Propuesta pedagogica de educacion inicial guia curricular.pdf

MULTIMEDIA IN PRESCHOOL: AN ADDITIONAL OPPORTUNITY TOWARDS EQUAL CHANCES IN EDUCATION
C. Mazarese, N. Vanuytven, G. Decin, E. Buyse
Katholieke Hogeschool Leuven (BELGIUM)
The objectives of thispractice-based project are fourfold. Firstly, it investigates how multimedia literacy of preschool children (3 years and older) can be stimulated. Secondly, it aims at understanding the influence ofmultimedia literacy on their world exploration. Thirdly, the potential of multimedia to support the children’s personal development is assessed, with particular emphasis on young children with extraneeds. Finally, the project aims at reducing the technological fear experienced by preschool teachers, students and lecturers by increasing their understanding of multimedia literacy.
Today’s world isvery different from the one in which educators have grown up. For the present generation of children (digital natives) electronic means are evident. The dominance of language literacy has disappeared;society becomes ever more multimedia-rich (Bottelberghs, 2005). Education needs to adapt to this changing environment (Goegebuer, 2004; Vandenbroucke, 2005). In accordance to Bottelberghs (2010), theproject doesn’t focus on the technology of audiovisual materials, but rather on the creative processes and the development of talents achievable by using a multimedia setting. While using differentmedia (including audiovisual means) throughout their education, young children discover and develop their communication skills.

During an initial test phase of several weeks, more multimedia richactivities were offered to a group of children with different needs. Although this phase indicated positive evolutions, the question arose whether this was caused by the presence of an extra teacher inthe classroom, by the offer of audiovisual materials, or by a combination of both. In a second phase, 4 different conditions were created: with or without extra teacher – with or without audiovisual...