Friday, July 30, 2010

Peeling An Onion

Why 'Peeling An Onion'?

Well, to me ICT is like an onion - it has layers and as you peel off a layer and feel you have got a handle on what is happening, you discover there is another one underneath, it just keeps on going. And, like an onion it can be very sweet or give you tears.
I have spent the past few years on the most amazing learning curve with ICT. I was one of a group of fortunate Early Childhood teachers who participated in the Ministry of Education's ECE ICT Professional Learning Programme. We were able to undertake a fantastic range of professional learning experiences while doing action research within our centres. Our Kindergarten looked at how children can self assess their own learning while using ICT as a tool. Our children managed to blow us away with the way they were able to use ICT's and the understanding they had of the learning occuring for them.
At the end of the three years I was left wanting to explore to a deeper level some of the ICT tools we had used and enjoyed, especially animation and robotics and their impact on the development of literacy and maths skills for children. Fortunately I was selected as a Core Foundation 2010 E-Fellow and this has allowed me the opportunity to spend some time exploring these.
I remember when I went to my first Ulearn Conference in Christchurch (2006) and hearing people talking about things like blogging, wikis, Web 2.0, Skype, etc and thinking - how am I ever going to get a handle on this. Within months, I was Skyping friends, creating blogs and participating in a wiki. A year later, at the next ULearn, I arrived feeling such an expert until I was exposed to the latest technology and thinking and away I went again!
I keep wondering where I am going to go next with my journey down the ICT path and how it can impact on the learning of the children I am privileged to work with. This blog will contain reflections of what I do with the children and my observations during my time as an E-Fellow and beyond. I hope you enjoy reading it.