Rethinking Learning In Early Childhood Education

I just read Rethinking Learning in the Early Childhood Education by Nicola Yelland, Libby Lee, Maureen O'Rourke and Cathie Harrison.  This book has changed the way I think about technology in the early childhood classroom.

As a Principal, I have been biased by the negative influence of technology on children's behaviour.  In particular I have noticed children who exhibit very aggressive and violent behaviours at school and on the playground, often indicate (or their parents indicate) they spend excessive amounts of time playing violent video games.  These children also often have difficulty differentiating between reality and game situations, which frequently leads to injury.  However, this bias, based on a relatively small number of children has not allowed me to look at the capacity of technology, when used properly, to support learning for young children.

This book has allowed me to take another look at the potential of a variety of technologies and how they can be used in early childhood. The book is the result of a study completed over three years in Australian early learning settings.  The term "multi literate" is used to describe a changed view of literacy which includes print, visual, spatial and gestural, aural and mixed mode.  Too often in schools we focus on the literacy skills of reading and writing. We need to consider all of the other forms of literacy which occur in our daily lives.

The authors talk about the "fund of knowledge" that children bring with them from home and how we should be using these as starting points for educating children.   When we use this and also carefully observe and document the child's learning preferences in school, teachers can create quality learning experiences for young children.  Some examples used in the book include teaching children to use digital cameras to make stories, filming their version of a Star Wars episode and then teaching them how to add special effects, recording children's sounds and making music, and many more wonderful examples.  Careful observation and collaboration between teachers can also assist as children transition from one class to the next.

This book builds on the knowledge base that we have been working on at our school.  It references the work of the Reggio Emilia Schools as well as project based learning.  As well, the idea of careful observation and documentation of children's learning styles and preferences fits in perfectly with our work developing student learning profiles.

If you are working with young children and wondering how technology fits in the mix, I would highly recommend this book.

My research question

To determine the fundamental principles that lead to effective flexible learning environments for rural (remote) students.  I will be specifically focusing on K-12 students within the boundaries of Prairie Rose School Division.
1.  What learning environments currently exist? Are they effective?
2.  What are the current trends in terms of population and transportation?
3.  What is the student, parent and school perspective on this problem?
4.  How can technolgy support an effective learning environment?  How is the-use of technology different for different aged students?

The use of technology in High Schools

I just read a very interesting article written by Jacobsen and Friesen (see link below).  The authors discuss how technology use by students in high school classrooms is generally not as effective as it can be.  Current use of technology is generally about delivery of teacher selected ideas rather than on the building or creating of knowledge. To improve this teachers need to find ways to engage students in meaningful learning opportunities using technology.  The authors give a very clear example of how this can be achieved in the classroom. 
On a personal note my own children, would often tell me about how much time they spent listening, or watching the teacher during their high school years.  My son would often say that attending classes was a waste of time. Yet, during his free time he would often use the internet as a source for finding information and learning new skills, especially when it came to fixing his car.  My son complained that classes were boring and he could read the content of the course and do the assignments on his own much quicker than attending class. He just wanted to be 'done with it' (high school) . In the end, he chose to complete several courses independently by distance learning.  I can't help but think that if his classes would have been engaging and authentic, how this would have led to much richer learning experience in high school.  I'd like to send this article to every high school teacher I know.


Jacobsen, M., and Friesen, S. (2011). Web Exclusive: Hands On vs. Hands Up: Technology-Enabled Knowledge Building in High School. Education Canada, Spring 2011. Online: http://www.cea-ace.ca/education-canada/article/web-exclusive-hands-vs-hands-technology-enabled-knowledge-building-high-sch

Back to school...again!

I'm officially back to school, this time at University of Calgary. I'm beginning down the path towards my PhD in Environmental Design.
My research interests are in the areas of designing learning environments, particularly for young children.  More specifically, I hope to find ways to facilitate the creation of learning environments for rural children who do not have necessarily have daily access to a traditional school.