#UWinDig

This post will be focusing on the “technologist Module” one of the online courses that are available for people to take under the “Extend” Website, which can be found here:

https://extend.ecampusontario.ca/technologist-scenario/

This module focuses on teaching educators on how to use technology into their lessons, in order to be able to meet the different learning needs and abilities of their students. 

The technologist module is available to guide educators to select, use and integrate technologies in a way that supports, facilitates and enriches the learning experience of their students.

My Twitter essay which is posted below goes through a brief summary of the different parts of the module and what each of them focuses on

https://twitter.com/Blessy93130561/status/1097708946004029441

Some of the important details not covered on the essay is the digital literacy framework which includes: a) Research and Information Literacy, b) Critical thinking, Problem solving and Decision making, c) Creativity and Innovation, d) Digital citizenship, e) Communication and Collaboration, f) Technology Operations and Concepts.

Design Thinking is a powerful tool to tackle the unknown and/or reveal new ways of thinking and doing. 

As educators I think it is crucial for us  to emphasize the importance of being an effective and responsible participant in a digital society as many individuals misuse technology and the media whether it is to waste class time or to hurt others through cyber bullying, hacking, etc. It is important to teach the future generations to use technology for the betterment of society and themselves. 

My reflection is going to focus on the article “Privacy Concerns for Class Dogo and Other Tracking Apps for School Children” by Natasha Singer which can be found here:

https://www.nytimes.com/2014/11/17/technology/privacy-concerns-for-classdojo-and-other-tracking-apps-for-schoolchildren.html?emc=edit_tnt_20141117&nlid&_r=0

The twitter essay that I did speaks on the main points of the article and looks at both the pros and cons of using an app such as ClassDogo in your classroom for tracking your students’ behaviour and using it as a tool for classroom management, which can be found here:

Tweets by Blessy93130561

The first time I saw this type of behaviour modification strategy being used was while I was doing a three week placement in Nuneaton, England where students were given points based on specific expectations like attendance, submission of assignments on time, GPA, etc and every week a student was named “student of the year” based on whoever had the highest point that week. From the outcomes and student behaviour, it came across as a positive strategy to me because this caused students to be driven and motivated to be the student of the week. Attendance especially was very good in that school and not a lot of students missed many classes. The reason there was no issue with this strategy was that the points tracking was done on paper and was kept in the classroom and was only accessible to the students and the teacher, so there was no issue of data tracking and being available to the open world. After reading this text, and seeing how useful this type of behaviour strategy can be, I prefer doing this type of class tracking non-digitally so that it completely avoids the issue of privacy concerns and data tracking, though I understand it  is a lot more work for teachers to keep track of all their students manually, and not as easy for parents to have access to their child progress.

In conclusion, according to Singer’s article, parents are greatly divided on their views regarding use of apps like ClassDogo for tracking their child’s behaviour and progress. While some parents love the idea because its an easier and constant report on their child’s progress in school, other parents disapprove as they feel this can bring forth labels on their children and could lead to unforeseeable consequences. As I am not very tech savvy, or digitally aware as much as I should be, it was after reading this article I realized the seriousness of how usage of these apps have furthermore consequences such as data tracking that can be used for other purposes by a third party.

I chose to look at the article, “Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom” by Ashley Hinck. A link to the article:

Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom

The main focus of this article is that though we are trying to push students towards becoming their own creators and innovators, we are not completely moving away from the standardized model because of the platforms and websites we choose for them to work with. For example, through the use of templates such as Canva, we are still continuing the traditional school culture, where the authority is placed on the teacher and the app’s hand. Because of the limited number of open spaces for student work, and less opportunity for exploration, we are gearing students towards the model of having one “correct” method of creating. Hinck also points out that even when we try to move away from these websites and templates, it continues to crawl up in student work, as they draw on their past experiences from within their school work and their digital world. One of the key issue is that students are used to everything being done for them so easily, that having to start from scratch becomes quite challenging for them and the many trial and errors they face is perceived as a failure from their viewpoint.

As a student and a future educator, I do agree with the article’s perspective. However, I do find myself in a bit of a contradiction as to where I stand on this issue. I am the type of person, though I believe can be quite creative when needed, prefers a guided model or a beginning tool, to help me get going and get creative. By bringing up that point, I do not necessarily agree that using these websites align with standardized education model, since the argument is that they are continuing to narrow down student creativity and exploration. I believe a good balance of guidance, with the opportunity to make your own creation is an important factor in ensuring we can meet the learning needs of every type of student. I personally was and still is, the type of student who would be completely lost and have a brain fart if I were given no template or platform to help me get started.

Below is the link to my infographic.

https://create.piktochart.com/output/32986350-new-piktochart