Keyboards

When I arrived at my centre the other day, I saw that one of the educators had set up a table with some keyboards and paper for the children. I noticed one of the children, N, pushing lots of the buttons and pretending to write things down onto the paper. I went over to her and sat with her for awhile to see what she was doing. She would say “M is for mummy and I is for I***” as she pushed the corresponding letters on the keyboard. As she has only just turned three I found this very interesting. She is able to not only recognise many of the letters on a keyboard, but also to link them back to a person she knows. Hamer and Adams (2003) write that through “the provision of a literacy-enriched environment that provides ample literacy resources, interactions and opportunities, children learn to become literate” (p. 52). This actually assisted me in realising that including the use of keyboards as part of an experience is very useful for learning early literacy skills.

After a while, N, started involving me in her play, so I asked her what other things she could use a keyboard for. She answered with “emails”. This shows me that she is developing an understanding of the use of a keyboard in a technological way as well. When children use computers or keyboards they are also learning another way to communicate with other people. This links back to the communication strand of the New Zealand curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996). I wonder if N uses a keyboard at home as she seemed to play with it with such ease. Most families these days will have a computer at home, or access to one, which means that the children are probably being exposed to keyboards and computer mice away from the centre as well.

Technology is always changing and reflects the needs of the society we live in (Ministry of Education, 2007). Once upon a time, people wrote letters to each other to communicate, then they had telephones, which made it much easier to reach someone. Then in the recent past, email was created, which meant that as long as the person you were trying to reach had internet and an email address, it was easier again to contact people. According to Smorti (1999), the definition of technology is “helping people and solving problems” (p. 1). Email was invented to solve the problem of communicating over long distances. Keyboards are an important tool when it comes to emailing and I believe that as long as we have computers we will also have keyboards and providing access to these for children in centres gives them the opportunity to learn how to use them as well.

I have recently had a discussion with my parents about technology and the advances that are being made. My stepfather, J, has always been someone that struggles with digital technology, whereas I have had access to computers, emails and cell-phones since I was of the age to appreciate what they meant in terms of communication and access to information. I think that as I was raised with digital technology as a large part of my life, it gives me a better understanding and appreciation of it. I will need to work hard to keep up-to-date with the current advances, as the changes in technology happen so fast now, but this semester has helped me to feel excited about these changes and what they mean for the future.

 

 

 

 

Reference List.

Hamer, J., & Adams, P. (2003). The New Zealand early childhood literacy handbook. New Zealand: Dunmore.

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). Technology in early childhood. Early education, 58 (1), 1-9.

Skateboards

Over summer, the educators at my home centre bought some skateboards for the children to use outside. The children, in particular a group of three-four year old boys, have asked to have these skateboards out every single day since they first received them. The children use the skateboards to explore their environment and gain many skills that contribute directly to their well-being (Ministry of Education, 1996). This is evident in the fact that when they first started playing with them, most of the children had not experienced a skateboard before and experienced a lack of confidence when using the skateboards. This changed very quickly however, as they used them so often and started to express confidence when riding them around the outside area.

The skateboard is technology because it involves the transformation of materials, in this case, plastic, and is linked to the structural area of technology (Ministry of Education, 2007). I have actually had some discussions with the children interested in the skateboards regarding the skateboard itself and its parts. I feel that it is also important for the children to understand how a skateboard is constructed when they are using it so often. We have talked about the wheels and how we use our bodies to make them move faster and the children have shown me the different ways they can ride the skateboards.

As our outdoor area is quite small, the children are limited as to what they can do with the skateboards each day. Sometimes the educators set up a ramp for them to ride the skateboards down, other times there is an obstacle course with cones, but usually the children choose to ride from one side of the area to the other. They also enjoy racing the other children. They usually ride the skateboards on their knees, holding on with their hands and use their foot to push themselves forwards. This is encouraging their bodies to use the muscle strength and co-ordination skills that they are developing during their early childhood and the children are also taking risks, which are part of everyday life and assist the children in realising what they are capable of (Greenfield, 2011).  

I have noticed that the younger children have been fascinated by the older children and how they use the skateboards and the other day a child, who is almost two, used the skateboard for the first time and seemed to be very proud of this achievement. This reflects the existence of tuakana-teina relationships within my centre, which is mixed-age and include many under two year olds. Tuakana-teina relationships “form an important basis upon which valuable learning is negotiated” (Clark & Grey, 2010, p. 81). In this case, it is the use of technology that is being shared from one age group to another.

Before this semester I had not thought of a skateboard as technology. I mostly believed that technology was digital only and realised that almost everything around us that has been changed to help us do something more easily is technology; digital and non-digital. This is a huge learning curve for me and now I look at all the resources I use at the centre in a different way.

Reference List.

Clark, B., & Grey, A. (2010). Perspectives on early childhood education; Āta kitea te pae – scanning the horizon. North Shore, New Zealand; Pearson.

Greenfield, C. (2011). Outside is where we need to be: A guide to providing optimal outdoor environments in early childhood settings (2^nd ed.). Manukau, New Zealand: Manukau Institute of Technology.

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.

The Microwave

 

Microwave

Recently, the educators at my home centre put a microwave into the family corner for the children to play with. The microwave in the kitchen broke and the staff bought a new one to replace it. Many of the children have spent quite a bit of time in the family corner since we added the microwave, gathering lots of different pretend food items to cook.

The other day, I spent the morning sitting in the family area observing the children using the microwave. I found it very interesting that most of them knew exactly how to operate the microwave without asking any adults for help. This reflects the fact that the children are learning skills to help them participate in society when they get older (Ministry of Education, 2007). The children would put the food into the bowls and then pretend to microwave it. Once it was cooked they would take it out and share the food with the other children around them. Most of them were able to take turns using the microwave and share the food items with each other.

A microwave is technology as it was invented to help us to solve a problem; in this case cooking food faster (Smorti, 1999). Normally, microwaves are digital technology as they would be plugged in to a power outlet and require electricity to work, but for safe use for the children within the centre we left it unplugged. I moved out of home four years ago and I only bought a microwave last year for the first time. I managed without one for a long time, but now that I have one I find that I use it very often. When I was living at home with my family we had a microwave as long as I can remember and it was something that was used almost daily. I believe that the children at my centre that have been playing with the microwave also have one at home and must watch their parents use them. This shows that the technology we use in the centre helps the children to make connections to their home, which links back to the belonging strand of the New Zealand curriculum (Ministry of Education, 1996).

I also noticed that some of the children were saying the numbers out loud as they were pushing the buttons on the microwave. It is very important in early childhood that children learn to recognise the number symbols as well as the sounds. In order to “progress in mathematics, children need to be able to use the standard written numerals of their society” (Copley, 2010, p. 64). This also shows that it is important to ensure the children can one day become competent and confident adults (Ministry of Education, 1996). I had not thought about using something like a microwave within their environment to enhance their mathematical knowledge and when the other educators placed the microwave in the family corner I realised that it was a great way to encourage not only mathematical skills but many other skills, including role-playing and sharing skills. I believe that as a centre we are moving in the right direction when it comes to technology and that giving the microwave to the children was a step forward for us.

 

 

  

 

 

Reference List

 

Copley, J. V. (2010). The young child and mathematics. Washington, DC: NAEYC Books.

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). Technology in early childhood. Early education, 58 (1), 1-9.