#UWinDig

Ontario Extend offers an online technology module known as the “Technologist Module“, which informs educators on how they can use technology to identify challenges that some learners face and how to utilize these platforms as a potential solution. The technologist module was a unique and interactive program to inform its users on how technology can be used to assist educators and lead to an increase in student achievement. Overall, the technologist module was divided into various sections and talked in-depth about the design-thinking process. The module divides the design-thinking process into six main sections: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, connect and test. Through these various sections, users were walked through how these can be used to enhance the use to technology within the classroom. I personally enjoyed going through this module since it included a lot of great examples of how to utilize technology in the classroom and ways that technology can allow for differentiation, where some other traditional forms of teaching may not. Secondly, I think that the huge movement and push towards technology in the classroom is only going to continue to grow and as future educators it’s extremely important that we are aware of the numerous technologies out there and exactly how they can be used to our advantage.

The artifact that I decided to engage in for this Multimedia Reflection was a Twitter Essay. For my first reflection I completed a sketch note, which was not technological at all. For my second reflection I completed a Powtoon, which was extremely technological. Now for this third and final reflection, I have decided to complete a Twitter essay. I believe the Twitter essay to be a good combination of technology and traditional methods. I was able to create my essay and articulate my thoughts the way I normally would on pen and paper; however, I was then able to insert them in a Twitter feed with the use to pictures, GIFs and other visual aids to make it more appealing. Also, my Twitter essay can now be seen by many other Twitter users around the world, who all have the opportunity to retweet my posts to all their followers; therefore, it allows for a many-to-many communications, something that pen and paper would never allow. Overall, I had a great time creating the Twitter essay. I did find it hard to articulate all my thoughts in approximately 200 characters and I found myself editing my posts a lot to make sure they were the right fit. However, I did thoroughly enjoy all the GIFs I was able to place into my feed. I hope you guys enjoy it as well! PLEASE CHECK OUT MY TWITTER ESSAY BELOW 🙂

Technology in the classroom is a massive movement and trend since it’s use is so prevalent in our upcoming youth. #OntarioExtend offers the “Technologist Module” which guides educators on how to integrate technology in their own classroom to facilitate learning! #UWinDig pic.twitter.com/XORew6ULlu

— amancina (@amancina1) February 20, 2019

I chose to read the article “Digital Redlining, Access, and Privacy” by Chris Gilliard and Hugh Culik. Within this article, Gillard discusses the term ‘Digital Redlining’ and the restrictions it can place on a students education. Gilliard basically suggests that when researching topics or certain information on the internet your search may be restricted. Digital redlining walls off certain information based on the I.T policies of the institution or organization which is providing the internet service. Gillard continues to suggest that this can put implications on student learning because most researchers are unaware of these restrictions; therefore, they may believe certain information does not exist when it fact it may just be invisible to them depending on their internet source. For multiple students who come from varying socioeconomic backgrounds this can place significant limitations on their education. Some students rely solely on the internet from their school since they can not access internet any where else; however, digital redlining can be restricting their access to certain information. Digital redlining can limit what kind of access students have to certain information, which can ultimately place them at a disadvantage compared to those who have been using internet services without restrictions.

Prior to reading this article I was unaware of the term redlining, let alone the term digital redlining. It seems in today’s generation there is already so much concern regarding technology that digital redlining just seems to be adding fuel to the fire. I personally believe that it is unfair for an organization or institution to make decisions about what they believe is appropriate for their students to be researching. If I was a student attending a university or college that was redlining what information I had access to, I would be furious. First of all, we are paying customers and invest into our education through the price of tuition, which is already expensive enough, therefore if I found out my research information was being restriction I would not be a happy customer.

For my Multimedia Reflection I decided to attempt a Powtoon. When I began the Powtoon video it took me approximately 2 hours to finish 2 slides. I was super close to giving up and going back into my comfort zone to do a sketch note but I decided to push through and attempt a couple more slides. After playing around with the site for a bit, I began to get the hang of it and ended up completing a full Powtoon video. I’m super proud of myself for completing this and I’m happy I went outside my comfort zone for this particular assignment. While I was completing my video, I found an ironic connection to Gillard’s article. Within Powtoon there are certain restrictions placed on users depending on whether you have paid for a ‘pro’ account or not. Since I was using the site under free terms, I was restricted with various animations that I could place into my video (there were less available to me compared to those who have pro) and my video was required to be under 3 minutes long. It was very similar to the article written by Gillard since I was being restricted to information that was present on the site based on their policies and procedures. If I was compare my Powtoon video to someone who pays for Powtoon Pro, I’m sure there would be significant differences. This would be a very similar situation for two students who complete a research article but one student is being digitally redlined and the other student has complete freedom!

Below is a link to my Powtoon video, I hope you guys like it and I really hope the link works!

Enjoy!

https://www.powtoon.com/c/g94E5llwtoO/1/m

Alaina Mancina 🙂

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 🙂