Activity 1: Influence of National and International Organizations

This is a blog that I created as a part of my assignment on the Influence of National and International Organizations. I chose the educational topic - Technology and Young Children, because nowadays, technology is a part of every school curriculum.

In this blog, I will write about some new things that I learned from the websites and social networks that I visited. I will also write about how this topic is being addressed by national and international organizations.

Why is this statement important? 

Advances in technology and interactive media rapidly are transforming how we communicate and use information in our homes, offices and early childhood settings. However, it is important to know how technology is being used among young children and to what extend they are being used. This statement is important because it focuses on their use in early childhood programs - schools, centers, family child care - serving children from birth through age 8. 

I find the position statement issued by the National Association for the Education of Young Children and the Fred Rogers Centre for Early Learning and Children’s Media at Saint Vincent College interesting and important because it offers guidance-based on research-based knowledge of how young children grow and learn - on both the opportunities and the challenges of the use of technology and interactive media. 

http://www.naeyc.org/files/naeyc/12_KeyMessages_Technology.pdf


Research and Policy in Educational Technology

Research in this area is under way. However, strategies must still be found now to ensure that new technologies are educationally sound.  In order for technology to be developmentally appropriate, it should be responsive to the ages and developmental levels of the children, to their individual needs and interests, and to their social and cultural contexts.

One of the most critical needs identified is the support for early childhood practitioners in gaining the knowledge and skills to select and use technology in appropriate ways with young children. The lack of this needed knowledge and skills can create a negative impact on learning and development. Hence, the importance of providing resources, guidance and support for teachers becomes even more pressing.

Lilla Dale McManis and Susan B. Gunnewig's article on ‘Finding the Education in Educational Technology with Early Learners’ elaborates on this issue.

http://www.naeyc.org/yc/files/yc/file/201205/McManis_YC0512.pdf

What does the National Education Association (NEA) say about raising the standards for Early Childhood Practitioners?

According to an NEA policy brief, raising the standards for Early Childhood Professionals will lead to better outcomes. Young children deserve high-quality early childhood programs that enrich their social, intellectual and physical development, and build a foundation for school success. Therefore, raising the level of education and training for early childhood educators is an important step to ensure that every young child enters school ready and able to learn.

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/HE/PB29_RaisingtheStandards.pdf

In addition, NEA President Dennis Van Roekel expressed that, ‘If our children are to excel in a fast-changing, global society, we must harness the technology resources they need to function in a digital age. We must remember our commitment to their future as we set priorities and establish policies on their behalf.’

http://www.nea.org/assets/docs/PB19_Technology08.pdf


Contributions from International Organizations

UNESCO – an international organization mentioned that the increasing use of computers in education is giving rise to far-reaching changes at all levels of teaching, as well as in the quality of training. But while the computer is bound to become an integral component of learning in general, it presupposes a harmonious interaction between hardware, software and teaching personnel development.

In line with this, UNESCO supports the integration of information technologies and the modernization of the curriculum  through two International Research Studies: the ITEC project (Information Technology in Education of Children) which focuses on the psychological and social consequences for children of the application of information technologies in education. Meanwhile, the USEIT project (Use in Systems of Education of Information Technologies) aims at creating a databank to assist Member States in decision-making and contribute to identifying country's needs.

http://www.unesco.org/education/educprog/brochure/020.html

EU Kids Online - Young children and their Internet use

EU Kids Online is a multinational research network. It seeks to enhance knowledge of European children's online opportunities, risks and safety. It uses multiple methods to map children's and parents' experience of the internet, in dialogue with national and European policy stakeholders. 

http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/Home.aspx

http://lsedesignunit.com/EUKidsOnline/index.html?r=64

EU Kids Online has categorized Germany as a ‘low use, low risk’ country. This finding is consistent with the earlier classification based on earlier empirical evidence (Hasebrink, Livingstone, Haddon and Ólafsson, 2009). Lower use of the internet goes along with a comparatively low level of digital skills.

Germany belongs to those countries in which parents care a good deal about potentially negative consequences of their children using the internet. They overestimate the likelihood of negative experiences. As a consequence, they fail to encourage their children to develop their online skills and to explore the opportunities provided by the internet.
The current version of the recommendations that have been developed so far includes the following general principles:

• Attention for age-related differences in online use
• Transparency and visibility of relevant initiatives including a monitoring of on-going projects, networks and initiatives
• Sustainability of projects
• Increased networking and collaboration between the different projects
• Encouragement of peer-to-peer approaches in the fields of media literacy and youth protection

http://www.lse.ac.uk/media@lse/research/EUKidsOnline/EU%20Kids%20II%20(2009-11)/National%20recommendations/Germany.pdf

http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/24387/1/D5_Report-Policy_and_Research_Recommendations.pdf

Hasebrink, U., Livingstone, S., Haddon, L. and Ólafsson, K. (2009) Comparing children’s online opportunities and risks across Europe: Cross-national comparisons for EU Kids Online. LSE, London: EU Kids Online (Deliverable D3.2, 2nd edition).


Technology does not replace teachers

There are many positive ways that children can use technology, but it can be difficult for parents and teachers to know how much and how often children should be using it. This video shows how computers have become quite common in preschool classrooms. However, early childhood professionals don't always know how to take advantage of computers as teaching tools. 

Computers can help young children not only learn new skills, but also make the connection between concrete concepts and more abstract ideas. Therefore, the important role of the teacher in supporting learning using technology is stressed in this video. This video also provides tips for teachers for the successful integration of computers in the classroom curriculum.