In a recent edition of the Master's Degree in Early Childhood Education (ECE) in a School of Education in Portugal, the 16 students were already teachers, with more than 20 years of professional experience, looking for an opportunity to reflect on their practices and conceptions. A challenge was presented, regarding the discussion of free/libre software in schools based on examples of use with children.
The poster presents an experience of using the free software MyPaint together with a graphics tablet in two early childhood centers. Information about the way children explored the technology frames two analysis: how features of the technology promoted children's awareness regarding drawing with real tools; and how exploration in small groups promoted interactions focused on recognition of contributions from other children to one's own productions.
Our background for using ICT in ECE is based on Papert's perspective of children driving the technology (1996) in self-directed and socially relevant ways (Amante, 2007), as mind tools (Jonassen, 2006). The view of children as sharing a “participatory culture” (Jenkins, 2006), as the new tespians of a “colective intelligence” (Levy, 1997), requires from early childhood education critical decisions regarding software. In the conception of such critical perspetives, the children's experience and voice about it is regarded as essential (Oliveira-Formosinho, 2008; Sarmento, 2008; Soares, 2006).
The connection between ICT and Arts Education is based on the concept of culture and art as essential parts of a complete education, needed for the development of all human beings. Based on this assertion, UNESCO considers Arts Education as an universal human right for all learners (2006). The contemporary culture and arts encompasse both the traditional forms of human expression and creation – as theatre, plastic arts, dance, music and literature – and new digital forms. The dialogue, meshing up and interconnecteness of technology and creation opened new avenues and challenges for the development of Arts Education. The instruments and tools have been brought to the foreground, sometimes overshadowing the creative processes themselves. If allowing children to notice and critically analyse the available tools should be part of the approach of Arts Education in ECE, the apreciation and enjoyment of their productions and of artists' works cannot be overlooked. UNESCO highlights that “The arts provide an environment and practice where the learner is actively engaged in creative experiences, processes, and development. Research indicates that introducing learners to artistic processes, while incorporating elements of their own culture into education, cultivates in each individual a sense of creativity and initiative, a fertile imagination, emotional intelligence and a moral “compass”, a capacity for critical reflection, a sense of autonomy, and freedom of thought and action.“ (2006, p. 4). In ECE, the Arts are regarded as one of many languages (Malaguzzi, 2001) children use to express their own cultures (Sarmento, 2008). Arts Education and Early Childhood Education are also linked by the principle that learning starts with the culture (knowledge and experiences) of the children.
