"electronic media has a significant influence on childhood and suggest that children's early literacy and play experiences are shaped increasingly by electronic media." (Facer et al.2003; Marsh, 2004)
From my personal experience, technology was and will always be a part of my education because it surrounded many aspects of my learning. Technology offered me the support I required to discover information and allowed me to communicate in many different forms.
But in my opinion, technology did not rule my education or childhood as a whole because many other factors influenced my way of learning in school such as play, communication between friends, family and teachers, the outdoor environment, personal accomplishments and the use of basic resources such as books, pens and paper.
The use of Technology was quite limited in my primary school compared to the present day therefore we were not obliged to depend on technological instruments to learn and the use of books, the whiteboard and the teacher's knowledge was enough for my learning in Primary school.
(Hayes, M., Whitebread, D. (2006) Chapter 3: Literacy and ICT in the Early Years in, ICT in the Early Years. Open University Press: New York; 40)
I appreciate that you have found a quote from an academic source to relate your experiences. In relation to your comment about technology being limited when in primary school, my experiences were quite like yours. My school could only afford a limited amount of computers (one per each year group), and we did not get to use them very often but when we did, we would create pictures using paint and also play games, ‘Podd Can’ being one of them.
ReplyDeleteFrom my past experiences in primary school I agree with Sara, I believe that teachers ruled my education and I found that teachers and us as students didn't rely on technology, compared to today's education. Teachers were able to educate us by using textbooks, or going outside to play.
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