Chloe:
Jess:
Jac:
Nat:
Sunday, 26 August 2012
Friday, 24 August 2012
iPads
25th August
At the beginning of this year the Kindergarten Association
had the great idea of buying an iPad for every Kindergarten in the association.
At the time I remember thinking ‘why would they spend that amount of money on
something the children wouldn’t normally have exposure to, and benefit from’.
At the beginning of this year the Kindergarten Association
had the great idea of buying an iPad for every Kindergarten in the association.
At the time I remember thinking ‘why would they spend that amount of money on
something the children wouldn’t normally have exposure to, and benefit from’.
It wasn’t only me who was thinking that, the other teachers
felt the same. We were so used to what we had, that we didn’t feel we needed an
iPad. Once it arrived in the centre I was the only one with a moderate
understanding of how to work it as I have an iPhone. But we were thinking what
apps would be useful for the children? We download the talking tom cat app, and
a story telling one, also fruit slicing.
As the iPad doesn’t have keys or buttons to push it was a
different experience for the children, having to get use to swiping their
finger and pinching them together if they wanted to increase the size. The
children do love it though, they always ask us where the iPad is, and can I
play with the iPad.
The children enjoy playing the games, and I can see the
benefits from the iPad for the children. They are developing social skills,
learning to take turns and communicate with one another. We are encouraging
cooperation by providing a resource in which the children need to share
(Ministry of education, 1996). The iPad is also great for developing fine motor
skills, having to use their fingers to work it, another benefit I have observed
is hand/eye coordination, when they play the games they have to follow an object
around the screen usually and interact using their hands.
Over the duration of the year so far, we are yet to have our
iPad training (which is something the association provides). Even though we haven’t
had the training yet we (the teachers) have benefited hugely from the iPad. We
have uploaded all our mat time songs onto it, we no longer have to fiddle
around with CDs which is great. The children also have used it in the morning
when we do the laptop sign in, using the note app – the only problem with that
is the letters are all capitals so the children have difficulty recognising the
letters.
I feel after we have had the training it will be interesting
to know if our knowledge will develop further, we have communicated with other
families if they have an iPad and asked what apps they think are great. Smorti (1999) suggests that technology is a creative and
purposeful activity aimed at meeting needs and opportunities through the
developmental of products, systems or environment (pg.5).
Having the iPad in the centre is great for the children as
they are gaining experience in using communication technologies (Ministry of
Education, 1996).
Bewick, Thornton and Tsantis (2003) suggest that a teacher’s
knowledge of computers can directly impact the way that children’s learning
needs are met. I feel that as we have
yet to undergo our iPad training our lack our knowledge and understanding
surrounding the iPad has had an impact on the way we use this resource with the
children. We do put the iPad out for the children to use however I do feel that
our lack of knowledge of apps definitely has an influence on the way it is
being used.
References:
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki
matauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington,
New Zealand: Learning Media.
Smorti, S. (1999)
Technology in Early Childhood. Early
Education, 19, 5-10.
Tsantis, L., Bewick,
C., & Thornton, S. (2003). Examining some common myths about computers in
the early years. Young Children on the
Web, November 2003, 1-9.
Image retrieved from:
https://www.google.co.nz/search?num=10&hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&source=hp&biw=1600&bih=731&q=potato+people&oq=potato+people&gs_l=img.3..0l2j0i5j0i24l7.1323.6870.0.7211.15.13.1.1.1.0.295.2462.4j2j7.13.0...0.0...1ac.F4busm71qdM#hl=en&site=imghp&tbm=isch&sa=1&q=ipad&oq=ipad&gs_l=img.3..0l10.249955.250535.8.250721.4.4.0.0.0.0.189.390.1j2.3.0...0.0...1c.U6mGGA9CrWQ&bav=on.2,or.r_gc.r_pw.r_cp.r_qf.&fp=7f99203296be2349&biw=1600&bih=731Growing Potatoes
20th August
The ladies who visited from Mitre 10 explained the process
to us, and the children were eager to start. The first step was to wait for the
“horns” to sprout – we had to find a warm dry place for the potatoes to rest.
The children agreed upon putting them on the windowsill and letting them rest
there for the sun to help them with their “horns”.
Images retrieved from:
At kindergarten the children have a strong interest in
gardening; the process of planting, harvesting and enjoying what they have
grown. A couple of weeks ago we contacted Mitre 10 as they were promoting the
Tui garden challenge, as a part of this they visited kindergarten and donated
buckets, soil, potatoes and plant food.
The children’s curiosity in growing potatoes was enhanced by
the book “The Potato People” by Pamela Allen. In that story a young boy makes a
person from a potato, however as time passes by the potato begins to sprout
“horns”.
We discussed with the children about what happens to the potatoes
as they begin to sprout, and worked together to prepare ours for planting. As
the children’s potatoes did not yet have horns it started a few questions about
what we should do now.
The ladies who visited from Mitre 10 explained the process
to us, and the children were eager to start. The first step was to wait for the
“horns” to sprout – we had to find a warm dry place for the potatoes to rest.
The children agreed upon putting them on the windowsill and letting them rest
there for the sun to help them with their “horns”.
During this early stage of beginning to plant I just felt we
were promoting the children’s awareness to follow a process, and work together
to find solutions to their questions. Ministry of Education (1996) suggest the
learning environment should be one which assists children in their quest for
making sense of and finding out about their world. We should provide active and
interactive learning opportunities, with opportunities for children to have an
effect and to change the environment (p.43).
Until starting this assessment my understanding of
technology was that it was anything digital, computers, cameras, cell phones –
the list is endless really. However I now have a new understanding, and after
looking into this term I have learnt that “technology emphasises creative and
productive aspects of solving problems and answering questions” (Smorti, 1999,
p.6).
Not only aspects of solving problems and answering questions
but children need to develop their own perspectives as well as the capacity to
continue acquiring knowledge and skills (Ministry of Education, 1996).
I feel as the children questioned the ways in which the
potatoes grow and sprout their “horns”, they were acquiring knowledge; not only
knowledge, the children also discovered creative ways to answer their
questions. Smorti believes when using the process approach to technology “it is
the doing that is important, rather than the product” (1999, p.6)
Our potato “horns” are still not quite ready; however I
don’t doubt the children will gain significant knowledge in the process of
planting, ultimately enjoying the finished product after we have completed the
planting process.
References:
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki
matauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington,
New Zealand: Learning Media.
Smorti, S. (1999)
Technology in Early Childhood. Early
Education, 19, 5-10.Images retrieved from:
Tuesday, 21 August 2012
Using digital cameras
During the day at kindergarten we (the teachers) are continually using our cameras to get photos of the children whilst they are immersed in an activity. We do this to enable us to write a learning story for their portfolio so parents and Whanāu can be involved with their learning too.
On Tuesday when I was at kindy I had set up an art activity for the children to start working on their ‘calendar art’. As I observed the children’s’ concentration and enjoyment of this activity I thought it was a great opportunity to take some photos of children. The children i wanted to take photos of would normally be outside and not interested in activities where they have to sit and stay focused for longer than five minutes. I was amazed at the work they were putting in so I wanted to be able to share this with others in the form of a learning story.
As I turned the camera on, K turned to look at it but his hands were still doing the work. I turned the camera off and put it down; he looked away. I then did the same thing and he did the same thing. I couldn’t understand why this was? It took me a moment but I realised the camera was making a noise when I turned it on, and K was recognising this.
I then said to K “it’s ok, you keep doing your work and I will just take your photo”. After I had taken a few pictures I put the camera up on the bench. With my back turned for just a moment, I turned around and K was holding the camera pushing the buttons. My first instinct was to say “no, please don’t play with that” (I wish I hadn’t now). When I went to get the camera he had turned it on and was scrolling through the images I had taking of him. He looked up at me and said “look, this is me, this is me!” Ministry of Education (1996) mentions that children will need to develop confidence in themselves and are able to continue acquiring new knowledge and skills.
I was speechless, K had managed to turn the camera on, find the playback button and look through the images of himself. It was really neat seeing how he could work the camera and recognise himself in the images. After observing this take place, I mentioned it to the other teachers at the end of the session. This provoked a discussion around the use of digital cameras within the kindy and another teacher had said how S had asked her if she could take some pictures from the camera. Ministry of Education (1996) suggests children should use technology for different purposes as they explore the world they live in.
I feel enabling the children the use of the cameras for the day is giving them a sense of responsibility and also ownership. I believe they would get great satisfaction from seeing their images displayed in the frames too, not to mention the other children seeing them also.
References:
Friedman, S. (2005). Social studies in action. Young Children on the Web, November 2001, 1-9.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki matauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
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