Final Reflection

The rest of my group members made an effort to comment on my blogs and I have taken the time to read through their comments. Most of the comments I received were supportive. I had positive feedback that made me feel positive about my overall blogs. I believe that receiving such positive feedbacks makes you feel confident about your actions as an educator and how you implement activities with children.

One of the comments I got was based on how I used mat time as a time to revisit the experience with the other children. I do this because I believe in revisiting children’s learning. It is a way for them to remember the experience and also what they had learnt from this experience. It also gives children who did not participate in the activity, a fair idea of how enjoyable it is and also encourages them to join in next time.

I also received feedback that challenged me with my actions, for instance, I was challenged on how I should do things differently. Getting constructive feedback and ideas from my observers is always viewed as a positive action to me. I view it as a way to help me develop as an individual. I am able to challenge myself and make changes because although some people may not want to change, but I always see it as something positive and something that will actually benefit either myself as an educator, or the children who are learning and developing daily.

From this assignment, I have developed a greater understanding of technology. I am able to notice and recognize the different learning and developments children gain from technology. I never noticed that technology happens on a daily basis in my centre. The simplest activities that we set up for the children have technology integrated. Such as simply cutting, and pasting resources together to make a mobile is technology. Smorti (1999) believes that technology is a number of activities that have an actual purpose. After this assignment, I have learnt to differentiate Science from Technology. Technology is the process of making or designing something, whereas Science is exploring the physical world and trying to make sense of why things happen (Smorti, 1999).

Technology helps children with different developments. For instance, with digital technology in the centre, children develop a number of skills, such as fine motor skills, eye-hand co-ordinations. This is visible when they explore the piece of technology such as the cameras, phones and so forth. Children learn how to follow instructions; they learn how to use resources or technology appropriately without damaging them. They also develop problem solving skills for instance, how to turn on and off a piece of technology, how they connect from the camera to the computer and so forth.

Children also gain a number of knowledge from non-digital technologies, such as being creative. Learning to visualise and mentally solve a problem as well as imagining things and making something out of it.

Overall, whether it is digital or non-digital technology, children learn social skills and communication skills, when they interact with each other. They develop their Science skills when they can figure out on their own how things work and what it is used for. They learn to be creative and confident with the resources around them.

Children are growing up in an environment where they are surrounded by different kinds of technologies and giving them an opportunity to experience this at a young age will benefit them as they get older or move onto primary schools making them the competent and confident learners we need them to be (Ministry of Education, 1996).

References:

http://www.google.co.nz/

 

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o

            Aotearoa : Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning

            Media.

 

Smorti, S. (1999, Autumn) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 19.

Hyperlinks

Emma

http://emmasblog26.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/hey-everyone-first-blog.html?showComment=1332205781329

http://emmasblog26.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/blog-2.html?showComment=1332380664031

http://emmasblog26.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/blog-3.html?showComment=1332814343482

Toelau

http://wwwtoelausblogcom.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/take-my-picture.html?showComment=1332316447676

http://wwwtoelausblogcom.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/drawing-using-crayons.html?showComment=1332369038827

http://wwwtoelausblogcom.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/blog-3.html?showComment=1332815004632

Malu

http://malusooaemalelagi.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/butterflies_14.html?showComment=1332369777804

http://malusooaemalelagi.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/blog-2-exploring-telephones-skills.html?showComment=1332370386864

Mara

http://marasandysblog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/computer_20.html?showComment=1332369613000

http://marasandysblog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/digital-camera.html?showComment=1332371258009

Faaea

http://yadragasblog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/playing-with-ipod_20.html?showComment=1332381478332

http://yadragasblog.blogspot.co.nz/2012/03/blog-2-building-blocks.html?showComment=1332813282765

Children in the Kitchen

Today I choose a few children to help me make “cooked play-dough.” I had the instructions ready and the children helped to get all the ingredients ready. The children followed instructions while I supervised and watched them mix the ingredients together. They got a chance to measure, pour, mix and use their hands to massage the dough after it was left to cool down. Because we were using a stove to cook the play-dough, I was very careful to supervise the children and I stirred most of the time while the pot was on the stove.

The ingredients we used to make our play-dough.

Sue Smorti (1999) says that cooking is also a form of a technological activity, as it helps with children’s learning. While the children were waiting for the play dough to cool down, we revisited the experience and we talked about what we learnt. Sue Smorti (1999) also mentions that it is what the children do during the activity that is very important because it is the time where children are learning.




The ingredients the children followed


 I am able to notice that with this non-digital technology, children were able to practice their mathematical skills. The children had to measure the amount of ingredients. When the dough was being mixed in the pot, the children got to estimate how long it will take until the play-dough was ready. Children were also able to identify the different shapes and forms of the ingredients and how heavy or light they were. With technology come mathematical skills, because at the end, children were confident to understand and notice the different weights and shapes of the ingredients, as well as developing mathematical terms such as milliliters and so forth. It states in Te Whāriki, that “Development of mathematical vocabulary and concepts helps children communicate complex ideas such as weight, shape and volume” (Ministry of education, 1996, p.97). This comes to prove the importance of mathematics in children’s development.

Children learnt how to correctly measure ingredients. Also learnt about objects and its mass.

Children were able to practice and develop their social skills. The children were passing objects around; they were having conversations at the same time. They used respectful words such as please and thank you. They were able to work together and that is how the product became a successful and complete product. Te Whāriki has its goal where it states that “Children experience an environment where they are encouraged to learn with and alongside others” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.70). Giving children this positive environment to work in develops a positive outcome. I have noticed that with this technology experience, children made not only a successful product, but they developed and practiced social skills, and communication skills where they were able to develop “The inclination and ability to listen attentively and respond appropriately to speakers” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.76).

The learning and development children have gained from technology, whether it be a digital or non-digital experience prepares them for school, for instance, Te Whāriki states that children moving from early childhood to school are likely to “have developed some initial strategies of active exploration in the wider context of the biological, physical, and technological worlds” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 83).

Reflecting on my actions, I have to state again, that with the activities we do with the children daily, we may not notice it but technology is already there. When we create something, when we cut, glue, paste and stick objects those are all parts of technology. When we create something that helped solve a problem, that is technology, and that happens in our centers daily. As an educator, I need to encourage and provide more challenging ideas for the children to be able to use their problem solving skills, and all their other skills put together to bring about a better learning environment for them. After all, our future and the children’s future will depend on technology.

References:

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o

            Aotearoa : Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning

            Media.

Smorti, S. (1999, Autumn) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 19.

Photographers



A sample of a Camera



Everyday I am always using my camera to take photos of children. I noticed that after taking the photos of the children, they always requested to have a look. I noticed the children’s sudden interest and curiosity in digital camera’s so I wanted to focus on the children’s interest. I decided to give children an opportunity to explore digital cameras.

Our centre has five cameras so I had to take only five children. The children were given a camera each. Some of them fiddled around with the camera and figured out how to operate it on their own. I later took the time to explain and demonstrate to them how to turn it on, take pictures and zoom in the camera. I believe that giving children an opportunity to do things for themselves helps them to build their confidence and independence. In Te Whāriki it supports the importance of children learning to experiment with things as it is an important and valued way of learning (Ministry of Education, 1996).

Children going to take photos.

The children and I walked around the outside area taking different pictures of objects that inspired and interested them. There was a lot of conversation going on between myself and the children and amongst the children themselves. From my observation, I believe that children interact more when they are doing something that they want to do and know how to do.

Examples of the images photographed by the children





 



 

I explained to the children that after taking photos, we teachers download them to a computer and use the photos for their learning stories, and one child suggested that we use their photos to make a book. With my instructions and supervision, the children downloaded their photos onto the computer, and they choose which photos they wanted to print. Each child told a story about the pictures they took, and it was typed, printed, laminated and bind together.

What the children's book looked like.

The next days mat time I decided to give the five children the chance to report back to the teachers and the rest of the children about their experience and what they made. I prefer to do this because children are able to revisit and remember what they have experienced and they are also able to share with others.

Reflecting back on this activity, I am able to notice that the technology was not focusing on the children being able to take photos only, but on children being able to make something out of the pictures that they photographed. Sue Smorti (1999), states that “Technology is also a creative and purposeful activity aimed at meeting needs and opportunities through the development of products, systems or environments” (p.5).

Children had also gained different skills from this experience. They were able to problem solve, because when some of the pictures could not fit on a certain page, they had to figure out a way for it to fit. This links to Te Whāriki, where “Children develop confidence in using a variety of strategies for exploring and making sense of the world” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.88).

I provided children with an opportunity to experiment with modern technology such as the camera, computer and printer. These children are growing up in a generation where they need to computer literate. I believe that giving them the opportunity to experience this at a young age is a great advantage because their future will depend on it. With links to the New Zealand Curriculum, it highlights the importance of children’s experiences in early childhood and how it prepares them for primary school (Ministry of Education, 2007).

With this activity, there was alot of communication going on. Children were talking to each other, complementing on each others photographs and asking questions, I believe that working together not only develops children's social skills, but also their language skills.

References:

  

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, Autumn) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 19.

Cool Fan's

It was the beginning of school and the heat was humid and hot. Children complained about it being “too hot.” I asked the children what they thought we should do to help keep ourselves cool. After brainstorming the different ideas, we agreed to make our very own fans.



A sample of a Fan.



I brought in a sample of a fan, and together with the children we made our fans using paper, pencils and crayons, cardboard, glue and feathers.

I demonstrated to the children what to do. I watched them make their products and interacted with them by asking questions. Once the fans were finished, we left them out to dry and in the afternoon, we used them to fan ourselves and keep cool.



A fan one of the children made.



After this activity, I decided to use mat time as a time to talk about what we did and what we learnt in this activity. I gave children the chance to share with everyone else their experience in this activity.

After this activity, I reflected on my actions, examining myself and my practice so that I can be a better teacher (O’conner & Diggins, 2002). I do this because I believe it will help me to notice what has worked well, what has not worked well, what needs to be changed, what needs to be improved, and at times I will result with a need to change the way I view a situation (O’connor & Diggins, 2002).

I noticed myself using different teaching techniques such as asking open-ended questions which according to MacNaughton & Williams (2008), “Open-ended questions generally inquire into the child’s thoughts processes and require the child to share their theories, understandings, imaginations, and feelings with adults” (2008, p.154).

I also used demonstrating technique which helped the children understand what they were going to do instead of them being lost. I used Vygotsky’s scaffolding technique where I was “Changing the level of support” (Santrock, 2009, p. 220).

My teaching strategies helped me have a better understanding and communication with the children as I questioned them, displayed the activity and involved them. The children experienced social skills, motor skills, and language and observation skills.

I took the time to explain to the children that we had a problem which was the heat, and we had solved this problem by inventing something to solve our problem. I have noticed that technology happens in the centre daily. It can happen without us planning. For instance, it started with a problem we were going through and with our knowledge and imagination we were able to make something to help solve our problem.

I believe the children gained an experience with technology when making their fans, according to Sue Smorti (1999), “Technology is about helping people and solving problems” (5). Sue Smorti (1999) also mentions that technology includes putting different ideas, knowledge and skills together to find the solution and this is exactly what I noticed the children doing. I believe as an educator, I need to challenge children so that they use their skills, whether it be gluing or folding, and encourage them to use those skills to produce products using their imaginations.

I believe that if I continue giving children these experiences, where they identify a problem and then find a way to solve this problem then I am giving them an opportunity to understand technology and its significance to our lives.

In Te Whāriki it portrays the importance of technology and how a “Growing experience in solving problems together develops children’s understanding of how technologies can help them and others” (Ministry of Education, 1996, p.96).

References:

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whāriki, he whāriki mātauranga mo nga

     Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand:

     Learning Media.

O’Connor, A., & Diggins, K. (2009). On reflection: Reflective practice for early

     Childhood educators. Lower Hutt: Open Mind Publishing.

Santrock, J.W. (2009). Lifespan development (12^th ed., International).

      Boston: McGraw-Hill.

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