Last night my 3 and a half year old got an email from her Gran - she was responding to one Anika had already sent - typed by herself with my help. She said "I want to send Gran a funny face." So out comes the camera ... which she can already operate fairly competently ... the funny face is captured and downloaded. The email is written - she can type the letters in as I sound out the word slowly for her and tell her the occasional spelling. She can send it. No worries about not being able to write letters down.
But what is very important in this process is the 1 to 1 guidance of a teacher / facilitator / mum - never will they lose their place in the process. Technology is fantastic but only a human can judge what the learner can and can't do and all of the little steps needed to progress from one concept or capability to the next.
Kids are amazing in what they are capable of. How much do we hold them back through our lack of exposing and encouraging them to play and experience stuff.
Read a school newsletter in which the Principal was encouraging parents to ask a different question of their children when they got home from school ... that is .... What questions did you ask today ?
1 comment:
Glad to see your post. Very cool subject. I admit I do have trouble thinking of new questions to ask Nic and he isnt very forthcoming so it is every clever thing I can think of to try and find out what he is doing at school. Hope everything going well with Hazel. We should talk soon. X S
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