#UWinDig

I used the medium of Canva to represent the ideas from the module of Technologist. In the form of a infographic, I looked at aspects of how to implement technology into the classroom.  I am comfortable with using Canva and enjoy the use of templates to help me through the process. Canva has many different options and is easy to use. The way the classroom is going, being technological savvy and knowing how to implement technology into the classroom in a successful manner should be a priority to educators in my opinion.

This module did a great job of walking through the five steps of digital-thinking including empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and connect. Empathize refers that the redesign of thinking starts with empathy. The Define step is about narrowing in and identifying a problem based on what you know and have discovered about your learner. In this stage educators need to define the learner’s challenge. According to the module, a good learner challenge is one that: provides focus and frames the challenge, inspires you and others around you, informs how you will evaluate subsequent ideas, captures the hearts and minds of your users, helps you focus on developing concepts and plans that meet the needs for most of the people that matter. The ideate stage looks at building ideate features and characteristics of how technology could address your learner challenge. The module says that the best way to approach this is to build a list of possibilities by asking yourself: “how might I?”. The next stage of prototype involves putting a small tangible creation in front of your users instead of talking about abstract ideas. The steps of prototype include design, share and refine. Finally connect to the curriculum and crafting an implementation plan as to how students will progress through your technological creation as an activity.

Each module did a good job at explaining what each of the five steps were and an activity to help understand how to implement each step into the class. Throughout my practicum experience I have had to use technology in many different scenarios, teaching lessons, assessment opportunities, lesson planning etc., and digital skills and technology were needed. Specifically, in a math lesson in data management,  I taught using the smart board  as a the main lesson. Students had to come to the smart board and move their person under whatever sport they liked the most. In this case, the students were familiar with the smart board and comfortable with using it. When I first planned on using this lesson I was not familiar with the smart board and had to test out the lesson prior so I knew how to use it. In order for students to use the technology and get the full understand of the class or activity, educators need to understand how to use it so it is clear to the students. Growing up where the push of technology just started, I did not learn the use of technology so this module would be helpful for me to utilize technology within the classroom in the world today.

Ashley Pastorius

I used the medium of Prezi to represent the ideas of the article “Tackling tech: How some Ontario teachers are attempting to limit students’ cellphone use” by Nadine Yousifi. I really enjoyed using the medium of Prezi, it was an easy medium use with many templates t0 pick from. Although there was templates I did not feel constricted because each template had many edit options. One thing I did not like was the presentation could not be downloaded and I had no idea how to add the presentation to the blog, I figured it out after talking to classmates. In the form of a Prezi presentation, I looked at the influence of handheld devices, mostly cellphones in the classroom and expressed my opinion on the concept of cellphones and technology in the classroom. The article goes through strategies to remove cellphones from the classroom resulting in a decrease of distractions as well. Two strategies are mentioned in forms of a cases, students put their phones in the case to remove them from the scene, remove Wi-Fi and so on. In the end, the decrease of distractions resulted in more class engagement and increased grade percentages.

Before reading the text, I knew that handheld devices were a distraction within the classroom and something needed to be done to help curve the distraction portion. I was hoping to hear more about the adaptation of handheld devices into the classroom and how we as educators can help utilize these devices and also minimize the distractions. I did find new information within the text though, the methods to decrease cellphone distractions were new and brilliant to me. Using cases to remove the cellphone services and WIFI is a great start to decreasing the distractions. but I really liked the second case model  where the velcro strip acted as a self-regulation tool. I feel that is one thing students are lacking, self regulation, and if we can incorporate this kill into the education world then why not help!

The world today is adapting and I think and strongly believe that as educators we need to have a growth mind set and adapt to the times, not ignore them. I do agree that cellphones are a distraction in the class, there is no doubting that, I just think we need to find a healthy balance between using devices and focusing on the lesson. There is a time and place for everything. Throughout my job history as a gymnastics coach, I have seen the increase in technology, I have seen how it distracts gymnastics coaches from their jobs, and athletes from training but I have also seen how it can enhance a coach by watching videos of drills and showing athletes the proper way to perform a skill.  Even within my placements I have seen the use of cellphones and handheld devices for good in terms of class participation, using the app ” Formative”, “Kahoot” and so on. Although this is the case, I have also seen the negatives and distractions that come along, like being on phones during lessons and independent work. Even as a student myself, I feel the distraction, going on my phone during class, looking through Facebook. I really liked the one case presented in the article, it was Velcro closed and the teacher used it as a self-regulation tool, yes students could have opened it and got their phone, but it would have been very loud and distracting. The other case was a locked case that students couldn’t get access to, this is not a good choice in my opinion because its hiding the problem and not helping solve it.

Yes, education and paying attention is important for students to succeed, and like the article stated, with the decrease in cellphone distractions there was a grade percentage increase, I just strongly think that we could find a balance between putting the distraction away and embracing the distraction.

Click the picture to see the presentation! 

Ashley Evans