Will this book have any ideas to use within the setting to improve what's on offer already?

Review

This book is clearly written and easy for practitioners to access, especially in a busy centre like ours. It addresses any anxieties about using ICT in the early years by explaining that it is not ICT itself that is the problem but how it is sometimes used and shows that when used appropriately ICT has the ability to enhance learning and extended thinking. We found the ideas very helpful in developing our ICT practice. --Bernadette Duffy OBE Thomas Coram Children's Centre

This book an eye opener. It shows how ICT easily could be used in every day life with children in Early Childhood Education, for learning about technology as well as for supporting different curriculum content. Children's experiences and play are key-dimensions which make the book appealing to practitioners. The book is very child oriented and at the same time has a pedagogical aim. --Professor Ingrid Pramling Samuelsson Department of Education, Gothenburg University

Product Description

This title, written by ICT experts in the early years, Prof. John Siraj-Blatchford and Dr. Alex Morgan, is a step-by-step guide on how to teach children under 8 a variety of ICT. This book is designed to be easy to follow by even the most technophobic of readers and contains practical advice on how to create engaging and creative activities for children in the early years using a range of ICT. This title is also a guide to the different types of ICT available, from Bee-Bots to white boards, and provides ideas on how to take ICT out of the classroom, with activities to use in outdoor play sessions. It also suggests ideas on how to use ICT in role play to promote children's creativity and imagination, and discusses what ICT skills the EYFS and Welsh Foundation Phase require early years practitioners to deliver. Ideas and case studies on best practice in using sustained shared thinking with young children are also included.

Product Description

"This book is an excellent resource for gaining understanding about the fundamental principles of ICT in the Foundation Stage curriculum... [The] principles of good practice in this book will not be outdated by new products or trends. The book is a well-balanced blend of theory and application. It has certainly helped to provoke and resolve ideas about the use of ICT in our settings." - Nursery World

This book helps readers understand how very young children (from birth to six) develop an early awareness, and subsequently develop their knowledge, skills and understandings of information and communication technologies (ICTs).The rapid growth of ICT has prompted concerns among parents, educators and policy-makers over the suitability of many educational applications, and electronic toys, for young children. However, evidence is presented to show that the use of ICT by young children is compatible with the principles of a developmentally appropriate curriculum (DAC). In fact the authors argue that used imaginatively, many applications of ICT can make a significant and unique contribution to children's social and cognitive development.

This is a significant book for students, parents,carers, teachers, and other professionals who want to provide a rich learning environment in education, and in teaching and supervising research in the early years.

About the Author

John Siraj-Blatchford is a Lecturer at the University of Cambridge and an Associate Director of the ESRC Teaching and Learning Research programme. He has extensive experience in teaching, and in researching science and technology education. He is the author of numerous academic papers and articles, and several books. His current research includes a European evaluation of the IBM KidSmart early childhood initiative, and the study of the CT training needs of early years practitioners in five countries. David Whitebread is a Senior Lecturer in Cognitive Developmental Psychology and Early Years Education at the University of Cambridge. Prior to this he taught in primary schools for 14 years. He is currently involved in research projects concerned with Nurture Groups, effective pedagogy in the Early Years and the development of children's independent learning at the Foundation Stage.

Lets see what ideas can be gathered from here then. Added to reading list