The research project Kids Media Lab – Technologies and Programming Learning in Preschool Age, proves to be innovative, both in the context in which it will be implemented either in their own research goals. We intend to consolidate knowledge about learning theories, by introducing the programming in a playful and creative way in the activities in the garden for children. We will take tablets and robots to kindergartens in 5 districts of Portugal (Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Oporto and Viseu) for over a school year to develop programming and robotics activities with the children.
Kids Media Lab – Technologies and Programming Learning in Preschool Age.
We intend to consolidate knowledge about learning theories, by introducing the programming in a playful and creative way in the activities in the garden for children.
This project will provide activities during a school year in 5 districts of Portugal (Aveiro, Braga, Coimbra, Oporto and Viseu) involving 250 children (estimate) in the course of the investigation. We will also carry out activities (workshops and training), across the country, with several technological resources (tablets and robots). We intend to annually take the technological resources to other schools, which do not benefit in this first phase of the project activities.
Synthesis
Understanding how children react in the use of technologies and programming proves to be important to know your behavior, your learning style and enable education professionals anticipate or not this integration in their educational settings.
In order to realize this research outlined the following objectives:
- Know about the technologies that children know and use;
- Recognizing the potential of technology and mobile devices in preschool;
- Develop skills associated with digital literacy and applications on mobile devices;
- Promote creativity and imagination through the symbolic representation associated with the program;
- Integrate learning activities of the program in early childhood education contexts, in a playful manner;
- Learn to program by applying Scratch Junior for mobile devices and also the KIBO robot kits;
- Develop programming activities in accordance with the phases of the model “K tangible curriculum”;
- Promote sharing and collaboration among children, by building projects with significance for them in particular with stories;
- Understanding how children learn to program;
- Perspetivar the construction of meaningful learning to use the program and that they endure throughout life;
- Analyze and compare the different contexts studied;
- Disseminate results in the scientific community.
We expect the project to be developed in three phases with a total of 36 months, each of which corresponds to one year and we will replicate the same research for another three years in other educational settings.