Presentation from BETT Asia Leadership Summit 2014 on Early Years, Technology and Lifelong Learning

1. Technology, the
Early Years and
Lifelong Learners

2. Motivation
• 15 Years in Early Childhood Education
• Sydney, UK and Singapore
• 8 Years in IT education
• Curiosity, Changes and Challenges that drive me

3. Challenges
• History of starting at the ‘top end’ of schools
• Parental bias
• Teacher bias
• Mystery of what young learners are actually
doing?

4. Authentic Learning
• Authentic learning is the application of relevant knowledge, thinking
skills, and interpersonal skills to the solution of real problems. It
involves finding and focusing on a problem, identifying relevant
information, categorising and critically analysing that information,
and synthesising and effectively communicating the results of an
investigation or creative endeavour (Renzulli, Gentry & Reis, 2004).

5. Pedagogy first, Technology Second

6. Technology is not social….
• According to Vygotsky - learning on your own is not as powerful or
extensive as learning alongside a 'knowledgeable other' person. According to
his Zone of Proximal Development theory (ZPD), whether that person be a
teacher, peer or parent, children learn more extensively within a social
context.
• Vygotsky - Technology is the ZPD mediating the social V Piaget - the
technology is simply another tool that enables self discovery. The learner is
still a solo explorer, discovering for themselves through trial and error, what
is possible.

7. 0 5 10 15 20 25 30
Child 1 (N)
Child 2 (RE)
Child 3 (1)
Child 4 (2)
Role Play
PC
iPad

9. Future Ready
”To be future-ready, our young need to be able to think critically, assess options
and make sound decisions. They should have a desire to learn, explore and be
prepared to think out of the box.”
Nurturing our Young for the Future, Competencies for the 21st Century, MOE, 2010

16. Speed humps….
• Presuming play looks the same as it did 10 years ago
• Teachers as lifelong learners
• Putting tech before pedagogy

17. Questions?
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@kimtvernon
kimvernon@missict.com