Joanne's Blog - http://joannesblog2013.blogspot.co.nz/
Joanne, I really enjoyed reading your reflections. Your
first reflection, “Technology - Will We Ever Keep Up?” was really interesting
to read. I remember my mum had an electric typewriter but I don’t ever remember
using it! I agree with you when you said that the hands-on experience that it
provided the children was more valuable than simply seeing it in a book or
watching someone else using it. What was also special about this experience was
that the teachers and families came together to try to figure out how to use
the technology; effectively the introduction of this technology (the
typewriter) created a community of learners.
A possible extension on this experience would be to perhaps
create something out of what the children are typing, such as a Centre News
Paper. This type of experience not only allows children to retain their work
but also sets it in a tangible context of what typewriters used to be used for.
This would give the children a deeper understanding of the history and uses of
this particular technology.
I liked how in the
second reflection “Thoughts to paper” the technology enabled J to connect her
mum with what she had been doing throughout the day, as we know these
connections help to strengthen relationships between the child’s home-life and
Kindy-life. It is obvious that you have built a strong, trusting relationship
with J; she appeared very comfortable in telling you what she would like to do
next and as a result she drove the experience.
Now that J has completed her interpretation of the animals
using coloured pencil, I wonder if she would enjoy revisiting her work and
perhaps trying a new medium/tool such as painting or pastels. Sometimes
children will go to the most familiar choice and therefore it is important to
support them to develop the skills and confidence to use other mediums/tools. I
think it is great that the children at your centre have access to such a wide
range of mediums and J obviously felt comfortable with the choice she had made.
Your third reflection “Caring for the environment” clearly
identifies the relevance of technology within a natural space. I like how you
have noted the language the children are using as they go about their
self-initiated task. Documenting their language is a strong tool for assessment
and helps you as an educator to construct an understanding of the children
involved.
This experience suggests to me that T is beginning to
develop leadership skills. Within your ‘tidy up’ time; what other
responsibilities are there? Would it be possible for T to lead tidy up in a
certain area of the Centre such as stacking chairs or wiping the tables? I
thought the link you made with Te Whāriki
was particularly relevant. The children were actively involved in the
process (cleaning and sweeping); this enables them to understand that their
actions have a purpose and therefor makes the technology more meaningful.
Keitha, your reflections were so lovely to read, it was easy
to visualise what was happening! Your first reflection “The Spade” identifies
how children learn through hands-on experiences. Your link to the New Zealand
Curriculum reflects how hands-on learning is also valued beyond the early years
and throughout children’s future learning. Therefore encouraging children’s
confidence to explore is important for life-long learning. It was also great
that the children were using their own bodies to measure whether or not they
had achieved their goal.
For a possible learning experience to extend on the
children’s interest I wonder if they would enjoy a treasure hunt in the sand
pit? This type of experience would encourage collaborative problem-solving.
Treasure hunts are often a time consuming task of trial and error. Unless of
course they find the treasure straight away!
Your reflection “The Paintbrush” articulated the very
open-ended nature of paintbrushes as a creative technology. I like the way you
supported children just by being there rather than asking too many questions;
you truly gave them freedom to explore the technology. And by the same token
sometimes it is important to maintain your presence throughout the experience
and this can reassure children that you care and respect what they are doing,
resulting in them staying focused for longer.
A possible extension for this experience would be to
introduce children to canvas. By painting on canvas their creative expression
becomes a more permanent piece of work. It might also allow the children to
revisit their work and add to it. You mentioned in your reflection that
children “enjoy putting paint on and seeing what they can create, even if it
just runs down the sheet of paper”. Canvas is a different medium to paper, it
is stronger and more textured so the painting might produce a different result.
I was really able to relate to your “The Stereo” reflection
because this is the same at my Kindergarten and I agree with you that the
stereo also provokes freedom for expression. You also mentioned that children “develop
confidence in their own abilities to move their bodies” and I believe this is
particularly true when children choose the music they wish to listen to and the
dancing is spontaneous. While it is important and fun for children to
participate in ‘action’ songs, creating actions and moving their bodies
spontaneously is also essential.
This prompted me to recall a conversation we had in our
class where you, Erika, Joanne and myself talked about the possibility of doing
away with CD’s altogether as we move into the iPod era; I wonder if this is
something your Kindergarten would move towards as well? Overall I really
enjoyed how you described the children using the technologies, I guess
sometimes its about what they do rather than what they say!
Racheal's people, places, things and events - http://rachealclark.blogspot.co.nz/
Racheal, I learnt a lot from reading your reflections. I
really like the way you have woven the literature into your reflections and
they flow really nicely. One reflection that really stood out for me was
“yummy, yummy”. This stood out to me because my first reaction was to think
that it was going to be about the oven or cake mixer etc. After having read the
reflection I found the technology was the recipe cards – what an assumption I
had made!
You talked about the fact that the technology helped
children to become active participants in the process of the baking rather than
the end product; this is so important because after all the process is where
most of the learning happens. I wonder what the recipe cards look like? When
you say that they are new resources, are they purchased? A possible extension
of this experience/technology might be to work with the children to create
their own recipe cards? Maybe taking photos of ingredients in the cupboard.
Great reflection – I felt I could really relate to you on this, particularly
when you said at the end that you often find baking contradicts this approach.
But what a great alternative!
Your second reflection “I Know How to Do it!” was a great
example of the relationship the child T has with you, particularly since this
is not usually the room you work in. T was still comfortable enough with you to
express his needs (to gain permission from you) and objectives for the game (to
independently use the technology to show share something with his friend).
Children of this age enjoy being given opportunities to increase their
independence and self help skills. Once T had reminded you of this you showed
him that you valued and respected what he had told you and then you stepped
back to let T continue.
You mention that T surprised you with his capability to turn
the computer on and also navigate the system. On reflection you found you just
needed to provide scaffolding and encouragement. I wonder if you have
considered the experience from P’s perspective? Here is a friend of T’s who is
watching this entire experience; what scaffolding is P receiving from T? For a
possible extension on this experience I wonder if T could be given the
opportunity to take a leadership role with the computers; he could teach his
peers skills and encourage them to develop their own understanding of how the
computer works. Awesome reflection Racheal, it gave me a lot to think about.
“We just need a ramp” was your third reflection. The
narrative at the beginning of the reflection was so nice to read and it was
thorough so it gave me a great idea of the whole experience, rather than just a
snippet. I agree with you when you said that “J was able to make a connection
with his dads work as a digger driver” and therefore use his knowledge to solve
a problem with his friends. In this experience, J could be seen as the ‘expert’
as he appeared to have an extensive understanding and familiarity with diggers
and their functions.
A possible extension of this experience could be to ask J’s
father to come into the centre to share in the play. This would affirm the
connection that J has made between his experience and his family life. It would
also be an opportunity for the children to work in the sandpit alongside a real digger driver; J’s father might use
new words associated with diggers which would also strengthen their future role
play.
Erika's People, Places, Things and Events - http://erikasblog2013.blogspot.co.nz/
Erika, your reflections gave me a lot to think about and I
really enjoyed reading them. In your reflection “The Carpentry Table” you
recognised learning through the Māori perspective of tuakana-teina. I thought
this was a really valid point to recognise as we sometimes overlook the fact
that children can teach each other about technology and it’s functions; it does
not and should not always be the adult.
I felt that the tuakana-teina perspective was also evident in the “Our
Office” reflection where the children are role playing and exploring what they
know about the technology they have, and calling on past experiences. This
suggests to me that the tuakana-teina approach is something that you value in
your practice.
“The Carpentry Table” documented the language the two boys
were using – how amazing was that! As you said they had “set their own tasks
and expectations of themselves with using the tools” and this was all achieved
through their language skills. A possible extension for this experience could
be to begin a project within the centre? Building a very simple structure
(table) the children would have the opportunity to work alongside you. They
could participate in the construction of it and would enjoy the structure being
a permanent piece within the environment.
In your second reflection “Dancing to the Stereo” you
described a very common and spontaneous occurrence in early childhood; children
wanting to dance to their favourite song. What I liked about this reflection
was how you focused on the importance of children learning and using the
correct terminology. You say that you believe “using the correct words
associated with the technology is important to children understanding its use
and functions”. I agree with you, doing so gives depth to their understanding.
A possible extension of this experience would be to introduce
an iPod within the centre. This would obviously have to be something you
discussed with your team of teachers. But as you have said in your reflection –
this seems to be the way technology is headed. In order to prepare our children
for the future we need to expose them to these new experiences. It was really
great to read that the experience had prompted you to consider the wider
context of children’s learning in the sense of “where to next”?
Your final reflection “Our Office was very insightful. I
really enjoyed the children’s voices being integrated into the reflection, it
showed me that you were right – the children do know a lot about the technology
they were role playing with! When you posed the questions about where the
children may have learnt to use these technologies, I think you really
highlighted the fact that adults have different perceptions of how children can
use technology. Perhaps their parents or older siblings are more flexible in
their approach, perhaps we as educators need to be more flexible too?
The “Our Office” reflection prompted me to consider the
possibility of allowing these children to further extend this role play with an
actual computer and camera. This would allow their role play to take on a much
deeper meaning and would perhaps affirm for them that they do know how to use these technologies. I wonder if this is
something your centre would support? I enjoyed the strong connections you made
with The New Zealand Curriculum as we know it is important to acknowledge the
beliefs that will underpin the future learning of children as they enter their
formal schooling.
