Providing Learning Opportunities
Providing learning through ICT is extremely important in the Early Years. The children we are teaching will have jobs in the future which haven’t been invented yet, using technology that currently exists in science fiction and they will be performing services that we currently don’t know we need. It is our job to provide ICT opportunities to provide children with the skills they can build on to prepare themselves for the future.
Saying that, we don’t want to have them sat in front of a screen for hours on end. The trick is balance.
My ICT Area
It’s important to remember that ICT means Information and Communication Technology.
I am very lucky in my classroom that I have space for an ICT area on which I have two computers. The PC was donated as an old computer from anther school. It is perfect for our purposes as the children don’t do anything difficult on the computer.
The netbook on the left is a Fizz Book. I cannot recommend the Fizz Books enough! They are fantastic! Every Early Years classroom should have at least 6 Fizz Books for the children to use independently.
They work as laptops, tablets and they have an in-built camera. They are fantastic! The children really love using the Fizz Book and are engaged and excited to learn when the activity involves using the Fizz Book. Also, they are not indestructible but they are more sturdy for use by young children. Highly recommend them and hope your setting can get some!
Other ICT Activities
While computer use is the obvious place to look for an ICT lesson, there are other ICT devices you can use with the children in your class.
