hill.

Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10.