Reflection 2: Overhead Projector :)
Over
head projector: 16/08/12
Today at Kindergarten the
overhead projector was set up as an activity for the children. In this activity
I observed the children draw pictures on to transparency film with different
coloured vivid. The children after finished their picture would place it on to
the overhead projector and were able to see their very own picture, ten times
bigger as well.
Throughout this process I
asked the children open ended questions such as “how does this work” “what is
it” and “how does it make the picture bigger”. Some of these questions I did
not know myself so there was reciprocal and responsive learning occurring. The
responses I received back from the children were “It reflects the light”, “you
just push the on button and it works”, “you can see your picture and the shadow
and your hand, when you are pointing”. Mac Naughton & Williams, 2009 state
that asking questions to children provides them with an opportunity to think
and to use language in a functional manner by allowing them to report
observations, describe experiences, and to make predictions, (pg.153).
The information gathered
from the children showed me that the children were acquiring knowledge
throughout this experience; even suggesting that “it reflects the light” showed
me that they understood the concept. The children were also thinking for
themselves which was great to see. The children are learning about a piece of
technology which can be very useful and at the same time having fun.
After exploring the overhead
projector some more, we found out more information about how it works. Together
we worked out that the picture you place onto the overhead reflects from the
mirror at the top, and the picture gets bigger because there is a magnified
glass on top as well so the picture is enhanced. I told the children why there
has to be a white sheet behind the overhead as the pictures will stand out more
and also showed the children the difference between having a white sheet and
not having one.
Children are benefiting a
lot from this experience as they are becoming familiar with different art form
and more aware of what this piece of equipment can do. They are also
contributing to their reading and writing skills when drawing the pictures,
being able to express themselves. The children are able to appreciate their
work, seeing pictures in big form, doing it themselves, giving them a sense of
pride and belonging. Ministry of Education, 1996 states that children develop
the ability to represent their discovers, using creative and expressive media
and the technology associated with them, (pg.88).
After doing this experience
I felt that this helped the children to become more familiar with the overhead
projector, learning about how it works, what you can do. Children were able to
do this activity by themselves with a bit of guidance; I found that I was
learning alongside the children as well as I didn’t fully know the process of
how an overhead projector worked. It was a good beneficial experience not only
for the children but for myself as well, and a lot of fun being able to see
your small picture blown up really big!
Hey Jess
ReplyDeleteAnother great post! It was really nice to hear the children's voices in your reflection. Their use of language and even the correct terminology (reflecting the light) is impressive.
I really liked the way you asked them questions rather than trying to explain to them how you thought it worked. Gonzalez-Mena (2008) suggests that asking questions provokes children's curiosity to dig deeper and find out more. Too often we give children the answers rather than asking them first what they think and this can cause valuable critical thinking time to be lost.
I also like the way you acknowledged working alongside the children as a co-learner. It puts you on an even playing field with the children as you discover something and learn about it together and as you said, it was beneficial for all of you.
Well done!
Thanks Amanda :)
ReplyDeleteHey Jessie....
ReplyDeleteI agree with Amanda, another very good post and more great ideas that I can try with my 3 - 5 year olds at my centre!
Recently I have also been discovering that it is okay to work alongside the children, just because we are their teacher, does not mean that we HAVE to know all the answers to every question.
It reminds me of a quote from Pennie Brownlee's book, Magic Places, as she says that "when we are wondering, the answers are not important. It is the right question that matters. The right question doesn't have a right answer. The right question will generate awe and more wondering" (2007, p. 11). By asking children open-ended questions, you are provoking their learning, inviting them to share their theories and knowledge :)
Kai pai!
Nice reflection Jess
ReplyDeleteWe have and Overhead projector in our centre, the children love it!
We have it out all the time and the children use it if they want to. We have plastic letters in a basket next to it, which the children can use to spell their name. We have ours set up so the children can put a large piece of paper onto the wall then use a vivid to trace around the big letters.
They get awesome satisfaction from seeing their work on a large scale.
We also offer the clear plastic for the children to draw on, and they trace around their large image also. The New Zealand Curriculum states that "graphics and other forms of visual representation offer important tools for exploration and communication" (Ministry of Education, 2007, pg32).
You should continue to support the children in using the overhead projector. I think it was great how you were questioning them as you weren’t sure either, so as well as starting a conversation about what was happening you were getting a better understanding. But like Jac said we don’t always HAVE to know the answers.
Hey sounds like they were having lots of fun!! You said that you found yourself learning along side the children Hatherly 2008 says that "ICT has the potential to blur the lines betwen teaching and learning, as children and educator do both" (pg8). I really like this quoate and it sounds like this is what was happening when you were exploring with the overhead, both learning how to use it and how it works, sharing your knowledge and listening to what the chidlren had to say!!! Another thing to try with the over head projector can be using it as a story teller putting up a picture on it and making up a story to go with it spontaneouly or at mat time !!
ReplyDeleteChloe xx
WOW what an old piece of equipment! OHP’s, I haven’t seen these since I was at school. I do wonder though how this is technology? I see an over-head projector as a piece of equipment but it doesn’t take much to figure out how it works. I computer can do the same thing by scanning it in and then enlarging it.
ReplyDeleteI love that you showed them the difference between having a white sheet up and not having a white sheet.
Te Whāriki’s (1996) strand of exploration says “they develop working theories for making sense of the natural, social, physical and material worlds” (pg.16) Using an OHP would give them a real sense for understanding how things work, it’s not a complicated machine to work or figure out.
Great reflection though. It’s nice to see children using equipment that is now old and seems a bit out of date.