I chose to read the article, “Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom” by Ashley Hinck. I really enjoyed reading Hinck’s take on digital pedagogies in the classroom and I found it to be very informative from a teaching perspective. I believe that the incorporation of digital learning is extremely important in our generation; however, I never realized how important the platforms being used to foster learning were until I read this article. I was surprised to read how Hinck believes various platforms such as Facebook, Google Slides, and YouTube are rigid and actually restrict student creativity; however, after completing this article I totally agree with her! These programs used within schools are simply template-driven platforms that direct students to drag and drop or effectively follow a set of rigid instructions to reach a static goal. Lost is a sense of creativity, open-endedness, discovery and exploration. As educators, we should be shifting to a more critical digital pedagogy that utilizes technologies which enable and privileges openness and experimentation. Digital media should be used to allow students to explore their creativity; however, these template websites and platforms are leading to digital ghosts in the classroom. Through the use of these platforms, students are learning to follow step-by-step instructions, therefore they begin to perceive their hesitancy and trial-and-error as a failure.
As educators, we should be working to banish these ghosts and dislodge student expectations. I love how Hinck suggests that within a classroom we must give students permission to try and fail and revise. I believe that if teachers follow this approach to learning, students will be less afraid of failure and as a result will be open to more exploration and creativity within the classroom.
In terms of the platform I used to summarize this article, I chose to draw a sketch note. I am not the most experienced when it comes to technology and ironically, I didn’t trust myself with the other platforms; therefore, I thought it was safest to go with a sketch note. After reading Hinck’s article I find it funny that I was doing exactly what she suggested most students do in their classes, which is shy away from creativity because of fear of failure. I wasn’t comfortable enough with the other technology platforms, and as a result I ended up choosing a route that was more familiar for me rather than attempting something more foreign. Although I stayed away from technological platforms for this assignment, I do believe that the sketch note actually allowed for more openness and creativity, which Hinck suggests is lacking in certain online web platforms. Even though it was an extremely analogue task, I was given a lot of freedom and was able to map out all my ideas visually without any restrictions or step-by-step instructions. In terms of the sketch note, I actually really enjoyed creating it! It was a lot of fun designing the art piece and using a combination of pictures and words to express what was said within the article. I really tried to incorporate the use of colour and arrows to direct my pattern of thought, as well as pictures I believe symbolized what was expressed in Hinck’s article. Overall, I had a really great learning experience using the sketchnote; however, for the next reflection I plan to step outside my comfort zone and try one of the other suggested platforms!
Alaina Mancina 🙂
