Final Reflection

I must admit that I am now aware that when I began the blogs I had such a narrow minded view of technology! I basically only thought of technology as electronic devices. I now realize that technology encompasses so much more, and is so integral to everything that we do with children. I think that within the early childhood setting technology is a learning area that tends to be overpowered other curriculum areas and is not seen as vital but this learning journey has encouraged me to acknowledge that technology is ingrained and connected to EVERYTHING that we do!

Firstly, I think that the best part about this blogging journey, has not only been becoming aware and recognizing my views and how they impact my teaching; but also reading the views and ideas of others. I feel these have extended my own learning so much more. There were so many ideas about how we can teach technology and it really made me realize that as educators we can never know it all, and that is why continual reflection and sharing of ideas between each other is so important for continual improvement of practice and to challenge our views. I felt that a perspective that helped explain this was Smorti’s (1999) view that if educators are to scaffold children’s learning we need to broaden our understanding of technology and aspire to extend our own knowledge (p.5). From the feed- back on my post I have learnt some different ways of how I can use resources, although I have not had the time to implement them yet, I know that the children will have a lot of fun. They will extend nicely on their previous learning experiences.

I had always known about blogging, but had never thought to use it with children for their learning. After this assignment and how fun it has been I believe that this could be an exciting experience for the children at my centre as well. I have been having discussions with my team about setting up a blog for the children at my centre. Some staff  have been reluctant but I have been advocating by using the netsafe website and resources to show how we can make it safer for children. I hope that once they see what learning it could encompass they will be on board as well. I think it could be a really good way of gaining parental involvement.

This assignment has inspired me to become and advocator for computers. Tsantis, Bedwick & Thouvenelle (2003) interestingly bring up the fact that technology is embraced enthusiastically by society, but is resisted within the classroom (p.1) and I have really experienced this in my context. Before this course our children’s computer sat neglected in a corner and did not work. I pushed, and pushed for them to get fixed and it took quite a while as some teachers do not value them as an important resource.  I feel that some teachers do not like the idea of computers at all, therefore, do not want to be involved with them. I do not think that this is fair on children, we should be providing them with as many opportunities as we possibly can to make connections with the wider world, and like it or not, computers are a major part of life and seem to be here to stay. So I feel me might as well embrace them. I think that hopefully by seeing me working alongside children they become empowered to use the computers as they see how much computers support children’s exploration.

I have heard lots of discussion to whether technology is bad or good. For me it was a case of weighing up the positives and negatives. This soon led me to realise that I felt very positively about technology, I think this is because I like to embrace anything that extends children’s thinking and can make connections for them. I feel that the key to success with any sort of electronic technology is moderation. Ellis & Van Scoter (2001) support this in saying “the critical factor is a balanced approach to technology in learning with thoughtful planning to provide for the important needs of childhood” (p5).  Instead of letting it take over other methods of teaching we should integrate it to support these. I recently watched a family member who is 2 ½ years of age using and I pad to learn how to write letters, I thought it was wonderful! I really do not see a problem as it is used as another way to learn her letters as well as using a pencil. Clements & Natasi (1993) express that technology should not replace human interaction and relationships, but they can serve as catalysts for social interactions and conversations related to children’s work (cited in Ellis & Van Scoter, 2001, p9).

This journey really has encouraged me to step back and allow children to explore, rather than leading the way. It has shown me how competent children are when given new opportunities and how quickly they pick up new skills. I walk into the centre and see our resources with a whole new perspective, and I find myself appreciating what we have a lot more. Technology really does have endless possibilities…

References:

Ellis, D., & Van Scoter, J. (2001) Technology in Early childhood Education: Finding the Balance.Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.

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

Tsantis, L. A., Bedwick, C.J., & Thouvenelle, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about computer use in the early years. Young children. Vol 58 (1), pp. 1-9.