What view do you take?
Some people, see the use of technology in early childhood settings as " a big waste of time" or "harmful to children's development" as it is not allowing for children to think and learn for themselves or giving the children the ability to explore. An example of this is a child looking at a bug on a computer instead of going out to nature and finding one. Cords and Miller (as cited in Scoter, Ellis, & Railsback, 2001) state that "technology in schools wastes time, money and childhood itself by speeding up the pace and cutting down on essential learning experiences" (p.5). Singer and Singer (2001) also state that " for every new communication medium that has appeared and spread widely, people have expressed concerns regarding the effects of the medium, especially on children" (p. 7).
So considerably, there is a lot of information to suggest a negative effect on learning for both children and teachers. Whereas, other people see technology as a fundamental tool of the future and for learning, as it can help children with literacy, numeracy, science, research and many more cirriculum aspects. The most important part of technology being beneficial is that the teachers know how to implement and use the technology appropriately.
Scoter et al. (2001) states that research suggests "appropriate and effective uses of technology in early learning, provides guidance in selecting the tools and creating the environment essential for technology"(p. 13). And while early learning is essential in every area of the world, the computers are purely based on the experimenting of technology rather than the product and provides open ended knowledge.
Effectively, if teachers are knowledgeable in technology, it should be put to a good use and used to support the learning of children and the professional development of teachers. I believe that teachers should utilise the effects of the internet, while also maintaining professionalism and ethics. While consent needs to be obtained, it is not a horrible idea to get it as you are only improving the communication between families and bridging the gaps between early childhood centres and communities.
So, a final question, do you think technology is good or bad?
References:
Scoter, J. V., Ellis, D., & Railsback, J. (2001). Technology in early childhood education: finding the balance. Portland, Or.: Northwest Regional Educational Laboratory.
Singer., D., & Singer, J. L., (2001).Handbook of children and the media. Thousand Oaks, Calif.: Sage Publications.
Hi Deanna, the subject you have chosen is really interesting for me, as having been in centres which don’t utilise technology to place information on the internet such as learning stories, I haven’t given this subject a lot of thought.
ReplyDeleteCertainly ethical considerations are very important for the use of technology in ECE and gaining the consent of parents/family and whānau if information is to be placed online is essential.
You’re absolutely right with social media such as Face book expanding all over the world and the cautions of using such media while applying for jobs etc. This reminds me of our class when we were discussing different types of governance in the reading ‘Introduction to society in Aotearoa New Zealand’, and how McDonalds and Face book are examples of globalisation.
I’m glad you commented on the implications for children's learning. I printed out your blog and couldn’t read that part properly. Ironically I used technology (my phone) to look up your blog and read it. I feel that technology can be overused but it can also be used as a powerful resource for children to research their interests and ideas which can then be expanded with books, art, verbally … the world is the limit!
Does your centre use technology for children and or staff to use?