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When I read about the 4 C´s and connectivism, it made me think how I could apply these at work in early childhood education and care. Technology education in early years is usually done in very holistic manner; it is design pedagogy, where the educator can encourage the children to be inquisitive, or where children are encouraged to observe their environment and the technology in it and for the children to be more creative when they are solving problems. In early childhood education we can integrate age-appropriate technology with educational content and for example communicate and collaborate with a school that is on the other side of the world, to learn about their culture etc. What do you think? I am curious to hear any other ideas!

I am working now as an early childhood education and care teacher in 3-5 year-old children´s group. We have a smart screen in our classroom that I am attempting to use in our daily activities and my one goal is to master how to use it.

We already use some platforms such as Facebook and Instagram while cooperating with our group´s guardians. Making our daily life in the daycare more visible for them is very important in our unit and we share pictures and videos daily. Weekly news letter is good too, but it is starting to be outdated. It would be nice to have a blog (and time to write it. Oh well, one can always dream.) or other kind of platform to use while interacting with the guardians. I hope this course will give me some new ideas for that.

From a professional point of view, I am a teacher. Up until the pandemic in 2020, I was an early childhood education music teacher, but we all know how the whole music business went down the gutter when the pandemic started and it made me reinvent myself. It was a midlife crisis without a motorcycle or a concubine.

Gladly, I had applied to the University of Turku a couple months prior to corona because when it started, I had no idea how much of a massive impact it would have in my life. Within two weeks from the start, I lost my career of 10 years and there was no going back. My employer said they can´t take the risk of canceling classes and they laid me off. And this was during the first month of the pandemic. What a sucker punch. I had no idea who I was anymore, music and my career was such an important part of my life then and I wasn´t ready to say goodbye.

“Dear Katri, congratulations! We are happy to inform you that you have been admitted to the Bachelor´s degree programme in early childhood teacher education at the university of Turku, Finland.”

March 2020 I got some good and exciting news. I would be a student again! But wait.. I was in my early thirties then so another crisis followed. All my classmates would probably be way younger than me. Would we have anything in common? Where would I live? Would I have to live separately from my husband and 2-year-old, since Rauma, my future study city was a 2 hour car ride away from our house? Since I was already shedding my skin, I decided to jump head first to the deep end: pack my bags, take my son with me and not give a flying f*ck about my age. I can still party like a 20-year-old (actually I really can´t but sometimes we have to lie to ourselves to regain some confidence)!

So here I am two years later, as a pre-service ECEC teacher. Already packed my stuff and moved back in my home and started working in a daycare. And inches away from graduating, so exciting! I didn´t get to party like I´m young again, thanks corona! My liver sends her best regards. This e-portfolio will include some bad jokes and dark humor, as well as musings about the new field in education I´m learning to live with. My e-portfolio name is self-explanatory if you have ever worked in a daycare.

Good luck fellow educators and keep sane!