Tuesday 26th April 2011
In the babies’ room we are constantly taking photos of the children on the digital camera. We print these photos and use them in the children’s individual portfolios and display them in the classroom for parents to see. Today I was taking some photos of the children outside. One child I took a picture of came over to me and indicated that she wanted to hold the camera. Since the children in the babies’ room are too young to operate and take care of the camera I couldn’t give it to her. Instead I compromised with the child by turning the camera around to show her the photo I had just taken of her. She was very interested and loved seeing her little face inside the camera. Slowly but surely other children who were also outside came over to me and the child to see what all the fuss was. Soon it was too difficult to show the photos on the camera as there was too much interest and not enough space. To prevent the children from getting even more frustrated than they already were I took the children inside and grabbed a laptop.
I set the laptop up to view the photos at the table. The children huddled around me to view the much larger photos. Since everyone could see the photos it was a lot more settled. I was a little nervous that some of the babies would try to touch the screen and push the buttons on the keyboard but it turned out that the photos were so fascinating they didn’t even notice the keyboard. We spent ages at the computer and went through almost all the photos on the SD card. It was so much fun looking back at some of the activities and experiences we had done over the month. It was so amazing to watch the children’s faces light up when their faces came up on the screen. Soon it was time to set up for lunch so we had to give up the table and pack the laptop away.
This was such a spontaneous yet effective learning experience for the children. MacNaughton and Williams (2004) talk about recalling as a teaching technique. Although I did not intentionally use memory recall on the children it has certainly occurred in this learning experience. By showing the children learning activities that they have participated in and talking about what happened, the children are able to improve and develop their basic problem solving skills. The development of language is critical to being able to recall words and sounds. Reflecting and talking about past evens with the babies is great for their cognitive development.
Tsantis, Bewick, and Thornton (2003) state “It is the teachers’ knowledge and skills about how to use the technology that makes the difference, not the technology itself” (p. 4). I strongly believe that this quote relates to this learning experience. This is mostly because of the age of the children I teach (under twos). There is a need for a teacher to be using a computer or camera as a tool for teaching babies and toddlers.
This has defiantly been a very beneficial learning experience for the babies. I believe that showing children photos of themselves is very interesting for them. It also helps the children to recall events that have happened in the centre. To extend this learning experience I will print photos of the children and laminate them for the children to look at and take home to show their parents.
MacNaughton, G., & Williams, G., (2004). Techniques for Teaching Young Children. Australia : Person Education Australia.
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.
Kia ora Lucy. Good to see you writing about using technology with Under 2s. I wondered how things could be managed so that children this age could have a turn using real cameras? e.g. you could talk about how to use the digital camera and the importance of being gentle with it, and supervise really closely. Or what about having some old or disposable cameras in the centre for children to play with? Any other suggestions out there in cyberspace?
ReplyDeleteWell done Lucy,
ReplyDeleteI agree with Tamar about having old disposable cameras in the centre for children to play as this gives them the opportunity to explore and experience a camera with no worries of it getting dropped. Another suggestion is asking your centre if they purpose some disposable cameras for your children to take photos of things, then get them developed.
I love it when children ask or indicate that they want to see their photo as they get really excited and have big smiles on their faces. I work with the over twos so when they see their photo they tell me what they are doing or who their friends are in the photo. I noticed that one little boy/girl in one of your photo's pointed to him/herself or their friend on the screen this shows he/she recognised himself/herself or their friend.
From reading this blog I feel this is something i can take back to my centre and use as we have four computers in the senior room that I can show the pictures on instead of just using the camera.
I found this quote that may be helpful for you it's from Smorti, "technology is a creative and purposeful activity aimed at meeting the needs of opportunities through the development of products systems and environments (p.5)". This can be linked to the way the children were really interested in looking at the photos and not worried about anything else
Reference:
Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No.19 Autumn 1999, 5-10.
Wow thanks guys this is such great feedback! I will definatly have a talk with my centre director about getting some disposable cameras or old digital cameras. I'm still not sold on the idea to give the children our actual camera to use and take photos with though. especially since everything given to our children goes straight into their mouths. I suppose I could turn the camera off and let them hold it. I could then talk about the camera and how it works. Thanks guys I'll give it a go!
ReplyDelete