User:ICT in Education/sandbox

The purpose of this wiki is to show the importance of ICT in Early Childhood Education by Natasha BeharryBold text

Topic: ICT and Early Childhood Education

Why the topic was chosen This topic was chosen because as an early childhood teacher I have seen the benefits of incorporating ICT tools in my classroom, also the content will be on my wiki space that can give others ideas on how ICT can be used in the classroom. Additionally the wiki pages allow for collaboration. Colleagues in the profession can be invited to join and share information on the wiki space. EDTK2030 (2013) suggests that group members can share ideas on a particular topic, therefore build on each other’s work. The benefits of ICT tools in Early Childhood Education According to Tinio (2003) ICT refers to Information Communication Technologies which includes a range of technologies and other resources that are used to create, communicate, store, disseminate and manage information. Some of these include internet, radio, television and computer. These ICT tools can be used to enhance the curriculum in many ways, such as to research additional information to develop the curriculum content and as an aid to teaching. One such example is the projector; the projector can be used to enlarge the pictures to suit the early childhood age group that I currently work with. Another example the CD player can be used by teachers to play nursery rhymes for their students to sing along to. This makes learning fun as most often these cd are age appropriate. In addition another ICT tool You Tube can be used to access videos that can teach pre-schoolers about various social skills such as taking turns and sharing. These videos will serve as concrete materials and it is known that children need concrete materials to aid in their learning especially at early childhood age. Safe Guards It is important that safe guards are put in place to avoid individuals from placing unwanted information on the wiki site that can cause abuse to others in the form of bias, prejudices and exploitation EDTK2030 ( 2013). According to Berger & Trexler (2010) some cites require users to become members of the wiki, and members are encouraged to retain anonymity by using a screen name. Therefore for my wiki page I would invite colleagues in the profession to become members and also create screen names. In addition the wiki page can also be private, in which members alone are allowed to edit the wiki page, but the public can view and access the information. Additionally it can also be private in which only members can view the page. Another safe guard is that members have to create a password to gain access to their wiki page, this will safe guard against persons hacking into ones account. Curricular purpose as it relates to learning theory My curricular purpose for explaining ICT and early education is that it facilitates the constructivist theories. As aforementioned ICT tools can be used as an aid to teaching in early childhood education as it offers a fun and interactive way towards learning. This is ideal for this age group of students as most ICT tools facilitate active learning, which is imperative at this stage in children’s development. For example the constructivist theories, EDTK2030: Unit 2(2013, p. 38) states “constructivist theories place much emphasis on the active learner.” Take for example ICT tools such as You Tube, video and CD player can be used to teach children phonic awareness as well as letter sounds. A well-known phonic program in my country Trinidad and Tobago JJ and friends caters to this, here a CD is used in either a CD player or computer in which children can view this interactive program that help children learn phonic awareness. Here children can sing along to the DVD and view the video which is very stimulating to children as it is done in bright bold colours. Another example the voice recorder can also be used in the early childhood classroom and facilitate active learning. The students can use the voice recorder to create stories of their own. They can look at or draw pictures and then create a story as a group and say the story into the voice recorder. The teacher can then use the projector to show the class their work. This also encourages collaboration among students. A teacher can also encourage active learning when using a digital camera, the children and their teacher can go on a field trip and take pictures. The pictures can then be shown on a projector in which the children can discuss their field trip experience. This also caters to the social learning theories for example Lev Vygotsky (1978). Central to Vygotsky’s theory is the importance of the child social interaction in the environment and the role of language. ICT tools can foster the development of these; the aforementioned activity is a perfect example of interaction in the environment and communication. Conclusion ICT tools can aid teachers in developing their curriculum content as well as an aid to teaching, additionally ICT tools facilitate active learning therefore caters to the constructivist theories. Furthermore ICT tools allow learning to be interactive and fun which is essential in early childhood education because it allow children to enjoy their learning thus developing a love for learning.

References Berger, P. & Trexler, S. (2010). Choosing Web 2.0 Tools for Learning and Teaching in a Digital World EDTK2030 Information and Communication Technology. (2013). Unit 1: Development and Characteristic of ICT. [Essential reading]. UWI open campus. EDTK2030 Information and Communication Technology. (2013). Unit 4. Educational Application of web2.0 Tools [Essential reading]. UWI open campus.