Education as a Student Teacher

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I recently finished my 5th prac at a school in Sydney with a Kindergarten class.  The school has a specialist teacher for the teaching of computers.  The students have computers for half an hour a week and I was able to observe one computer lesson whilst on prac.  The students were involved in drawing pictures using a free program known as Tux Paint.  The students really enjoyed using this program and were making some quite impressive works.

I have concerns though about how much students can learn when they only have 30 mins a week on the computers. The Kindy class took at least 10 mins just to log in.  If students are being encouraged to create their own movies, computer games and tasks, then they are going to need more frequent access to computers than once a week.

After skimming through The Computer Delusion by Todd Oppenheimer, something he wrote really hit home for me, “computers at best engage only two senses, hearing and sight  – and only two-dimensional sight at that”.  Even if the kids are creating 3D models on the computer, its still a 2D replication of a 3D idea.  And where does this leave the kids how learn best kinaesthetically?  This article takes me back to my first post, where I explained that I believe kids need to do and make things in the world around them.

Learning is often thought of as information being delivered from one person to another. People often think that learning and fun cannot happen simultaneously. Mitch Resnick explains in his Podcast that one of the best ways to learn is to explore the world around you, try things and experiment.
Resnick has invented a way of combining computers with traditional construction kits such as Lego or craft material so that children can bring their constructions to life. With this invention children can program music, movement sounds and sensors into their constructions. (I wish I were still a child!)
It widely recognised that an important skill for the future is creative thinking, to come up with new solutions to old problems. This invention is helping children to become creative thinkers and explore and experiment.