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Debate Info

12
6
Yes No
Debate Score:18
Arguments:17
Total Votes:18
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 Yes (11)
 
 No (6)

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eLearning in Early Childhood Education

Does the use of elearning in Early Childhood Education encourage the development of skills for lifelong learning in young children?

Yes

Side Score: 12
VS.

No

Side Score: 6
2 points

As long as this 'e-learning in ECE' takes the form of interactive activities and peer collaboration that requires young children to reflect and make sense of the events that are occurring then it is positive for their learning. The articles warning of the dangers of 'screen-time' and passive entertainment are warning against purely externally stimulated view-response mechanisms such as TV shows, and battery-powered toys. These modes of 'entertainment' require nothing from the child except a pre-programmed response. There is no 'learning' as the child expends no energy. Reading, pretend play, communicating through skype, Wii, and an empty box, all require young children to imagine and provide considered response to stimuli.

Essentially technology in any level of classrooms is not necessarily e-learning. But learning through and about technology is an important part of today's society.

Side: yes
1 point

You first sentence says it all. Interaction, collaboration and reflection are the key words for me.

Your last sentence is interesting too and completely at odds with Sigman's views, "...children needed to learn about the real world before they could benefit from computers."

Are computers not part of the real world?

Side: yes
1 point

As the parent of three young children, the oldest of which attends kindy every morning, this is a really relevant debate. I have an expectation that kindy will, like home, use technology to compliment and enhance learning opportunities.

My son is capable of using technologies such as computers and phones, to access, capture, communicate, and reinforce learning and practice skills, especially in numeracy and literacy.

I believe that kindy should also provide these opportunities, especially if the centre recognises and builds on my child's experiences or 'funds of knowledge'.

If we take the five key competencies identified in the New Zealand Curriculum, described as the 'capabilities for living and lifelong learning' we have a great starting point for what skills we need to develop in our young children. These are thinking, the use of language, symbols, and texts, managing self, relating to others, participating and contributing.

So does elearning in ECE encourage the development of these capabilities? The examples of blogging, eportfolios, Skype, gaming all support these competencies. The students are active, the use is purposeful, they are participating and communicating.

I think that young children need to become technologically literate and ECE centres have a role to play in this.

However, like in any other education sectors, it is how the technology is used and everyone, not just young children, need to have balance in life and be exposed to a broad range of learning and experiences.

Side: yes
1 point

I going to yes because technology and screens are a fact of life and students will have to learn to navigate them and derive meaning from them. That is not to say that I think students should learn to talk, or count, or behave nicely from a screen. I also don't think they should be able to sit and watch each other play point and click games for hours on end. How you stop them doing that I don't know, and if you can't stop them doing it then I would prefer that the computer wasn't there.

But elearning isn't just computer games. I think it's great that centres can use technology to share children's experiences. From what I have seen it is largely being used by the staff not the students themselves.

Side: yes
1 point

Elearning certainly isn't just about computer games, regardless of the age of the learner! Just want to reinforce the passive use of technology that you have described that occurs when students watch other students using the computer. Like you I think this is not a positive use of the resources, or the students time. At this age level, perhaps there is more emphasis on the teacher to supervise and ensure that learning is active and engaging. So rather than get rid of the computer, manage its' use more effectively.

Side: yes
1 point

Does the use of elearning in Early Childhood Education encourage the development of skills for lifelong learning in young children?

I have to agree or support the statement. Tewhariki is one of the greatest curricullum for early childhood education. When I was growing up I did not go to Kindy but I went straight to Year 1. I have seen kids going to Kinder garten. Although curricullum is different to tewhariki, still kids learn the necessary skills to mainstream them to primary school. My 2 children are born in New Zealand. For them going to kindy is only fun, Learning as fun, Learning is to explore independetly as well as collaboratively. Especially with the digital technology and e-portfolios, their activities are uploaded to computer and saved where parents could watch as well as relatives and grand parents from different countries. They also play supportive role in kids education. Although e-learning does supports life long learning, it comes to the individual child, how they manovere the steering. It depends on various factors like extrinsic and intrinsic motivation as well as the opportunities to do so.

Stan

Side: yes
1 point

Ann Hatherly (2009) highlights the importance of children growing up in the 21st Century to be engaged in “thinking, creating, problem solving, designing, remixing, inquiring, communicating… making connections” If you agree with the constructivist model of teaching your role as a “designer educational experiences” necessitates the use of technological tools, especially communication tools for your students, no matter what age. I don’t think there is a ‘cut off’ point or a stage where one introduces these tools. That is putting the focus on the tool itself.

Side: yes
1 point

Does the use of elearning in Early Childhood Education encourage the development of skills for lifelong learning in young children?

For me as a Kindergarten teacher who has spent years integrating ICT into teaching and learning through the emergent curriculum, I would have to agree that e learning can develop skills for life long learning. When I think of what it means to be a lifelong learner, I think of words like - curious, investigator, researcher, self directed learner, reflective and a communicator to name a few. Many of the e-learning tools we have explored have encouraged all of these skills. The use of a digital microscope has inspired children's curiosity about the living world, they have explored both living and non-living "objects" under the microscope at 10x, 60x and 200x magnification. Once learning experience of seeing a preying mantis devour a cricket under the microscope led to an investigation into how often a preying mantis ate, children asked questions and researched information to find the answers. Software like comic life, i movie and photo story has encouraged children to assess and reflect on their own learning and the added bonus has been being able to share their learning to an authentic audience through blogging. Digital storytelling has enabled children to become "communicators", enhancing their oral language as they share their skills, interests and knowledge. Children who have been more "reserved" have gained confidence through first telling their stories on a computer through digital storytelling. Children have been encouraged to share their stories, via projector, laptop, blog with other children and this has given them the confidence to share stories and communicate face-to-face with their friends. Throughout our curriculum, children are self directed learners utilising technology as a tool to enhance their learning. They may choose to create music with instruments within the environment OR to explore and create using garageband. The opportunities are endless and we ensure we provide both. I would also like to note many children who are not yet interested in writing their name with a pen/pencil/crayon - are very engaged at learning to write their name on a computer, either with a mouse using software such as tux paint/kidpix or with the keyboard. These skills are then transferred into writing with pen/paper.

Side: yes
1 point

As a parent of a one year old within an ECE centre, I have been pushing for the centre to look into the possibility of setting up blogs as a way for me to stay in touch with what is happening during the day. I think that this will help my child be a life long learner as she grows up at the centre as she will be choose what she wants to publish and be able to capture some moments of her day herself that she wants to share with me at home. The conversations that we can then have about her learning will help her to be motivated to seek out new learning experiences to share.

Side: No
1 point

ICT - E-learning or Blended learning needs to left until school years. It should not be forced upon the children at a young age. At this age they should be exploring the outside world and nature. Not stuck inside. There is plenty of time as the child grows to do this. E-Portfolios is an added stress on staff already doing a difficult job and takes away from when they could be interacting with students. Leave the technology until later in life.

Side: No
Naketa(2) Disputed
1 point

Firstly, I think there is a huge misconception that e-learning in ECE is confined to an inside area or in fact requires screen time. In centres that I have worked in for the past 4 years there are many examples where ICT is used authentically in outdoor areas. For example, taking the digital microscope and laptop outside to look under logs and rocks for spiders and zooming in so close that you can see the hairs on the spider. Images and video are captured for later use and then put on the blog to share with families. Children taking their own images and creating a Photo Story 3 to post on their blog or using an Easi-Speak microphone while dancing and singing, which later results in a CD that can be taken home. All of which do not require children to be stuck inside.

Also, the comment made about added stresses of E-portfolios - I have worked with hundred of teachers using e-portfolios and blogging as a tool for engaging families that live in NZ and around the world. For teachers who have the right support and processes i.e. professional support and development they do not feel this as an extra on top of exercise or extra stress. Rather, a 3 click process that opens up a world of possibilities in terms of their own learning but also authentic relationships with the wider families of children.

While I don't believe that elearning in Early Childhood Education encourages the development of skills for lifelong learning in young children? I do believe that 'good teaching is still good teaching' regardless of the ICT infused. However, the potential that ICT has to influence, strengthen and enhance learning opportunities is profound.

I believe we need teachers and adults to foster a love of learning, curiosity and intrinsic motivation to find out more. Tomorrow the technology will change - we don't need to learn how to use today's technology rather we want children who always want to learn regardless.

Side: No
1 point

Examples highlighting that children are very confident and capable and with the right teachers can be supported to create amazing digital stories.

Supporting Evidence: Little Lamb (www.core-ed.org)
Side: No
1 point

Here is a video that shows the kind of create play that develops skills for learning without computers or technology.

Rosa

Supporting Evidence: Create Play with preschoolers 3-5 years (il.youtube.com)
Side: No
1 point

I dont believe that introducing e learning in early childhood education is a good thing because I believe it is essential for pre school children to be exploring the real world not the online world in order to develop fine motor skills and an understanding of the physical skills essential to life. If we plonk children in front of computer screens I believe it introduces them to a two dimensional world at too younger an age and encourages the habit of looking to a screen for entertainment rather than encouraging creativity and exploration of the real world.

Side: No
1 point

I admit I've still yet to have a decent discussion on this one with my kindergarten teacher wife, but I think that Sue raises two really important points: fine motor skill development comes through exploration of the real world, gross motors skill activities, touching, balncing etc, not from computer clicking. The second and more telling point is this idea of looking at a screen for entertainment. In the west we seem to have this idea that we've only really seen or done something once we've reduced it to a photograph or a screen image (watch tourists getting off a bus at a viewpoint!) I do think at least in ECE we should be emphasizing that the experience itself is most important, not the recording and manipulating of it. There's plenty of time for that later: they're going to be stuck in school for the next 10+ years doing just that for a start! I'm not denying that tools like microscopes are fascinating, but it's so easy for the microscope to take over the observation (I'm not interested in how I see it - what does it look like under the microscope?)

Side: No
Tarnz(2) Disputed
1 point

I do not believe that e learning in early childhood education is about "plonking" children in front of computer screens. Computers and technology in Early Childhood are tools to enhance the childrens learning and development and can be utilised to share their achievements in physical challenges. Check out this example of how powerful a blog post was in sharing Zoe's achievement in conquering the monkey bars. This blog post and the 6 comments received from family, friends and the community encouraged many other children at Kindergarten to set themselves a goal of mastering the monkey bars.... children persevered with practicing this skill so they too could share their achievement on the kindergarten blog.

Supporting Evidence: Zoe conquers the Monkey Bars (manaiakindergarten.blogspot.com)
Side: yes
nickrate(9) Disputed
1 point

There is plenty of evidence that supports the use of a computer mouse and the development of fine motor skills.

One link is supplied below, which discusses this:

"Learning to use a mouse or one of the alternatives such as a rollerball or joystick require a combination of motor, cognitive and physical skills that can be a considerable challenge to many learners."

The link also provides a range of interactive resources to support the claim.

As always though, fine motor skills scan be developed in a number of ways, and the use of technology is just one of these.

Supporting Evidence: Using the Mouse (www.spectronicsinoz.com)
Side: yes