Preschool Teachers' Use of Digital Technologies for Educational Purposes: Documentation, Assessment, Parent Participation and Communication

Year 2024, Volume: 10 Issue: 2, 117 - 151, 30.10.2024

Serenay Başalev Acar , Emine Ferda Bedel

Abstract

This research aims to examine the digital technologies and applications used by preschool teachers for educational purposes in terms of documentation, assessment, parent communication and participation. A qualitative study was designed and semi-structured interviews were conducted with 11 preschool teachers employed in Istanbul. The data was analyzed with the content analysis technique, and as a result, four main themes emerged: general use of technology for educational purposes, storage and sharing, assessment, parent participation and communication. Findings show that digital technologies offer benefits such as educational content, children's active participation, the opportunity to monitor and review, sharing and storing documents for a long time, making children's learning visible, peer learning, gamification, content diversity, increased participation, and instant and easy communication. On the other hand, reservations such as lack of materials and equipment, misuse, pedagogical difficulties, and challenging attitudes and demands of parents were also expressed. The findings were discussed in the light of related research and practices in the literature. In particular, attention was drawn to the integration of the use of digital technology for educational purposes in early childhood education in the dimensions of documentation, assessment and parent participation and communication, and the need for integrity among these dimensions.

Keywords

Early childhood education, digital technology, documentation, assessment, parent participation and communication

Okul Öncesi Öğretmenlerinin Dijital Teknolojileri Eğitsel Amaçla Kullanımı: Dokümantasyon, Değerlendirme, Veli Katılımı ve İletişimi

Abstract

Bu araştırma, okul öncesi öğretmenlerinin eğitsel amaçlarla kullandığı dijital teknoloji (DT) ve uygulamaların, dokümantasyon, değerlendirme, veli iletişimi ve katılımı boyutlarında incelenmesini amaçlamaktadır. Nitel bir çalışma tasarlanarak İstanbul'da görev yapan 11 okul öncesi öğretmeni ile yarı yapılandırılmış görüşmeler gerçekleştirilmiştir. Veriler, içerik analizi tekniği ile analiz edilmiş ve bunun sonucunda dört ana tema ortaya çıkmıştır: eğitsel amaçlarla genel olarak teknoloji kullanımı, saklama ve paylaşma, değerlendirme, veli katılımı ve iletişimi. Bulgular, DT’lerin eğitimsel içerik, çocukların aktif katılımı, izleme ve inceleme imkânı, belgeleri paylaşma ve uzun süre saklama, çocukların öğrenmelerini görünür kılma, akran öğrenmesi, oyunlaştırma, içerik çeşitliliği, katılımın artması, anında ve kolay iletişim gibi faydalar sunduğunu göstermiştir. Öte yandan, malzeme ve donanım eksikliği, kötüye kullanım, pedagojik zorluklar, velilerin zorlayıcı tutum ve talepleri gibi çekinceler de ifade edilmiştir. Elde edilen bulgular, alan yazındaki ilgili araştırma ve uygulamalar ışığında tartışılmıştır. Özellikle, erken çocukluk eğitiminde eğitsel amaçlarla DT kullanımının dokümantasyon, değerlendirme ve veli katılımı ve iletişimi boyutlarındaki entegrasyonu ve bu boyutların kendi arasındaki bütünsellik gereğine dikkat çekilmiştir.

Keywords

Erken çocukluk eğitimi, dijital teknoloji, dokümantasyon, değerlendirme, veli katılımı ve iletişimi

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