What is Early Childhood Pedagogies in ICT?

By Michael Hilkemeijer

What is Pedagogy?

Pedagogy is defined as the art of teaching and it relates to the ‘how’ or practice of educating. It has a lot dot with the holistic nature of early childhood teacher’s teaching practices, curriculum planning, and decision-making, and teaching and learning.

 

 

As an early childhood educator, your judgment is central to the role of facilitator in children’s learning. In the EYLF, for example, early childhood pedagogy is a culmination of:

• Professional knowledge and skills.
• Knowledge of children, families and communities.
• Awareness of how their beliefs and values impact children’s learning.
• Personal styles and experiences.

 

In any context, right throughout a child’s educational journey the pedagogies that a child experiences must be the same to prevent any disruption in learning and to ensure that there is progressive learning.

 

Early childhood pedagogy will look different in any context and when it comes to pedagogy in technology in early childhood education, it is about combining new technology with new pedagogy.

 

Learn more about Early Childhood Pedagogy in ICT here.

 

The main principle for this new pedagogy is the “collaboration of children and adults, which breeds a precondition for ICT-mediated interactions to emerge, consequently, for an independent creative search of a child, which definitely eliminates an authoritarian supervision over child’s thinking” (UNESCO, 2010, p. 126).

 

 

Professional development in the Pedagogy of ICT

In relation to PD courses for early childhood educators, it is essential that you are able to:

• Understand and master didactics of integrating digital toys (most of those from the unit Digital toys) and educational software applications for children (most of those from the unit Educational software for children);
• Plan and monitor the development of children in using ICT to express themselves, for learning and play;
• Exploit ICT in support of most or all of teaching and developmental goals;
• Understand the role of ICT in modern early childhood education;
• Know their potential for the personal development of ECE children and for the professional lifelong development of ECE teachers.

(UNESCO, 2010, p. 137)

 

What are some pedagogies of ICT in Early Childhood?

As I stated earlier, progression in learning occurs when all teachers across the school share the same perspective on pedagogical strategies in ICT. Therefore, while some of the following might predominantly sound like they are more suitable for children in primary education, all of them can be adapted to the needs of younger children by adapting them to effective teaching strategies in early childhood.

 

So let’s go through some of them now.

• Planning for integration – by doing this, ICT will be viewed as a tool to support and enhance teaching and learning.
• Build on children’s home use of ICT – even before they enter your ECE centre, they have experience and knowledge of ICT use. Make their activities interesting to them and structure them appropriately.
• Stimulate and structure learning – have clear objectives, involve structured activities, and have high expectations along with having an appreciation of the problems they likely to come across. Support them with planned strategies to overcome them.
• Monitor their progress and intervene when they need help – this will have a beneficial effect on their ICT skills and knowledge.
• Assess and record children’s development in ICT capability and ICT literacy – assessment is closely linked to forward planning in early childhood education. Capitalise on your formative assessment strategies in early childhood to establish a starting point for learning journeys and to determine their capabilities in ICT along the way.
• Keep effective records and documentation – this is something that you may already know about. Ensure that they reflect children’s progression in learning.
• Group children and resources appropriately – this may be in relation to their differences in ICT capability, the personalities of the children, the sex or nature of the task.

 

Other strategies that both parent and early childhood teachers can utilise include:

• Encourage the use of technology in role play to develop autonomy in their use.
• Encourage independent use of technology at home.
• Use ICT to develop and support children’s creativity.
• Use ICT to develop literacy and language development in early childhood for example, by allowing children to use the capabilities of the computer to collect, record, embellish and play back stories, notes, instructions and poems.

 

Pedagogical adaptions in Early Childhood Education

Once you have assessed your own capabilities in ICT, including that of the children’s and the available ICT then effective planning can begin. The critical question which you must first always answer is “Will integrating particular ICT enhance the teaching and learning experience?”

You need to consider if there is a need for pedagogical change that would enhance the learning experience. Here is an example to give you a better picture about what I am talking about.

You might use the data projector to project notes onto the IWB. However, nothing has changed and the IWB has the potential to deliver many enhances to learning through pedagogical adaptions.

 

It is important that if you teach in the early years of schooling that you have the content knowledge that you will teach and an understanding of the pedagogies that work best with young children.

By content knowledge I mean subject-matter knowledge and pedagogical knowledge encompasses a deep knowledge of the processes and practices in teaching and learning. ICT can and should be integrated both in the sense of environment and of pedagogy into a more general context of child development.

 

 

Pedagogy and Technology in ECE

There are a number of perspectives on early childhood pedagogy that you can draw upon as a teacher. We have listed a couple at the bottom of this page. However, when it comes to digital pedagogy and play the statement by Early Childhood Australia demonstrates the need for the effective use of digital technology in early childhood education.

 

“Digital play involves children in many combinations of activities using a range of digital and non-digital resources, either by themselves or in collaboration with others”

“Digital pedagogy involves educator decision making about using digital technologies with, by and for young children. This can include the decision to not use digital technologies with children in certain situations.”

 

It is vital that in a technological-dominated society, those young children have the opportunity to experience digital technology as a tool for learning. For this reason, effective early childhood pedagogy in childcare, kindergarten and preschool is embedded in early learning environment.

 

Technology pedagogical practices in early childhood education is important in ensuring that you apply knowledge and understanding in order for opportunities for children to have play experiences that support them in achieving the learning outcomes of the Early Years Learning Framework.

 

Early childhood pedagogy in childcare and education should also reflect the ideals of scholars such John Siraj-Blatchford in stating that they should be embedded in early childhood learning activities so that 1) Children learn to understand ICT as a tool designed for a specific purpose and; 2) That they don’t take technology for granted anymore as a result of technologies having a profound effect on all aspects of children’s lives.

 

Another misconception that effective pedagogy in childcare and education addresses is that of by just exposing young children to digital technology in early childhood education and their ICT capability. In recent studies, this practice by teachers has proved to be fruitless in terms of promoting growth in capabilities.

 

Information and Communication Technology pedagogy in early childhood education means that you as a teacher should:

• Understand and master didactics of integrating digital toys (most of those from the unit Digital toys) and educational software applications for children (most of those from the unit Educational software for children);
• Plan and monitor the development of children in using ICT to express themselves, for learning and play;
• Exploit ICT in support of most or all of teaching and developmental goals;
• Understand the role of ICT in modern early childhood education;
• Know their potential for the personal development of ECE children and for the professional lifelong development of ECE teachers.

(UNESCO, 2010)

 

 

Digital pedagogy in childcare aims to support young children in play and learning experiences so that ICT capability is achieved if not built upon. So what is the level of ICT capability expected to be achieved in early childhood education and care? Siraj-Blatchford (2009) states that is the “ability to utilise ICT independently, appropriately and creatively and to understand ICT in its social context” (p.16). What is required is an understanding of the ICT potential of situations.

 

So technological pedagogical practices in early childhood education help build upon a young child’s ICT competency and this is important if they are to become full and capable participants in their environments.

 

 

How to Successfully Integrate Technology in Preschool Activities today?

As the world continues to address the growing need to rely on technology to get through an emerging crisis in its population, the need for early childhood practitioners must begin to lay the foundations to achievable and sustainable ICT capability in early childhood education.

This can be achieved by employing the early child pedagogy that I discuss in my free online professional development for early childhood educators. So what are pedagogical practices that promote the development of ICT capability?

In this blog, I discuss early childhood pedagogies with ICT by first defining pedagogy in the early childhood learning environment. However, you will learn the first steps to take in relation to this in my online course:

• Overcoming obstacles to technology integration;
• The key to success in pedagogical approaches with technology in early childhood education;
• My top 5 evidence-based early childhood pedagogies with technology.

Participants in the course will be given bonuses such as massive deals to continue their professional learning in our advanced course.

Learn more about pedagogy in early childhood with me today and build on your Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPACK) now.

 

Understanding Pedagogy in ECE

 

For a young child, foundational knowledge, skills and understanding of key learning outcomes are significant for the learning and development they will gain throughout life. It is for this reason, that early childhood pedagogy in the Early Years Learning Framework is essential.

 

To define pedagogy in early childhood education means to understand the holistic practices of a teacher in areas such as curriculum decision-making, teaching and learning as well as of their professional practices that encompass nurturing and building relationships with children and families (EYLF, 2020).

 

The four aspects of an early childhood teacher’s professional judgement which help constitute their pedagogy in early childhood include:

• Professional knowledge and skills;
• Knowledge of children, families, and communities;
• Awareness of how their beliefs and values impact children’s learning and;
• Personal styles and past experiences.

 

In relation to ICT and pedagogy in childcare and early childhood education, the need for strong ICT pedagogy was included in Early Childhood Australia’s Statement on Young Children and Digital Technologies. So let us now look at early childhood pedagogy that focuses on the best practices.

 

It is the hallmark of early childhood educators to make informed instructional decisions in the best interests of young children. Early childhood pedagogy that involves digital technology in early childhood education is about making decisions about using digital technologies by and for young children.

 

Integrating technology in early childhood education learning activities is an important part of the process in developing ICT capability in the early years learning environment.

 

Harness the Potential of Technology in Early Childhood Education focuses on ICT pedagogy in early childhood. It defines essentially what ICT pedagogy in childcare and ECE is so that you can embed ICT and pedagogy in learning activities and play.

 

Key pedagogical practices in early childhood education that is included consists of:

• Understanding children’s home experiences of technology through observation of children with technology when they first enter your learning environment. This establishes a baseline for ICT learning that you can then build upon.
• Embedding strategic methods of observation in early childhood education providing you with formative assessment approaches.
• Combining technology play and pedagogy in early childhood so that you can help young children make sense of their technological world in which they live in.
• Recognising children’s creativity with ICT while developing their ICT capability.

Some other examples of ICT and pedagogy in childcare and ECE include:

• An imaginative role-play about being “in the office”, in which a child used a functional PC, photocopier, and printer;
• A spontaneous indoor/outdoor game that evolved when an adult introduced six children to a pair of walkie-talkies;
• A whole-class “karaoke concert” using a CD player, microphone, amplifier, video camera, and television monitor.

 

The use of ICT and pedagogy in the early years learning environment is important in the process of ensuring that young children break the societal trend of taking technology for granted and learn to use ICT as a tool designed for particular purposes when required.

 

To see the full curriculum click here.

 

In this online PD for early childhood educators, you will learn to meld ICT and pedagogy together in a technology-rich learning environment that equips young children with the knowledge, skills, and understanding of what it means to be an ICT capable child whilst achieving the EYLF outcomes.

 

 

 

The key to the productive integration of ICT into the learning processes of children is complex and continuous professional development. ICT competency of early childhood teachers is vital and there are educational paths that you can take.

Integrating ICT is about “Utilizing one’s emergent digital literacy to integrate new technologies and new pedagogies into the everyday life of the ECE centre, into the learning processes of children in the most efficient, attractive, safe and productive way” (UNESCO, 2010).

Early Childhood Pedagogy in ICT is one of the 6 units associated with this path.

 

 

 

Adopting ICT Pedagogy in ECE

When it comes to ICT and pedagogy, there are many definitions out there that are true in their definition. Pedagogy by itself is about the art of teaching and so my understanding of ICT pedagogy is not just the effective integration of ICT, but to develop of student ICT capability. This should be your ultimate aim when using ICT in education.

ICT capability is about making technology ‘transparent’ while the children become so focused on using ICT as a tool to achieve other outcomes.

 

Teaching and learning with ICT in the 21^st century requires teachers to demonstrate the effective integration of Information and Communication Technology in the classroom. It is important to identify and understand factors underpinning the development of ICT capability in learning environments.

This principle also applies to that of early childhood teachers and their ability to adopt ICT using sound instructional strategies and pedagogies.

 

 

The aim of this online workshop for preschool teachers, kindergarten teachers, and early primary teachers is to suggest a model by which they can effectively employ evidence-based early childhood pedagogy in ICT in order to build on a young child’s ICT capability.

It is also worth noting that the effective use of ICT and pedagogy in early childhood education works towards building on their technological literacy as a direct result of effective assessment and planning in early childhood learning centres.

 

 

Different Types of Pedagogy in ECE

Today, there are many different types of pedagogy when it comes to pedagogy in childcare. So it is important that you understand what they are in order to make the right choices. Depending on where you live, you may not encounter them at all but at least if you are aware of their presence you will be able to determine the right kind for your child.

 

What first is early childhood pedagogy?

To put it simply, it is about how we educate young children and help their learning and development. This has a lot to do with the techniques and strategies you can provide them with to give them opportunities for development and how your relationships and interaction with the young children can affect them.

 

For example, when integrating technology in the preschool classroom the ICT teaching strategies in early childhood education are significant in developing their technological literacy and ICT capability throughout early childhood learning and play activities.

 

So stemming from early childhood, pedagogy in childcare would touch on areas like:

• Development;
• Behaviour;
• Relationships;
• Culture and;
• Critique.

 

The various types of pedagogy in childcare and education include:

 

Froebel

• Emphasises self-discipline.
• Each child is offered play opportunities that are right for their stage of development.
• Constructive play forms a large part of the Froebelian approach.
• Children need opportunities to make choices, errors, and decisions.

 

Montessori

• Crafting a safe, ordered and nurturing environment that encourages self-directed, hands-on learning.
• Features a range of natural, often open-ended resources that match the five Montessori curriculum areas.
• These five curriculum areas are: practical life, sensorial, mathematics, language, and culture.
• Practitioners play a crucial role in providing the right materials for children to explore at the right point in their development. Every resource has a specific place and a role to play.

(Famly.co)

 

 

Steiner/Waldorf

• Learning should be experienced through the course of regular daily tasks and activities.
• The environment is central, and shouldn’t overstimulate children. It should be familiar to them.
• Natural, open-ended resources feature heavily, leaving room for the child’s imagination.
• A homely environment is preferred in order to make children feel welcome, and each child should have a place where their things belong.

(Famly.co)

 

Reggio Emilia

• Every child should be seen as strong, capable and resilient, and ready to explore.
• Children are natural communicators, and it’s important that we understand the ‘100 languages of children’ – the many different ways children express themselves.
• Children can build their own learning, and require adults to help support it, not instruct.
• The focus on exploratory and child-led play is meant to improve problem-solving skills in particular.

(Famly.co)

 

 

This list of pedagogy in childcare represents some of the most well-known approaches. 

 

What are the technological pedagogical connections in the EYLF?

Early childhood pedagogy requires educators to use a range of instructional strategies and techniques to allow learning to occur. Pedagogy can be seen as the holistic nature of an educator and service practice.

 

Technological pedagogical practices can be broken down into two categories – Technological pedagogical knowledge (TPK) and Technological pedagogical content knowledge (TPCK)

TPK – an understanding of how teaching and learning change when particular technologies are used. It involves knowing the pedagogical affordances and constraints.

TPCK - an understanding that emerges from an interaction of content, pedagogy, and technology knowledge. This underlies meaningful and deeply skilled teaching with technology.

 

The use of technology in early childhood education can take place throughout most of the EYLF. However, it is learning outcome 4 and 5 where there is an emphasis on early childhood teachers to incorporate pedagogical practices in early childhood with technology.

 

What are pedagogical practices with technology?

Pedagogical adaptions include:

• Whether there is a need for pedagogical change – asking the critical question “will integrating particular technology enhance the teaching and learning experience?”
• Being aware that technology can bring completely new means of learning to the classroom.

See below for a list of key technological pedagogical practices in early childhood education.

 

 

Technology Pedagogical Practices are successful when you…

Technology pedagogical practices examples

• Provide technology in role-play areas that allow them to become independent in their use of ICT.
• Facilitate technology learning activities in key learning areas such as literacy and numeracy.
• Promote outdoor use of technology in early childhood education such as digital cameras for young children to take digital images of objects or record their play.
• Incorporate ICT seamlessly into role-play to enable meaningful communication and give young children the opportunity to use and develop mathematical knowledge, skills, and understanding in practical contexts.
• Use PowerPoint to engage young children with profound and multiple learning difficulties.
• Determine a starting point for a child’s ICT learning at your centre or school, and then enable effective formative assessment strategies to track their learning progression.
• Talk to parents or carers about what their child does with technology at home throughout the year.
• Encourage independent use of technology at home by emphasising the place of ICT in children’s learning.
• Observe, evaluate, and reflect on their ICT learning experiences.
• Practice intentional teaching strategies in early childhood with technology.

 

The list above provides examples of pedagogical practices in early childhood education. They define the goals of an early childhood teacher in preschool, kindergarten, or even early Primary in that they focus on building on a young child's home experiences with technology by embedding evidence-based teaching strategies in early childhood.

Technology pedagogical practices EYLF is emphasised in Outcomes 4 and 5 where there are further examples of how you can demonstrate and observe examples by young children using technology. Regardless, technology pedagogical practices in early childhood education can be applied throughout the EYLF curriculum to further enhance learning particularly in areas such as STEM in early childhood and literacy and language development in early childhood.

The above pedagogical practice examples in early childhood should serve as a guide as to the endless possibilities that you can use to build on a young child's home experiences of technology and develop their ICT capability.

 

 

3 Top Early Childhood Pedagogy in ICT that you can apply today

One of the ways that young children learn how to use digital technology as a tool in early childhood education is by what is known as vicarious learning or modelling.

 

Through sustained shared thinking, you as the educator can model thinking.

 

Early childhood teachers who are prepared to use digital technology as a model for young children, even if they do not know much about it, allow children access to them when it might be useful in their learning. Those also who have advanced ICT skills are sometimes willing to explore teaching approaches that integrate their use of digital technology. For example, they might want to model drafting and redrafting to improve the language to a whole class.

 

Additionally, you can also model your planning, hypothesising and evaluating for children. The effective modelling and scaffolding of the use of digital technology in meaningful contexts provide opportunities for children to practice and hone their skills.

 

In a world where technology can be pervasive, the role the early childhood teacher is key in modelling technology use in a way that maintains a child’s autonomy in the play cycle.

 

 

Teachers can also model technology integration in early childhood education to other teachers and in this article, two case studies that I have come across in my studies can achieve this for you. Have a good read through these models of pedagogy in early childhood education.

 

The following models of early childhood pedagogy illustrate the way children can engage and be creative, using critical thinking skills while collaborating and communicating their ideas to an audience.

 

They represent a sample of the way digital technology can be used to facilitate multimodal playful explorations. Both involve tablet computers which needs to be pedagogically framed appropriately and are derived from Yelland and Gilbert (2017, p. 55-57).

 

 

Model 1 Creative and artistic play

 

The opportunity to create art electronically gave the children the chance to play with different media for drawing and encounter multimodal representations. The students enjoyed using the pen to create electronic artwork, including drawing figures.

 

They also enjoyed using their fingers directly on the screen to create abstract pieces and loved to experiment with all the inbuilt features (stamps, magic paintbrushes) that they could find in the apps.

 

The students discussed their art with whoever was near them at the time, explaining why they preferred one drawing to another, or highlighting the differences between the two formats.

 

These are valuable early literacy moments that give children the opportunity to build their vocabulary as they become more confident about articulating their ideas orally when asked to explain what they have drawn using the different materials.

 

Multimodality was also a feature of a self-portrait drawing session. The children observed their face in a mirror and then drew themselves both in pencil and using an app on the tablet called Tux Paint.

 

 

Model 2 Self-reflection and document

 

The children also used the tablets to take photos of themselves and each other while they were playing, usually outside. One of the practitioners noted:

 

… they were outside in the play area and they had the Surface outside and they were actually photographing each other at play. And then I was fascinated because I was watching the kids and it was so interchangeable! They were using their fingers for the big sweeping motions that they needed and then picking up the stylus for the intricate aspects of what they were doing. So they were just interchanging. The seamless interchange between finger and stylus, finger, stylus. (Practitioner B)

 

From a pedagogical perspective, this use of technology links closely with well-established approaches to early years provisions, such as Reggio Emilia. In addition, we can see the autonomy associated with children’s learning by facilitating children to document their own learning.

 

Model 3. Story creation

Using the Kids Story Builder app, students were able to create digital stories by choosing photos, adding text and audio to tell their story. This was an exciting time and the practitioners showed much interest in pursuing this sequence of events since it related to the children not only being creative in terms of photography, but also gave them opportunities to become autonomous in deciding what they recorded as being of interest to them, and having a permanent record of this which could be shared with parents and reflected upon at any time.

 

These case studies are not my own but represent what can be achieved in any curriculum with effective early childhood pedagogies in implemented. Become a member of our ICT IN EDUCATION TEACHER ACADEMY to learn more today.

 

 

The Role of Play in Early Childhood Pedagogy

Early childhood pedagogy emphasizes the importance of play-based learning for young children. Through play, children can develop important skills and abilities that will serve them well throughout their lives. In this guide, we'll explore the benefits of play-based learning and how it supports children's development.

 

What is play-based learning?

Play-based learning is an approach to education that emphasizes the importance of play in children's development. It involves creating a learning environment that encourages children to explore, experiment, and engage in imaginative play. Play-based learning is based on the idea that children learn best when they are actively involved in the learning process and when they are having fun. This approach to education is particularly effective for young children, as it helps to develop their social, emotional, cognitive, and physical skills.

 

The benefits of play-based learning for children's development.

Play-based learning has numerous benefits for children's development. It helps to develop their social skills by encouraging them to interact with others, share, and take turns. It also supports their emotional development by providing a safe and supportive environment for them to express their feelings and emotions. Play-based learning also helps to develop children's cognitive skills by encouraging them to think creatively, problem-solve, and use their imagination. Finally, it supports their physical development by providing opportunities for them to develop their gross and fine motor skills. Overall, play-based learning is an effective approach to education that supports children's holistic development.

 

The role of the teacher in facilitating play-based learning.

While play-based learning is child-led, the role of the teacher is still crucial in facilitating and supporting this approach to education. Teachers should create a safe and supportive environment that encourages children to explore, experiment, and take risks. They should also provide a range of materials and resources that support children's play and learning. Teachers should observe and document children's play, and use this information to plan and scaffold their learning experiences. They should also engage in play with children, modeling positive social interactions and providing opportunities for children to learn from their peers. Ultimately, the teacher's role in play-based learning is to support and guide children's learning experiences, while allowing them to take ownership of their own learning.

 

The different types of play and their importance.

There are several different types of play that are important for children's development. These include physical play, such as running, jumping, and climbing, which helps to develop gross motor skills and coordination. Imaginative play, such as playing dress-up or pretending to be a superhero, helps to develop creativity and social skills. Constructive play, such as building with blocks or creating art, helps to develop problem-solving skills and fine motor skills. Finally, social play, such as playing with others and learning to share and take turns, helps to develop social skills and emotional intelligence. All of these types of play are important for children's overall development and should be encouraged in early childhood pedagogy.

 

How to incorporate play-based learning into your curriculum.

Incorporating play-based learning into your curriculum can be a fun and effective way to support children's development. Start by creating a play-friendly environment with plenty of toys, games, and materials for children to explore. Encourage children to engage in different types of play and provide opportunities for them to work together and share ideas. Use play-based activities to teach important concepts and skills, such as counting, letter recognition, and problem-solving. Finally, remember that play-based learning should be child-led and flexible, allowing children to explore and learn at their own pace.

 

 

Revolutionizing Early Childhood Education: Innovative Pedagogical Practices

Early childhood education is a crucial time for children, as it sets the foundation for their future academic and personal success. With traditional teaching methods becoming increasingly outdated, innovative pedagogical practices are revolutionizing the way we approach early childhood education. These new methods prioritize individualized learning, hands-on experiences, and technology integration to create a more engaging and effective learning environment. The impact of these practices extends beyond the classroom, as they help children develop essential life skills such as critical thinking, problem-solving, and collaboration.  Join me as we explore the different innovative pedagogical practices that are shaping the future of early childhood education.

 

 

Developing Digital Pedagogical Practices in ECE

The pedagogical practices in early childhood education are typically built on solid curricular foundations that incorporate play, creativity, exploration or experimentation. The Digital Play Framework suggests a model to base the inclusion of digital technology in teaching and learning in the early years.

 

1. Creativity - is about hands-on learning that results in the production of an artefact, something tangible and real. For example, it could be the creation of a digital painting.
2. Experimental activity - is concerned with creativity but also with processes and how things work and how they might change if you move this or change that.
3. Purposeful activities - this is concerned with the learning of the curriculum and the acquisition of specific knowledge.

 

 

 

12 Questions that Will Transform your Pedagogy in ECE

As society keeps rolling out technological developments there is no shortage of enthusiasm for the use of technology in childcare and education. There is, however, a lack of shared vision towards its purpose in schools and centres according to recent studies (Dennis as cited in Price, 2009). Effective technology pedagogical practices in childcare and education cannot begin to build on a child’s technology home experiences unless the perceptions of ICT use where you work are similar or the same everyone there that you work with.

 

Sharing perspectives in ICT use is not just an issue that occurs in childcare and education, it is something that all teachers across all phases of schooling must embrace. However, technology pedagogical practices in childcare, and education must begin and set the foundations for all to follow. 

You will find key pedagogical practices in childcare like this within our online workshops for ECE teachers.

 

Just as there are bridges between primary and secondary education to close, so too are there gaps between perspectives from childcare and primary education. Learning progression and continuity in a child’s technology literacy must be accomplished in all phases. The transition between childcare and primary education must be as seamless as possible. It must be managed so as to ensure that technology literacy or ICT capability is achieved rather than imposing barriers to progress.

 

 

Reflective Question:

Consider young children making the transition from childcare and education to primary schooling. What technology experiences have they had by the end of their time in your care? What technology/ICT experiences have they had by the end of their time with you? What expectations do they have of primary education?

 

 

Childcare practices can set a lasting influence on young children so it is important that no matter if your values are not consistent with others, that you don’t transfer these onto the children.

So how do you know what each person believes and is committed to? Below are some technology pedagogical practices that will help you determine if there is a shared vision for technology use.

You just need to remember that you don’t have to know everything about technology use in childcare and education. What matters is knowing why you are using technology as it is critical to its effective application today. 

These pedagogical practices in childcare were adapted from Price (2009).

 

Ask the following questions to understand each practitioner’s ICT capability:

• What do I understand ICT to be?
• What ICT do children encounter in their daily lives?
• What can children learn through the use of ICT?
• What ICT resources do we have in the setting?
• Am I competent in using each of these?
• How and where can I develop my own capabilities in ICT?
• What resources are available to me to develop my own ICT capability?

 

Note: A teacher’s ICT capability is similar to that of a child’s where it is not just about learning ICT techniques but developing an understanding and judgement about the appropriate uses of these ICT techniques to create an ICT solution to a problem situation. Teachers too need to know the ICT potential of things.

 

Ask the following questions to determine the beliefs of the people who you work with in terms of technology use:

• What do you believe ICT is (and isn’t)?
• What do you believe about the role and value of ICT in society?
• What do you believe about the role and value of ICT in your personal life?
• What do you believe about the role and value of ICT for young children and technology?
• What do you believe about the role and value of ICT in your teaching practice?

 

The above questions are not my own, yet I believe that they hold a key role in pedagogical practices in childcare that relate to technology use. If values are not consistent or even non-existent, these questions will help you determine why.

 

Technology pedagogical practices in childcare and education are the key to building the foundations of a young child’s ICT capability through early childhood education and care learning activities. As an early childhood teacher, your beliefs and values of technology or ICT, to be more exact, place a bearing on the teaching strategies used. The above questions should be used at the beginning of your centre’s or school’s journey in ICT capability.

 

Preparing Childcare workers for Digital Education

Teaching with technology requires pedagogical practices in childcare that meets the skills and knowledge of digital age Teachers (ISTE). When evaluating teachers, the childcare practices must take into consideration the five standards that ISTE has provided, and that includes:

1. Facilitate and inspire learning and creativity
2. Design and develop digital learning experiences and assessments
3. Model digital age work and learning
4. Promote and model digital age citizenship and responsibility
5. Engage in professional growth and leadership

Each of these goes into more detail in online PD for early childhood teachers.

 

TPACK in Early Childhood Education and Care

TPACK also has a role in pedagogical practices in early childhood education as it identifies the nature of knowledge early childhood teachers need for technology integration in their teaching. It is important for you to understand it as a tool for teacher preparation and digital literacy as it attempts to address the complex, multifaceted, and situated knowledge of teacher knowledge. Remember that it combines content knowledge, pedagogy in childcare knowledge for example as well as the nature of technological knowledge.

Technology must always be integrated well to help children learn.

There are 4 TPACK strategies (Donohue and Schomburg in Donohue, 2015, p43) for effective early childhood teacher ICT capability:

1. Balance technology, pedagogy and content knowledge: Future teachers need to consider how technology tools, teaching methods and content areas fit together to reach the teacher's goals for the children and for individual children.
2. Consider the environment that teachers work in:  future teachers need to learn basic principles of technology use and integration that can be applied to whatever classroom environment they end up in, from state-of-art to just getting started.
3. Build classroom experiences into the program from the beginning: Future teachers benefit from early exposure to real classrooms, teachers, and, children, and the opportunity to observe strategies for technology use and integration.
4. Choose the best technology tools for the job: when future teachers have a chance to integrate technology into their classroom they need to be able to select, use, integrate, and evaluate which technology tools are the most effective and appropriate for the individual child, the content area and the classroom context.

Technology pedagogical practices in childcare such as this are essential if you are to build on a child's technology literacy in the learning environment where you work.

 

Join our online PD for Early Childhood Educators today. Visit here to learn more now.

 

 

Preschool Technology Activities

Now that you have learned about early childhood pedagogy it is time to learn about preschool pedagogy for creative technologies! As mentioned above, it is what makes up your digital pedagogical practices in early childhood education. Here is a list of our preschool technology activities that promote creativity and which you can download and apply now by becoming a member our ICT in Education Teacher Academy for must $5.99 per month (cancel anytime).

 

Preschool technology lesson plan 1:

 

Preschool technology lesson plan 2:

Become a member of our Academy now to download your endless supply of lesson plans that will support your preschool pedagogy for just $5.99 Aud per month (cancel anytime).