This is a very interesting read which has widened my thinking on the use of I-Phones:
In this article, a father reports on the wondeful effects that he observed when his three -year old was given an I-Phone. His daughter was immediately absorbed in the various apps available: Letter Tracer, Kid Art, Voice Toddler cards. Her favourite app is Letter Tracer and this "device and screen provided the engagement that pen and paper hadn’t" (Hunt, P. 2010). This tool will help to develop the child's knowledge of letters and also her fine motor skills. I think this device would help to develop children's intelligence at a young age. This made me think about the game "Word Coach" for the Wii as it would have similar effects to the "Letter Tracer" App. If I-Phones were used in nurseries, children could use them in class and take it in turns to take the phone home. This would help to provides close links between parents and their children.
Children can learn to tell the time, take pictures and check the weather with an I-Phone. These are relevant skills that the children will use in every day life!
Before reading this article, I will admit that I had my doubts about using I-Phones with young children. However, I now realise that I-Phones can be used to motivate even the most disengaged children. At the end of the article the Dad asks if he is a "bad Dad?" I think he is a creative and forward thinker who we can learn from!
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1 comment:
It is interesting how youngster pic up the technology and play with it whereas adults, as you will have witness, are frightened to press the wrong icons etc and frightened to take a chance. How do you feel about new technology - raring to try it all out, read the manual, or a bit reticent?
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