Technologies
Salutations to the Teaching Resources for Educators in the Domain of Technology
Technologies provide interactive spaces where young children can explore, invent, and create. Children can use both digital and non-digital resources to design, produce, and share their ideas in a practical application. Technology also promotes creativity as it aids children in exploring cause-and-effect steps and creative thinking in solving problems. Teachers can assist students in using technologies in a way that is both creative and purposeful, developmentally appropriate, and aligns with group objectives about critical thinking, teamwork, and trial-and-error learning.
Theories and Perspectives on Technologies
- Seymour Papert's constructionism: Papert through learning was best achieved when children made meaning actively by creating. He made a strong point of digital technologies such as programmable objects. To help children participate in creative thinking and problem-solving.
- Jean Piaget – Cognitive development theory: The developmental stages offer a solution to the question of how children use experience and sensorimotor learning to become aware of the world.
Resources, materials, and Digital Technologies
- Resources and materials: loose parts, recycled materials, cardboards, clay, tablets, and a stylus pen.
- Digital technologies: tablets for drawing and taking pictures, blue-bots for early coding, direction-based games, like Book Maker or Toca Builder, for producing.
Learning experiences by age group
- 0 to 2 years
- Mechanical object treasure Basket: Babies are exposed to a basket full of simple and safe items that involve turning the knobs, zippers, spring toys, and wheels.
- Push and Pull Station: pops up boxes and activity centers are examples of objects that children can pull or twist while they play. The instructors describe actions verbally.
- 2 to 3 years
- Easy tool play: it's a simple instrument that engages in play, brings nuts, bolts, toys, hammers, and screwdrivers. Children engage in play by linking and disconnecting objects.
- Tinker Table: To allow children to interact with each other, explore, and interact, set up a low table with non-toxic elements (buttons, wheels, lids, and tubes). To facilitate construction, supply a container.
- 3 to 5 years
- Puppet Machine Project: Using cardboard, twine pulleys, and a few sticks, the children are encouraged to construct a puppet show machine. Instructors ask if the puppet can move up and down.
- Obstacle course build: using boxes, planks, cones, and tunnels, children assist in putting together and building an indoor/outdoor obstacle course.
- 6 to 8 years
- Paper airplane engineering: Children play with papercut airplanes and experiment with flying ranges. Thereafter, wings or folds are added to enhance their performance.
- Design a game world: children using Toca Builders design a mini-game and organise the environment, characters that, in turn, assist them in thinking, problem-solving, and creative thinking.
Original creative learning opportunities
- Push and pull station: an infant entails pop-up boxes, twist toys, and pull-along objects that help a child learn the mechanics of movement. They are beginning to understand the concept of cause and effect when pressing buttons, turning knobs, or pulling levers. This helps in motor development, early mechanical reasoning, and language development within play. It supports outcome 3 that children have a strong sense of wellbeing as they do sensory exploration (ADGE,2022).
- Paper airplane engineering (6 to 8 years): children create and test paper aeroplanes with various designs using folds, different types of wings, and paper. They discuss performance and redesign each test flight to maximise distance, speed, or style, and ask questions. It will help the child to think critically, facilitate engineering working experiments, iteration, and solving creative problems. This supports the learning outcome, 4 children are confident and involved learners. (ADGE, 2022).
Critical thinking
Early childhood engineering helps students develop critical thinking skills, problem-solving, and experimentation with their ideas. I have observed that, when children are provided with materials that cannot be used interactively, such as blocks, tubes, or recyclable objects, they automatically start asking questions, making predictions, and modifying when things do not work as planned. The experience makes children resilient and imaginative. They also learn that failure is merely a part of the process of discovery and is not definitive. I also observe how youngsters collaborate when they share ideas, put things together, and learn from one another. In my opinion, engineering encompasses more than just building things; it also involves developing thinkers who analyse, test, refine, and improve their ideas.
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Original Creative Learning Opportunities for Children