EMT302 by Jennifer Munday

I'm looking forward to reading your posts about your beliefs about technology and young children

jmunday — 2017-07-06 09:02:42 UTC

Allison Pronesti

2017-07-19 13:12:27 UTC

I feel on the fence about technology because as an educator i understand the benefits that technology can give and contribute to the children and how much they enjoy and engage in it. As a mother i am worries that child/educator bonds may be left behind which may effect the ability for my child to form relationships with others to feel a sense of belonging.

Jamie O

2017-07-20 07:52:09 UTC

I am really seen on using technology within my Preschool room, however I do find myself conflicted when other educators put a high emphasis on screen time and a majority of my childrens obsessive reaction to technological devices e.g. iPad.
I feel that throughout this topic I will hopefully be able to learn how to use different tech mediums to put into practice within my service.

Clare Wheeler

2017-07-21 06:07:08 UTC

Resistant and apprehensive to using technology in the pre-school environment. Not very confident in using anything but basic technology in my everyday life, therefore unsure how to incorporate technology effectively into daily program with children. Uneasy, nervous, wary???

Clare Wheeler

2017-07-21 06:14:19 UTC

I am not very confident in using technology for anything but a few basic tasks in my personal life, which makes me feel apprehensive and resistant to incorporate technology into the program within the early childhood setting.
I feel I don't fully understand, or have the skills necessary to use technology which makes me wary, and maybe even afraid

Technology in early childhood settings

2017-07-23 00:18:06 UTC

I am still not sure if using technology with the children is a good idea. I believe in using the internet for researching subjects that the children are interested in but I am still on the fence if it should be used to develop their skills. I think I need to research this more.

Technology in ECS

2017-07-23 01:27:18 UTC

Sandy
I guess I am 'old school', I have four young adult children and I see the importance of technology in their everyday world, I also see the pitfalls. I am sad when I see young children with their families and everyone is on a screen, personally I don't have games/learning tools as such in my preschool class, but I do use the ipad for research with the children. I love that we can instantly follow an interest.

Victoria

2017-07-23 04:15:56 UTC

I believe technology is a valuable tool for early childhood learning and environments. I do find the pace technology is advancing overwhelming and I believe as educators we should be informed with advances. Time management and implementing technology into the environment is an art in itself but one that should be managed with children, programs, learning, professional development and money.

Ramila (NSI monday)

2017-07-23 06:47:45 UTC

Technology has a huge effect on the people and environments that surround young children's learning and well-being. In today's time, technology has changed people's lives incredibly and thus has revolutionized the society. There are significant benefits of incorporating technology into early childhood classrooms and I believe the entire educator should become proficient in using technology with young children. Teachers should be fully trained and supported to use technology effectively. As an early childhood educator, we have a great role to embed meaningful and appropriate uses of technology together with children to scaffold their learning. Technology in early childhood should be presented as a tool to enhance children’s learning and problem-solving. As young children are surrounded by various technology tools in their environments, it is important to support them by scaffolding their use of technology within ECS by the educator.

Courtney (NSI - Thursday class)

2017-07-23 07:58:54 UTC

Already, through undertaking this unit of study I can feel my beliefs surrounding the use of digital technology within an ECEC shifting. Initially I felt that children within the early education sector were already able to access and use digital technology outside of the service, so why would we provide them with further screen time (of course we do the occasionally google search or technology based inquiry experience) but let's provide and promote alternative areas of learning and development instead. Just through a few readings attached to this unit, I have now approached digital technology with a more open-minded approach and am looking forward to exploring further the role of technology in our profession.

Ludmila Florea

2017-07-23 12:12:28 UTC

I can clearly observe that the children do not view the tools of technology as anything special or new. I am aware that today's generation is called technically savvy, millennial's or digital natives. However I strongly belief that this generation are requiring intentional teaching about technology and media. Our role through intentional teaching is to prepare the children to be real world ready. We need to allow them to explore and enrich their learning through using technology they already know and love.

Emma Shizuka

2017-07-24 03:50:35 UTC

Technology has become a major part of everybody's life. People have begun to rely on technology to socialise with people, which eliminates the face to face interaction with people. Early Childhood Educators need to ensure they have the correct knowledge, training and skills to effectively and appropriately support the learning of technology for the future generation of children.

My beliefs on the role of technology in early childhood education

sparkling_diamond72 — 2017-07-24 03:59:12 UTC

Monday NSI class

Technology plays a positive role in children's development and learning. Through the use of technology, teachers have access to more innovative and improved teaching methods that allow them to promote learning and create an active learning environment for children.
You are as the educator have the role to make sure that the technology being presented to the children is developmentally appropriate and not used
as a time filler between experiences.
We as educators need to understand what we are researching and build on our own digital literacy.
To conclude, technology can be practiced within early childhood and these skills can be further developed within the primary education system.

Steph D

2017-07-24 05:00:49 UTC

I have mixed views on the use of technology within my service. Part of me sees it as lazy teaching, this thought paired with feeling inadequately trained in technology use with young children means that I use very little technology in my classroom.
It is clear from the first two readings that not only is professional development an absolute must for all educators it needs to be paired with up to date technology and developmentally appropriate software.
In order for children to have more than just "basic competence" Educator's need to be digitally literate- surface level knowledge is not enough.
Already I am changing my views on the use of technology within my service and am excited to develop the skills I need to implement technology to support the growth and learning of the children.

Yogesh Ramani

2017-07-24 05:03:42 UTC

I think tech can be a good thing or a bad thing depending on how it is used, and the educators's purpose behind implementing it. I have seen iPad being used as a baby sitting device in a centre, where educators only hold the ipad, playing youtube clips. Children sit there, brain dead, staring at the screen. To think, the educator got a cert 3 to hold an ipad.
I have seen educators extend child's interest with tech (building block towers -> google map to provide alternative view of buildings -> discovering what pools and tree looks from the top, etc).
As an Educator, we need to use tech for the best interest of the child, and not for the educator to be lazy.

Munira Salahuddin

2017-07-24 13:50:13 UTC

Sam

2017-07-25 23:28:38 UTC

With a focus on the role of technology in early childhood, I have mixed feelings. While I believe that technology can be a positive resource to extend on an experience, research a topic of interest, and challenge thinking or to document the children’s learning… I have also observed digital technology being used in early childhood settings as a means to pass time. It is possible that if educators are involved in professional training into this topic, they will more likely understand the benefits and develop meaningful ways to incorporate technology into their programs (as the first two readings suggest).

I understand that young children are exposed to a broad range of technology in their daily lives, and this makes me question whether or not it is necessary to engage them with more screen time. Could it be taking away the opportunity for them to collaborate with their peers and learn through play by being exposed to natural elements in the environment? I am excited to see if my views on the topic will change as I engage in the reading material and examine the video content throughout this subject.

Cristina Scarabello

2017-07-27 01:07:15 UTC

My own personal belief about technology is that it has both positive and negative sides in early childhood education. The positive to using technology is that it can assist educators and children to learn about new topics of interests/ projects, do reserch on different experiments that children can try etc... Technology can also be a useful way ro document children's learning and communicated to parents through email or StoryPark, this will aid families to have converstations with their child about their day. Another of my positive beleif is that if the technology is used correctly it can be inclusive to all children and educators can develop confidence after each use.
The negative side to using technology in ear;y childhood education is the lack of professional development for educators to attend to further enhance the skills in using techonolgy within their programming and planning. Therefore on some occassions educators may need to spend tim,e within the service to develop their skills and this could take them away from the children.

Connie Leung (NSI Thursday)

2017-07-27 12:18:49 UTC

Digital technologies in early childhood settings are not new. The avalanche of digital technologies in the past decade and especially
the smart technologies with operating systems that enable access to applications, e.g. tablets, phones and TV etc.... They are now common, we use everyday communication, investigation and creation tools.

While digital technologies can enrich the learning and play environments for children. Today's children are exposed to a range of digital technology no longer just limited to television. Digital technologies are commonplace in society and pressure for their use in early childhood continues to increase.

As early childhood educator, we should both inspire and challenge us to think differently about our learning environment and see potential for new digital technologies in transforming pedagogy and curriculum in early childhood education.

And I beliefs provide children with the time and knowledge to use digital technologies appropriately and extend their learning.

My beliefs on the role of technology in early childhood education.

2017-07-28 05:47:38 UTC

by Alessandra

As an educator and putting an emphasis on learning in the early years my beliefs would be to ensure that my studies in the field of early childhood allow me to master effective teaching practices. However in saying that, it would be naive not to be open minded and see some benefits to learning opportunities made possible through some exposure to technology. After all, technology is only moving forward in time and we all can see how technology plays an important part in children’s learning as they progress into formal schooling.

As an educator one must never encourage technology to replace potential and valid learning opportunities but to think critically about the purpose and the timing of when to use technology. So that technology will serve as a purposeful learning opportunity to enhance and increase knowledge and further exploration for the child. Technology should be an option to further extend the child’s agency and learning opportunities but not seen as a replacement for quality and meaningful interactions sourced and created by the learning experienced through a teacher and child.

On rare occasions I have witnessed digital technology such as Ipads given to children or used with children that from my observations leads me to think it has no significant value of enhancing the children’s learning but rather acts a pacifier at that particular point in time.
This is where I would argue that technology has no place or value in early children’s education. On such occasions it serves as no real substance in enhancing a child’s learning rather it seems to promote educator’s laziness or lack of knowledge and higher education in this chosen profession.

Sima I believe technology can be a powerful tool in children’s learning. Technology can be used for positive ways of learning, but it can also become negative in children’s lives, and this comes to the adult’s responsibility on how to teach young children to use technology as an educational tool to investigate new ideas, and to learn about world around them.

2017-07-30 09:04:36 UTC

Roshan Jabeen Rajgopal

2017-07-30 12:12:22 UTC

Technology has become an important part of daily life for everyone. Researchers indicate that technology on children is complicated, with both benefits and costs. By using digital technologies we can improve children’s learning environment and creativity. Also, technology support educator’s to provide the information about anything to children in depth and encourage children’s learning. Because of technology educators are able to share any information with families and get their feedback as well. Technologies involve more than just the common screen-based technologies. They involve skills, learned and taught with the demonstration, modelling and practice. here is a lot of difference in opinions when it comes to technology; however, I feel if educators and parents had more knowledge about the benefits of technology and the wide range of technologies available to us, then the opinions would change. From it,  we can see that incorporating technology into our practices will enhance children’s development in their learning. There are many advantages of using technology to teach children about certain aspects of our everyday living. I believe that by giving children exposure to this, we are expanding their knowledge and creating new learning experiences for them.Here we can see that technology has become a big part of our lives so embracing this and including children in this advance will further their learning and development.

Juliana Narciso Juraiti (Monday) NSI class

2017-07-30 19:12:01 UTC

Technology has been gaining ground in the early childhood education space for the last decades. I see lots of children involved with technology in different environments, for example, school, long day care, parks and restaurant environments. My concern is that, in general, adults are not putting a limit on the children viewing the technology. In other words, there is rarely a balance with other interactions, and children are getting addicted to this source and enjoying nature less. Meaningful interactions, such as adult and child conversation, children riding their bikes, or going to the park, are not been investigated anymore as they used to be, as technology has taken over people’s time nowadays. Despite that, I have been using technology in my pedagogy practices, such as showing to the children age appropriate videos on YouTube, focusing on particular topics, for example investigating insects, or representations of sustainability practices, and also further understanding in the sustainability context. It was helpful and successful in these instances, as children were interested and learning was increased regarding those particular topics. I believe that technology has lots to offer for children, educators, families, and communities with positive outcomes, depending on the manner in which it is used in promoting critical thinking with children. I consider that there has to be a balance with other resources as well, such as books, board games and exploring outside.

Betsabet

2017-07-31 03:32:10 UTC

I have always being a fun of technology and eager to explore and discover the beauty of it. I believe technology is an open-ended tool with a lot of potential. I tend to use applications such as Microsoft to write and to to create pieces of documentation in relation to my job such as observations. I also use Microsoft to write my assignments. I want to be able to use technology a bit more with the children to enhance their learning. I want to learn how to teach children to access online application in a safe way content that it is age appropriate and meaningful to them.
Technology is evolving and it's everywhere and connected to everything we do.

Technology - Brigitte Lowe NSI

2017-07-31 04:21:18 UTC

I personally am a bit technologically challenged as I find it difficult sometimes to navigate and keep up with the rapid advances in technology, also it never really interested me that much as a child or teenager and hated the video games that I saw my brother and sister playing and would rather be wrapped up in a good book where I could get lost in my imagination or outside exploring the environment. That being said I do spend a fair amount of time on Facebook, email, Whatsapp and news sites. The other reason I don’t particularly get on so well with technology is because I have a very bad habit of breaking it! Mainly phones and laptops to the point that my friends joke that I should be a tester to see how hard wearing a product is.

I do however recognize that technology is the way of the future and is fully and increasingly integrated into every area of our lives including education and is important for children’s futures as well as the benefits technology can provide developmentally and educationally. Technology has also been shown to be helpful for children with additional needs of all levels including to help non-verbal people to communicate and interact within society. I do think that there does need to be a balance when it comes to the use of technology with children and adults as we also need to consider the disadvantages of technology on health and well-being such as sleep, obesity, social issues etc…and making sure it is safe, well supervised and not being used as substitute for quality face to face teaching.

Although as educators we need to be careful that we don’t ‘miss the boat’ in the advantages of technology both in the value for education as well as our own professional development.

Technology

2017-07-31 05:59:35 UTC

Technology can highly influence a great role in early childhood education if it is used as purposeful tool to explore creativity and extend curiosity that scaffolds learning of both the educator and the children.

Technology literacy varies to everyone but with the arrays of choices to interact and use technology relies in the educator own values and beliefs. An educator who values education as a process of on-going learning and development between stakeholders (child, family and community) that focuses on the best interest of the child can use technology, as an intentional tool to challenge and extend learning and development in working towards best education and care for the children. It empowers everyone to make their own judgements on how to collaboratively prepare to face the technology world of today and for the future.

As technology being part of everyone’s everyday life, building relationship and partnership using technology platforms binds a stronger mutual connection and communication amongst the family and even to the wider community. However, the argument of face-to-face interaction, confidentiality and privacy may arise.

I believe the core use of technology in early childhood education is to challenge the stakeholder to find the best interest of the child, introduce technology that can scaffold their learning to the next level and for the educator and families to be attuned in discovering and filtering the relevance and irrelevance of technology in education. I also believe that, it is important to respect and acknowledge the similarities and differences in individual preference and understanding of the use of technology in education.

Melizza :)

Nattanade Wattanakrit: Children always show a sense of wonder in their world and their environment.Technology Technology such as interactive whiteboard, tablets, electronic book and digital narratives can be used as a tool to motivate and stimulate the children's learning and interests and they can support the children to develop their skills to become a confident, active and involved learner. It was claimed that there are many teachers do not feel adequately prepared to use technology in early childhood. However, my role as an educator, I must develop my knowledge and skills in technology to effectively support the children who I am working with, As an educators must be able to use and understanding of wide ranges of technologies to meet the children's academic needs.

2017-08-03 12:25:24 UTC

Technology and Children - Maree Browning

2017-08-06 08:43:06 UTC

I find that technology has become a very big part of all our lives. It is becoming so important for adults to know how to use technology and use it well to progress and maintain jobs and also to navigate day to day lives (automated tellers, parking sensors, touch screen payment options, the list goes on!). It is important that children develop an understanding of technology, how to use it affectively and how it impacts their lives. Children love learning and using various forms of technology so it is a great time in an early childhood setting to introduce various forms of technology for children to explore and learn from. I find more and more products available to teach children to code or to make videos using multiple styles and skills or even to take photos and edit them. These are so important and should be incorporated into early childhood education to build and develop their skills from young. I believe that if children show an interest and it is a teachable moment to take that and nourish their development and learning, and in return I hope that this enthusiasm to learning will continue through their lives.

Steph Sharah NSI Thursday Night Class

2017-08-12 02:39:43 UTC

As Early Childhood Educators it is our role to enable and teach children in our care. Digital technology is important for children as it is a tool of play. It is an enabler to access knowledge to foster play and creativity.
When children are born they are immediately exposed to digital technology around them such as mobile phones that capture their life story by their parents. They grow observing their parents using mobile phone cameras, listening to music, podcasts, news on ipods, Television, parents engaged for their work on computers, ipads/tablets. Children accessibility is immediate from birth to five and beyond. Children have 'no choice' but to endure, experience and experiment with technology as it is accessible and potentially needed for their future careers as we are a developed progressive digitally technological enhanced society. If i didn't have access or knowledge into the use of technology i would not be able to finish and complete this CSU degree as the Csu website is my tool to access information and finishing this course.

My Thoughts on Children and Technology

2017-08-13 06:52:18 UTC

Technology is an essential must in our daily lives and we need to bring children along with us. I feel technology has a positive use for children but not as a baby sitter. To many times I see families at a restaurant and all the children are watching a device of some sort instead of conversing with each other or their parents. If a child is expressing a challenging behaviour or are not happy their parents will give them a device to “keep them quiet” instead of reasoning or negotiating with them or even giving them a cuddle.

I feel children need to develop the skill of verbal communication and spend time interacting and developing skills with their peers while digging in the dirt, riding a bike or just sitting under a tree and talking about what is on their mind.

However, technology like supervised use of the internet exposes children to adventures they wouldn’t normally see like wild life in their natural environment, the results of experiments and programs like ELLA that teaches children a second language are all useful tools that educate children in early childhood setting and at home.
Denise.

Khanh Nguyen

2017-08-13 19:36:38 UTC

To me, technology is amazing. Even though our young children are growing up in a world that is vastly different from the one in which I was raised. The global connections that we now all have access to through technology has only been in widespread use for around couple of decades.

While trying my best and still working on my own connection between my 'good-old-days' and the whole new world of raising generation tech, I must say I love and embrace every aspect of it.

According to the reading 1.2 technology as been shown to foster children's motivation and interest in instructional materials which results in higher levels of children's engagement and greater level of comprehension.

Despite all the pros and cons as well as dilemmas that we now face, as educators, it's essential and vital to exam and constantly update our knowledge and skills so that we can adequately integrate technology into daily lessons.

After all, technology is one of the ever-popular tools that educators perhaps want to adopts and facilitate children learning and development.
This might challenge some unwilling minds or educators who do not have quality support for their professional development on using technology and the advantage of it since technology in early childhood education can take many forms and may be incorporated across a variety of content curricula.

Even communication with parents nowadays also proved that the most preferable method is via technology such as emails, e-portfolio among others.
So I guess, unless you decide to turn your back to the teaching career, otherwise, it's got to 'go with the flow'.

Rungthip (NSI Thursday class).

2017-08-20 03:44:43 UTC

My beliefs about the role of technology within early childhood education.
Today’s young generation of children has been involved with a wide range of technologies such as computers, mobile phones, IPods, digital cameras and the internet, to name a few, as part of their daily lives, from birth. Personally, I believe that technology has become a useful method to facilitate learning for children, for example, in my childcare centre we conduct a lesson called “Letter land” and “The Reading Egg” to educate the children and introduce them to literacy. They can access this learning program through a computer or Ipad both, at home and in the classroom to extend their learning. The use of technology therefore, is an important tool and appears to be easier to use, at an affordable cost, for educational settings. Early childhood educators could also use technology to deliver an educational experience using email or webpage, as a form of communication, between the service and families for convenience.

Vera NSI Thurday

2017-08-23 11:48:23 UTC

The role of technology in early childhood education

Technology is important in early childhood education as long as the educators incorporate their pedagogy with technology. It is critical that educators be involved with the infusion of technology, throughout the daily programs and supporting the standard of curricula. Educators are required to receive professional development training appropriate to their practices, pedagogy and common knowledge, for working with younger children.
Children are given the choice and have their right to choose whether they want to use the technology that is available in their centre. There is also greater emphasis on the appropriate use of technology within the early childhood setting
Nowadays young children engage with technology from a very young age, as they grow up watching their parents and siblings using mobile phones, IPods, Iphones, smart phones, tablets and laptops. Many of them are also given the opportunity to watch their movies on Ipads, tablets and Iphones.

Kathryn Bender

2017-08-26 05:42:50 UTC

Technology i everywhere! It is the cars we drive, the pen i use to write with, the red light stop at on my way to work and the magazines i like to read on my break, among many others around us.
Digital technology can play a vital role in the early childhood education setting. At my own workplace, we use a very basic form of digital technology in the use of Microsoft word to document the children's learning and create the their portfolios. Digital technologies can be used as a great source for children's own learning, however, needs to be closely monitored to ensure appropriate use.
Technology is a tool that is used in everyday lives and in all walks of life and i personally believe that it is vital for children to learn how to use in order to benefit their own futures.

Jade Walker

2017-08-27 23:03:45 UTC

Technology is everywhere. There are all types and forms of technology, from scissors to iPhones, children are exposed to and become curious with the use and play ideas around technology. It is therefore important that Early Childhood Educators are up to date with relevant information about and aware of these new-ageing technologies to support children's appreciation for, learning abilities with, and embed practices using these technologies. The Early Years Learning Framework discusses the importance of this, as it explains that using children's interests in play based experiences, such as technologies, can enhance their learning.

Piyaporn Ikin

2017-08-28 03:58:48 UTC

NSI Monday Afternoon class

Many readily available technologies have been increasing demonstrated to have real potential for learning, especially in helping children develop emergent literacy skills (Meadant et al. 2009a,b). Meanwhile, there are concerns and debates about how and whether it makes a difference in children’s learning and development (Anderson et al. 2008; Judge 2006; Loveless and Dore 2002; Wilcox et al. 2006a,b). Blum et al. (2009) found that educators are necessary to have competencies in four areas (understand how to use research-based instructional strategies, curricular competence-why a specific tool was important, operational competence-ability to use technology tools and functional competence-apply tools in the classroom). Without all four areas, educators are more likely to use technology tools inappropriately and inadequately.
Technology is powerful and useful when we use it appropriately. Educators can embed information and communication technology (ICT) in children’s Inquiry-based learning or Project-based learning which will enhance children’s engagement and deeper learning. I belief that technology should be thoughtfully use with appropriate time and amount e.g. creating learning stories and e-portfolios for daily communication with families, observations or other paperwork. However, my experience in few workplaces, permanent key educators or room leaders usually spend plenty of time during the day with iPads in documentation and using online applications rather than having a meaningful interaction (or on the floor) with their children. Pedagogical documentation is both teaching-learning process and a product (Bryant, L., & Gallen, S. (2003), therefore educators should present, observe or engage in children’s activities. Our own practices, in related with technology, should be reflected and any valid concerns should be addressed in the staff meeting on a regular basis.

Tina Chim (Monday Class)

2017-08-28 09:02:38 UTC

My beliefs about technology in early childhood education.
I think it is really important that we introduce technology to the children as technology has become part of children's life in the 21st century. As early childhood educator we should always update ourselves as technology is changing everyday. Educators can attend professional development course based on technology so that they can have the updated information to share it with children and other early childhood educators.

Kit TSE

2017-08-31 02:34:53 UTC

Children are growing up in the world of digital devices, such as, iPhone, iPad, etc. The using of these technologies becomes part of their daily lives. My beliefs about the role of technology is a valuable tool for teachers, children and parents while engaging with learning and development in early childhood education. My role is to evaluate and provide a balance to the early childhood program for the children while using technology.

My Beliefs about Technologies in Early Childhood Education

2017-09-16 06:54:56 UTC

My beliefs about technologies are that our role, as educators, is to 'choose wisely'. With our highly professional, educated guidance and in the wise selection of well crafted, open ended, age appropriate and quality resources, digital technologies can be advantageous and transform young children's education. Without our highly professional, educated guidance and in the unwise selection of poorly crafted, restrictive, inappropriate and deficient resources, digital technologies will be disruptive and detrimental in young children's education.
Catherine

My beliefs about the role of technology in early childhood and reflection on the readings

2017-09-20 08:25:48 UTC

My first answer to the task was a bit vague, see my link.
Betsabet

Nicole Duncan

2017-09-24 23:49:05 UTC

Technology is everywhere especially in the lives of the children in the early childhood environment. This semester I hope to gain many new skills, knowledge and confidence using a number of new digital technologies to help me in my pedagogy and practice in the early childhood context.

- Nuzhah

2017-10-07 04:01:37 UTC

I believe technology in early childhood education is a very beneficial tool. It helps to enhance learning experiences and connects children to a world outside of their own. Technology use improves both teaching and learning approaches as it provides new methods of interaction and alternate means of delivery. Digital tools facilitates anytime, anywhere learning thus transforming teaching practices and learning potentials.

Task 1.1

2017-10-08 00:32:38 UTC

I believe technology is a valuable tool within todays society and the lives on young children. I am all for children learning and developing skills through an online multi media platform and believe that, if taught correctly by Early Childhood Professionals this multi media world can bring wonders to young children and how the learn. Educators need to have the knowledge, skills and interest in teaching young children this now 'online world' of teaching. I am open minded and interested to see where digital technologies with expand over the next century and can't wait to see where children of todays young and growing world will take this development.

Jiayue (Vivian) Ma

2017-10-10 11:12:36 UTC

Technology in early childhood education can take many different forms and may be incorporated across a Variety of content curricula. As an early childhood professional, I am more curious and paying attention on how do we support children to use digital technology appropriately in early childhood education. Digital technologies and computers have become an integral part of our daily lives. Children are using digital technologies to explore a variety of concepts and to learn about their immediate and wider community environments.

Importantly, digital technology should be considered and used in education settings but how and whether it makes a difference in children’s learning and development (Anderson et al. 2008; Judge 2006; Loveless and Dore 2002; Wilcox et al. 2006a,b).

In a 1996 position statement by the National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC), it was noted that: “ Choosing appropriate software is similar to choosing appropriate books for the classroom – teachers constantly make judgments about what is age appropriate, individually appropriate, and culturally appropriate.” This Statement places a great deal of responsibility on the early childhood teacher to, “critically examine the impact of to benefit children” (NAEYC 1996, p.1).

As an early childhood profession, I believe technology is a strategy and tool to foster children’s motivation and interests in instructional materials. For instance, how to use technology to motivate children to explore nature. Using technology in the early years has the potential to enhance educational opportunities for young children. And it requires all the early childhood professionals are well trained and skilled in the appropriate uses of technology with young children (Siraj-Blatchford & Whitebread, 2003, p.6 as cited in Bolstad, 2004) On the other hand, the amount of time children spent using technology is very important, children spend this time must be taken into consideration when evaluating what is effective and appropriate (NAEYC, 2012).

The southern Early Childhood Association (SECA) believes: appropriate technology tools provide a supportive environment that integrates the technology within curriculum to enhance learning for all children. So the early childhood professionals have the responsibility to consider many points when providing the opportunities for children to interact with digital technologies. Such as time that using technology, privacy, appropriateness of content and how the use of technology may be incorporated into the educational program. Given this, it is important that early childhood professionals are not only familiar with the use of technologies, but also critical in how they support children to use them. And I think as early childhood professionals, we also need to share these information and strategies with families and work with families and communities in partnerships to create safe , healthy and appropriate environment for children.

Reference:

Anderson, R. S., Grant, M. M., & Speck, B. W. (2008). Technology to teach literacy. A resource for K-8 teachers. Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Merrill/Prentice Hall.

Judge, S. (2006). Constructing and assistive technology toolkit for young children: Views from the field. Journal of Special Education Technology, 21(4), 17–24.

National Association for the Education of Young Children. (1996). Technology and young children-Ages 3 through 8. A position statement of the National Association for the Education of Young Children. Washington, DC. From

National Association for the Education of Young Children (NAEYC). (2012). Technology and interactive media as tools in early childhood programs serving children from birth to age 8. Retrieved from http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/PS_technology_WEB.pdf

Loveless, A., & Dore, B. (Eds.). (2002). ICT in the primary school. Buckingham, England: Open University Press.

Siraj-Blatchford, J., & Whitebread, D. (2003). Supporting ICT in the early years. Buckingham, England: Open University Press.

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My original thoughts on Technology in Early Childhood Education

2017-10-13 09:52:12 UTC

My view at the moment of technology in early childhood settings. I feel at this stage I'm very illiterate when it comes to technology especially digital technology. I do not use any form of digital technology with the children I'm currently teaching in the preschool where I work. I find that technology remove children's ability to create, use creative thinking and set things up in their environments. It removes social skills and removes the need to talk to one another. I just see it as an inhibitor of so many useful attributes of preschool like gross motor, fine motor, interacting with other children, learning to wait patiently, understanding of environment, spatial awareness and many more. I feel that I'm pretty negative towards introducing or using digital technology with the children. I am fairly ignorant to how it could be used with the children and as a frustrated parent of teenagers who seem to lack many skills due to technology overuse and abuse the actual need. Educators at my service currently use digital technology to document, photograph format portfolios etc. We use technology to research, find out things, demonstrates understanding for intentional teaching programmes. As educators we use Pinterest for ideas, collaboration and so therefore have a basic understanding of technology. I feel that I would like to know how to use this technology more effectively so that I can spend the majority of my time at work interacting with the children and scaffolding their learning and interests instead of becoming frustrated with technology mishaps. Reading ‘Missing the Boat’ has definitely given me something to think about and critically reflect on. July 27^th, 2017

Juliana NSI student

2017-10-16 01:42:34 UTC

After engaging with readings, discussions and watching educators’ presentations, later I could investigate technology in education nowadays and elaborate principles on how to use technology appropriately, by focusing on my teaching practices and how children can learn using this tool. First, I would like to start by pointing out a perception on taking photos of children while they are in a learning experience. According to Robertson (2015), we as educators need to request children’s consent if we take photos of them. I totally agree with this statement, as that reinforces us to follow the United Nations on the Rights of the Child. Article 12 states children have the right to their opinion and adults must listen and take their opinions seriously (UNCRC, 1989). Next, educators must use revolutionary technology tools that permit children to increase motivation to learn. My principle is that when choosing technology tool to use, I need to deeply investigate the software and the content that is applied. To investigate that, I can explore the pedagogical consideration using technology. According to Kervin & Derewianka (2011), educators require clear rationale from the material they are using to ensure children are learning. Thus, checking if children are meeting the learning outcomes from Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF) by using a particular technology tool assists me to choose an innovative device. In addition, educators must fully understand the functionality of the software, so they can scaffold children’s learning by using the features effectively. Children’s engagement should be by sharing ideas with peers, while increasing their learning using the particular tool. Therefore collaboration must be recognized. SAMR was also helpful for me to analyse technology tools, the acronym means “Substitution Augmentation Modification Redefinition”. In conclusion, it helps educators to compare the technology tool with other materials or software, and then decide what resource would increase children’s development. Technology is here to stay and we should take advantage of that and learn how to introduce innovative tools for increasing children’s learning outcomes.

Technology in EC

2020-07-13 05:41:34 UTC

I believe technology is inevitable in Early Childhood.
It is the tool of the day as long as it is balanced with handwriting and face to face commuincation.