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:
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Hey Chanelle,
ReplyDeleteI also had the point of view of having iPads in centres, but now that I am aware of the benefits that it has on the children’s learning and development, I think that it is something that centre’s should look at getting if they are wanting to move along with technology.
It is good to hear that the association will be providing you with training on how to use the iPads and it is also reassuring that you and your teachers want to go on the course as I have read in Tsantis, Bewick and Thouvenelle’s article (2003) that when teachers do not feel that they have to be familiar with the computers/iPads or stay involved in the process of helping the children reflect on what they are learning, the value of that piece of technology reduces. They also go on to discuss that is the “teacher’s knowledge and skills about how to use the technology that makes the difference, not the technology itself” (p. 4). So even though the children can pick up how to use iPads quickly, if they are not provided with educational games and ongoing support it they do not fully benefit from the use of it.
:)
Hi Chanelle
ReplyDeleteGreat blog, yes definately an expensive resource for children but now I have learnt it is a beneficial one too, thank you! I did not realise beyond the games how it could be useful for the children (and the teachers). It is surprising though how many children do have access to these and it is important not to make assumptions. I work in a low socio economic area and was surprised to see a number of parents with iPhones and iPads that the children are free to play with.
I think you identified a good point about teachers being set in their ways and not wanting to step out of their comfort zone and try something new. I think it is great that even with moderate knowledge you accessed applications for the children and made those learning opportunities available.
Smorti (1999) suggests that a lack of understand the scientific principles that support technology can limit your ability to scaffold children's learning, I agree with this and think the iPad training will further the knowledge for the staff at your centre and this will greatly benefit the children.
Hey Chanelle
ReplyDeleteWe have an iPad at my home centre aswell, and the children love being able to choose from a range of apps to play. Its also a real social occasion as they are helping each other with games or talking amongst themselves about what game they are playing. Also two player games can be really cool for children to work together on. Oldridge states that "the use of technologies is part of the larger body of recent research into childrens multi-literaies, these technologies are now as fundamental to literacy tools as pens and paper" (pg9). I think that iPad's are able to engage children in literacy learning because fun and can be done through games, and children learn best through play. Also using their fingers, building their fine motor skills so they can have pencil grip. I can see that you have changed your mind on the benefits of iPads and once you have your training, i think it will become a great part of your curriculum.
Chloe x
I absolute believe that having an iPad in a centre is great for the children to learn new type of coordination skills and enhances their hand to eye coordination too. I find that through using my iPad in my centre that it teaches the children about respecting the item and sharing with their friends. Te Whāriki’s strand of exploration says that “children experience an environment where their play is valued as meaningful learning and the importance of spontaneous play is recognised” (Ministry of Education, 2007, pg.84) Allowing the children to play with the iPad when they ask for it is giving them the respect that you value that their play and what they can gain from using an iPad.
ReplyDeleteWith respect to using the iPad for the children to sign in and the fact that it’s only capital letters that can been seen on the keyboard. Have you found the education app that is designed for children to sign their name in. You set it up by entering in their names and then when you got to use it a space is allowed below their name that has a dotted line in the middle to help with teaching lower and upper case. You can also get a stylus pen for use with you iPad that is real cheap and under $50, this way the children could also practice there pencil grip while learning about and using a piece of technology.