Author Archives: Nathan Hesman

Gucci, Prada, Chanel…What Design Thinking Are You Using?

eCampus Ontario’sOpen PD Modules Summary – Piktochart

For a separate window to view the Piktochart – click HERE

 

My response to the key points

Digital Literacies

I think that that I would agree completely that digital literacy is certainly complex. Recently I was speaking to a professor and they told me how he, and many other adults, assumed that my generation is completely tech savvy, but that was a false notion. Even though I have grown up in this new age, I still find it difficult in trying to navigate through the technology world. 

Design-Thinking

After watching the video and reading the script on the design-thinking section I was still confused as to exactly what the process was because the description it gives in the script is different than the words and explanation that the video gives. From what I did understand I do agree that it is good to find solutions directly from the people affected instead of simply following some crazy idea that I haven’t even received any feedback for.

Empathize

This is a very important step in the design-thinking process as it is the root for the whole process. The goal is to connect better to learners and if I don’t know what the learners are really struggling with or wanting then I’d be stuck throwing darts in the dark.

Define

To me this is the hardest section of the module because I find it extremely difficult to pinpoint the true reason for the challenges of a learner. Often I have found it comes to learners not being motivated, but every learner is different and that makes it difficult to pinpoint what truly motivates them. This is why I find the empathize section to be so important because then I’m not left on my own to ponder the reasons behind learners’ lack of motivation.

Ideate

It seems daunting to try and simply create ideas about each potential technology and so it is extremely helpful to have links to various places that give ideas about what questions I should strive to answer and what technologies I can look through. Here is one example – website resource.

Prototype

This makes sense that now is where I would start to develop deeply into my top technology choice(s) otherwise I would be in the design process forever.

Connect

I also agree that I only start to connect my specific goals and curriculum aspects to my technology idea because there’s that potential that after I start using one during the prototype stage I may assess that the current one may not be the right fit for me.

Module Checklist

In terms of organization of modules and a summary section, this is great. It is concise and allows me to quickly assess whether I’ve done all that I needed to do and as a checklist I can visually cross things off which would give me a greater motivation by having a sense of accomplishment with each checkmark.

Extend

All in all I believe that the extend portion of the module for each section is one of the most important aspects. The extend truly helps go that extra mile that guides the process and sharpens every detail. Especially as someone who works much better with continuous feedback from other, the extend portion easily connects me to little hubs that allow me to put forth my ideas, receive feedback, and then tweak my ideas and plan afterwards. The extend truly enables me to have a fuller picture of the process and of what my actual goal in this is.

 

 

 

 

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21st Century Teaching…What Gives?!

Hey everyone! This time I decided to use Piktochart  for Dr. Michele Jacobsen’s article “Teaching in a Participatory Digital World” and Henry Jenkin’s video “The Influence of Participatory Culture on Education“. Last time I attempted to make a sketch note…and I have come to find that Piktochart can be used in a similar way, except much less time consuming. The best part is being able to edit my assignment unlike the sketch note where once I write something down with pen or marker it’s set.

For this assignment it really started to open up my view of participatory culture and how digital society creates helps to promote participatory. Prior to reading through Michele’s article my perspective of teaching and learning with digital technology was low. I wanted nothing to do with it. I have continually taken a stubborn position in resisting the change because it has seemed too daunting for me to do online participation. I have tried to stick to only in person collaboration. BUT, I’ve come to learn that it is not as scary or difficult as I first thought and that it can actually be quite effective in learning and help keep both myself and students more engaged in whatever lesson or material is being taught.

During my placement my associate teacher was using a few different platforms and technologies that I found really enhanced the classroom learning environment. There was technology used that connected the students to the teacher online even after school and in a safe manner; there is always a concern that teachers need to be careful in communicating with students to ensure no inappropriate relationship is developed. Even the parents were able to connect to the same website between the students with a special login. The parents are able to both easily message the teacher and view the marks of their kids on this website. I found the students become continually engaged in participating in something called “missions” which is like a multiple choice quiz, but it also includes short teaching reminder videos in between. This was easily used because my associate teacher books an iPad cart for his class quite often. The students are really able to participate together in the online learning it really has boosted the class collaboration.

Another part I found interesting was the benefit of not just the students, but the teachers collaborating together as well. My associate teacher frequently participates in extra professional development and exchanges ideas with other teachers and this helps him to learn and improve upon his own teaching in the class room, especially with keeping pace with other classes in the same subject and grade.

The way I organized my piktochart was showing the new shift in digital technology and digital learning. I  described how there are many benefits in teaching more in this way.

Link to my Piktochart

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To Learnify or to Not Learnify…that is the Question

For this multimedia reflection, I chose to do a sketchnote on the HybridPod – Questioning Learning. At first I was not too interested in going through this podcast because at the start, Amy Collier, the interviewee, was using many terms that were a bit ambiguous.  Some of these terms include learnification, not-yetness, and critical pedagogy. As the podcast progressed, I naturally started to gain a better understanding of the terminology being used. I became interested in the learning aspects and models being discussed.  The podcast focuses on the idea that education should be more willing to be fluid and ever- changing, rather than structured and strategic at times.  As individual’s learn in many different styles and modes, educators must be able to accommodate these styles and learn to incorporate them in our teaching practices.  Amy describes how life is not meant to be controlled by a formula, but creative and expressive factors.  This idea is reflected in how it may be risky for future educators to take strides and do things with out of the box thinking, but the rewards for it are remarkable. I think it is really important that teachers understand this idea and start implementing it in their classrooms.

Digital Assignment 1 PodCast PDF

In terms of the sketch note, I had never done anything quite like it this art form before. This past weekend, I attended a retreat that included a few guest speakers and received the chance to practice sketchnoting in real time. At first it felt really uncomfortable and I felt anxious about other people looking over to see my different words, sketches and unrealistic ideas, but eventually I came to truly enjoy it and realized the benefits of using this artistic form.  As a future educator, I hope to incorporate media into classroom settings through forms of augmentation, modification and hopefully one day, redefinition.  This will allow me to embrace the field of media and new advances and reach all students, learning styles and abilities.  I am not afraid to go “out of the box,” feel uncomfortable and pursue uncertainty in my teachings.  It pushes me to reach new boundaries and formulate new effective practices.  I hope you enjoy this sketch note (mind map).

P.s. If you are looking for a link to the podcast, click on the link below!

http://hybridpedagogy.org/questioning-learning/

 

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