Over the last month at my centre the children have taken an interest in the weather, in particular lightening and thunder, which started from a child coming to the centre and talking about thunder and lightening he saw and heard when he was at home. The children have been looking at books on lightening and reading stories at mat time that have lightening in it. They have been drawing pictures of lightening and have been talking and engaging in dramatic play that involves lightening and thunder.
From this interest a teacher at my centre brought her laptop in so that the children could see images and videos of lightening and thunder. As the children gathered on the mat to watch the images and videos of lightening the children sat engaged in watching what was on the laptop, carefully listening to the sounds on the thunder and watching the images of different lightening. The children also watched a power point about lightening and safety. It showed the children different situations when they are safe and when they are not safe when lightening strikes. The internet also showed different animals and people that had been hurt by lightening; this showed the children that lightening can be dangerous. From using the computer and the internet to research about lightening and thunder the children were able to recall and imitate the sound of thunder and recall what lightening looks like. The children were able to recall when they are safe or when they are in danger when lightening strikes and were able to recall the different animals and people that were hurt and how they were hurt.
Through this experience children were able to gain knowledge from the internet to learn more about lightening and thunder. Children’s learning is scaffolded as children and teachers use ICT together to use the internet to gain information about a child or children’s interest in a particular interest or area (Ministry of Education, 2004). It opens provides children with the knowledge that there are other methods and ways to gain knowledge and information. Like a book, using the internet to gain information it bridges the gap between what children already know and what they don’t know. Ministry of Education (2004) recognises that the use of ICT provides “opportunities to support and enhance children’s learning”. Through the use of the computer to research about lightening and thunder the children were able to experience the graphics and sounds of lightening and thunder, this is supported by Shilling (1997) where it acknowledges children’s cognitive skills are stimulated through graphics and sound. From seeing the people and animals hurt by lightening, the children were able to empathise with the people and animals that were hurt. They were able to talk about how they thought the people and animals may have felt and a lot of the children expressed that they were sad about what happened to the people and animals. This experience enabled children to make links between home and the centre where children had the opportunity to learn about thunder and lightening from the internet and were able to talk about their own experiences about thunder and lightening that they had experienced from home. Ministry of Education (1996) acknowledges that “children develop an awareness of connections between events and experiences within and beyond the early childhood setting”.
This experience highlighted the importance that the use of computers and the internet can have on children’s learning. It is another tool that can be used to extend children’s knowledge on their different areas of interest. The opportunity for the children to watch real life videos about thunder and lightening gave the children an insight on thunder and lightening while being in the safety and comfort of the centre environment, which was a great way to see and hear the thunder and lightening for some of the children that seem to be a bit fearful of the noise. This experience gave the children new knowledge and understanding about thunder and lightening and after watching and learning more about this topic from the internet it deepened there imagination when engaged in dramatic play that involved thunder and lightening. As I reflected I started to recognise that exposing the children to the internet in a safe monitored environment is a very valuable tool and experience that our children should be exposed to as it has proven to be a valuable tool to extending their knowledge and learning.
References
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa .Wellington: Learning Media.
Ministry of Education. (2004). ICT in early chilhood MOE Research retreived 20 Aug 2011 from edcounts.squiz.net.nz/__data/.../ict-in-ece-lit-review-final-for-printing.doc
Shilling, W. A. (1997). Young Children Using Computers To Make Discoveries about Written Language. Early Childhood Education Journal, 24(4), 253-59. Retrieved from EBSCOhost.
Images from Google Images
I agree that when teachers engage with children and use the computer to extend upon their knowledge and skills, it becomes a useful educational tool rather than a babysitting device (Lee, Hatherly & Ramsey, 2002; Tsantis, Bewick & Thouvenelle, 2003). This was done really well by using the computer to help the children learn about the sounds, images and effects of lightening and thunder, as well as learning how to ensure their safety if and when caught in a thunder and lightening storm. This learning experience demonstrates that when the computer is used appropriately to provide information on a topic of interest, it "can promote almost as much social interaction as dramatic play and for some children it offers a unique medium that taps their ability to creatively collaborate with their peers (Anderson, Hilton, & Wouden-Miller, in press cited in Tsantis, Bewick & Thouvenelle, 2003, p. 7). Therefore, this experience further confirms to me that “computers do not undermine children’s learning but, to the contrary, they can enhance, extend, and augment their learning experiences” (Tsantis, Bewick & Thouvenelle, 2003, p. 7).
ReplyDeleteI think this is a great experience for the children especially by taking one of their interests and extending on that interest by letting them look at lightning and hearing thunder on the internet. By leading on an interest they are all invloved in and love and then using the internet to show them this helps the children also learn about technology. It's a great way to let the children discover the internet and what an awesome and exciting topic to look at. The children are also learning about how to keep themselves safe if lightning ever strikes. They are also identifying what happens if you get hurt by lightning and the dangers of it. The children are able to experience the images and sounds of lightning together and talk about this interest which is great as they are interacting socially. It's a great way to learn about what the internet has on it and what it is for. This is a great experience to learn about the world around us and mother earth. Awesome work Tamelia!
ReplyDeleteWhat a cool learning experience for the children to be exposed to the use of the laptop with the teacher extending their interest about the lightening and how lightning sounds, looks and how to be safe if lightning was to strike. Building and extending upon the knowledge children already had about lightning.
ReplyDeleteI could only imagine the children's conversation's that took place after this experience the language learnt and the extra knowledge provided to them. "ICT provides a variety of ways for children to weave together words, pictures, and sounds, thereby providing a range of ways for children to communicate their ideas, thoughts, and feelings". (MOE 2003).
"It is often argued in the literature that children’s early childhood education experiences should reflect and connect with their experiences in the wider world. Therefore, ICT matters in early childhood education, because it already has an effect on the people and the environments that surround young children’s learning and well-being". (MOE 2003 p.2)
Your blog is outstanding Tamelia, I really like the way you and the teachers extended on the children’s interests in the weather particularly on lightning and thunder and more importantly discussing the safety issues as well, this will enable the children to be more aware of these safety issues concerning lightning and thunder. It is awesome to read how the children engaged themselves in dramatic play and also to get the chance to view images and videos of lightning and thunder too, this is an excellent example of how technology can facilitates the children’s learning. I can understand how we as teachers can rely heavily on technology to be able to extend the children’s learning about the important things in life. By bringing the laptop to the centre and showing the children pictures and videos of lightning and thunder will make children experience the value of research via the internet. I am sure that through this experience, next time the children will know they have other options apart from the library to do their own research and findings. Well done! This is awesome Tamelia, kapai!
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