1 00:00:00,000 --> 00:00:14,440 Welcome to the Forgotten ECE, the show where before and after school educators, summer 2 00:00:14,440 --> 00:00:20,320 camp and PD staff and CYWs have a place where they are seen, heard and valued. 3 00:00:20,320 --> 00:00:34,760 I'm your host, Jamie Wagler, and I'm so excited you're here. 4 00:00:34,760 --> 00:00:37,560 Incorporating technology in early childhood education. 5 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,000 Are you for it? 6 00:00:39,000 --> 00:00:40,240 Are you against it? 7 00:00:40,240 --> 00:00:46,420 Do you think there's a place for technology in our programs, specifically in our recreation 8 00:00:46,420 --> 00:00:48,240 of a for and after school programs? 9 00:00:48,240 --> 00:00:52,960 I am going to dive a little deeper into the benefits of technology and what my thoughts 10 00:00:52,960 --> 00:00:53,960 are. 11 00:00:53,960 --> 00:00:57,200 Join me now for the Forgotten ECE. 12 00:00:57,200 --> 00:01:04,640 Educational apps, whiteboards, tablets, oh my, computers and websites and cameras, oh 13 00:01:04,640 --> 00:01:13,120 my, robotics kits, VR and microscopes, oh my, don't forget about coding. 14 00:01:13,120 --> 00:01:20,080 These are just some of the options of technology out there for children, for our kids that 15 00:01:20,080 --> 00:01:25,400 are in before and after school programs or in recreational programs. 16 00:01:25,400 --> 00:01:31,160 And it is up to us to determine as educators what we should allow in these programs. 17 00:01:31,160 --> 00:01:38,560 I am so excited that you're joining me today because I actually am unsure of which way 18 00:01:38,560 --> 00:01:39,920 I sway in this topic. 19 00:01:39,920 --> 00:01:47,320 So I would love to hear from you about which way you sway if you sway away. 20 00:01:47,320 --> 00:01:53,680 The reason I'm bringing this up is because technology is in every part of our life now. 21 00:01:53,680 --> 00:01:57,540 You can't go to a grocery store without seeing self checkout. 22 00:01:57,540 --> 00:02:04,360 People are on their phones 24-7, people are on tablets, computers, TVs, it's all there. 23 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:06,840 All of these new game systems that are out there. 24 00:02:06,840 --> 00:02:10,600 And I'm not saying that I think we should entertain the idea of having game systems 25 00:02:10,600 --> 00:02:11,600 in our programs. 26 00:02:11,600 --> 00:02:17,200 I mean, I've worked in programs before that would bring in just dance on rainy days, not 27 00:02:17,200 --> 00:02:19,000 every rainy day but once in a while. 28 00:02:19,000 --> 00:02:24,280 I haven't done that in a long, long, long, long time. 29 00:02:24,280 --> 00:02:30,240 But what I am saying is that we are not moving towards a world that doesn't have technology 30 00:02:30,240 --> 00:02:31,240 in it. 31 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:36,820 We are full-fledged, full-force moving towards a technology-driven world. 32 00:02:36,820 --> 00:02:39,640 We're in the middle of it to be honest. 33 00:02:39,640 --> 00:02:44,040 And we don't want children to get left behind and we also want them to be resourceful. 34 00:02:44,040 --> 00:02:50,040 So how do we balance incorporating technology into our classrooms and not? 35 00:02:50,040 --> 00:02:54,360 Some benefits of having technology in our programs include engagement, individualized 36 00:02:54,360 --> 00:03:01,880 learning, skill development, access to information, preparation for the future, communication, 37 00:03:01,880 --> 00:03:04,040 inclusivity. 38 00:03:04,040 --> 00:03:06,040 These are all important factors. 39 00:03:06,040 --> 00:03:12,580 And when we break it down, the one main thing that stands out for me is the access to information. 40 00:03:12,580 --> 00:03:18,880 We strive as educators to build children up, to make them curious and competent, to learn 41 00:03:18,880 --> 00:03:19,880 from their interests. 42 00:03:19,880 --> 00:03:25,280 And one way we can do that is teaching them on how to find out their own information or 43 00:03:25,280 --> 00:03:31,860 how to find out facts and how to do science experiments and how to look for the place 44 00:03:31,860 --> 00:03:34,080 that tells you how to do the things. 45 00:03:34,080 --> 00:03:42,440 And I strongly believe in that sense of freedom around finding out things for yourself. 46 00:03:42,440 --> 00:03:50,200 And I don't see a lot of harm in having an iPad or some sort of device that can assist 47 00:03:50,200 --> 00:03:55,240 children in looking things up or that can be used to look things up. 48 00:03:55,240 --> 00:04:01,440 Where the lines get blurry or where I kind of think it downfalls is when we give them 49 00:04:01,440 --> 00:04:03,520 too much freedom. 50 00:04:03,520 --> 00:04:05,360 I don't think children should be on YouTube. 51 00:04:05,360 --> 00:04:08,680 I don't think they should be on watching movies all the time. 52 00:04:08,680 --> 00:04:11,600 I don't think they should be watching movies really majority of the time. 53 00:04:11,600 --> 00:04:17,360 I think that if you're ever going to even think about introducing a movie into the classroom, 54 00:04:17,360 --> 00:04:19,360 it's once in a blue moon. 55 00:04:19,360 --> 00:04:25,520 I don't think children should be left alone with the iPad and to search up whatever they 56 00:04:25,520 --> 00:04:26,520 want. 57 00:04:26,520 --> 00:04:30,680 I think there has to be strict boundaries on those, these technology. 58 00:04:30,680 --> 00:04:31,680 And it doesn't have to be an iPad. 59 00:04:31,680 --> 00:04:32,680 It could be a Chromebook. 60 00:04:32,680 --> 00:04:34,800 It could be good old fashioned desktop. 61 00:04:34,800 --> 00:04:36,160 Do they still make those? 62 00:04:36,160 --> 00:04:37,400 They must still make those. 63 00:04:37,400 --> 00:04:38,400 I'm being silly. 64 00:04:38,400 --> 00:04:45,640 But what I do think is that it kind of builds up your independence when you can search things 65 00:04:45,640 --> 00:04:46,640 up for yourself. 66 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:52,760 For example, we have a classroom iPad at the place I work and we also have a pet axolotl. 67 00:04:52,760 --> 00:04:56,760 The children were wondering the one day if the axolotl has teeth. 68 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:00,720 So instead of just telling them or searching up the answer myself and robbing them of that 69 00:05:00,720 --> 00:05:03,440 opportunity, I got them to look it up on the iPad. 70 00:05:03,440 --> 00:05:09,400 I mean, they asked Siri, but I mean, I still ask Siri for things all the time. 71 00:05:09,400 --> 00:05:14,120 And then they were able to find out what the inside of the axolotl mouse looked like and 72 00:05:14,120 --> 00:05:16,360 information about them that I wouldn't have been able to teach them. 73 00:05:16,360 --> 00:05:21,080 But instead I would have searched it up and then just told them where, what are they really 74 00:05:21,080 --> 00:05:26,120 learning then being talked at or told to when they could search up the information themselves. 75 00:05:26,120 --> 00:05:34,400 I do want to touch on that if you're allowing technology into the classroom, it is super 76 00:05:34,400 --> 00:05:41,280 important that you talk about digital citizenship. 77 00:05:41,280 --> 00:05:47,800 And by that I mean online safety, responsibility of technology, and that you are using positive 78 00:05:47,800 --> 00:05:53,400 guidance and modeling to help with that topic. 79 00:05:53,400 --> 00:05:58,440 Public safety is something that everyone should know and I don't think there's a too young 80 00:05:58,440 --> 00:05:59,440 of age to teach it. 81 00:05:59,440 --> 00:06:05,200 And I think our before and after school programs is a great way to start, such as protecting 82 00:06:05,200 --> 00:06:12,400 personal information, not giving away your passwords, recognizing and avoiding online 83 00:06:12,400 --> 00:06:14,840 threats and cyber bullying. 84 00:06:14,840 --> 00:06:22,140 I think ensuring that we tell children or explain to children why social media platforms 85 00:06:22,140 --> 00:06:29,360 aren't really great for their age groups and the importance of only surfing appropriate 86 00:06:29,360 --> 00:06:30,880 websites. 87 00:06:30,880 --> 00:06:36,160 I think we also have to teach a sense of responsibility and respectfulness when it comes to communicating 88 00:06:36,160 --> 00:06:39,080 on digital platforms. 89 00:06:39,080 --> 00:06:46,360 Just like we talk about communicating respectively in person, children should know that how they 90 00:06:46,360 --> 00:06:50,240 respond affects people. 91 00:06:50,240 --> 00:06:56,280 It could hurt people's feelings and worse and what they say on these online areas is 92 00:06:56,280 --> 00:06:57,280 extremely important. 93 00:06:57,280 --> 00:07:02,680 Again, like I said, I don't think that they should be left to their own devices and hurrah 94 00:07:02,680 --> 00:07:07,040 on the internet during our programs, but these are important topics to touch on if you're 95 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,920 introducing any sorts of technology into your programs. 96 00:07:10,920 --> 00:07:13,040 What about coding and programming? 97 00:07:13,040 --> 00:07:14,240 What about robotics? 98 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:21,020 These are all amazing things that we can introduce into the programs, but also require that sense 99 00:07:21,020 --> 00:07:26,400 of responsibility and also that buildup of independence. 100 00:07:26,400 --> 00:07:28,280 What do you think? 101 00:07:28,280 --> 00:07:29,720 What do your programs look like? 102 00:07:29,720 --> 00:07:33,000 Do you let children surf the web? 103 00:07:33,000 --> 00:07:34,280 Do people still say that? 104 00:07:34,280 --> 00:07:35,520 Do they still say surf the web? 105 00:07:35,520 --> 00:07:36,520 I don't even know. 106 00:07:36,520 --> 00:07:41,440 Do you let them explore and research and find out information for themselves? 107 00:07:41,440 --> 00:07:43,480 What does that look like in your program? 108 00:07:43,480 --> 00:07:48,840 I'm genuinely curious and how you set these boundaries and what your rules are and how 109 00:07:48,840 --> 00:07:49,840 you come up with your rules. 110 00:07:49,840 --> 00:07:52,160 Are you setting them with the children? 111 00:07:52,160 --> 00:07:56,440 Is this something that you're like, nope, I'm a firm believer in no internet or I'm 112 00:07:56,440 --> 00:07:58,520 a firm believer in no technology. 113 00:07:58,520 --> 00:07:59,520 I'm curious. 114 00:07:59,520 --> 00:08:00,880 I'm genuinely curious. 115 00:08:00,880 --> 00:08:11,960 I want to take this moment to thank you wholeheartedly for listening in and tuning in every other 116 00:08:11,960 --> 00:08:18,360 week and it's only been a short time, but I hope you're enjoying it and remember to 117 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:24,200 reach out if you have any questions, concerns, comments, or if you have an idea for a show, 118 00:08:24,200 --> 00:08:29,680 if you're struggling with something at your centers, in your before and after school programs 119 00:08:29,680 --> 00:08:30,680 and you want to hear more. 120 00:08:30,680 --> 00:08:35,320 I know this is a little bit quicker episode, but really it's just what I was thinking and 121 00:08:35,320 --> 00:08:37,240 I wanted to share it with you. 122 00:08:37,240 --> 00:08:41,240 If you have any comments on this topic, please let me know and I'll share them in the next 123 00:08:41,240 --> 00:08:42,240 podcast. 124 00:08:42,240 --> 00:08:43,240 Thanks. 125 00:08:43,240 --> 00:08:52,400 Have the most wonderful day ever. 126 00:08:52,400 --> 00:08:53,400 Thank you. 127 00:08:53,400 --> 00:08:54,400 Amazing listeners for your support. 128 00:08:54,400 --> 00:08:59,160 Don't forget to follow me on Instagram at miss Jamie underscore R E C E. 129 00:08:59,160 --> 00:09:01,520 Give a star rating and leave a review. 130 00:09:01,520 --> 00:09:05,440 Have something you want to hear about in relation to before and after school programs or full 131 00:09:05,440 --> 00:09:06,440 day summer camp. 132 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:07,840 DM me or comment. 133 00:09:07,840 --> 00:09:15,600 Again, thank you so much and happy learning.