Blogs I have commented on :-
· CLASS BLOGS:
· OTHER STUDENTS:
2, http://rainmit.blogspot.com/2011/04/learning-on-mathematics-with-mickey.html
Thursday 5 May 2011
Wednesday 4 May 2011
Personal Reflection
Personal reflection
As we know, technology is growing faster and the development of communication has been reached at a unbelievable height. Few decades ago, we were all depended on postal services as the only means of communication to deliver messages in writing mails for one another. Another way of exchanging messages was using wireless system and later through telephone which we still use. When internet technologies have become popular, the significance of postal services has been decreased. Mail service is replaced by emails. Usage of mobile phones are common and popular which enable people to send text messages. Also the fast development of technology made the life easier and comfortable. In our daily life, we use many types of sophisticated equipments and appliances (for example, washing machine, fridge, microwave, mixer, TV, telephone etc). Using these equipments minimizes time consumption as well as improves the quality of our daily life.
My knowledge and skills in computers were low, so it was difficult for me to create the blog in the beginning. But I appreciate my friends and lecturer who helped me to learn to construct a blog and finally I succeeded it. The theoretical level of proximal development will achieve in a particular skill when we work with more competent persons (McNaughton & Williams, 2004). Smorti(1999) says that “technology is helping people and solving problems”( p.45).
I could successfully create a blog account in my own name and could upload my ideas which are open to my friends. I published four blogs and I was appreciated by my friends in their comments. I also received some creative criticism as well on my blogs.
Nowadays, the computer and internet facilities are available in schools and in early childhood centers. So the children are literate in using internet and teachers teach them to use more programs available in computer. Te Whariki says that “ in order to participate in this world, our children will need the confidence to develop their own perspectives as well as the capacity to continue acquiring new knowledge and skills(Cited in Smorti, 1999). The children play computer games, puzzles and they pass the messages through internet. Talay & Ongan(2005) points out that children’s technological capabilities are most influenced by their early experiences at home and at play. Children learn elementary concepts of measurement such as time speed, growth and change are often represented through the use of technology”(p.226).
I think my knowledge in using blogs will be useful when I practice in early childhood centre. It will enable the children and their parents and teachers to communicate each other and exchange their ideas and suggestions easily. By implementing more sophisticated communication medias, children’s knowledge and skills can be developed. Most of the parents are very busy with their own work and other personal reasons. Some of the parents don’t have time to spend a long time for face to face chatting so internet are convenient for the parents to know what is happening everyday in children’s learning and respond to messages in their own time. Even though websites, emails and blogs enable us to communicate quickly with each other, there are several cons(disadvantages) in using these technologies. In modern world, it is common to send a malicious program or virus to other computers which cause to delete or abort the files and programs of the targeted computers. So misusing computer technology is a threat in the computer world. Individuals or company can steal the files and programs of other companies and there is no safety in keeping the confidential matters of an individual or company. Hackers can steal, delete or abort the files of any computers.
Children may misuse computers by surfing through unacceptable sites and they may be easily cheated. These sites can affect their personalities and habits negatively. So children should be monitored by teachers, parents and adults while they are using internet. Now a days it is common that children are very much addicted in using computers and internet. It make them idle and they are reluctant in engaging in physical and out door plays. It affects their interaction and communication with their friends and family members.
I received some creative and interesting comments upon my blog from my friends. I appreciate and welcome their suggestions and opinions.
Responding Hester’s comment on using personal camera and printer, I used these equipments not for parents to see, but to teach the children to gain a new skill in using cameras. On account of Veronica’s suggestion on showing the kid on how to use the printer at the centre which was broken then, unfortunately I could not demonstrate printing later; the child already left the centre and joined in the school. I agree with Eliza’s opinion regarding the advantages of group play. I am unsure if the child had already been using computer at home. On Miriam’s query, yes we use the CDs which include both entertainment and learning activities to facilitate a fun and at the same time a learning environment . Some of the CD’s include alphabet and number games. But others are for entertainment. I appreciate Veronica’s suggestion on cooking. I should have explained the change of texture, color and smell of ingredients after cooking. But, next time, I will practice your suggestion in cooking with the children. I thank everyone for your sincere comments and opinions to assist me to complete this task.
Reference List:
MacNaughton, G., &Williams, G. (2004). Techniques for teaching young children:
choices in theory and practice (2nd ed.). Melbourne: Addison Wesley Longman.
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whāriki: he waariki mātauranga mo nga
mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No.19 Autumn 1999.
Talay-Ongan, A., & Ap, E.A. (Eds.). (2005). Child development and teaching
young children, Southbank, Victoria: Thompson social Science Press.
Sunday 24 April 2011
References
Reference List
Arthur, L., Beecher, B., Death, E., Dockett, S., Farmer, S., (2008).
Programming and planning in early childhood settings (4th ed.). Victoria:
Thomson
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whāriki: he waariki mātauranga mo nga
mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington: Learning Media.
Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No.19 Autumn 1999
Talay-Ongan, A., & Ap, E.A. (Eds.). (2005). Child development and teaching young
children, Southbank, Victoria: Thompson social Science Press.
Blog 4 - Yummy Yummy Pizza!!!
Blog four – Yummy Yummy Pizza!!!!
18/4/2011
Today in my centre, children made pizza and baked it in the oven for their lunch. In modern life using oven for baking and cooking is one of the easiest and time saving technology for cooking. Children were active in cutting tomatoes and sausages and spreading them on to the top of the pizza base along with grated cheese. During the process of preparing pizza, children explained their own experience with their parent when making pizzas at home. ‘K’ said “I don’t like chicken sausages”. “My mummy makes chicken pizzas at home” said ‘G’. It was a very lovely cooking time for children in the centre by talking, sharing and turn taking to fill the pizza base. Te Whāriki says that ECE settings should be like a home away home (Ministry of Education, 1996). Centre provides children the same routine and experiences in their daily learning. Smorti says that process of cooking is a technological activity or system developed, used and adopted by early childhood services to meet children’s needs (P.6).
When pizza is ready for baking, I heated the oven to 200 degrees Celsius. For the safety measures and according to the centre philosophy, children are not allowed to the kitchen. So I opened the kitchen door so that children could watch what was happening in the oven. I put pizzas into the oven. I told children that it takes 10 minutes for the pizzas to get ready. I used digital alarm clock for the children to see the timer to count the minutes for the pizzas to get ready i.e. approximately 10 minutes.
It helped children to learn simple counting up to 1-10 minutes by reading off the time from the alarm clock. It enabled children to experience some of the technologies (eg- cooking oven) and resources for mathematics (eg- digital alarm clock). From this cooking experience, children developed their fine motor skills through cutting, grating and spreading ingredients on the pizza base. It helped children to gain knowledge of science on how the oven heat can help to cook food to eat, learn simple mathematics by counting minutes from 1-10 and it also developed interaction and communication with each other.
Blog3-Lamination
Blog3-Lamination contd- 12/04/2010
Next day when I came to the centre, ‘D’ rushed to me and asked me for his pictures from the previous day. I was surprised because he still remembers his work from the previous day. I showed the pictures to him. He became very happy and excited when he saw his pictures. Then he showed these pictures to his friends at the centre. I asked him whether he liked to laminate his pictures. He suddenly asked me what lamination was. I explained him that it is a process of covering his pictures with a plastic coat so that the cover protects them from being damaged. He agreed to do the lamination and in the afternoon, I told him that we could do the lamination then. Few other children also followed us to see the lamination.
Firstly, I showed the plastic sheet and told them that it is called the ‘pouch’. Then I turned on the laminator and I asked the children to wait for some time till the laminator gets hot so that the plastic sheet will be melted and coated on the pictures. For the children’s safety, I asked them to sit down and reminded them not to touch the hot laminator and warned them if they do, their hands will be get burnt. Children patiently waited for the laminator to get hot and ready. I kept his pictures inside the plastic sheet and put them into the laminator. After a couple of minutes, the laminated pictures came out from the laminator. Children touched on the laminated pictures and said to me that it was thick. I told them that it enables us to keep the pictures more safe and the plastic coating will protect it from being damaged. ‘D’ was very happy and he told me that he is taking them to home to show them to his mum and took them to home. Te Whāriki says that “using many materials for different purposes enables children to recognize that different technologies may be used in various places and settings (p. 95). From this technical experience, children got an opportunity to understand about how technologies can help us to keep things more durable and keep them for long time. Children could learn a new technology and gained more knowledge about the science which is useful to keep materials more durable.
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