Enabling curiosity and making connections through meaningful interactions with technology
- 2. Welcome to C&K V1.015 © This document is the property of C&KPage 2 Enabling Curiosity and Making Connections through Meaningful Interactions with Technology
- 5. What role could or should technology play in a lively environment where children are actively working with materials and inventing their own worlds?
- 6. Screen Time Recommendations - AAP • Younger than 18 months – Avoid use of screen media other than video-chatting – Choose high-quality programming and watch it with children • Ages 2 to 5 years – Limit screen use to 1 hour per day of high-quality programs – Parents should co-view media Implicit in the recommendation is the idea that the digital media is passive ~ watching not interacting ~
- 7. Screen Time Recommendations – Department of Health Screen time - birth to 2 years • Evidence suggests that watching TV may be connected with delays in language development • Children younger than 2 years of age should not spend any time watching television or using other electronic media Screen time – 2 to 5 years • Evidence suggests that long periods of screen time are connected with: slower development of language skills poor social skills an increased risk of being overweight • Watching television and the use of other electronic media should be limited to less than 1 hour per day
- 8. For toddlers and pre-schoolers, long periods of screen-time may result in less opportunity for active, outdoor and creative play
- 9. Screen Time Averages in Australia Age Year Weekday Weekend TV VG Com. TV VG Com. 2-3 2006 1:58 - - 1:42 - - 3-4 2007 1:50 0:06 0:17 2:03 0:05 0:09 4-5 2008 3:08 0:09 0:17 2:10 0:16 0:19 5-6 2009 1:31 0:15 0:15 3:19 0:47 0:37 Australian Institute of Family Studies, Longitudinal Study of Australian Children
- 10. Good Screen Time? Certain types of screen time can increase children’s physical and cognitive activity
- 11. Potential Benefits Physical Interactions with Technology Cognitive Interactions with Technology Exercise (similar to walking and skipping) School readiness Improve academic performance High levels of attention and motivation Create opportunities for group socialisation Scaffolding interactions Improve classroom behaviours Language development Build self-esteem Spatial skill development Create motivation through broad appeal
- 12. How do we create appropriate experiences with technology? Contemporary pedagogical practice in ECEC Early Years Learning Framework (EYLF)
- 13. What works well? Flexible, portable, transformable experiences that challenge, engage and inspire
- 14. What you should be looking for … Attributes of enjoyable technology – sense of discovery – transport a child into a new reality – goal-directed – explore-familiarise-understand cycles – require mental energy Match between the child’s skills and the challenges presented
- 15. Open-ended and discovery oriented Encourages child-initiated play Involves active manipulation and transformation of materials Entry level knowledge and experience is kept to a minimum Allows for varied skills, abilities and interests Promotes social interaction Criteria For Children Under Five
- 16. Four Questions when choosing Technology for Children • How does it support my pedagogical approach to teaching? • How does it fit with the curriculum? • What am I expecting the learning outcomes to be? • What does the technology offer that can’t be experienced in other ways?
- 17. Choosing software for children What pedagogy underpins the software? – Instruction and exploration • Software manages problem solving activities • Learners process information for use – Construction and expression • Learners create their own educational experience
- 18. Choosing software for children What is the intended purpose of the software? Where will it be used? – Inquiry – Communication – Construction – Expression
- 19. Choosing software for children Elements Guidelines Activities Interesting Expanding complexity Supportive reward structure Instructions Age-appropriate Easy to comprehend and remember Children control access to instructional information Screen Design Icons should be visually meaningful Rollover audio, animation and highlighting
- 20. Enabling Curiosity and Making Connections: Looking Beyond “Education” Apps Case Study: Experiencing STEM through data Using the natural world – every space is a STEM space STEM as stories – framing data as part of an incomplete narrative Data connects STEM – as we recognise and explore patterns Technology enabled – active, play-based, discovery-oriented and open-ended
- 21. What a curriculum might say about learning experiences with data … • Representing data as pictures, symbols and diagrams • Sorting objects and events based on easily identified characteristics • Making generalisations about data sets • Experimenting with different ways of representing patters …
- 27. Data as Experience • Uses simple technology as inspiration • Is open-ended and discovery-oriented • Connects science, technology, engineering and maths • Becomes pervasive – it can occur anywhere, anytime • Doesn’t focus on precision • Isn’t right or wrong • Can be focussed on one or more characteristics of the data • Builds in complexity • Can make the invisible visible • Creates engagement beyond STEM
- 28. Final Thoughts Technology / Software Curriculum Evaluation of content and functionality against alternative tools Pedagogy Evaluation of child-technology interactions and experiences Learning Outcomes Evaluation of learning with reference to specific groups and contexts Attributes Evaluation of capabilities the technology for creating unique experiences