Sunday, 2 September 2012
Final relective (4) blog post on personal blog (Mele)
The comments that my group gave me helped me to think again of the importance of technology today. As I read how children were excited in using technology with their learning program, I thought to myself it is vitally important as they use eye and hand co-ordination which enhances children’s cognitive development and learning skills (Gonzalez-Mena, 2008). However, technology speeds up everything in business for good and at the same time it can be very harmful.
The next point that I learnt through our group work was the commitment and loyalty towards each other in taking time trying to give feedback or comment to each other. It gives me time to discover the different level of understandings, experiences that each one of us had gone through. For example, in response to their reflections, I was amazed how each o9ne of us see things from different point of view which enhances our knowledge and challenge our understanding in learning and teaching. Nevertheless, knowing yourself well help others to know themselves.
Most of the comment that I received talked about the importance of social interaction during the use of computers where children learn social skills, social emotional competence and new discovery of learning through technology. Children learn turn taking, values, and respecting children who are different from them during cooking activity. I also received great support and encouragement from the group of doing scaffolding by explaining the displaying the activity on the floor for the children to have enough space to explore and work along side them as (Vygotsky, 1962) states that working along side others support and encourage children to achieve their full potentials.
It is quite amazing to see how children respond quickly for the use of technology such as internet, Google, YouTube, cameras, mobile phone and so forth. As most of my group thoroughly explained how children asked them to play racing cars in computers and laptops. I can see the importance and the effectiveness of technology today even infants and toddlers they are excited and learn the word sound on computers and laptop. Therefore, most Preschool and Kindergartens are very keen in using technology as effective tools for learning. Te whaariki states that children use a variety of technologies for different purposes as they explore their world (Ministry of Education, 1996).
One thing I noticed in reading different reflections and comments on children’s learning technology was the hands on experience and visual learning. I believe these learning are vitally important for children as part of their life and its last for long time. As Albert Bandura (1977) states, children learn by imitating or copy what they saw within the environment. It is the environment that greatly influences children’s learning effectively. I believe technology is so important today in most ways even in children’s learning. But on the other hand children’s learning is so important to ensure that the program is safe and well control. Also children need to be aware that technology can be here today and can disappear tomorrow. Nobody can guarantee that technology can be here all the time, but nature and its natural resources will always be here. Therefore, to me it is good to be balance. I encourage and support children’s learning using technology at the same time I encourage them just to use whatever resources were have, they can still play or use it for their learning. For example, they can do counting with their fingers, or use little stones, sticks, shells, and so forth. Physical movement is also vitally important for children’s health. However, I cannot deny the effectiveness of technology in speeding children’s learning in so many ways.
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