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.
Hey Chanelle :)
ReplyDeleteNice first blog, it was nice reading about the child who was very interested in the camera. Sometimes it is hard as teachers to hold back when you feel as though something may break and it is of such value. But it is good to teach the child that it is breakable but at the same time encourage the child to experiment and to learn about the piece of technolgy.
The New Zealand curriculum states that Technology makes enterprising use of its own particular
knowledge and skills, together with those of other
disciplines (pg.32). This child was very much aquiring new knowledge about this camera, it sounds like a nice enriched experience for both you and the child.
I think children and teaching experimenting with camera's in an early childhood setting is a great way to gain different ICT skills and to also have fun at the same time. What a wonderful spontanious experience.
From Jess :)
Hey Chanelle,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Jess's comment, it is hard to stop yourself from saying something when a child is using something that has been labelled as a "teachers resource only” - especially when they probably have at home. Children are naturally curious and natural wonderers so it only seems normal that this little boy was inquisitive about what the photographs looked liked that you took of him.
It reminds me of a quote from Pennie Brownlee (2007, p. 14) which says, “curiosity is a gift children come with. It’s as if they know that they have trillions of brain cells to be wired up, and the best way to do that is to find things to do. The more things the better. To learn, children have to be curious – about everything.” Even though you asked the boy not to play with the camera when you first saw him holding it, you held yourself back from completely stopping him. You gave him time to use this ‘precious’ piece of technology which was then turned into a positive experience for him, he was proud of the work he did.
I also love the idea of giving the children their own cameras each day! It will give them the opportunity to be creative with a piece of technology for a purposeful activity which would be to show off their day through their eyes! (Smorti, 1999).
:)
Hi Chanelle
ReplyDeleteGreat first blog! I agree with the others, it is hard sometimes to place your trust in the children and allow them to experience with equipment but we have to value the capable and competent learners that they are (Ministry of Education, 1996) and instead show them how to respect and look after resources. We encourage children to put the strap around their wrist when holding the camera in case they drop it so it just hangs on their wrist and does not hit the floor.
I like how you role modelled the use of the camera at the beginning but I would have perhaps asked the child first if it was ok to take his photo although he seemed very pleased when he saw the pictures of himself on the camera.
I also like the idea of using photos to involve the families in the child's learning. Ministry of Education (1996) states that the early childhood setting includes the child's whanau and is part of their wider world. I agree with this and think it is much nicer to visually see what my child has done during the day then just verbally hear about it.
Hey girl,
ReplyDeleteIts funny the things that children pick up on, like the sound the camera was making. Te Whariki states that children develop "an increasing ability to play an active part in the running of the programme" (pg58). I like how from this experience you brought it up with the other teachers in your centre and now you will implement the use of children using the camera themselves. I think this will be a great activity to have in your centre once it is started up.
The child who you asked not to play with the camera seemed to know how to use it and what to do. Maybe that child had used one at home and thats why he picked it up and thought it was ok to use it. I think your new camera system will benefit the children greatly!
Chloe x