The development of technology is such that
it is imbedded in most of the daily human activities. The current generation of
children and preschoolers grow up with a smart phone or tablet in their hands.
Technology has entwined itself into the lives of children. Toys and games being
one of children’s favourite play are also different forms of technology, such
as video games and electronic related toys (Blake, Allen, & Winsor, 2012). It
is no surprise that some children come into school with a certain understanding
of technology. Therefore, educators of the current generation have to be
prepared and equipped to welcome such children into school. With adequate
knowledge, educators can integrate children’s prior knowledge into a classroom
environment and therefore, adding on to children’s learning.
On the other hand,
there are also parents who are concern about children being exposed to
technology. A common issue is the exposure to inappropriate and dangerous
content (Blake et al., 2012). A way an
educator can solve this issue is by teaching children how to discern what is
appropriate and not.
Technology is inevitable in this current world;
children will be exposed to it in a certain degree. Hence, it is important that
educators know and is able to teach adequately.
Reference:
Blake, S., Allen, L.,
& Winsor, D. (2012). Enculturation of young children and technology.
In Technology
and young children: Bridging the communication-generation gap (pp.
24-29). Hershey, PA: Information Science Reference.
I agree with Prico about the pros and cons of technology with young children, and it has to be managed well by adults. To add on to Prico’s strategies to tackle “exposure to inappropriate and dangerous content”, there are many family-friendly softwares like ‘TimesUpKidz!’ to limit when and how long children can use the computer. Adults can limit the time children spend on the internet and encourages children to spend more time offline – reading, playing outside or interacting with friends. Also, there are other parental control software that monitor children’s internet program with web filter. Unfortunately, when adults do not supervised children on usage of technology, it could lead to wasting time, cyber bullying, piracy issue, breaching of privacy, such consequences are disastrous to children’s development and growth.
ReplyDelete