Interactive white boards, they're amazing!!!

If you want to fight technology, I suggest you bring your own stretcher.                                                                   Andrew Green, 2011

My first reflection shows how when a technology tool (interactive white board) is introduced correctly it is a win, win for all involved. Approximately eight months ago our centre purchased and installed an interactive whiteboard. I had strong reservation it was money spent unwisely (as I could see other areas outside needing repairs and we needed new outdoor equipment) I believed commuter/ICT technology was better suited for older children and should be left at home for children to use in their own time.

Since the introduction of the interactive white boards I have changed my opinion on them and believe they are an important tool in literacy and can help children become confident in our digital age. “Children are surrounded by ICT in their immediate environments.  Increasingly, new technologies support, influence and shape the lives that we lead, and are also an integral part of the experiences of even our youngest children” (Bruce, 2008, pg.22).

I also believe another advantage of having user-friendly interactive white boards is their ability to share information/skills with groups of children. “An interactive whiteboard is particularly effective for sharing experiences; for example small groups of children can all collaborate and, as importantly, can all be a part of an activity”(Bruce, 2008, pg.23).  This can be done by exploring the internet (sites like netsafe, wiggles e.t.c) , playing literacy/mathematical games, using stamp/colouring games or just sitting down as a group on a rainy day and watching a movie (not that I have ever seen a group of forty children make it all the way to the end of a movie) with popcorn.

I also noticed (while watching children using digital technology) ICT has no favourites and many children who are quiet or shy or struggle socially with their peers, excel when it comes to computers and this allows these children to teach other children through the idea/ concept of scaffolding.       “ Theories of social problem-solving often draw on the theories of Vygotsky and focus on the role of scaffolding and peer tutors in the process of problem solving”(MacNaugton & Williams, 2009, pg.348). When this materializes, children’s confidence increases and socially they improve.

Inactive white boards are connected to computers and this is important because our culture is now very much intertwined with digital technology (in all we do) and children are using computers to gain knowledge from an early age. “Thus in one culture, children might learn to count with the help of a computer; in another they might learn by using beads” (Santrock, 2008, pg.44).  Computers are now becoming an important tool (not a toy) in educational settings and this is only going to increase for our children in the future.  By hiding our heads in the sand (which I was doing), we are not being authentic teachers, whose reasonability is to prepare our children for the future, a future with digital technology at its core.

In concluding this reflection, I feel technology is now an important part of New Zealand’s early childhood ethos and should be encouraged as much as possible alongside play and social interaction with others.

References;

Bruce, T. (2006). Early Childhood: A Guide for Students. London, England: Sage Publications Ltd

MacNaughton, G., & Williams, G.  (2009). Techniques for teaching young children: Choices in theory      and practice (3^rd ed.). Melbourne,Vic.: Addison Wesley Longman.

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, He Whāriki Mātauranga mō ngā Mokopuna o Aotearoa:                Early Childhood Curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Santrock, J. W. (2008) Lifespan development: international student ed. (11^th Ed.). Boston,          Ma.: McGraw Hill


Interactive white board images sourced from;  Google Images