Digital technology as a tool to support children and educators as co-learners

2019 ◽  
Vol 9 (4) ◽  
pp. 306-317
Author(s):  
Kelly Johnston
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Outer Space ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Practitioner Inquiry ◽  
Digital Resources ◽  
Children’S Agency ◽  
Complementary Resource ◽  
Ongoing Project

Digital technologies are increasingly prevalent and can complement more traditional resources to support children’s investigations and explorations in early learning contexts. A new consideration is the value of technology in positioning early childhood educators as co-learners and co-investigators alongside children. This article presents findings from a case study undertaken with two early childhood educators working with a class of preschool-aged children. The participating educators engaged in a practitioner inquiry project focusing on how technology could support and extend children’s interest in outer space and the solar system. This study found that digital technology supported educators and children to work as co-investigators, moving between the roles of apprentice and expert as they shared pre-existing understandings and sought new knowledge. In addition, digital and non-digital resources were used contemporaneously to support investigation in their ongoing project. The findings provided clear examples of technology as an integrated, complementary resource in play-based learning, supporting children’s agency as they worked with educators to increase scientific knowledge as well as digital handling skills.

Pookey, poory, power: An agentic powerformance

2018 ◽  
Vol 20 (2) ◽  
pp. 121-132
Author(s):  
Prasanna Srinivasan
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Children’S Agency ◽  
Children’S Voices

Early childhood curricular documents in countries such as Australia position children’s voice and agency as central to all early childhood practices. Children’s choices expressed by their voices are regarded as children’s exhibition of their agency. Hence, early childhood educators are urged to listen and respond to children’s voices, and such ‘listened’ responses are applauded as educators’ acknowledgement of children’s agency. Moreover, recognition of children’s agency is also seen as accepting children as individuals capable of making preferences and choices, like adults. In this article, the author argues that children’s agency and voice cannot be conceptualised in their absolute, individualistic terms, and such simplistic consideration only results in diminishing children’s capacity as political enactors. In doing so, the author does not obliterate the presence of agency and voice. However, it is suggested that children’s agency and voice should be viewed as performances attached to power.

scholarly journals What digital technology do early childhood educators use and what digital resources do they seek?

2019 ◽  
Vol 44 (1) ◽  
pp. 91-105
Author(s):  
Anne Dwyer ◽  
Caroline Jones ◽  
Lee Rosas
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Professional Learning ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Knowledge Bases ◽  
Early Childhood Educators ◽  
Discussion Groups ◽  
National Standards ◽  
Resource Limited ◽  
Early Childhood Professionals ◽  
Continuing Professional Learning

Continuing professional learning is vital to early childhood professionals, and the use of digital technology can potentially reduce costs and improve access. In this study, 74 educators across 17 early childhood services in Australian urban and regional locations completed a questionnaire about their personal and professional uses of digital technology to find resources. The results indicate most early childhood educators use digital technology to construct their own professional knowledge bases, and though they make some use of formal resources around national standards, they make greater use of informal resources and discussion groups. They tend to seek practical information and activity ideas and ways to connect with other professionals, although this varies somewhat by years of professional experience, age and the socioeconomic context they work in. Results highlight early childhood educators’ professional learning desires and the potential value of mobile learning for providing access to professional learning for early childhood educators working in resource-limited and geographically limited settings.

scholarly journals Investigating Parents' Attitudes towards Digital Technology Use in Early Childhood: A Case Study from Croatia

2016 ◽  
Vol 15 (1) ◽  
pp. 127-146 ◽  
Author(s):  
Nives MIKELIĆ PRERADOVIĆ ◽  
Gordana LEŠIN ◽  
Mirjana ŠAGUD
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Digital Technology ◽  
Technology Use

Interactive acculturation of Turkish-Belgian parents and children in Flanders: A case study of Beringen

2019 ◽  
Vol 16 (3) ◽  
pp. 417-428
Author(s):  
Özgün Ünver ◽  
Ides Nicaise
Keyword(s):  
Early Childhood ◽  
Maternal Employment ◽  
Domain Specificity ◽  
Specific Context ◽  
Childhood Education ◽  
Parents And Children ◽  
Education And Care ◽  
The Relationship ◽  
The Town

This article tackles the relationship between Turkish-Belgian families with the Flemish society, within the specific context of their experiences with early childhood education and care (ECEC) system in Flanders. Our findings are based on a focus group with mothers in the town of Beringen. The intercultural dimension of the relationships between these families and ECEC services is discussed using the Interactive Acculturation Model (IAM). The acculturation patterns are discussed under three main headlines: language acquisition, social interaction and maternal employment. Within the context of IAM, our findings point to some degree of separationism of Turkish-Belgian families, while they perceive the Flemish majority to have an assimilationist attitude. This combination suggests a conflictual type of interaction. However, both parties also display some traits of integrationism, which points to the domain-specificity of interactive acculturation.

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