Using digital resources for the ece curriculum in china: Current needs and future development

Using digital resources is an important development in the Early Childhood Education (ECE) curriculum in China. Guo and Wang (2005) report that 98% of urban ECE programs have computers with Internet connections, in addition to other technical facilities, which are used daily in ECE classrooms. However, the lack of curriculum-related digital resources and of a network to share them makes it difficult for teachers to share these resources for teaching. Further, this development of digital resources for ECE should consider Chinese cultures of learning (Jin & Cortazzi, 2006) in order to meet the needs of Chinese learners and maximize the learning effect. This paper focuses on the major features of digital resources in Chinese ECE and a framework for developing the content through examining existing digital resources and materials. Methods of inquiry and evaluation include the use of focus groups of kindergarten teachers in different provinces in China. The findings (Chen & Zhou, 2009; Zhou & Chen, 2009) indicate that an ECE digital resource should have features of individualization, interaction, sharing and sociability in networking in Chinese educational contexts, for supporting teaching design, practice, evaluation and reflection. An effective framework of ECE digital resources is recommended to contain three key parts: 1) A Teacher Planning System to support teachers' information searches, classified according to themes, subjects or types of activities. 2) A Children's Learning System to offer interactive learning at school or home following the classroom curriculum. 3) A Family Support System to involve parents in their children's learning and development.