Disc Jockey

"There is an increasing awareness of the technological world that we live in: a world that people have created and changed through technology" (Smorti, 1999, p. 5). This awareness creates a new found need for technology in early childhood education and requires staff to up skill themselves in order to help children discover and master technology. At my centre, music is a constant occurrence and all of the children love to dance to music played on the CD player. They also love to test out the buttons and the volume control if the CD player is within their reach. According to Piaget "...through touching, carrying and manipulating different objects the child builds an understanding of the properties of different objects..." (Hutchins & Sims, 1999, p. 207). This then allows the children to decipher the difference between objects and easily find their favourite things in future. One child in particular, who is nearly two and a half years old, decided to play with the buttons and he made the music stop. He looked at me with a puzzled expression on his face and then started pushing the top of the CD player with his hands. Suddenly the lid popped open to reveal the CD. This time the look was of pure excitement and he grinned from ear to ear as he reached in to pull the CD out. The event of music and dancing happens often so the children are used to the experience, but the CD player is usually placed out of their reach on the bench. When it was placed at their level a whole new prospect of possibilities was available and at first I was very conscious of the fact that the CD player may get broken or the children might hurt themselves. Te Whāriki states under goal three of the well-being strand that "Children experience an environment where they are kept safe from harm" (Ministry of Education, 1996, p. 52). Because the children are so young I was worried about them playing with the power point, so I kept a very close eye on them to ensure that they were safe. Once I saw that he was actually quite gentle with the equipment I let him explore for himself. I feel that this is a prime example of how people and things can affect the world of a child, especially a two year old, because adults are often very cautious about what the children are doing and what they are allowed to play with. However another view that is shown in Arthur, Beecher, Death, Dockett and Farmer (2008) states that "...children are competent users of technology, active agents in their own learning and very aware of the world beyond their family" (p. 13). If teachers want to encourage children to use technology and help them to become competent and capable in this area, they first need to develop their own technological skills and broaden their own ideas and skills (Smorti, 1999).

Welcome

Welcome to my first blog. This blog is about science, technology and the effects that people, places, things and events have on children. Please feel free to comment and provide feedback.
Cheers, Kelsi