Am I doing enough with my class of 5 year olds? - Artefact 8

The documentary "World Class-Inside NZ Education" aired on television at the right moment for me in my journey with E-learning. There were many interesting aspects regarding education in New Zealand discussed but there were some significant comments made that stood out for me regarding the role technology plays in teaching and learning.
Many people have the belief that children need to learn the basics before they can be involved. Zaka (2013) carried out a study on the challenges that arise from blended learning and one main challenge was student’s readiness to learn in such an environment. This is something that I encounter a great deal in new entrant classrooms, however after watching the documentary I wondered if I am doing enough to set my students up for effective blended learning in the future? If I focus only on teaching the basics then the message I am sending my students is that this is how you learn, whereas I want them to be creative and innovative learners.

The documentary also made the comment that we have the technology available that allows student’s to learn at his or her own pace. This is true, however is something that is complex with such young students but enjoy the challenge it brings.

 Link to video on TV3