My Personal ICT Pedagogy

Productivity Tools (Word, Excel etc):

• Teachers can use these tools to develop or write up lesson plans, reflection (Microsoft Word)
• Draft emails for parents (Microsoft Word)
• Use Excel to do up budget sheet for field trips and etc.

Communicative Tools: 

• Social media platform such as twitter, Facebook and even blogs can be used as a communicative tools to reach out to parents.
  

WebQuest: 

This module exposed me to what WebQuest is and how we can use it to support children's learning. It also encourages collaborative and independence in children as they learn independently but at the same time, help one another and learn pro social skills such as turn taking when they work on WebQuest together. WebQuest is indeed an interesting tool that can be integrated in lessons. 

Technology has not only become an integral part of our lives but also can be used to support early childhood practitioners in their work. These can be seen in the field trips we visited. (ChildFirst & Odyssey) 

ChildFirst Visit Reflection

Visit to Childcare centre Reflection: ChildFirst 

The visit to ChildFirst childcare centre was a pleasant surprise. As it is my first visit to a preschool that integrates technology into its curriculum, it was an interesting experience as i understood the different ways they integrate and lessen workload for teachers.

I find it very comforting that the group principal focuses on the welfare of the teachers. Technology used in the preschool is not only used to support children's learning but also to support teachers. By doing so, teachers can save time on lesson planning and creating take home kits. When teachers are happy, the quality of lesson delivered by teachers will also be of a better standard. This seems to be especially true as shared by the group principal as teachers have less task on hand such as lesson planning. In addition, they are given longer breaks which would enable them to brainstorm different ideas on how they can extend their lesson.

The visit to ChildFirst was indeed an eye opener, introducing me to many interesting ways that technology can be implemented into a preschool setting.

My Reflections (Field Trip)

What are the ICT resources in the 2 centres?

There are several ICT resources in the 2 centres. Smartcard, Interactive whiteboard, Ipad, Computers, Microsoft PowerPoint and Digital Cameras are some examples of ICT resources used in the 2 centres.

How have these resources help the children to learn?

As children engage in these resources, children learn to be independent learners and at the same time pick up pro social skills such as sharing and turn taking. Fine motor skills are also refined when they use these tools. 

How have these resources help the teachers to teach?

These resources help teachers to conduct engaging lessons such as the use of videos which would help better captivate children's attention = better classroom management. 

In ChildFirst, teacher's workload is decreased as they have the softwares and lessons that have to be conducted stored in the smartcard, hence, it the main resource that teachers will use to teach. 

Resources like digital cameras, Powerpoint presentations help teachers to captivate moments when children are interacting or enagged during lessons. these pictures can be used to show parents and chidlren themselves of their learning process that took place. 

What kind of preparation do they need to integrate IT into their curriculum

Teachers themselves need to have the basic IT skills that would enable them to facilitate children during lessons. Teachers also need to be aware of the different softwares that are available to suit children's learning needs. They have to prepare lessons in advance such as try out the programs available before conducting the lessons. 

Do you think they are successful in integrating IT? In what ways?

Yes. Both centres are. As children are actively engaged through the videos and presentations presented by the principals/director. 

What have you learnt from it?

That IT can be used to help teachers in their lessons instead of worrying that . We as teachers have to trust that children are independent learners to manipulate these resources such as digital cameras independently.  This would help boost children's development such as confidence level. 

How are you going to apply what you have learnt in your teaching in future?

I would use PowerPoint presentations, class blog and most importantly, digital cameras to capture the moments that children engaged in. These are the main form of communication to use to reach parents who are busy.