Based on an original concept from Isaacs UK, the early year's creative learning consultancy, Dream Catcher aims to capture young children's ideas and interests by using child-friendly technologies to record things that are important to them. Each short recording forms the starting point for shared discussions with the parent, carer or other adults in the child's life, opening up powerful channels of shared communication between families, friends, and early year's professionals. Futurelab's findings are the result of a research project where children used PDAs and digital cameras to capture their experiences both in and out of their early year's settings. The research explored how digital technologies could support children's informal learning, facilitate ‘child voice' and build bridges between the children's homes and early years settings.

Ruth Churchill Dower, Director of Isaacs UK, said: "We developed the concept to help increase positive communications between children, their parents and early year's professionals. Dream Catcher is a process which helps to bring them closer together, using children's ideas as the starting point.

It especially helps parents understand how much informal learning happens through play and how to better understand and nurture their child's potential. We have had really positive feedback from both parents and professionals involved in this project, who found that Dream Catcher helped them to listen more closely to what their children are saying."

www.futurelab.org.uk/projects/dream-catcher

Printer friendly version

Email this article to a friend

Bookmark this

---