Digital camera

This morning I was observing a child who has recently joined our room in the under two area. She is about to turn two and I have noticed her love of exploring the room in detail. I started to take some photos on the digital camera to capture her interest. She stopped and looked into the camera, smiled, and then stood still and posed until it flashed. She quickly walked over to me and gestured to see the photo. I decided to give the digital camera to her to see how she would use it. Surprisingly she held the camera up and aimed it towards me, clicking the button on top without hesitation. Her expression changed slightly as she began to inspect the camera, to my admiration she had realized she had actually turned the camera off. She pushed the same button again and it turned on and excitedly used the camera to take photos around the room. Later on we printed the photos together and placed them on the walls around the room so everyone could look at her creative learning. To my surprise she knew exactly what to do with the camera therefore she had already learnt knowledge. She also independently used the camera to take photos and curiously solved how to turn the camera back on to take the photo.  The Ministry of Education (1996) suggests children should have “the ability to represent their discoveries, using creative and expressive media and the technology associated with them (p. 88). This piece of digital technology in my opinion fosters children’s learning in multiple ways and has a great impact upon their lives, the Ministry of Education (2007) states that “information and communication technology (ICT) has a major impact on the world in which young people live” (p.36). I feel this piece of digital technology has definitely made life easier to create immediate access to photographs. It has transformed from black and white photographs that took one person to develop one at a time too hundreds of photos being downloaded and printed in colour within moments. I have personally embraced digital cameras especially in my early childhood centre as it is a great way to communicate daily learning in the centre and capture moments that parents would be interested to see. I also feel it makes things easier by capturing moments that we can link to interests and questions, as well as having pictures around the room for children to revisit and recall their learning. I feel this is especially important in a young child’s life because it stimulates their metacognition. Walters (2006) advocates that “digital photography opens up a whole new world of communication within early childhood settings, giving scope for devising more effective ways of engaging children, producing resources and encouraging interaction with parents” (p.6). There are many instances where digital photography and the involvement of children can lead to powerful teachable moments that stimulate participation in learning and motivate interest. I believe it is up to the teachers to use these moments and be open towards them. This made me question my thoughts about how we use digital technology in my centre and how I can foster it further. It also made me reflect upon my image of a child and their growing confidence and capability around using digital technology especially cameras independently.  I have personally been challenged by technology and will acknowledge my ideas about technology are still developing and changing as I learn more and can see its many benefits. I believe technology therefore has a place as long we are ready to use it in a positive beneficial way. I look forward to exploring and reflecting on more technology.

Reference List:

                                                                                           

Ministry of Education. (1996). Te Whāriki, He whāriki matauranga mo nga mokopuna o Āotearoa: Early childhood curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.

Ministry of Education. (2007). The New Zealand curriculum. New Zealand: Learning Media.

Walters, K. (2006). Capture the moment: Using digital photography in early childhood settings, 13(4). Early childhood Australia Research in Practice Series. ACT: Early Childhood Australia.