Improving ICT usage in early childhood education: Kamalanathan
PUTRAJAYA: The use of Information Technology and Communication (ICT) gadgets in early childhood education needs to be enhanced in keeping abreast with development and future needs.
Deputy Minister of Education, Datuk P. Kamalanathan said through exposure, mastery and increased usage of ICT in teaching would facilitate child development through a more innovative method.
"Currently, children below the age of five are also able to use ICT gadgets, so much so that it has become a norm among children.
"With development in technology, the use of ICT in teaching and learning in early childhood education has to be enhanced as technology will become an integral part of life in the future," he told the media here.
He was met by reporters after launching the Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) Exhibition in conjunction with the 2016 Asia Pacific Regional Policy Forum on Early Childhood Care and Education (APFEC 2016) here.
Kamalanathan emphasised the need to let children be accustomed to the use of ICT at an early age, but reminded that it should be implemented responsibly.
The use of ICT in the training and teaching of ECCE was among the topics highlighted during APFEC 2016, hence, establishing a new direction in the application of ICT in ECCE, particularly in Malaysia.
Kamalanathan said the three day forum, which began today, provided a platform for all parties involved to seek a new avenue of ICT usage that could be adapted in ECCE to ensure its effectiveness.
"For Malaysia, we already have the ECCE model, so all that is left is for us to find a suitable method with the aid of ICT to broaden its achievement, especially in remote areas that have no means of communication," he added.
He said the ECCE exhibition comprised three categories, namely the nursery zone, children zone and the preschool zone – each with a display of graphic information, a video presentation and a simulation on the collaboration of all those involved in the success of ECCE. — Bernama