Tool for supporting meaningful relationships in early childhood 

By Michelle Anderson, Lecturer NZCA
Published in Iti Rearea, December 2007

Information Communication and Technology (ICT) is a topical issue in the early childhood education field.  It is an issue that affects people of all ages given we have entered a new era coined the ‘knowledge wave or knowledge society’ (‘Catching the Knowledge Wave’, Jane Gilbert, 2005).

From my own experience with student-teachers, conversations with early childhood practitioners and observations in early childhood settings, I was unsure of the role of ICT in many early childhood centres, and especially those catering for under-two-year-olds.  

I began this journey sharing my scepticism and challenging third year students to explore the opportunities and possibilities that ICT could offer them in their teaching practice in their respective early childhood centres.

I have selected the pakiwaitara of two student-teachers of under two-year-olds to share significant discoveries in their journey and identify ICT opportunities for children and teachers. One practitioner shared my scepticism and the other was pragmatic in her approach.

Working independently on courses of action, each practitioner decided to focus on the ‘communication’ opportunities of ICT. Both documented their journey with digital photos to showcase the activities a child typically engaged in or experienced while at the centre.

The digital photos proved to be more than a tool to communicate the wellbeing of the child; it also helped foster meaningful relationships within the centre.    The photos were shown to families via a slideshow at the end of each day which initiated discussions among staff and parents.  It  opened new doors for centre staff, parents and children and made way for discoveries about others, both within and beyond the early childhood centres.

 “The photos provided a catalyst for conversations between the child and her whanau at home.  It also reinforced the child’s positive experiences at preschool which was comforting to see for her family,” said the student-teacher working at one of the centres. 

Similar results were evident at the other centre. 

“Our staff found that showing the photos of the child in the centre was a great conversation starter with the parents. The parents are seeing real footage of their child ‘in motion’ while at the centre, which leads to insights on the child helping us further in supporting his/her learning needs at the centre,” said the student-teacher.

Showing photos of the child in the centre also assured the parents that their child is happy and involved and has settled well at the centre.

The parents were supportive when they saw their child on the slideshow.  The slideshow may be a small project that the centre has embarked on but ‘the little things are sometimes the most important’ said one of the parents. 

One parent commented, ‘There is something really reassuring seeing and hearing about what your child has been up to throughout their day.’

The experiences helped us construct a new view of ICT and how it could—and might—involve infants and toddlers.  We also reframed our practice, language and knowledge as we found more ways to use various technology that is widely available to support and develop relationships in our centres. 

On this journey we discovered that ICT tools such as digital photos and slideshows offer practitioners in early childhood settings the following advantages:

• Give stakeholders a new understanding of teaching and learning practice

• Provides opportunities to build collaborative relationships in early childhood centres

• Enhances our communication with the centre stakeholders, including the children. In this particular project, the technology provides socialisation and learning experiences for the children and facilitates the children’s fledgling ICT literacy.

• Finally, and importantly, it offers children and their parents a means of re-connecting with one another after time spent apart, and gives parents and teachers ongoing insight into the children’s development.