Technology, the

Early Years and

Lifelong Learners

Motivation

• 15 Years in Early Childhood Education

• Sydney, UK and Singapore

• 8 Years in IT education

• Curiosity, Changes and Challenges that drive me

Challenges

• History of starting at the ‘top end’ of schools

• Parental bias

• Teacher bias

• Mystery of what young learners are actually

doing?

Authentic Learning

• Authentic learning is the application of relevant knowledge, thinking

skills, and interpersonal skills to the solution of real problems. It

involves finding and focusing on a problem, identifying relevant

information, categorising and critically analysing that information,

and synthesising and effectively communicating the results of an

investigation or creative endeavour (Renzulli, Gentry & Reis, 2004).

Pedagogy first, Technology Second

Technology is not social….

• According to Vygotsky - learning on your own is not as powerful or extensive as learning alongside a 'knowledgeable other' person. According to his Zone of Proximal Development theory (ZPD), whether that person be a teacher, peer or parent, children learn more extensively within a social context.

• Vygotsky - Technology is the ZPD mediating the social V Piaget - the technology is simply another tool that enables self discovery. The learner is still a solo explorer, discovering for themselves through trial and error, what is possible.

0 5 10 15 20 25 30

Child 1 (N)

Child 2 (RE)

Child 3 (1)

Child 4 (2)

Role Play

PC

iPad

Future Ready

”To be future-ready, our young need to be able to think critically, assess options

and make sound decisions. They should have a desire to learn, explore and be

prepared to think out of the box.”

Nurturing our Young for the Future, Competencies for the 21st Century, MOE, 2010

Speed humps….

• Presuming play looks the same as it did 10 years ago

• Teachers as lifelong learners

• Putting tech before pedagogy

Questions?

www.missict.com

@kimtvernon

kimvernon@missict.com