Jurnal Empowerment Volume 7 Nomor 2, September 2018 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 81 USE OF DIGITAL ENCYCLOPEDIA MEDIA TO DEVELOP COGNITIVE ASPECTS OF EARLY CHILDHOOD(Case Studies In Hati Bunda Daycare, Cimahi City) Dian Supriatin IKIP SILIWANGIdiansupriatin2312@gmail.com ABSTRACTEarly childhood education is essentially education organized with the aim tofacilitate the growth and development of children as a whole. Cognitivedevelopment refers to the child's development in thinking and the ability to givereasons. Digital encyclopedia media is one of the supporting activities inplaying, because through these media children can find out a lot of things bylooking at pictures, writing, listening to sounds, also can grow cognitivedevelopment or knowledge of children about everything that is found or notaround their environment. The research method used in this study isdescriptive with qualitative analysis with data collection techniques throughobservation of four students with age groups 5 to 6 years and interviews withtwo teachers, documentation and literature. The objectives of this study are: (1)to describe the planning of using digital encyclopedia media to developcognitive aspects of early childhood, (2) to know the use of digital encyclopediamedia in developing cognitive aspects of early childhood, (3) knowing theresults of the application of media encyclopedia digital in developing cognitiveaspects of early childhood (4) knowing the factors that become difficulties orobstacles in the use of digital encyclopedia media. Keywords: Early Childhood, Cognitive Development, Digital MediaEncyclopedia INTRODUCTIONEducation in Early childhood basically covers all efforts and actions taken by educatorsand parents in the process of care and education in children by creating an aura andenvironment where children can explore experiences that provide opportunities forthem to know and understand learning experiences that obtained from theenvironment, through observing, imitating and experimenting that take placerepeatedly and involving all the potential and intelligence of early childhood.Based on the Republic of Indonesia Law Number 20 of 2003 concerning the NationalEducation System Chapter 1, Article 1 Point 14 states that Early Childhood Education isa coaching effort aimed at children from birth to 6 years of age through the provision ofeducational stimuli to help growth and physical and spiritual development of childrento have readiness to enter further education.Early Childhood Education is also a form of education that focuses on laying thefoundation towards physical growth and development (fine and rough motor Jurnal Empowerment Volume 7 Nomor 2, September 2018 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 82 coordination), intelligence (power of thought, creativity, emotional intelligence,spiritual intelligence), socioemotional (attitude, behavior and religion), language andcommunication, in accordance with the uniqueness and stages of development thatearly childhood goes through.According to F.J. Monks, (2001) in (Desmita, 2015), broad development refers to aprocess that is more perfect and cannot be repeated. Development is also defined as aneternal and permanent process that leads to an organization at a higher level ofintegration, based on growth, maturation and learning. Developmental psychologistsrecognize that cognitive development takes place continuously and follows adevelopmental stage.Cognitive development refers to the child's development in thinking and the ability togive reasons. Cognitive development is also characterized by an ability to plan, run astrategy to remember and to find solutions to a problem faced. Based on Piaget's theoryaccording to Nixon and Gould (1999: 12) in Sujiono (2009: 78) describes cognitivedevelopment in several steps, which includes the sensorimotoric stage (birth-2 years),preoperational stage (2-7 years), operational concrete stages ( 7-11 years) and formaloperation phase (11-16 years).Catron and Allen (1999: 23-26) in Sujiono (2009: 62-63), mention that there are 6aspects of early childhood development, namely: personal awareness, emotional health,socialization, communication, cognition and motor skills are very important and mustbe considered as an interaction function. Based on the theory of child development, it isbelieved that every child is born better than one talent. For this reason, children need tobe given education in accordance with their development by enriching their playingenvironment. Cognitive theory is based on the assumption that cognitive abilities arefundamental and that guide children's behavior. With this cognitive, children are seenas individuals who actively build their own knowledge about the surroundingenvironment.In general, children are interested in something that contains multimedia or technology-based, such as music, animation or dynamic images. Digital encyclopedia media is aninteractive learning media designed with a collection of information to guide children inthe learning process with multimedia or audio visual elements contained in it. Thedigital encyclopedia application generated from research can be in the form of portabledigital encyclopedias, digital pens, etc., which are easy to use and have a great influenceon children's learning, especially early childhood. The digital encyclopedia media usedin learning activities at Hati Bunda daycare is a modern encyclopedia media that candisplay still images and sounds that are not normally possessed by conventionalencyclopedias, so that the media is used as one of the sources and media in earlychildhood learning at Hati Bunda daycare. The use of digital encyclopedia media is veryhelpful for educators in stimulating students to observe, ask, collect information,associate and communicate various thematic information that will be delivered tochildren. METHOD Jurnal Empowerment Volume 7 Nomor 2, September 2018 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 83 This study uses a qualitative descriptive approach that is trying to reveal the symptomsfound in the field in a comprehensive, holistic contextual, that is comprehensively as awhole by using observation techniques with the object of research consisting of 4children aged 5 to 6 years, interviewing two teachers in the age group anddocumentation is also carried out during the activity and the combination of the threetechniques and literature. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION A. Planning to Use Digital Encyclopedia Media to Develop Early Cognitive Aspects of ChildrenThe use of digital encyclopedia media in developing cognitive aspects of earlychildhood, at the Hati Bunda Daycare can be implemented in accordance with theplanning which includes classroom management by arranging room infrastructure,preparing learning resources and storing supporting playgrounds. In theimplementation process, it is adapted to the 2013 Early Childhood Educationcurriculum by optimizing child development and using scientific thematic learning. Thisis in line with Majid's opinion (2011: 7) which describes about learning planning whenviewed from the components of learning management competencies, namely describinglearning objectives, determining learning materials, organizing learning materials,determining learning strategies / methods, determining learning / media resources /learning props, compile assessment tools, determine assessment techniques andallocate time. In addition, it is also in line with other opinions from Majid (2011: 92-94)which states that the steps in planning consist of diagnosing needs, determining goals,identifying learning techniques, formulating and planning learning, providingmotivation and program implementation, measurement , level evaluation anddetermination. B. The Process of Using Digital Encyclopedia Media to Develop Early Cognitive Aspects of ChildrenThe implementation of learning in institutions is adjusted to the Education Unit LevelCurriculum or early childhood education. The steps in preparing the implementation ofthe digital encyclopedia media use are adjusted to the center learning model which willbe incorporated into the Daily Learning Implementation Plan, which includesenvironmental footing, footing before playing, footing when playing, footing afterplaying. In the implementation of learning by using a digital encyclopedia as a learningmedium, the methods used include the storytelling method, the question and answermethod and also the discussion method. With this method students learn through activelearning, where students are given the opportunity to think, find and find their ownanswers from the media. This is in line with the opinion of Fadillah (2016: 163-179),stating that there are several methods that can be applied and used in the process ofearly childhood learning that have been adapted to the conditions and characteristics,including lecture method, question and answer method, method habituation, exemplarymethods, playing methods, storytelling methods, singing methods, natural tourismmethods, problem solving methods, simulation methods. Jurnal Empowerment Volume 7 Nomor 2, September 2018 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 84 Learning by using the digital encyclopedia media serves to provide feed back forteachers, knowing the difficulties of students, knowing various aspects of development,especially cognitive aspects and as a means to facilitate assessment. This is in line withthe opinion of Fadillah (2016: 236), which states that the function of implementinglearning is to provide feedback to the teacher to improve teaching and learningactivities including in the program of activities, knowing the level of physical and mentaldevelopment achieved by the child, knowing the obstacles, difficulties experiencedchildren in teaching and learning activities, assessing the level of knowledge and skillsand attitudes of children. C. Results of Using Digital Encyclopedia Media to Develop Early Cognitive Aspects of ChildrenBased on the results of interviews and observations with two teachers and fourstudents, obtained results or assessments in the use of digital encyclopedia media thatcan develop the cognitive aspects of early childhood in the HAti Bunda’s daycare.Assessment procedures are carried out every day and refer to the Child DevelopmentAchievement Level Standards. Assessment is carried out when learning activities andplay activities take place, which will then be transferred to the monthly appraisal thatwill be a reference for the teacher to carry out a descriptive assessment objectively,continuously, transparently and comprehensively. This is in line with the NationalStandard Permendikbud of early childhood education assessment procedure No. 137 of2014 concerning standards and 2014 regarding curriculum of early childhoodeducation, which states that : the teacher carries out an assessment by referring to thelevel of development achievement in a plan, the assessment is carried out integratively,recording daily assessment results included in the Daily Activity Plan or Daily LearningImplementation Plan, which will then be summarized into a monthly assessment as areference for compiling the final development report that will be made in a description.Techniques or forms of assessment using digital encyclopedia media, are carried out bylooking at the daily activities of students during the learning that are recorded inanecdotes and checks or ratting scales. The use of digital encyclopedia media to developearly childhood cognitive aspects can be seen from several basic competenciesachieved, including: Behavior that reflects curiosity, behavior that reflects creativeattitudes, the ability to know how to solve everyday problems and be creative, theability to recognize the surrounding objects, the ability to get to know the socialenvironment, and the ability to get to know the natural environment. D. Inhibiting Factors in the Use of Digital Encyclopedia MediaBased on the results of interviews with teachers in the 5-6 year age group, the use ofdigital encyclopedia media was initially only used conventionally without audio mediadue to teacher unpreparedness in its use. The procurement of digital encyclopediamedia in the Institute has also not been facilitated in sufficient quantities, so that in itsuse it still has to alternate between one class and another. This is in line with theopinion of Fadillah (2016: 213), which states that there are weaknesses in audio visualmedia in learning activities, including manufacturing costs that require high costs andexpensive equipment. Whereas according to Rima Wati (2016: 63) one of the Jurnal Empowerment Volume 7 Nomor 2, September 2018 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 85 drawbacks of audio visual media is that it is not enough to be able to display the detailsof objects that are presented perfectly, expensive and complex equipment, the attentionof the audience is difficult to master. CONCLUSIONBased on the results of research on data, interviews and observations regarding the useof digital encyclopedia media to develop the cognitive aspects of early childhood in theHati Bunda daycare, the results of the study can be summarized as follows: 1. Planning the use of digital encyclopedia media to develop cognitive aspects of early childhoodPlanning procedures in the use of learning media, especially for Early ChildhoodEducation, are basically tailored to the goals and needs of the students themselves.The next step that must be done by a teacher is to determine learning material withmethods and teaching aids or learning media that are in accordance with the needsand material to be delivered. The final step that must be done by the teacher is todevelop an assessment tool by determining the form or technique of assessment asto what will be done. 2. The process of using digital encyclopedia media can develop cognitive aspects of early childhoodThe implementation of learning using digital encyclopedia media is generally similarto the implementation of other learning. Hati Bunda’s daycare are implements the“My First Encyclopedia” program for students with the 5-6 year age group through amodern learning media namely digital encyclopedia. The implementation of learningin these institutions is adjusted to the Education Unit Level Curriculum of earlychildhood education with a center learning model, which includes: environmentalfooting, footing before playing, footing when playing and playing after playing. In theuse of digital encyclopedias as learning media, suitable methods to be appliedinclude the storytelling method, the question and answer method and the discussionmethod. 3. The results of using digital encyclopedia media can develop cognitive aspects of early childhoodAssessment procedure for National PAUD Standards Permendikbud No. 137 of 2014concerning PAUD standards and 2014 concerning PAUD curriculum, becomes areference for teachers to assess the results of activities or learning. Assessment ofthe use of digital encyclopedia media is carried out objectively, continuously,transparently and comprehensively. The technique or form of assessment used bythe teacher in the form of anecdotal notes and ratting scale / checklist. The basiccompetencies achieved are focused on cognitive development programs for childrenaged 5 to 6 years. 4. Inhibiting factors in the use of digital encyclopedia mediaLearning media consists of various types, both modern and conventional. The use ofdigital encyclopedia media to develop cognitive aspects of early childhood hasseveral obstacles both internally and externally. The limitation of the institution infacilitating the number of digital encyclopedia media, the presence, behavior andunpreparedness of students to receive the material presented, and the proliferationof sophisticated technologies such as smartphones or gadgets that are moreattractive to children, make the inhibiting factor in the use of the encyclopedia Jurnal Empowerment Volume 7 Nomor 2, September 2018 e-ISSN : 2580-7692 p-ISSN : 2252-4738 86 media. The teacher's unpreparedness in using digital encyclopedia media and theability to deliver material that must be in accordance with the media are the maininhibiting factors in the success of learning using the digital encyclopedia media. ACKNOWLEDGEMENTOn this occasion the author would like to express his deepest gratitude to variousparties who have helped and supported the preparation of this thesis and withoutprejudice to the respect that might not be mentioned one by one, the writer would liketo thank :1. Dr. H. Heris Hendriana, M.Pd., as Chairman of IKIP Siliwangi Bandung2. Prof. Dr. H. Enceng Mulyana, M.Pd., as Chair of the Master Program in NonformalEducation3. Dr. H. Heris Hendriana, M.Pd., as Advisor I.4. Dr. Hj. Tita Rosita, M.Pd., as Supervisor II.5. Maya Juariah, M.Pd., as the Daily Chairperson of the Hati Bunda daycare6. Hassan Busjori, S.Pd., MPd., as the head of the UPT SPNF SKB7. Teachers and all staff in the Hati Bunda’s daycare at Cimahi City, thank you for theenthusiasm and prayer given to the author.8. My lovely Father H. Udju Supriatna and my lovely mother Hj. Itjeu Sarliah, who hasraised the author, guided and educated me with compassion and patience, andalways offered sincere prayers for the happiness and success of the author.9. My dearest sister Emma Purwantie, SE., and her husband Irsal Periyansah, ST., Andmy beloved niece Faeyza Marva Almair and Farezky Maliq Almair, who always giveprayers and support, both moral and material support during the education periodand completion of this thesis.10. Students, especially Kindergarten B class in Hati Bunda daycare, who have beenwilling to be the subject of research for the author, thanks to the help andcooperation of this thesis can be resolved.11. Friends of the 2015 nonformal education magister, who have provided input,inspiration and motivation to the authors, to continue, struggle and complete thisthesis. BIBLIOGRAPHYArikunto, Suharsimi. (2012). Dasar-dasar Evaluasi Pendidikan. Jakarta: Bumi AksaraAndriani, Vina. (2008). “Perkembangan Kognitif”, dalam Bahan Ajar Diklat Tenaga Pendidik PAUD Nonformal Tingkat Dasar. Bandung: UPIDesmita. (2015). Psikologi Perkembangan. 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