EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION AND DIGITAL TOOLS

I work as an early childhood education teacher in the private sector in Jyväskylä. I use social media applications every day in my work. The employer encourages and partially obligates the use of social media. For example Instagram is one way of pedagogical documentation and marketing. We publish pictures of days in the kindergarten and create a postive image. Parents love Instagram. They say it´s nice to get to see the pictures and feel the positive athmosphere through the pictures. WhatsApp it the most common tool we use to keep in touch with the families. I use WhatsApp many times a day to communicate with parents. We have this DaisyApp also, but unfortunately it’s not as nifty or easy to use.

I use Pinterest and YouTube a lot in my work. I don’t produce content for them, but I look for ideas or use videos for teaching purposes. You can find wonderful ideas for crafts with children on Pinterest. YouTube is a great application when you need digital content for learning. You can find unlimited material on different topics. Working with children you must remember to check the videos beforehand, because the content may be unsuitable for children even the title of video is good.

5 NEW TOOLS OF SOCIAL MEDIA

I was palaying with ChatGPT a while ago and I wondered if it could be used with children in early childhood education? Children ask a lot and they learn that way. Some questions are extremely difficult. ChatGPT could be able to explain some natural or physical phenomena in a way suitable for children.

This blog of mine is the first I have ever had. I have somehow started to like producing blog post. I find it fascinating that I can express myself through text and pictures. I could use Blogger in my work if only I had time to update it. I guess some families would like to read and follow life in kindergarten through a blog. Just like every other use of social media a work related blog should also be written with extra attention.

I have heard that my empoyer uses  Jodel. I guess it is kind of like Facebook but I haven’t had time to look into it more. I guess it would be one way to interact with coworkers.  I read that users can only see Jodel publications near your own location. Some kindergarten update their Facebook pages to present their activities and to inform families. There are also early childhood education -related groups on Facebook where you can ask questions about anything, share ideas or find new ideas to implement your work. TikTok seems to be trendy nowadays. I would be so cool to post work-related content there, but I feel I’m too old for TikTok.

LinkedIn is a social media channel to expand your network, get job offers or find professionals. LinkedIn is a professional’s business card and CV. I would like to create a user account on LinkedIn to network and find new oppoturnities in working life.

SOCIAL MEDIA – PROS AND CONS

I use social media a lot and it’s easy to find many positive sides of using it:

• It is aesy to get peer support or find new ideas.
• .You can express yourself through writing or pictures and videos.
• .You can easily keep in touch your friends and relatives by using social media.
• Using social media, it is easy to find advice or information about things you are interested in.

Negative sides of using social media:

• Everything you see in social media is not true. You only see what you want to be shown. So that means you have to practise your skills on media literacy.
• Using social media is also addictive. It may even reduce face-to-face interaction.
• Usually you have to register, provide some information and use a nickname to use some social media application. Wikipedia said that Jodel allows users to send messages anonymously. I find this might make it easier to send offensive messages.
• It is easier to insult someone on social media than face to face.

SELF-REFLECTION

For me, this was the easiest and the most familiar of the assignments given in this course of Digital working environment. I use a vide variety of social media applications and I have a comprehensive understanding of the pros and cons of social media. The list of different tools of social media included many new tools I’d like to learn about. For me, using social media is both  fun and work.

All in all the course has been instructive. I have learned a lot about digital environments, about visions of the future, digital safety and actually opened my eyes to think about how digital our everydaylife is. Completing the course in English brought an additional challenge. Afterwords I’m quite pleased with myself 🙂