ICT Supporting Learning

At our Kindergarten we use our computers to extend children's learning on an almost daily basis through (just a few examples) -

• sourcing information on the internet that we cannot find in our book libraries 
• watching You Tube clips to further extend our learning (e.g. insect metamorphosis etc) 
• exploring small things through our digital microscope or with our visualiser and projector
• revisiting events through slideshows and movies
• creating documentation for portfolios using digital cameras and Comic Life software

The list could go on and on.  As an aside I also often get children to record things as they are happening for me with the cameras and we have several fantastic photographers amongst them.  On excursions out of Kindergarten we always choose several 'official photographers' as having the 'child's view' of where we are visiting gives us a different perspective and helps in our understanding of the learning that has taken place.  Our children love being able to take photographs of their achievements at Kindergarten and then creating their own learning stories to add to their portfolios using Comic Life software, which is very user friendly.  (To download a free trial of Comic Life go here.)

I have recently recorded two examples of children using ICT to extend and support learning.  Firstly we have a group of budding architects who spend part of their time with us, every day, creating some stunning and amazing buildings.  To extend on this interest, the children and I used Google Images to find photographs of some wonderful and exciting buildings from around the world.  Since printing out, laminating and binding the photographs into a book, the children have been using this resource tool as a stimuli to create even more wonderful buildings. They choose buildings from the images to try and recreate or to recreate elements they can see to enhance their creations.  Here is a slide show of some of their wonderful buildings.

Another example is what happened after a recent concert the children attended at our local school.  The Polkadots invited our children to the concert and on their return to Kindergarten I created a slide show of the photographs I had taken of them and the performers.  I put my lap top onto the table the children were working on, with the slide show running, and the depth of detail in the drawings was amazing (I felt). The discussion happening as they worked was pretty amazing too as they used the slide show as a prompt to sharing their thoughts and ideas about what they had experienced during the performance.