Some of the ICT's our children use

I have been thinking that I should share some of the ICT’s the children at our Kindergarten are interacting with. We have worked hard over the years to fund raise and purchase a relevant and effective range of equipment for the children to use.  Every item we have has only been purchased after much forethought and discussion to its relevancy.

 

We have two Apple computers for the children to use, an Emac running OS10.4 because it supports the classic environment that we need to run some of our software. The other computer is an Imac running OS10.6 that we use for a multitude of purposes with the children including a Digital Blue microscope, Bamboo Touch tablet, an Akai Professional Keyboard and a variety of software including Kidpix and Comic Life. 

 The children have several digital cameras available for them to use and they download their photos and create learning stories using Comic Life for their portfolios. 

 

We have a lot of peer tutoring supporting this as the ‘experts’ help those still learning. When the Imac is connected to the internet the children have several favourite sites they like to visit like lego.com and Disney.com, amongst others.

 

For group work we have a projector and visualiser with a ceiling mounted screen we can pull down. The visualiser is invaluable to use for sharing photos, small books, using as a microscope and looking closer at small objects. We also use our laptops with the projector to share movies we have made with the children, research on the internet, etc.

At Ulearn I purchased, for the Kindergarten, some 'Logi-Blocks', a set that helps develop an understanding of circuits. The children on exploring these have quickly grasped the way that they work and the meaning of the symbols that are on the blocks.  There is a robot that links to these blocks and I  plan to introduce this soon.  I am looking forward to seeing how they work with this extension, building on their understanding of robotics in another format, rather than just the Lego version. 

For the past few weeks we have been very busy at Greenhithe Kindergarten getting ready for our major fundraiser for the year - The Great Greenhithe Garden Tour, on  the 14th November - this this be the 17th year for our annual garden tour. It is thanks to the generosity of our local gardeners in opening their gardens to the public for one day a year in support of the Kindergarten that we have been able to provide these fabulous resources for our children to explore and learn with.