Information and Communication Technology (ICT)
Te Hangarau Pārongo me te Whakawhitwhiti
Introduction
He kupu whakataki
The exemplars in this book should be considered in conjunction with the discussion in Book 16. Information and communication technology (ICT) can be defined as “anything which allows us to get information, to communicate with each other or to have an effect on the environment using electronic or digital equipment”.1 The Government’s ICT framework for early childhood education states:
Acknowledging the central position of the ECE curriculum Te Whāriki in ECE policy and practice, the vision for ICT use in early childhood education has been directly drawn from Te Whāriki’s aspiration statement:
The thoughtful and meaningful use of ICT in early childhood education services can support children “to grow up as competent and confident learners and communicators, healthy in mind, body, and spirit, secure in their sense of belonging and in the knowledge that they make a valued contribution to society”.
What this means for ICT use in early childhood education is that learners in ECE services should have the opportunity to experience:
- enhanced learning opportunities through the meaningful use of ICT
- which will enable them to enhance their relationships, and
- broaden their horizons by exploring the wider world.2
The New Zealand Council for Educational Research compiled a comprehensive literature review of the role and potential of ICT in early childhood education for the Ministry of Education in 2004.3 This review includes the comment that:
Most of the literature about ICT in early childhood education strongly supports the view that technology on its own should never drive the process of ICT development in the sector … Rather, all planning for the introduction and use of ICT by children and adults in early childhood education should be grounded in a clear understanding of the purposes, practices, and social context of early childhood education.4
The use of ICT will be integrated with the purposes and practices associated with implementing Te Whāriki.
The ICT exemplars in this book are viewed through one or more of the three lenses outlined in Book 16:
- a lens that focuses on assessment practices, referring to the defi nition of assessment as “noticing, recognising, and responding”, from Book 1 of Kei Tua o te Pae;
- a Te Whāriki lens;
- a lens that focuses on the symbol systems and technologies described as “information and communication technology”.
In this section