Camera fun with Under Twos
Cameras are a fantastic resource to capture, review and tell stories of
past events or activities for years to come. In my centre, we have one camera
for the over twos and one camera for the under twos. This way, its not only the
over twos that have the opportunity to discover the digital technology that it
cameras, but our under twos get equal opportunities as well.
As the digital camera catches their eye, the majority of under twos love
to make different faces and pose as the camera is pointed in their direction.
One child in particular likes to say “cheese!” when the camera is in his
direction and will then often pick up other objects and pretend that they are
cameras as well. This child is making connections between the actual camera,
and using his imagination to recreate the scene by using other pieces of non
digital technology to go through the motions of taking a photo. Ministry of
Education (1996) state children should discover “non-verbal ways of expressing
and communicating imaginative ideas” (p.74). This reinforces the idea that
children are able to use a piece of non digital technology to express their
imagination and artistic skill.
After watching this child work with the non digital pieces of
technology, I wanted to extend his learning by giving him the opportunity to
use the real digital centre camera in a real life situations to provide experience
(Ministry of Education, 2007). Once he had received the camera, I observed that
he really enjoyed walking around the room looking into the viewing screen as he
could see the room moving. This was a fantastic opportunity for the child to
further grasp the realisation of digital technology and how, metaphorically, he
is able to view his own world through a different looking lens.
I then introduced him to the actual workings of the camera and how we
can use push down the button to actually take photos and then review them after
on the camera. This child was not actually interested in taking photos, but was
more intrigued with the reviewing process. I questioned myself to why this
might be and came to the conclusion that he was more focused on seeing pictures
of himself and his peers as it is quite a struggle for this 18month old to use
his fine motor skills to hold down and concentrate on taking a photo. We always
need to incorporate observing and evaluating into our practice as it ultimately
benefits the children in the end (Penrose, 2009).
After this discovery with the digital technology, I decided that
together, we should focus on the finished product. I was very surprised to
learn that the child was more focused in the visual aspect (Somerset, 2007)
over playing with a new toy. Each time we looked back on the camera of past
photos that had been taken, S became really excited so I thought it would be a
great idea to print off the photos and display them around our room for him to
constantly review.
I hung the photos on little strings around the room so that the children
could individually take a look and discover who was in the photos and what was
happening. I believe that I have learnt that this is a great introduction to
digital technology with the children as it is not overwhelming, and taking
something as simple as this is easy for the child/ren to make sense of
(Ministry of Education, 1996).
References
Ministry of Education. (1996). Te whāriki: He whāriki mātauranga ngā mokopuna Aotearoa: Early childhood
curriculum. Wellington, New Zealand: Learning Media.
Ministry of education. (1993). New Zealand Curriculum. Wellington, New
Zealand: learning media.
Penrose, P. (2009). Take another look. Christchurch, New Zealand: New Zealand Play Centre Federation.
Somerset, G. (2007). Work and play in the early years. Auckland, New
Zealand: The New Zealand Play centre Federation.
Picture References
Art at the heart. Camera Lens. Retrieved from
http://www.artatheart.co.uk/artatheart/photography/page/2/
Digital Cameras. Camera Screen. Retrieved from
http://www.camera-news.com/fujidigitalcameras-c-6_19.html
Shutter Stock. Photographs hanging from a rope. Retrieved from http://www.shutterstock.com/pic-87431216/stock-photo-photo-frames-on-a-rope-isolated-on-white.html
Top 10. Digital cameras. Retrieved from
http://www.top10dir.com/photo-digital-cameras-samples/photo-digital-cameras-7/
Kia Ora Kim,
ReplyDeleteYou reflected on an awesome experience that the children were able to gain from. I enjoyed reading the whole process and could see you were thinking about how you could further there learning. It was great to display pictures of them as this helps their sense of belonging in the centre. They would also seek comfort if a resource made of photos of the children faces, as they enjoy using the camera this way. It was evident you were reflecting on this interest of the children and really observed them while they were exploring with it. Even though they cannot comprehend the functions of a camera, it’s great to see you still included them in these steps. There’s no harm in beginning to learn what the buttons means as their going to be challenged with it throughout their lives. As the child liked viewing his surroundings through a different lens, I wonder if he would benefit from video reordering his movement then playing it back to him. Tino pai reflection on your experience of cameras, Kim.
Megan
Hello Kim
ReplyDeleteWhat a great reflection Kim, though your experience with the cameras you have clearly explained how well this went, even though the children were not that focused on taking the photos, the children still gained so much from using this digital piece of technology. I loved the idea to hang the pictures up on the string for a way to recall the activity in an interesting and exciting way instead of just look at the photos on the camera. Did you experience the situation in both their environments inside and outside to be able to see both through different lenses? Is there something that you would do next time, when you give the children the camera to use in the centre? Kim I felt your description of you experience that you wrote was a clear and well written reflection, you had great photos and good links to literature that backed up the learning you seen the children gain through using the cameras. Awesome Kim :)
Hi Kim
ReplyDeleteI found your reflection on cameras with under twos very intriguing as it is great to see that you have encouraged and given them the opportunity to interact, explore and use them. I really liked the way that even though the child was not interested in taking pictures with the camera you still took the time to show him how to use them. I also really liked the way that you used string to hang the pictures around the centre as this would have given the children the opportunity to go over and look at them whenever they wanted to. Through this activity with the infants and toddlers I can really see how you have developed your learning and thought process through this experience. Looking back at this experience is there anything you would change? Or are there any ways you would use the camera differently with the children? Overall this was a great reflection. Well done.
Hey Kim
ReplyDeleteIt’s good to hear you’re under 2’s get to explore with a camera, you guys are lucky! I like how you extended the child’s opportunity by giving him a real opportunity to use the camera. I can see you observed him while he used this piece of technology and thought about what he was actually learning. Did you talk to him about why the screen was able to move? Maybe you could have allowed him to take his own video and then allowed him to watch it with you? It’s great to see you asking yourself questions and reflecting on why the child was more interested in looking through the photos. I like the idea of hanging photos around the room. This has influenced me to try putting photos around my room for the children to view.