ICT plays an increasingly significant role in our everyday lives. Young children encounter numerous 'real life' uses of ICT both in and outside the home and many are proficient operators of equipment, such as DVD players and remote-control toys.
In the nursery, children should be offered further opportunities to explore a range of purposes for ICT and to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to operate different equipment. Practitioners should also reflect on how ICT equipment can enhance their own practice in supporting children's learning, particularly in observation and assessment.
RESOURCES
Settings should aim to provide:
- DVD camcorder (appropriate equipment for use by both adults and
children)
- digital cameras (for use by adults and children)
- tape/CD player-recorder, listening centre
- role-play equipment such as 'electronic' till, battery-powered toy
phone, barcode scanner, television, DVD recorder, remote control,
washing machine, microwave, battery-operated door bell
- calculators
- torches
- remote-control toys, wheeled remote-control chassis
- floor robots
- electric keyboards and sound pads
- light box
- interactive white board
- overhead projector
- computer, mouse, keyboard, printer, age-appropriate software.
EXPERIENCES
In this area, children might enjoy:
- pretending to use everyday ICT equipment in the home corner and other
role-play areas
- taking photographs of, for example, their favourite areas in nursery
or their own work (models, small-world environments they have created)
- displaying images on walls (using an overhead projector) and looking
at the effects of placing objects and materials on a light box
- constructing their own remote-control vehicles
- 'driving' remote-control vehicles
- e-mailing messages
- exploring computer programs, for example, paint programs, talking
books
- printing out words and images to help to make signs and labels to be
displayed around nursery
- exploring dark dens with a torch.
LEARNING
The kinds of learning that might take place in this area include:
- imitating adults in role-play, for example, using telephones, washing
machines and cash points
- using speech to organise thinking and offer explanations
- giving and following directions
- solving problems
- exploring 'cause and effect'
- making predictions
- concentrating and persevering
- learning and using technical vocabulary and directional language
- recognising and reading numbers (for example, on a telephone key pad),
counting
- recognising letters (for example, on a keyboard)
- reading meaning from symbols (for example, arrows, on/off symbols
- engaging in imaginative role-play which is based on first-hand
experiences
- taking turns
- finding out information (for example, using DVDs, computer programs).
- trying new equipment and having confidence to try new activities
- understanding the uses and specific functions of particular pieces of
equipment
- knowing how to operate simple equipment and complete a simple program
on the computer
- manipulating apparatus effectively, developing control and
co-ordination, for example, twisting and turning knobs, pressing buttons
and keys
- using apparatus safely
- taking care of equipment
- exploring pattern and colour
- turning readily to ICT to support own learning
- using equipment independently
ORGANISATION AND LOCATION
- Role-play areas should be planned and resourced to include equipment that reflects everyday uses of technology and enables children to explore and understand its purpose. When planning opportunities for children, it can be a useful exercise for practitioners to log all the reasons they have had to use ICT in their own lives over the past day or week.
- An office area is a good place for the computer and printer - electric socket permitting - as it enables children to explore the use of the computer in the 'real' context of office activities.
- Other apparatus such as remote-control toys and cameras can be stored in a central resource base that is accessible to children. There may be some equipment that is only available under adult supervision and this will probably be stored in a secure cupboard.
- Plan in time to teach core skills, role-model usage and skills, support children in practising skills, supervise their use of some equipment, lead activities where appropriate and observe their responses.
- Practitioners should also think about how they involve parents in supporting children's learning about ICT, encouraging them to talk with their children about the uses of technology in the home and in the environment.
- Cameras and camcorders can be used effectively to document learning without a concrete outcome, and learning over time looking at repeated behaviours, patterns and interests. Practitioners should consider how photography is used to share information about children's learning with parents, and think about providing cameras (a stock of disposable ones is a useful resource) to encourage parents to record their child's play and learning experiences at home.
- Practitioners should explore the possibilities of using ICT to support children with special educational needs and children with English as an additional language, for example, with adapted keyboards, or story CDs in home languages.
- To avoid frustration, ensure the availability of new batteries or make sure that rechargeable batteries are fully charged at the beginning of each day.
- Undertake regular risk assessments of equipment to ensure safety at all times. Ensure that any wires do not pose a hazard to children or adults and that unused sockets are covered securely. Check apparatus regularly for damage.
OUTDOOR PROVISION
Outdoor role-play will offer further opportunities for exploring the uses of ICT, such as walkie-talkies, coin-operated carwashes and petrol pumps. The outdoor area may also offer large spaces and a variety of surfaces for experimenting with remote-control toys. Children will probably enjoy making chalk 'roadways' and steering vehicles along routes.
It may be possible to observe other ICT equipment from the outdoor area - for example, traffic lights or pelican crossings.
INKS TO EYFS GUIDANCE
- UC 1.2 Inclusive Practice
- PR 2.3 Supporting Learning
- L&D 4.2 Active Learning
- L&D 4.4 Areas of learning and development - Knowledge and
understanding, ICT
