e-Platform
In my early childhood education work, we use a program called Daisy Manager, which encompasses almost everything necessary for work recording and documentation. Daisy operates on mobile devices and can be used to record the attendance of children and staff or to make absence entries. Daisy includes children’s basic information forms, which have contact information for guardians and allergy information. The program can also be used to order meals for the daycare, create work schedules, record children’s early childhood education plans, and support stages. The most extensive user rights to the application are held by supervisors, who use Daisy to make decisions such as the placement of children into groups. Employees can also have extended access to the application, allowing them to plan work schedules, record changes in work shifts, and view employee salary reports.
We also use Populus, which is used to report training and vacation days for staff, apply for mileage reimbursements, and report study leaves.
I use Teams or Zoom for meetings or lecture days at Savonia University of Applied Sciences. Teams is also practical for real-time tasks, as multiple people can work on the same document simultaneously, regardless of location. The COVID-19 period forced us to learn to use Teams or Zoom, although initially, it felt like a very foreign way to connect with someone. However, it has become so routine that meeting on Teams/Zoom no longer feels intimidating. On the other hand, it has created a sense that various meetings are more efficient via Teams/Zoom because the focus is on the issues without any “small talk.”
I use WhatsApp the most in my free time for communication, but its use is prohibited at work. WhatsApp is a quick way to message others, and the video call feature allows you to see the recipient, and it’s easy to share various links via WhatsApp. At work, I use traditional text messaging, which feels cumbersome compared to WhatsApp. However, the employer’s instruction is that WhatsApp should not be used for work communications, so we follow the given guidelines.
In my work, I could use the following five digital tools:
YouTube: A clear place to quickly search for information on various topics, as well as to watch entertaining videos suitable for children. It can also be used for listening to music, and it offers good educational material when an adult first reviews the content.
Spotify: An excellent tool for listening to music. It’s also good for teaching, provided the adult familiarizes themselves with the available content in advance.
Yle Areena: Yle Areena has many useful and educational programs suitable for children under six. Pikku Kakkonen’s site offers games and activities for children that are developmental and age-appropriate. The national early childhood education plan defines the development of digital skills in child groups, so the content of Children’s Areena fits many different areas.
Various audio storybooks: Sometimes children want to listen to audio stories, making this an excellent resource for age-appropriate stories. The stories are clearly age-marked, and there is a wide selection to choose from. Audio stories can be listened to by a large group or serve as a calming activity for an individual child.
Various planning tools: For example, the Young Finland movement planning program suggests various movement games based on selected criteria. The adult must know their group’s skills for successful planning, as some movement games and activities are too challenging for preschool children.
I could also try using an application called Seppo, which is a gamification platform. It allows you to create learning games that can be played on a phone or computer. I have tried “Seppo” during a digital training session, where we had a city orienteering game. With Seppo, you can create a location on a map with a task, which could work well with a child group, for example, in yard orienteering. Once planned, the activity can be repeated or modified if needed.
The benefits of social media include the ability to share real-time information with a large number of people simultaneously. Content created by others can be used and produced by oneself. There are many opportunities to act and create, and every adult must consider children’s activities on different platforms. On the other hand, producing content on social media can expose you to negative aspects, such as hate speech, criticism, and the spread of embarrassing information about others. Everyone must remember that once you upload something to social media, you can’t get it back.
The ease and speed of using social media can increase the use of mobile devices, potentially leading to various dependencies. For example, video services like TikTok and YouTube allow users to browse videos endlessly. There’s a limitless amount of material, and people can feel the need to watch just one more video. These services present videos based on what users have watched or liked. The speed of these services is a challenge, as people might not have the patience to watch, for example, new music videos up to the first chorus.
Social media exposes users to other information besides what they’re seeking. Many sites and applications display ads, which can be targeted to specific areas using certain services.
Successful use of digital applications is smooth and focuses precisely on the intended purpose. For example, OmaKanta, which contains an individual’s health records, prescriptions, tests, and so on, is easy and clear to use. It requires strong identification and includes only information relevant to the individual’s healthcare. OmaKanta provides information as it is, and the person can return to it as often as needed.