Simple Technology Tools

I spent some time feeling slightly confused about the ways in which the infants and toddlers I work with use technology. To begin I had to find out the meaning of technology. After a couple of classes and doing some reading it became clearer to me that technology was a way of solving problems. “Technology is about helping people and solving problems” (Smorti, 1999, p.5). I looked for ways in which we use technology within my centre, and my view of what technology is began to change.

At first I found it challenging to reflect on how the children I work with use technology. As I began to think of technology as anything that helps make life easier and solve problems I began to see technology all around the centre. This led me to realise that a tool as simple as a spoon is a piece of technology which the infants and toddlers explore with. Through this I also recognised the many ways in which children use this tool.

In the family play corner the children use spoons to pretend to mix food and feed the dolls. They also pretend to feed themselves and each other. Later outside in the sandpit I saw some children using spoons to transport sand from one bucket to another and pretending to eat. Through engaging in make believe and pretend play, children’s problem solving skills are developed and thought processes are further extended (Swin & Watson, 2010).

Continuing to observe the children I then saw some of the toddlers using spoons to feed themselves at lunch time. “Children solve a self-feeding spoon task in advance at a relatively young age because the spoon is one of the first tools used in this culture” (McCarty, Clifton & Collard, 2001, p.1). This links to the view of Vygotsky, who emphasises that children learn and construct knowledge through social interaction and the culture in which they are involved (Santrock, 2008). Through being fed and watching others such as parents, the children learn that spoons are a tool which we use to transport food into our mouth.

It is important that children experiment with spoons in different ways and different places to gain an understanding of how this tool can be used to solve problems. For example, it is much easier to use a spoon to eat yoghurt rather than your hands as you can have bigger mouthfuls using a spoon. Through realising that spoons are a piece of technology used to solve a situation (transporting food to mouth) children are beginning to gain the confidence to use the materials and tools in the world around them to manipulate situations and solve problems they may come across (Ministry of Education, 1996).

“John Dewey (1859-1952) maintained that education is the reconstruction of experience” (Clark, 2004, p. 1). Children are fed with a spoon from a very young age. As children grow they experiment with the use of spoons, feeding themselves and their dolls in pretend play. Through this practice children progress to be able to feed themselves at meal times using a spoon. They also learn other uses for a spoon such as measuring and stirring when they are involved in activities such as baking.

After reflecting on the use of this simple technology tool I believe that technology extends children’s thought processes and inspires them to solve problems they come across using the materials available.

References:

Clark, A. (2004). Changing classroom practice to include the project approach. Early Childhood Research and Practice. 8.2 Fall 2004. Retrieved from http://ecrp.uiuc.edu/v8n2/clark.html

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga mo nga mokopuna o Aotearoa. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media Limited.

Smorti, S. (1999). Technology in Early Childhood. Early Education, No. 19 Autumn 1999.

Swim, T., & Watson, L. (2010). Infants and toddlers: Curriculum and teaching (7^thed.). Australia: Cengage Learning

Santrock, J. W. (2008) Lifespan development (11^th ed.). Boston: McGraw Hill.
McCarty, M., Clifton, R., & Collard, R. (2001). The beginnings of tool use by infants and toddlers. Infancy. Vol 2 (2).