Reflection 3 - ICT

Astronaut 

For the past few weeks astronaut learning has been going on in my pre-school room. One day a teacher brought a book of astronaut and we, the teachers, noticed the children’s interest in that, so we decided to extend their learning. One of the teachers brought the centre’s laptop and showed videos about astronauts and how and for what purpose they travel to the space, during the mat time. As per my co-teacher’s request to contribute to the learning, I went home and started browsing through the internet and came up with some craft ideas and song. I found “I'm gonna be an astronaut” song in ‘You tube’ and showed the video to the children several times in my laptop. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo5cCmbnWTc#  

I noticed the children were more interested in the rockets, so I found from ‘You tube’ how to make rockets out of toilet paper (TP) tube. So the next day, I had taken some TP tube to the centre and we started making rockets. Since I had only four of them, it got over soon, but more children were in the queue. I told them to bring some TP tubes from home on the next day, if they have. I thought they might have forgotten about it but I was wrong. On the next day a parent brought some TP tubes and said “S said he wants these to make rockets, but I have no idea how he is going to do it”. To our surprise more children brought TP tubes on the following days.

While doing this craft activity I was taking photos with my camera. B asked me whether he could take the photos. I told him to put the strap on his hand to prevent it from falling down. He did it so and took many photographs. The head teacher saw B’s interest and told me that there is a children’s camera and we could use that. When B started using it, he found out there are many functions in it including some games. Soon he and his friends started exploring it. As Ministry of Education (1996) says, children developed the ability to represent their discoveries, using creative media and technology associated with them.

I recognised a lot of technological learning was going on with this astronaut experience. Various technologies are evident here: Education technology - children learning music and craft, and gaining information through appropriate technological processes; Rocket technology - children came to know what rocket is used for and where it goes, Materials technology - learning how the materials changing into something through craft and viewing video, and ICT - using computer and books to gain knowledge and using digital camera to record. Through these technological knowledge strands, children developed an understanding of how and why things work (Ministry of Education, 2007). The children showed most of the Gardner’s multiple intelligences here: Linguistic - learning how to write astronaut on their rockets and asking relevant questions; mathematical - solving problems by bringing TP tubes and cutting out shapes for the rockets; musical - learning and singing astronaut song; visual-spatial - creating mini rockets by art work; interpersonal - working in a group, listening and communicating with others and generating ideas (Howie, 2008).   

I enjoyed teaching the children my findings in my laptop and later on by practical lessons. While writing this assignment, I learned about many types of technology through Google. To be frank, I too came to know more about astronauts while browsing the net to teach the children. According to me, computer is the greatest recent ICT invention. It is very useful for teachers as well as children. However as Smorti (1999) said, “As a learner, my ideas about technology are still developing, and I expect they will change as I continue to research” (p. 9), because my practice based research topic is ‘ICT in pre-schools’.

References

Howie, L. (2008). Examples of creativity for multiple intelligences (PDF document). Retrieved from Lecture Notes Online Web site: https://emit.manukau.ac.nz/webapps/portal/frameset.jsp?tab_tab_group_id=_2_1&url=%2Fwebapps%2Fblackboard%2Fexecute%2Flauncher%3Ftype%3DCourse%26id%3D_84403_1%26url%3D   

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.    

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in early childhood. Early Education, 1, 5-10.

Reflection 2 - Food technology

Yummy cup cakes

I have a recipe for making individual 1 minute cupcake for children. One day I facilitated this activity with the children at my centre. I made placards with the measurements and pictures, and kept it on the table along with the ingredients. I noticed the interest of the children when they gathered around the table. Each of them started to mix the ingredients enthusiastically. I explained the textures of each items and how it turns into batter when they mix it. We brought the microwave down and when each cake was ready to bake, the children baked in the microwave by themselves. They watched with wonder and awe while the batter turned into solid, rose because of baking powder, and changed into cup shape. I recognised their interest in this food technology when more children joined this activity. They were excited when each of them got to eat their own product with the morning tea. They were thrilled to do all the procedures themselves by following the recipe, especially when they got the result immediately. The children experienced “how materials are formed, manipulated, and transformed in different ways, depending on their properties, and understand the role of material evaluation in determining suitability for use in product development” (The New Zealand Curriculum, 2007, P. 80) by hand-on learning.

Since the children were pre-schoolers, they were able to grasp the instructions quickly. To help their reading, I drew pictures too in the placard. They developed some of the technology and resources for mathematics, science and reading (Ministry of Education, 1996). Using this process cooking technology, children were encouraged to choose the colour and flavour, make their individual cakes and evaluate their work by seeing and eating it. They followed the entire process of cooking by reading and following the placards displayed. This experience met their learning needs. They used their knowledge about processes and problem solving by turn taking and the procedure of cake making. They learned  science: by watching the ingredients that turn from powder – liquid – semisolid – solid and augmented, and by feeling the hot cakes becoming cooler in minutes; language by reading and following the mini recipe, and talking to me and with each other; Mathematics by counting and measuring. They used physical skills by mixing; social-emotional skills by socialising in the group. They cleverly used the resources provided by adding one by one and mixing all along (Smorti, 1999). They also learned how to operate microwave oven (Digital technology).

As Indigenous theories of development say, this activity encouraged the children to have a positive attitude towards work to ensure the growth and well-being of their family. They learned through practical experiences by following my guidance. They also followed tuakana teina learning method by following the child who is in front of the line and coping accordingly (Manukau Institute of Technology, 2011).

I like cooking and I enjoy doing it with children whenever I get a chance. I knew food making is a technology, if we use microwave oven, stove or electric oven, but I didn’t know that the process is also a technology until I read it in Smorti (1999). The reading says “process cooking is a technological activity or system, developed, used and adapted by early childhood services to meet children’s learning needs” (p. 6). Through this activity I realized that “food technology is an appropriate way to introduce technology to children because food is a necessary part of human life in all cultures” (Fleer & Jane, 2011, p. 180). Since cake is a common food in every culture which is liked especially by children, almost all of them participated.  I will make a point to teach the children food technology incorporated with safe storage in containers (materials technology), cold recipes, and healthy eating recipes at my centre (Green, 2001). 

 

1 min. cake recipe

3 teaspoon full self-rising flour

1 tsp cocoa powder

3 tsp milk

3 tsp sugar

3 tsp egg

1tsp oil

Sprinkler or chocolate chips  

Mix one by one and pour it in a paper cup and microwave.

References 

Green, R. (2001). Teaching technology in the junior school: Book B. Christchurch, New Zealand: User Friendly Resource Enterprises Ltd.

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

Manukau Institute of Technology. School of Foundation Studies. (2011, Semester One). Holistic development [Handout]. Manukau City, New Zealand: Author.

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, 1, 5-10

The New Zealand Curriculum. (2007). Curriculum achievement objectives by learning area. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum  

Reflection 1 - Vehicle technology

“Hurry hurry drive the fire truck”

A four year old M is always interested in vehicles. As per his request, one day we started making a fire truck out of a cereal box. We cello taped and glued together different materials to make it look like a fire truck. When it was time to add wheels, he found four milk can lids and asked me to fix it. I fixed it with hot glue gun, but he was not happy with it. He wanted rotating wheels. We brainstormed and thought of fixing the ‘wheels’ with nails, so marched to the carpentry area. We passed the nails through the ‘wheel’ and the ‘truck’.  Now the wheels were rotating but it was coming out often, so he was frustrated. We found some fat screw nails among the nails and I asked M to try with that. He screwed it with a screw driver and attached the tops to the truck loosely (tool technology). Now the truck rides with the turning wheels. He was very happy and we sang together “Hurry hurry drive the fire truck…..” https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jo5cCmbnWTc# 

I noticed his interest in moving vehicles and recognised his interest in the technology of rotating wheels. He knew, with fixed wheels vehicles cannot move at all (Wheel technology). Because of his technological knowledge he understood that there is a relationship between a material used and its performance properties in a technological product (The New Zealand Curriculum, 2007).

Through this experience, M and I became familiar with the mechanism and technology used in this creative art. Now he knows that red paper is required for fire truck and needs to cut paper in the shape of ladder and lights (Materials technology). He developed his technological knowledge of how to bind things and how to make moving wheels. He also developed the ability to represent his discovery, using creative media and technology associated with it by designing the bus and making the wheels rotate (Ministry of Education, 1996).  As per Smorti’s (1999) reading, M showed his technological skills by solving his problem. He was creative and purposeful in his activity which met his needs through the development of the product. With my help he solved the problems of fixing different materials with cello tape and glue and making the wheels turn. He was creative by using an appropriate cereal box and finding the milk can lids for the bus. We jointly used our knowledge, skills and resources and found solution for our problem. 

On the following day when I reached the centre, M was ready with another box to make a bus. This time he knew the procedure of how to make wheels, so according to his guidance, we made the bus. As Medows and Cashdan (1988, p. 53) cited in MacNaughton and Williams (2009) “The ZPD referred to an area in which a child could work at higher levels of competence in relation to a particular skill, understanding or disposition when working with more competent peers or adults that when working to herself” (p.372). According to Vygotsky’s belief, M’s learning occurred most effectively on the higher plane of thinking through my interaction with him in a theoretical Zone of Proximal Development.

Since I have a creative mind, I have been doing creative activities with the children, but this was the first time I was making a vehicle with rotating wheels. M’s persistence made my technological mind work. I never knew I could relate this process to technology till this course started. Now I keep my eyes open to observe the technologies that we use every day in the centre life. I am going to teach the children the technologies that are connected with every activity they do in the centre. I know now that “A project is emergent and negotiated, rather than pre-planned by the teacher, thereby encouraging children to generate creative solutions to problematic situations” (Fleer & Jane, 2011, p.221).

Yesterday, when I opened the store, M spotted a pram with a missing wheel. He suggested that we could make something in place of the fourth wheel. I take it as a challenge and going to brainstorm with M to make a new wheel. “Got any ideas friends?”   

 

References

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

MacNaughton, G., & Williams, G. (2009). Techniques for teaching young children: Choices in theory and practice (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forrest, NSW, Australia: Pearson Prentice Hall. 

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, 1, 5-10.

The New Zealand Curriculum. (2007). Curriculum achievement objectives by learning area.          Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/Curriculum-documents/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum