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Thursday 16 February 2012

Digital Daycare

We have started a pilot project in the Infant room that incorporates technology into our communication with parents.

Typically we would write journals daily for the Infants and their parents. Anecdotes of daily happenings with an accompanying photograph from time to time.  These took a lot of time and lacked immediacy. They were also a lot to read for the parents.

We offered families the chance to sign up for the Digital Daycare Project and got 100% participation. 

We now use an iPod touch to email photos and video along with a brief amount of text during the day as things unfold in the program.

From a simple video of a child mastering new language or a photo of a quiet, cosy moment between a staff and a child, or a photo of an intricate game being played...... we are able to send it on the spot, on the move, in the room as it happens.

The feedback so far is very positive.  Staff are enjoying using the technology and are becoming more observant so they can catch those ordinary yet special moments.

Parents report they love getting these visual updates on the children via email during their work day.

We will continue with the project for the next several weeks but we are delighted with the outcome so far.