Children using computer technology
I have noticed that some of the children were
interested in Indian cooking. The children wanted to cook pranthas (kind of
Indian roti). Child B and S were confused and asked me what that is and how it looks
like? I told them it is Indian food. However, I reminded them the internet would
be a great place to discover their needs. I helped the children to turn on the
computers. The children were excited to go to the internet. I supported them to
find out on the Google image search. I showed them the pictures of the Indian
Roties and the recipe to cook them. I
showed them how to save the picture and print them off. Child S asked if he
could take a picture home. I printed a picture and gave it to him. I showed the
image of potatoes, spinach, spices and dough. The children learned the ingredient and cooking method. Te Whāriki states that children
use range of technologies for different purposes as they explore their world
(Ministry of Education, 1996).
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I thought we become even more dependent on
technology day by day and children learn quickly to new technology as well. It
is my responsibility as a teacher to introduce technology to children. I saw
the children were very excited to see the images of different things and
enjoyed it. The children learned how to use computer and new healthy recipes.
Iram and Siraj-Blatchford (2006) suggested that pre-school children should be
finding out about and recognizing the uses of technology in their everyday lives.
They should also be using computers to support their learning. I offer the
opportunities to the children to develop their knowledge about ICT skills. I
realize that some children were very confident to use the computers. It was
interesting to see the children-using mouse very confidently. They were curious
clicking various options to see what would happen. I observed that the children
could turn the computer on and off, replace diskettes and follow instructions
from picture menu. Children develop understanding specific to technological
enterprises and environment and understanding of how and why things works (Ministry of Education, 2007).
During this project working with children I
feel technology can support and extend children’s learning in many ways such as
problem solving, planning, and thinking. The children develop skills such as
imagination, literacy, and motor skills. They enhanced mathematic thinking by
computer. As a teacher, I try to enhance
and expand children’s computer experiences. For example, I let them to hold the
mouse and click on different options. According
to Te Whāriki, children develop confidence in using a
variety of strategies for exploring and making sense of the world, such as in
setting and solving problems, thinking logically making comparisons and
participating in reflective discussion (Ministry of Education, 1996).
I thought computers have made valuable contribution in early childhood education. The children love to explore and figure things out. However, we need to provide the best opportunities for children to incorporate their new ideas and make choices. I realise that as teachers I need to set the activities and programmes based on children’s interests. Iram and Siraj-Blatchford (2006), mentions that educators must match the technology to each child’s unique specials needs, learning styles and individual preferences. In the beginning, I did everything for the children. I realise the children enough confident to use the computer, I allowed them to do themselves. To look at the importance of computer, I want to improve my computer skills.
I thought computers have made valuable contribution in early childhood education. The children love to explore and figure things out. However, we need to provide the best opportunities for children to incorporate their new ideas and make choices. I realise that as teachers I need to set the activities and programmes based on children’s interests. Iram and Siraj-Blatchford (2006), mentions that educators must match the technology to each child’s unique specials needs, learning styles and individual preferences. In the beginning, I did everything for the children. I realise the children enough confident to use the computer, I allowed them to do themselves. To look at the importance of computer, I want to improve my computer skills.
References
Images: Retrieved 18/03/12 from Google Images
www.google.co.nz
Iram and
Siraj-blatchford,J. (2006). Guide to
developing the ICT curriculum for early childhood education. Great Britain:
Cromwell Press Ltd.
Ministry of
Education. (1996). Te whāriki: He whāriki
mātauranga ngā mokopuna Aotearoa: Early
childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington,
New Zealand: Learning Media.
It was good to read your reflection Sarbjit. You are providing for the children’s interest and showing them things about your culture. It is great that you tell the children about what you eat and you show them images where they will gain an understanding about different cultures. This is a good learning experience for children. Did you give the children an opportunity to explore the computer by themselves? Is it always a good idea to let the children explore through technology and see what they get out of it? Did you do cooking with the children based on their interest? You have reflected on your experience and said you are still learning the ICT skills along with the children, I think that we all are learners and it’s good to see what children knows nowadays that we didn’t get to experience when we were at their age. In general it is a good reflection on your journey. Well done!
ReplyDeleteSarbjit it was good to see that as an educator you thought that it is your responsibility to facilitate children’s learning. It was good to see that through technology you were showing children things about your culture and it was also good to see that you were reflecting on what children learnt throughout this process and how you as a teacher enhanced children’s learning in using technology. It was a pleasure to see that after this teaching experience you want to improve on your ICT skills and I would suggest you should go for it because I feel there is always time to learn innovative things. But did you do cooking with the children using that recipe? or you just did some research using the computer?. It was good to see that you did provided children to use the computer equipment’s to explore this certain technology as I think that children need a chance to problem solve and discover ways of using technology but overall good work.
ReplyDeleteSarbjit, it was good to read through your reflection and see how you and the children use technology in your centre. Your topic looked interesting as children were discovering to learn about your culture and it is always a good idea to research and show children as this allows children to learn more. Reading through your reflection I felt that you were learning along side with children as well and looking back and reflecting allows you as an educator to improve your practice so well done for that. Also I was wondering, did you do this cooking experience with children? I am sure children would love to have a taste of this as well. It was good to see you provided children with the experience to explore through the images themselves as this allows them to become more confident using technology. You supported them through this experience and learned along side with children. Kia kaha Sarbjit!
ReplyDeleteHi Sarbjit
ReplyDeleteI enjoyed reading your reflection and like how you introduce the Indian cultural food. You show the food images to the children so they can understand and recognize which cultural that food belong to. You also showed them the images of vegetable and ingredients by computer. Computer can be a great tool for learning healthy different culture’s recipes. As a facilator you provide them these type of event, which are very good for children’s well being. Children are always curious to use the advanced technology. We are in a technological driven world so providing opportunities for children to experience and begin to understand their world. I realized that you did great job. You teach the children how to turn on and off the computer and using mouse. Children develop understanding specific to technological enterprises and environment and understanding of how and why things works (Ministry of Education, 2007). I really admire the way that you used the computer with children. tino pai