Final Reflection.
I found the other girls reflections on my reflections
interesting. I found Larissa’s ideas particularly
interesting as they show a different perspective to my own to a degree. Larissa
has mentioned “The ability of children to use the capital, space and even type
their names was amazing” and “I do agree that modern life required the
knowledge of the texting and typing messages from all new generation, but not
before five years old” and also “some centres like Steiner schools are against
the use of technology for the preschoolers because of the health issue”.
I found these perspectives very interesting. I have grown up
with technology and find its everyday use normal. I had only really thought of
it as a negative when taken to the extreme of withdrawing from social
interaction. The thoughts of Steiner schools that the use of technology at all
could be a health issue was intriguing so I read up on their reasons for that.
Steiner Australia states
“Computer skills of all types are becoming more necessary in
today’s world. However, we do not believe it is appropriate or relevant for
children to become involved with them from a young age. Electronic media is not
used in the classroom.
In Steiner schools computers are not generally introduced until
secondary school. However, it may be appropriate to introduce them toward the
end of the primary years if many children will be entering mainstream secondary
school.”(www.steineraustralia.org/other/overview.html)
I struggle to reconcile the views that children should explore the world around them, and that children should be empowered to decide the direction of their learning with the restriction of choices and denial of access to technology. Can knowledge and experiences be good as well as bad? It makes me think of other negative things that we protect children from such as bad language, racism, violence and sex. Is technology really in the same category as these things?
If children have ready access to technology at home, such as television and computers, yet it is denied at the centre, how does this encourage continuity between home and the centre and build relationships?
I also wonder about the impact of denying children access to computer, and the impact it may have on the development of their talents. The founders of Google and many other software companies started writing software and programmes at a young age, often as pre teens. By denying children computers until secondary school, would we be limiting their individual development and possibly denying them a enjoyable activity, as well as a potentially lucrative future profession? Given the importance of the IT industry and its nature as a high paying, flexible, distance agnostic profession that many of our children today will work in, will the Steiner philosophy help or hinder children’s development as rounded individuals prepared to enter the wider world?
Overall I think it is important that technology plays a part
in the early childhood centre curriculum and day to day practice. Children are increasingly
using technology at home, especially with the advent of touch based interfaces
on tablet and Smartphone’s. These touch based interfaces are especially easy
for children to use, as they are very intuitive and require less fine motor
control then a mouse and less abstract then a keyboard. I think that in the
near future (within 5 years) we will see tablets in use in most centres for
digital painting and drawings and perhaps playing educational games. I also
wonder about the impact that voice and gesture controls on technology (Siri and
Kinect) and the impact that will have for young children especially. The use of
a mouse and keyboard can be a barrier to the use of technology and with these
interfaces the accessibility for children improves. I do worry that with these
changes children may start to spend too much time with technology, but in my
experience, children while fascinated by technology have just as much, if not
more, passion for outdoor play, hands on play and personal interaction.
