Personal Reflection on Technology

Before this assignment I knew the very basics of technology, how it worked, the function points and the invention of an upgrade to a series every so often. I never really knew the full potential of technology and non technology till now that I’m coming to the end of this assignment. I have learnt so much! Not only from my own discovery through readings and personal experiences but through the discovery and experiences have my peers made also. I'm grateful to have had this opportunity to learn from them and develop a clearer understanding of what technology is and the benefits of it in an early childhood setting. As an educator I now know the lengths technology can reach, for example the iPad being an advance piece of electronic that children are attentive to that enrich early literacy, read books, develop hand eye coordination, initiate turn taking and sharing (Tsantis, Bewick & Thouvenelle, 2003).

It’s another resourceful way to create opportunities for children to investigate and explore interests of their like enabling beyond discoveries. The culture that children are growing up in is technology based; it has an impact and has become an essential part of a child’s everyday life (Ministry of Education, 1996). Smorti says technology is an increasing awareness of the technological world that we live in, and that it’s an important area of the early childhood curriculum along with mathematics and science (Smorti, 1999). 

In one of the reflection’s I red I like how the teacher extended the children’s interest of books through technology. She introduced E-books which is similar to a iPad but read’s books for you instead, children are seen more involved and interested by the variety of technology that surround them, this is as an awesome way to motivate them to learn (Literacy Matters Today, 2011).

Another peer explained in one of her reflections about computers and how children have benefited from this in many ways i.e. turn taking, creating conversation, sharing ideas, support, hand eye coordination, the functions of computers, and early literacy (Mohamad &Mohamad, 2012). We don’t have a computer in our toddler room but I think it’s time we invested in one for children to use and experience also.

I liked all the comparisons made to how technology was in the past and what it’s like today. It has evolved so much, and the way things are done today have become way more convenient. I agree with a lot of the experiences shared about child interaction, the response of children and the effectiveness of technology in general. The New Zealand curriculum states that children need to develop a broad of technological literacy as it will support children participant in society in their future (Ministry of Education, 2007). 

Over all I will now consider more use of technology with our children, it would be a good way observe the transition  from non digital to digital and the change that takes place “Children experience an environment where they learn strategies for active exploration, thinking, and reasoning” (Ministry of Education, 1996).