Final Reflection

I have been fortunate enough to have five of my fellow students give me feedback on my blog reflections.  I am able to use this feedback to extend my learning and improve my future practices.  Like me, my classmates also struggled to recognise technology as anything other than digital, electronic products such as; the computer, iPad, camera and others like these.  Yet through the aid of the ‘People, places, things and events’ course and the feedback from my peers I can now understand that there is so much more to it; “Technology is a creative and purposeful activity aimed at meeting needs and opportunities through the development of products, systems or environments” (Smorti, 1999, p.6).  One technology experience that I facilitated was baking scones.  Through feedback from my peers I believe I can extend the children’s technological learning further through providing the children with a pictured recipe to aid them in completing their final product.  This allows the children to develop their practical skills as well as their ability to problem-solve (Ministry of Education, 1996).  My peers helped me to understand that technology can aid in developing children’s social skills, literacy skills, and maths and science concepts (Ministry of Education, 2007).  One of these that stood out to me was the social skills aspect of technology.  I once thought that digital technology was more of a solitary experience, however through practice and response from my fellow students I realise that it can be quite the opposite.  I now can see that through the use of technology children can practice important social skills such as; cooperation, sharing knowledge and skills, and turn-taking (Ministry of Education, 2007).

Throughout this course I have been convinced that technology, in all forms, is of great importance to children’s learning and development.  Since technology is constantly changing, it is important that children be introduced and familiarised with new technology on a regular basis as it will enable them to embrace the changes in this area, rather than finding it overwhelming (Fleer & Jane, 2011).  When used correctly, technology can be a valuable teaching tool that can assist children’s learning development in many areas; the sooner children are introduced to different technologies; the more readily they will adjust to the rapidly changing features of technology and be equipped to use these technologies for different purposes as they explore the world (Ministry of Education, 1996).  As teachers, we must develop our skills in this area to ensure the children are familiarised with technology through experiences within the early childhood setting, because essentially we are preparing the children for jobs that do not exist yet.  “Well-prepared teachers, who recognize the power and limitations of technology, are needed now more than ever” (Tsantis, Bewick & Thornton, 2003, p. 10).  When teachers doubt the effectiveness of these technological experiences, and deliberately exclude them from within the early childhood setting, children’s learning of the way of the future is hindered (Tsantis, Bewick & Thornton, 2003).  Our children are growing up in an information society and as teachers we need to educate them on the skills required to use these technological items in order for them to survive (Smorti, 1999).  Through the aid of the ‘People, places, things and events’ course, relevant literature and feedback from my peers, I have gained a better understanding of the benefits of technology within the early childhood setting.  I will use this new information to further my practice in the technology area and incorporate it within the experiences that I facilitate on a more regular basis.  I believe that I need to further develop my confidence in using technology and will be taking the steps to achieve this goal as of now.

Reference List

Fleer, M., & Jane, B. (2011). Design and technology for children. Frenchs Forest, Australia: Pearson   

           Australia.

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa : 

           Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand Curriculum: For English-medium teaching and

           learning in years 1-13. 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.