A New Television over the Week
It was very interesting to see a new television set in my centre over the week. Upon asking the teachers about bringing this special technology in the toddler’s room, I found out that, the teachers wanted to show children real animals on television. As this week’s theme was based on animal world, the teachers were focussed on educating children about different kinds of animals. So the teachers sang animal songs, took mat time stories about animals, played games, performed drama and displayed different animal’s pictures on the display board. Therefore, after all this forms of sharing and teaching children about animals, one of the teachers came up with this idea of extending children’s knowledge on animals through the use of this technology (television). This links to The Ministry of Education (1996) which states that, “learners are able to respond to challenge, change and gain knowledge of the nation’s language, art, dance, science and technology (p.19). Thus this recommendation gave children an opportunity to gain understanding about this new technology (television).
The children were able to comment on the features of the television as one of the teachers paused the movie and when it skipped. In this way children were gaining more understanding of how it operates. The Ministry of Education (2007) also states that “an understanding of how and why products work the way they do is important to develop technological knowledge” (p. 32). “It was a magic as the teacher touched the button of the television and animals came up and were running”, said one of the children. But “it can also stop and go fast and slow because my brother did it yesterday at home”, said another child. It was interesting as the DVD skipped and one of the child said, “the DVD is scratched we need to clean the disk and play it again”. This links to The Ministry of Education (1996) states that, “children need both the confidence to develop their own perspectives and the capacity to continue acquiring new knowledge and skills in technology” (p. 18).
I really liked the way teachers used this new technology in the centre to bring forth the learning to children about animals. The children were developing their cognitive skills and social skills as they were interacting with others and also thinking about the animals as they saw it in television.
Having a television was a great advantage for the children as on the next day it was raining heavily outside and we couldn’t take the children outdoors. It helped us to solve this problem of not being able to go outdoors and made us be involved indoors as the children became quiet and interested in what we were watching on television. Indeed Smorti (1999) also says that “technology is about helping people and solving problems” (p.5). So the teachers and I set up chairs in the sleep room and set it up like a theatre. It was really great to see the excitement of children as they entered the room and sat down to watch television. I saw children laughing and communicating to the friends as they watched another educational programme on animals. Television made children’s day great as they were busy watching television inside and be engaged in this movie session indoors. Then after the movie finished it stopped raining as well so we went outdoors after having a good time watching movie inside.
References:
Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media Limited.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media Limited.
Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 1, 5-10.
Hi Deepika. I liked your shared experience of using the TV and a DVD as a teaching resource. Moving images, especially for subjects that we can’t observe in real life within the centre such as animals who may be native only in other parts of the world, there is no match to the use of “screen technology”, be it a TV, a laptop, a tablet computer, etc. More traditional resources such as photos, drawings and books can give us important information, but the experience of the subject, be it another culture, a wild animal, a documentary about a historic event, or a visual animated explanation of how something works, I believe a screen medium is often a very good way to support children’s understanding of the subject. Having said that, of course it can’t exist in isolation. Any “screen time” should be accompanied by or contribute to other activities that relate to the subject. It reminds me of a project in my kindergarten in which we researched about animals using a variety of resources and media and then gave the children the opportunity to make their own animal costumes and masks. The use of TV and screens was invaluable considering that children wanted to make elephant, tiger and snake costumes!
ReplyDeleteHi Deepika, I really like your idea of creating an environment in the centre like theatre where children feel comfortable. After reading your reflection, it has given me an inspiration of extending children’s knowledge through technologies. A new idea which I can use in my centre as well. Most children are not able to visit the zoo or see animals in the wild, but many have seen these things on TV. Children and adults alike can learn from this type of technology and gain a greater appreciation for our world and the animals and other people who inhabit it. I believe that television truly can have a positive effect on children, but it is up to the parents, caregivers and educators in their lives to ensure that children’s viewing experiences are enriching and not damaging. Finally I think that “technology is not going to go away and we are in the midst of a major socio cultural quantum shift. These technologies are revolutionizing the world our children will live in. So our task is to balance appropriate skill-development with technologies with the core principles and experiences necessary to raise healthy children” (Fleer & Jane, 2011).
ReplyDeleteFleer, M., & Jane, B. (2011).Design and technology for children (3rd ed). Frenchs Forrest,
Australia: Pearson Australia.
Hi Deepika, I liked your center’s new television especially when you used to extend infant and toddlers learning. I believe that television is a very effective way of children’s learning provided they have children’s programs on. It also help with language development, talking about creatures they see on television, is able to discuss different kinds of animals, and be able to identify and call these animals by their names. Television can really help infants and toddlers to settle dowm sometimes when offering opportunities to watch television especially on the rainy days (Smorti, 1999). However I agree with others comments to minimize time spent on television but to engage with other leanings that are available for them. The implementing of technology in the curriculum “needs a monitored program to ensure that achievement objectives are reliably assessed and that they are not obscured with objectives from other learning areas” (Ministry of Education, 2007, p. 30). We know for sure that technology isn’t going away as long as we control its usage in our center.
ReplyDeleteReference
Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in early childhood. Early Eduction, 1, 5-10
Ministry of Education, (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum framework. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Hi Deepika,
ReplyDeleteIt was very exciting to read about how you extended the children’s interest about animals through using technology. Television has both advantages and disadvantages for our young children. Some of the advantages are that it keeps them up to date with latest technology and raises awareness of the happenings in our society and around the world. Children also learn about other places and things that they haven’t visited or seen in their real life. Educational television programs encourage speech and vocabulary enhancement. Along with these advantages, some disadvantages also follow; television causes addiction and again will limit physical play for young children. In some cultures, television is seen as a bad influence as well. Some programs aren’t age appropriate for our young children. “Technology is never static. It is influenced by and in turn impacts on the cultural, ethical, environmental, political, and economic conditions of the day.” (Ministry of Education, 2011, p. 32) Therefore, like all other technologies, there should be proper balance maintained for our young children where they can get fairly enough time with using technology and fairly enough time for physical play and activities. However, I believe that television provides a new and fun way of learning for children and the teachers.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media