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ICT in early childhood education
- 1. Introduction Nowadays, technology plays an important role in our daily life. It affects human activities, such as entertainment, work, education, etc. For education, we introduce technology into teaching instead of teaching children how to use the technology. However, there may be some potential risks of using ICT in teaching young children. The following paragraphs would discuss how to use technology appropriately and the role of using ICT in early childhood education. Importance of ICT in Early Childhood Education There is a significant transition from ‘learn about ICT’ towards ‘learn through ICT’. Many educators believe that ICT can help children develop their competencies in their early years (Kalaš, I., 2010, p.19). There is literature indicating that ICT can support learning for children from diverse cultural or language backgrounds, or with special learning needs (Bolstad, R., 2004). Moreover, there are rich contents in ICT. Teachers can make good use of ICT to foster children learning in different learning areas. A report found that children enjoy a variety of online activities (Holloway,D., Green, L. and Livingstone, S. , 2013). Learning through ICT, not only do the children learn the objectives more effectively, but they also experience manipulating technology tools. These opportunities can help children raise their competence in applying technology. Since ICT refers to information and communication technology, children can make use of ICT to get information in learning, which help them to gain the ability of self-learning and problem- solving.
- 2. ICT in Early Childhood Education There are many ICT tools which can be used in early childhood education, such as interactive whiteboards(IWB), computers, projectors, digital cameras, programmable toys, etc. Today, more and more kindergartens introduce interactive whiteboards in teaching activities, such as storytelling, playing games in language, Mathematics and Science areas, painting and drawing, and writing. Using IWBs, more interactions between teachers and children are exhibited. Digital images and videos are more attractive for young children, which raises their learning motivation. Many children feel tired easily when holding a pen. Using IWBs, children can write words on it by their fingers, which helps maintaining their interests and attention on linguistic learning. Computers and projectors help a lot on early childhood education. Not all the kindergartens have enough funds or ICT specialists to introduce highly developed technology, however, computers and projectors are commonly used in education. Children can draw, play and construct learning on a computers by using different softwares and applications. ICT is supporting play and integration. Teachers can organize some group activities for children to involve by using computers, which encourages collaboration, too. For example, teachers can ask them to create a story. Children need to think about the plots and script. During making the story, children need to use the ICT tools to record the speech, draw the pictures, type the title, author and the subtitle, and even make the special sound and visual effect. Through the activities, children learn to create a story by using ICT tools. They can learn collaboration. It brushes up their creativity and language development. After that, teachers can invite them to share their story to their classmates as well as their parents by using the projectors.
- 3. Teachers can ask children to use digital cameras to take photos in some special events, like birthday parties, Christmas party, talent shows, sport day, visits and picnic day. It provides more opportunities to use ICT tools in their daily life. They can share the experiences with their parents and ask to have more chances to take photos at home and on family days so that children can have more happy moments with their family. Some people claim that children may more easily get rid of programmable toys that simple toys, such as Lego since programmable toys do not have many changes. However, we can put some programmable toys in school because children can have different choices of toys. The toys in schools would not be ignored soon rather that at home. Many programmable toys integrate academic knowledge. Children can construct their knowledge through playing. Children play the programmable toys together can help to build up their social network. They can also scaffold others, which means they can help other children to construct their knowledge. As we can see that there are many potential teaching techniques with ICT in early childhood education, educators trend to introduce in their works. Pros and Cons It is criticised that ICT can be used appropriately in early childhood education. Some claim that there are potential adverse health and developmental effects (Umayahara, M., 2014). There are some benefits on using ICT, such as supporting children’s literacy development, supporting children’s mathematical thinking and problem solving skills, supporting children’s controlling and planning skills (Kalaš, I., 2010, p.30-35). ICT can also
- 4. support children from diverse cultural or language backgrounds because the functions of signs in ICT are transparent and intuitive. Children can select their language in some devices, too. However, there would be harmful physical effects if children prolong using computer. It would be negative effects on children’s social development. Some unsuitable contents may exposure to young children. Other important learning and play activities may be replace. Reflection on using ICT in Early Childhood Education There are both advantages and disadvantages of using ICT in early childhood education. Educators should make good use of the benefits of ICT in teaching while avoid the potential risks. For the safety of children, before teachers use ICT tools in teaching, teachers should consider whether the tools are educational, encourage collaboration, support integration, support play, avoid violence or stereotyping, etc. Teachers have responsibility on children’s learning. Therefore, while teachers are designing the curriculum, teachers should make sure the curriculum are designed developmental appropriately for young children and should be balanced among all the learning areas. Teachers should pay attention to the time limit and the content on the Internet. Schools can set some barriers to avoid the unsuitable content. Conclusion If educators use ICT tools in teaching appropriately, it can support young children’s learning. To meet the trends of ICT in the society, schools, teachers can cooperate with parents to build up a rich ICT environment for children to learn, play and use. While using ICT in education, teachers should make sure the impacts should be minimized.
- 5. Reference Bolstad, R. (2004). “The role and potential of ICT in early childhood education: A review of New Zealand and international literature.” Retrieved 25th November 2017 from http://w ww.educationcounts.govt.nz/publications/e-Learning/4983. Holloway,D., Green, L. and Livingstone, S. (2013). “Young children and their internet use.” Retrieved 25th November 2017 from http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/52630/1/Zero_to_eight.pdf. Kalaš, I. (2010). “Recognizing the potential of ICT in early childhood education.” Retrieved 25th November 2017 from http://iite.unesco.org/pics/publications/en/files/3214673.pdf. Umayahara, M. (2014). “Benefits and Risks of ICT in Early Years.” Retrieved 25th November 2017 from http://www.unescobkk.org/fileadmin/user_upload/ict/Workshops/responsible_ use_2014/Session_1C_Mami_Umayahara_ECCE.pdf.