Use of ICT in Preschool Education Using the Scratch Program

Croatian Journal of Education-Hrvatski Casopis za Odgoj i obrazovanje, 2014

The purpose of this paper is to introduce the reader to the impact of information technologies, primarily personal computers, on preschool child development from all aspects: pedagogical, psychological, sociological and medical. Furthermore, the paper discusses some of the main obstacles towards the application of information technologies. The research was conducted with the aim to gather opinions and suggestions from parents and preschool teachers on the (un)warranted use of personal computers in preschool upbringing and education, with particular emphasis on the possibility of computer use in preschools. The research procedure and results are presented in detail. Taking into account all four aspects (pedagogical, psychological, sociological, and medical) of the influence of new information technologies on preschool child development, the authors have concluded that the use of new technologies carries significant advantages, provided the use is adequate, targeted, and only suppleme...

2017

2005

Computer activities are all too often employed in preschool (and kindergarten) activity rooms with little regard for what is going on beyond the computer. Consequently, in those circumstances computer time is lacking appropriate context that could help link computer activities with the educational themes surrounding non-computer activities. Providing technical computer training to preschool and kindergarten teachers is often not sufficient to originate activities that embed that context beyond simple connection such as: drawing food in the computer when the non-computer activities deal with healthy eating habits; playing a math game when the activities are math-oriented; etc. At the University of Trás-os -Montes and Alto Douro, in north-eastern Portugal, the authors have been working since January 2000 in the contextual integration of computer activities in preschool and kindergarten, devoting special attention to activities with powerful educational features, such as computer programming. These efforts also included different ways of presenting the overall idea of full context for computer activities to future preschool teachers and developing with them sample activities where those ideas are implemented. This paper aims to provide work samples that serve as examples of how a powerful environment, such as a computer-programming or customizable computer environment can be embedded in the overall context of the noncomputer activities.

The paper deals with the current issue of Information and Communication Technologies and their implementation into the educational activities of preschool children via the most natural activity of the child – the game. In an effort to improve the quality of the educational process, the authors emphasize the importance of construction games and activities as an integral part of the educational process in kindergarten. The issue is addressed in the context of technical education and the specifics of its implementation in a kindergarten. One of the main topics of this paper is a technical game activity of a preschool child, and its possibilities, benefits and risks. The paper presents games/toys as one of the means of exploring and understanding technology as an essential part of human culture. The purpose of the technical subjects in the field of general education is to mediate the basic understanding of technology, to create the balanced attitudes to it, and to develop the competences required to solve the problematic or ambiguous situations linked to the application of technology. That includes also the creation of the ability to assess the technology, the awareness of its importance in the past as well as in the present, creation of the self-assessment and also the self-concept in relation to the technology. These tasks are often solved during a quite small time scale, therefore, it is necessary to follow the results of other subjects and the pupils' previous experience and cognition. This also relates to the requirements of the pedagogic constructivism. It is not really necessary to prove the fact that the pupils, currently, cognize the technology frequently also outside school. These encounters with technology are, however accidental, also valuable for the pupils; it takes place from the early years and it includes both simple situations with simple elements, and also the activities with advanced digital technology. This encountering of a child and technology is focused on objects and object-related activities, which are for a child attractive, understandable, safe, corresponding to their fantasy, and are an integral part or a means of the game. It also depends on the concrete determiners and conditions of a child and their environment. However, comparing to the older generations, a child nowadays acquires rich and diverse technology-related experience, its possibilities, their possibilities while using the technology, the required responsibility for its usage, and they also consider the technology as an integral part of their lives. They can develop the imagination, thinking, motor skills and other preconditions connected to the technology, which are important for their future. The aim of this article is to present and/or assess the areas that are a basis or a foundation for the creation of children's naïve concepts or preconcepts of technology. From this, it is possible to generally foresee, in which areas will these concepts more or less based – this will serve for the choice of the optimal strategy of instruction about the technology, cognition of the essential facts about technology, for the right activity with it and for the assessment of one's own preconditions for the area of technology, which is, nowadays, one of the sub-tasks of the preschool education. The study is aimed to the children of a preschool age and pupils of the lower grades of the primary education. It is not necessary to describe the age specifics of these children, we basically focus only on the characteristics which are important " for the technology " and, mainly, on the preschool children. The preschool age is the age of game. The emotions predominate and, in this sense, the development of activity and motion is typical. A child experiences everything " fully " , they cannot divert their attention. However, they cannot concentrate for long. The child asserts themselves in a peer group, communicate, and acquire the common norms. According to J. Piaget, the child's thinking is illustrative – they can express the elementary terms by a word, but they is limited only on the well

2017

This paper discusses two issues: the use of new techniques and technologies in kindergartens and the preschool teacher’s ability to apply modern ICT. Namely, we are living in a world where changes are happening very fast and in which various communication technologies are taking an increasingly significant place in our everyday lives. The fact that in 2003 the United Nations included the development of these technologies and internet as one of the eight development goals for improving the living standards of all people on the planet shows how important the use of information technologies and resources that are placed on the internet is. Those having access to information and knowing how to make use of the advantages of information technology can progress and develop much faster. This applies to whole societies, parts of societies and individuals. The educational system is a part of the society, and literacy of future citizens is one of its most important tasks. The tumultuous develo...

Journal on Advances in Theoretical and Applied Informatics, 2017

The work described in this paper addresses the development of a game focused on a teaching strategy based on an action-research study. The strategy established aims to test the impact of the student’s participation in a collaborative project. The project aimed to motivate students to use and learn foreign languages and also to develop their intercultural communicative competence. The team consisted of 14 teachers from 11 different countries and 167 students in an international educational context. Regarding the Portuguese participation, we have introduced the Area of Study namely Discovery in a class from the 7th grade students (23 students). All the work was based in three premises: use Scratch online, web 2.0 and ETwinning platform. Students from different countries have worked together to develop their own games using programming Scratch. During the project, partners collaborated using web 2.0 tools and at the end, they have share their games and get feedback. This work identifi...

International Journal of Scientific and Research Publications (IJSRP), 2020

The main purpose of the study was to determine the kindergarten teachers' competence in ICT: basis for enhancement program development. Participants of the study includes 30 kindergarten teachers of East 1, 2 and 3 districts of Butuan City Division. The survey questionnaires made were validated by ICT coordinators who were experts on computer skills. The results of the study revealed that majority of the teachers teaching Kindergarten are females (96.70%) which belong to the age range of 25-54 years old (93.30%). Moreover, participants are all permanent-regular teachers (100%), wherein the majority have Teacher I position (56.70) and a length of service ranging from 1 to 5 years (50%) in service. Also, it is evident that there is a moderately high to high level of manifestation of the ICT skills demonstrated by the teachers It is recommended to have an enhancement program in a form of series of seminar-workshops, contests and IMs development workshops to improve their ICT skills in terms of photoshop, publisher and moviemaker applications.

Computational thinking is a complex set of skills that enables children to better understand and interact with the digital world around them. In addition to the positives associated with the use of digital technologies, the excessive involvement of children in the digital world can also pose risks, such as a gradual loss of interest in movement, social interaction and communication skills, the emergence of addictions and limitations in further development. The decision on whether and how to integrate IT into the kindergarten is fully in the hands of the teaching staff. This chapter presents a unique, comprehensive overview of the development of digital literacy in preschool education in the Czech Republic. The reader will get an overview of the importance of this topic, positives and negatives, curricular anchoring in the educational system of the Czech Republic, required competencies on the part of pupils and teachers.

—Recent development in the role of kindergarten in children's progress includes the use of Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs). ICT nowadays is recognized as a tool that can foster the knowledge and the experiences for this crucial age and the support of specific areas in kindergarten according to the educational perspective is thought significant. In this paper we present a brief overview of the most representative studies of the last decade (2003-2013) which concentrates on the skills that are examined in kindergarten (early literacy ,early mathematics , cognitive, social-emotional, motor, creativity) and are supported by ICTs. The effectiveness of ICT in special education and gifted children in the regular kindergarten is examined. The attitudes of kindergarten teachers towards ICTs are presented.