ICT in kindergarten: challenges and opportunities

Abstract

Over the pastfew decades, information and communications technologies (ICT) have opened up new opportunities in the world of work and education alike. ICT have changed numerous aspects of the teaching and learning process, improved the efficiency of educational assessment and served as an indispensable tool to measure 21stcentury skills. Technological advancements have been gradually transforming and continuously shaping the whole continuum of education systems, kindergarten education being no exception. As an institution aiming to provide care and nurturing before the beginning of formal education, kindergarten lays the foundations of children’s later school achievement, personality development, social integration and key competencies. Therefore, it is imperative that kindergarten programmes should be in line with everydaypractices and be able to provide an opportunity for children to become acquainted with ICT.There have been numerous examples of integrating ICT into kindergarten activities, but opinions on these efforts are divided. The constant flow of the latest software and hardware has always raised concerns and this especially holds true for ICT use in early childhood. To facilitate a further dialogue on this issue, the present study aims to provide an account of the strengths, weaknesses and opportunities concerning the availability of ICT infrastructure and ICT use in kindergartens. Furthermore, by relying on domestic and international theoretical and empirical articles, I highlight the possible dangers related to early ICT use. Additionally, I would like to contribute to the implementation of innovative kindergarten activities by describing and introducing some electronic assessment instruments suitable for kindergarteners. Although various initiatives have been introduced to provide some kindergartens with ICT and integrate them into certain activities in Hungary since the beginning of the last decade, these programmes have not proved to be sustainable. The positive effects of ICT on children’s development in a number of domains have been increasingly recognised. The potential strengths of innovative technology include its flexibility and customizability, but it is also very important to enable children to gain real world experience as well. ICT enable children to play, express themselves and learn in new ways. Nevertheless, it is our joint responsibility to supervise the quality and quantity of children’s ICT use the best we can.