#UWinDig

For my form of media,  chose to create an infographic on Canva; here it is if you would like to look at a larger version.

For our media form, we were responsible for reviewing the Technologist Module of eCapmus Ontario’s open PD modules which describes the different aspects of Design Thinking. This module summarizes the five main steps it takes in order to integrate technology with the use of design thinking. Design thinking is simply the strategic methods used to develop and create concepts. In my infographic I have set these five steps very clearly which a small bubble of information on each step and what it means. In the module, on the other hand, are a large variety of other sources and links offered for viewers reference in each step of this process. This includes Wikipedia links, YouTube videos and more.

I believe that these steps are very simple to understand, and in turn easy to follow as a teacher. I think that as teachers, we tend to follow through with some of these steps naturally such as trying to figure out where a student may be struggling, or trying to figure out how to help said student. I have experienced this personally in my practicum, where a student seemed to be disruptive in class; measures were taken to figure out why they couldn’t focus. My associate and I later discovered that the student had avoidance issues which in turn caused them to feel the need to avoid anything that makes them uncomfortable or that they do not understand. I do believe that with this specific set of steps any teacher should be able to move their students forward in a positive direction, whether it involves technology or not. When considering the integration of technology specifically I feel that it becomes more difficult as it is another concept being added. Being a teacher who is not fully aware of all the technology advances, there is a slight feeling of intimidation with the process. With that it, it becomes essential for teachers to take things step by step in order to not feel as overwhelmed.

As a science teacher, I very much appreciate the procedural approach that the module takes in solving a problem while also integrating technology. In my own experiences, the hardest part of getting through to a child is having them tell you that they are actually struggling. Many students are not comfortable enough to tell a teacher that they do not understand something. The only way this will happen is if the student trusts the teacher which is why I agree completely with having the first step be empathy. Once the student is able to open up, the teacher is then able to specifically define the struggles the student is having. I feel that this may be easy to do on paper, but is the hardest part in a real classroom as sometimes there are underlying issues which are the root cause of smaller issues that are easier to see. I have done student observations and anecdotals and in my opinion it becomes very hard to keep track of every student’s academic characteristics while also having multiple observations per student. In terms of having to ideate a design for the students, I think that it is essential for a teacher to have multiple sources to use. The module itself provides many external resources and link which provide extra information for the user which is very helpful. The more knowledgeable one is on an issue, the better they will be at solving it.

As a form of reflection on Khurram Virani’s TED talk, I chose to create a YouTube video to summarize his main ideas on the topic.

Here is the video:

Khurram’s main idea is that we need the education world to not only use technology, but use its methodologies as well. The first thing he says and admits is that, all three, teaching, curriculum, and improvement are very difficult to do. Just like many teachers, I too agree with Khurram about this since there is no one method or way for a teacher to master these. He addresses the fact that, yes, there are similarities between education and technology. This similarity comes with how both these industries aim to push forward other industries by giving them the right tools and people to do so. In both a student and a user’s perspective, all they care about is the outcome or the result; how did they gain from what they just did. The hard part here is that there is no correct answer to both teaching and to software. This is why many people, including me, get very frustrated. Instead, it becomes all about trial and error. You try something, see if it works or you try something different and see if that works.

The difference between education and technology is the approach they are taking. Technology is much faster in changing the way they do things and trying out new ideas, methods, and products. Education, on the other hand, doesn’t have that constant change like software does. I, very much, agree with this in that as teacher candidates we always hear that teaching methods have always been the same but they’re just recycled. I think it is important that as teachers I should be open to new ideas and forms of technologies, though it may be very uncomfortable for me. To be able to master the craft of either technology or education, one must create a balance between art and science. By collecting data, one is able to move forward in the direction they feel will change things for the better. I believe that this is essential as a teacher because you have to know your students, what they are good at, what they are struggling with and so on in order to move them forward in the right direction.

Before reading this text I still had the same ideas and opinions on the topic. I know that as a teacher technology should be a part of my classroom. I believe this because as a teacher I want to prepare my students for the future. In this day and age technology is very important as it is a part of both adults careers and personal lives. Due to the fact that I myself am not used to the use of  a lot technology, I am a bit uncomfortable using new forms of software, but I am willing to put in effort to learning these on my own in order to provide my students with more tools for their future use. On the other hand, I also felt the same as Khurram even before watching the talk in that sometimes technology may be used too much in the classroom. This is when it is not used t benefit the student, but rather for the sake of saying that the teachers uses technology in their class.

The form of media I chose to use for this reflection was a YouTube video. First I had to watch the TED talk and write down the points I felt stood out to me and were the most significant. I then watched the video again but slower and added more detail to the points I made previously. I then drew out the titles for different pages for the main points of the video I had made. Recording the video was the next step. In the video I am flipping through the main points of the video as I am further explaining them in audio form for further detail.

Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom  is an article written by Ashley Hinck which tries to define critical digital pedagogy. Hinck’s objective was to represent the environment of modern day classrooms while also discussing topics like authority, roles, and agency. Students understand the fact that technology is and will be essential in both their personal and professional lives. The issue here is that these students have been taught to think that digital media is all about using a template or some sort of shortcut in order to succeed in the end. These template based platforms tend to reflect traditional school culture and banking mode of education. This makes learning very rigid which causes students to lose that sense of exploration and discovery when working with digital media. These template are what Ashley Hinck considers to be the “ghosts” that hover over the students and their learning. The goal of this article is for teachers to understand that we should be moving students from simple users of template platforms to “makers, creators, and speakers”.

Personally, I grew up only knowing and using Microsoft Office as my form of digital media and that too was all about templates and shortcuts. Just like Hinck said in the article about students being apprehensive and nervous about technology, I too feel the same way because of this. I tend to be a very creative person when it comes to visual art, but only when I have something in my hand like a pencil and paper. Alternativley, when it comes to digital media, I seem to lose all my creativity. This relates to the article in that, I too, have only used templates as platforms for digital media, it’s all I know. I tend to get anxious at the idea of having to create my own digital media product when starting from scratch. The idea of failure is also one which pushes me away from technology as I have become comfortable in doing things hands on. With this in mind, I am able to appreciate where these students are coming from and why they would be frustrated.

To represent this article using a form of digital media, I chose to create a sketchnote and present it in video form. The video aims simply guiding the audience attention at specific parts of the sketchnote at different times. On the other hand, the sketchnote itself is the main focus here. I felt it was very fitting to create this form of media as there are no shortcuts or templates to be used. As a creator, I was in charge of picking out points from the article which I found to be most important and delivering these points in a way which highlights them. Take a look at the video created here: