Bikes

Katie Q
Bikes as Technology

Bikes as Technology:

 

The favourite toy at our centre at the moment has to be the bikes. The boys in particular spend a lot of time racing and following each other around on the bikes. Something that we have recently brought into the centre is bike day. We did this because we only have a limited amount of bikes and the children were getting a tad anxious waiting for their turns.  So every second Monday the children can bring their bikes in from home.  For this day us teachers set up different obstacle courses for the children, run bike races and set up different ramps that they can ride their bikes down. We understand that some children may not have bikes and therefore bring in some bikes that we may have at home so they do not feel as if they are missing out. 

One child in particular is interested in bikes after going to see nitro circus with his father. Everyday J comes in telling us how he has been working on a new back flip or side twist and how he cannot wait to get out and show us on the bikes. This normally consists of him sitting on the bike and jumping or riding the bike into the sandpit and then falling off it. However there have been a few occasions where he has tried to take the bike up onto the obstacle course to jump off and we have had to remind him that he does not have his protective gear on so it is not a good idea. J loves to share his ideas and stories around bikes with the other children who now share the enthusiasm for racing and tricks on bikes just like J. Although it worries us teachers a bit with how the children ride their bikes it’s been agreed upon that we will try not to interfere as it is their learning process. We do however set boundaries and rules with the children so they know where they stand, a teacher will always supervise them in case the children forget these rules and will happily remind them to promote a safe environment (Ministry of Education, 2007). 

We always encourage safety when it comes to riding the bikes as they tend to get a bit over excited, reminding them that they cannot perform tricks as they are not wearing safety gear and that they need to be aware and cautious around others when racing as we do not want anyone to get hurt. It is important to promote an environment that is safe but allows children to have the confidence to choose and experiment with materials and play around with ideas (Ministry of Education, 1997).

Bikes are a great asset to have within a centre as they help children with a lot of their gross motor development (Somerset, 2009). This is because children are using their legs to push them along, which is helping them to develop those muscles within their legs. Children are also learning to balance as balance bikes are coming back a popular resource within homes and centres (Mackay, 2010). It encourages peers to communicate and socialise as they work out which way they are going to go on their bikes, where they will race to and helping each other take on the ramps we have set up.  Bikes allow children to problem solve as they work out how many of them they can fit onto one bike and how to move with this amount, how they can transport things with their bikes and which way they can go (Mackay, 2010).

Technology is an amazing thing as it is everywhere and everything. It is a way of learning and living (Smorti, 2010). For myself I believed that technology was all recent developments, such as computers and phones not realising that it has been around for years and let alone could be a bike. It still amazes me how technology has been able to take something as simple as a bike and change and mould it to look like their parent’s motorbikes and cars. One child came into day care with a bike that had a rechargeable battery in it and all he had to do was balance and pull a trigger and the bike did the rest for him. Technology is something that is really starting to excite me as you don’t know where it’s going to go next. 

This is pretty much what the battery powered bike looked like.

References

Mackay, J (2010). Retrieved from: http://www.parents.com/fun/sports/exercise/bicycle-riding/

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mō ngā mokopuna o Aotearoa :                                                                       Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10.

 Somerset, G. (2000). Work and play in the early years (5th ed.). Auckland, New Zealand: New Zealand Play centre Publications.

 

Blog 2- Blocks

Katie Q
Blocks

Blocks as Technology

One of the favourite resources in our room is the blocks. We have a block area where our wooden blocks of all shapes and sizes are located. The children love this area and spend a lot of time building their creations here, whether they be big or small. One thing that I have noticed is that the children are currently loving the sound that the blocs make. They have been building high tower to push over to hear the thump as they fall, banging to blocks together to hear the bang as they knock or hitting them against something else to see what noise they will make. “Children need an environment where they can express themselves in an open and free way (Ministry of education, 1997, P. 63).

Another way we use blocks within our room is putting our big blocks in the sandpit. These are big soft rubber blocks that can join together to make different things. The children love using these blocks to create castles and forts, their imaginative play sparking from this (Ministry of education, 2007). Research shows that blocks have many more significant values. For example they help improve children’s speech and social skills as they interact with others while building and they help children with their hand eye coordination skills as they place block on top of block (Dewar,2012).

Rachel Keen (2012) states “Teachers need to design an environment that encourages problem solving from a young age”. That is exactly what the block area does. It gives children the opportunity to solve how to make the blocks balance on top of each other, to solve how to make their tower taller and wider (Dewar, 2012). Ministry of education (1997) talk’s about how teachers have to build an environment that allows children to solve, explore and make sense of the world around them. I find that by having blocks set up in different environments each day we meet this goal set as a block could be anything that the heart desires.

When first starting this assignment I would not have believed that a block could be classed as technology. Where do you plug it in? But after reading Smorti (2012) that states technology is anything that help someone and helps problem solve. Even looking at the way that the block came about is technology on its own. Originally developed from a tree turned into different shapes and lengths for stacking and building. Then melting plastic and moulding it into different shapes and colours for stacking locks. It’s amazing how far technology has come with one simple toy and how before my first people, places and things class I was blind to how this was done.

I believe now that blocks fit strongly under the title technology as they help children explore, discover and solve the world round them. They are a vital resource for every centre as thy offer so much for children and are a crucial learning tool. Through my journey of technology so far I am stating to really understand just how important technology is and what it really means.

 

References:

G, Dewar. (2012). Toy blocks and construction toys. Retrieve from: http://www.parentingscience.com/toy-blocks.html  

 Retrieved on 23/03/2013  

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, He Whāriki Mātauranga mo nga Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10.

 

First Blog- Digital Camera's

Digital Camera's
Katie Quayle

 

In our centre we have recently purchased a digital camera strictly for the children’s use. This purchase was made as it was clear to see that the children had a clear interest in them, as they always used the pretend ones to take pictures of each other.

One of the teachers will normally carry the digital camera around with them and if a child wishes to use it to take photos of their creations, of something interesting they have found or their friends they just have to ask. We realised that with them being toddlers this was probably the safest way to do it, as they tend to throw a lot of the objects around the room. All though all children who use the digital camera are supervised, the teacher never intervenes unless asked and lets them figure out the camera for themselves.” Growing experience in solving problems together develops children’s understanding of how technologies can help them and others (Ministry of Education, 2007, Para. 7)”. It amazes me that some of these two year olds know how to zoom in and change the format to take videos. I can see that the digital camera is something exciting for them as it’s something that they have always seen the older people around them using and now they are able to use as well. I have observed that the children set up different scenes to photograph. One of the girls the other day focused on her doll, taking photos of it at different places around our room. It made me laugh to see that every time they take a photo they make sure they say “cheese” first.  To me this is great as they are able to link things they have seen in their home and community environment to their school one (Santrock, 2009).

Once the children have finished taking their photos the teacher supervising will set up our teacher laptop for them and assist them on taking their photos off the camera and uploading them to the computer. “Children use a variety of technologies for different purposes as they explore their world (Ministry of Education, 1997, P. 98)”.  It is truly amazing that most children know now where the usb port goes on both the camera and the computer allowing them to plug it all in themselves. The children are quite capable in using the mouse also to navigate through all the next buttons to which the upload starts. If I have been supervising the children with the camera I normally ask open ended questions about what the child has photographed and why. I then use their answers to help them write a story using the photos of which they have collected. I believe this gives them a chance to express themselves freely, to look at what they are doing in a different light and a great way to bring literacy and other skills into our classroom (MacNaughton & Williams, 2009). I then print these books for the children and they go into our library so they children can revisit their experience.

It amazes me how much technology has involved since I was a child. The cameras we use to use never showed us the photo nor gave us the option to delete them. It would be a long process to get the photos off the film and called for a professional and children were hardly permitted to use cameras. Now here we are 10 years later and children at the age of two are doing all of this.  I can quite clearly see how far technology has come in such a short space of time and this excites me for the future as it does not seem to be speeding down. I never really looked at technology within our learning environment before but now I can see just how important it is and how much it has to offer all of us not just children as learners. Technology is the way of our future, it gives opportunities for problem solving, communicating, exploring and gaining confidence within our world (Smorti, 1999).

 

 

References

MacNaughton, G., & Williams, G. (2009). Techniques for teaching young children: Choices in theory and practice (3rd ed.). Frenchs Forrest, NSW, Australia:

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, He Whāriki Mātauranga mo nga Mokopuna o Aotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Smorti, S. (1999) Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, 19, 5-10.