ICT in Early Childhood Education

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Introduction

Information and Communications Technology (ICT) may be described as anything that enables us, through electronic or virtual devices, to receive information, to communicate or to impact the environment (Siraj-Blatchford and Whitebread, 2003). ICTs could be computer hardware and software, digital cameras and video cameras, the Internet, telecommunication tools, creativity and communication software and tools, interactive stories, simulated environments, and computer games, videoconferencing technologies and closed-circuit television, data projectors, electronic whiteboards, programmable toys and “control” technologies, and many other devices and resources for earlier childhood education (ECE). This paper will focus on critiquing an ICT policy from 2018 by Early Childhood Australia (ECA) “Statement on young and digital technologies” with discussing the role on early child pedagogy and develop a framework for the use of ICT resources across the program and selecting a range of hardware and software options for learners to use in the production of learning resources and documentation.

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ICT Policy

In response to a recognized need for clarification on the role and optimum use of digital technologies in early childhood education and childcare, the ECA policy on young children and digital technology was created. This need increased as children grew up in online environments more and more. ECA worked with Digital Policy Group which was established for consultation and advising ECA which composed, in collaboration, of members from Australian organisations and researchers with an emphasis on young children and digital technologies. This policy on young children and digital technologies was briefed both globally and in the sense of business meetings, market studies and expert advice. A nationwide online survey included comprehensive company participation (Zabatiero et al., 2018).  When small children are part of this technological society, early childhood practitioners continually answer questions about the legitimate role and effective use of digital technology in early childhood (Plowman, 2016). The policy focuses on relationships, citizenship, health and wellbeing, and play and pedagogy. The guiding principle and implementation guidelines were given in each area covered by this policy. We will critique and analyse each area of importance in the given policy and its guidelines with reference to previous literature.

Relationships

The policy states that Young kids communicate, participate, gain access to and learn how to make use of digital technologies in their lives through interactions with others, including adults (such as spouses, teachers, parents, educators) and other peers (such as classmates, relatives, family members). Such partnerships make children’s interaction in digital technologies simpler and more relevant. Rolfe (2004) stated furthermore on relationships that young kids and parents are key players in modelling skills and exchanging cultural knowledge, shaping social behaviour, especially actions concerning digital technologies. The research by Takeuchi and Stevens (2011) suggested that digital technologies can be a foundation to support positive relationships between the child and the adult. Many children establish connections throughout their lives with geographically distant family members or other important people via video chat. Research demonstrates the social benefits for young children of the use of digital technologies in visual interaction (Roseberry, Hirsh-Pasek and Golinkoff, 2014; Danby et al., 2013). Research along with policy does suggest the benefits of co-using technology to enhance or maintain relationship it is essential to understand that children require person to person relationship from an adult which does not require the use of any ICT software or hardware. A study by McDaniel and Radesky (2018) has established circumstances where adult family members are able to distract from their children by digital technology. The child requires attention of the adult which is why adults at continuous social interactions with children, adults should use self-regulated digital technology. Adults and children listen, react and take care of each other during prolonged experiences (Siraj-Blatchford, 2007). Educators should create opportunities for children in educational settings to collaboratively use digital technologies for shared purposes. Families may also consider teachers as trustworthy information sources and consultancies on digital technologies and young children (Donohue, 2016). The policy statement is built around a survey, closed peers and researches in the discussion paper many types of research which reflected the con were not presented as the pro pointing towards a review which cannot be considered significant.

Health and Wellbeing

The policy states that the involvement and connectivity of young children and the use of digital technologies can have health and well-being effects. This includes physical exercise, breathing, hearing, thoughts, and sleep. In research by Axford, Joosten and Harris (2018) interactive software integrates a certain degree of fine motor skills (who responds to touch and motion), templates and touch screens. Fine motors can be created using touchscreen technology, as well as pinching, dragging and pointing. For development of young children, regular physical activity is necessary (Active Healthy Kids Australia, 2016). In a research conducted by Kucirkova and Zuckerman (2017) and Lin, Cherng, and Chen (2017) it was concluded that it also critical that children are able to learn motor skills by engaging in 3D activities like the use of utensils and hands to eat and handle their clothes. It can take long sitting times to access digital media at monitors or play electronic games. High levels of children’s screening related to poor health outcomes, such as diabetes and low bone strength (McVeigh et al., 2016) following this an extensive research concluded that long uninterrupted sitting can lead to poor mental health and discomfort (Rezende et al., 2014; Harris and Straker, 2000). In a study by Kim et al., (2016) eye problems were studied it pointed that near-vision activity like viewing a smartphone is linked to issues this was also backed up and concluded by research of Huang, Chang, and Wu (2015), the research by Torri et al. (2017) suggested that insufficient exposure to sunlight also leads to eye problem or short-sightedness. There is substantial evidence to show that digital hardware usage reduces the duration of sleep in children extensively (Carter et al., 2016; Cheung et al., 2017; Hale and Guan, 2015) this reduced sleep creates a risk of health and wellbeing which leads to depression, poor emotional regulation, and being obese (Chaput et al., 2017). Digital software games/apps have immediate feedback which can be inciting and can create disappointment in personality and lead to challenging behaviours (Hiniker et al., 2016). The policy does cover extensive literature when it comes to health and wellbeing through the topic itself has limited research to conclude anything, as the extensive health and wellbeing effects can be measured once the technological age reaches its maturity level, researches like Ludwig and Rauch (2018) studied how helpful digital technologies are to health and wellbeing along with a research conducted by Livingstone and Third (2017) which concludes that digital software like connectivity apps are keeping the young children engaged in social interactions with communities and families keeping them engaged and increase their health and wellbeing.

 

 

Citizenship

The policy states that digital citizenship acknowledges that young children become active participants now and in the future of their communities. Throughout their capacity as individuals, young children value their own and other rights and cultivate an understanding of ethnic, national, sexual and religious diversity. The basis for early citizenship is civil freedom, digital privacy, online security, and technology training. Not all children have access to digital services fairly and equally. Finance, history, cultural heritage and gender issues (Warschauer and Matuchniak, 2010). It is estimated that one in three people who access the internet worldwide are under 18 years of age (Livingstone, Carr and Byrne, 2016). One in three people worldwide who access the Internet are estimated to be under the age of 18 (Livingstone and Haddon, 2009); the risk of accepting pop-ups are increasing in children with extensive usage of hardware and software apps on mobile/tablet devices (Kervin, 2017).  Children may feel part of the community by usage of hardware and software but in an age where digital privacy and security are at high with minimum technological training and ethics, this scope of study is constantly evolving. The research taken to develop this policy was from a survey and closed group session which may not represent the view of the whole population.

Play and Pedagogy

The policy states that Young kids have opportunities in online environments of play and pedagogy. Kids use a variety of virtual learning tools to help children play and teach, build meanings, work together and resolve problems. Educators take active actions on the use and non-use of electronic education tools. For children to explore ideas and experiment with material with constant engagement on digital apps for learning opens up opportunities for extensive learning (Pyle, DeLuca, and Danniels, 2017) educators help build knowledge, skills and capabilities in children during play on the digital software platforms (Wood, 2010; Marsh et al., 2017; Takeuchi and Stevens, 2011). Exploratory play impacts on how children perceive technology functions (Birds and Edwards, 2015) exploring different applications and platform together can improve the learning process for the children, build language development (Kervin, 2016; Neumann and Neumann, 2014). Children in early childhood education and care setting are given pretend ICT hardware which familiarizes children on these hardware (Bird, 2017). Children under the age of 5 should limit their inactive screen time to one hour per day (Council, 2016; Australian Government, 2017). The quality of software application in digital play can be a significant factor in increasing their learning experience (Troseth, Russo, and Strouse, 2016) this narrative was backed up by a study which further studied that quality software can increase problem-solving skills and reasoning (Herodotou, 2018; Hirsh-Pasek et al., 2015). Application software used by younger children which are recommended for older children can negatively impact the learning function (Lillard and Peterson, 2011). The policy researched literature and 10 focus groups were studied where children themselves described their use of hardware and software to learn, make, build, write and watch in limits set by their respective adults (parents or educator).

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