#UWinDig

While exploring E-Campus Ontario’s Technologist module I decided to take a sketchnote.

In creating my visual media, I had dreams of a magical Sir Ken Robinson-eque digital sketchnote. Have you ever seen his video about modernizing education to fit today’s world, the one with all of the fancy doodles? Here it is in case you haven’t seen just how cool it is.

Images of fluid drawings appearing out of nowhere on screen filled my head as I sat down to work.

So I decided to look up an application I had heard about called doceri. Upon further investigation, I realized that to use this tool I needed an iPad/touch screen for the free version. I should have thought of this sooner, seeing as how it (or any other app like it) logically would need a stylus to draw, but I didn’t. Disappointment ensued.

If I wanted to fulfill my very own Ted Talk dreams my option was to buy an iPad. To which my student budget and impending debt said, “we’ll do this the old fashioned way”. I decided to turn to the internet, as one does, and found a helpful tutorial video on the basics of sketch noting.

I wanted to share my experience because I know many people experience frustration in not getting the medium they wanted to work, or the results they expected, due to the financial element/required tech of some applications. It often seems unrealistic to pay for a service we may potentially only use once (Although I fully intend on making my sketchnote dreams a reality once I am teaching to make my students think I am a digital wizard). That being said let’s dive in to the article.

E-Campus Ontario’s Extend program asks educators to consider a design thinking approach to teaching with tech, using the Technologist Module Design Thinking Process. The five steps of this module are outlined in the image above. Overarching all of these is the concept of digital literacy.

 

In my understanding, digital literacy involves more than just being proficient with the internet and technology. Being digitally literate considers the socio economic factors which affect access and information. I used Media Smarts’ definition to help deepen my understanding of this concept while reading through the module.

 

Let’s break down the module a bit here.

Empathize

Take into account what your learners need by gathering data on them. This is to be done not only through your own assessments and observations, but through actually talking to them! In using a design thinking approach we need to work together. Teachers need to view their learners’ individual barriers as opportunities to create a more open learning environment for everyone.

I had a learning moment in my last practicum related to empathy and technology. One of my students who had an IEP accommodation to use a device was repeatedly not completing homework. I was becoming increasingly frustrated with what I perceived to be a lack of motivation, until I took the time to speak to them individually and learned that they did not have a device at home, and then it clicked. The school did not allow the accommodated students to bring home their devices. This misunderstanding could have been avoided had I taken the time to ask my students of their needs and accessibility. In future I will certainly employ some type of method like the Empathy Map to help me better plan for my students’ success.

Define

Based off of what is learned in the empathy stage, educators now need to define by narrowing in on an identified problem. The way to succeed is to start small and then work towards solving more, if you start big you are setting yourself up for potential failure.

In keeping with my example from point 1, my defined problem is: how to assign at home writing work to a student who requires a device and does not have access to one at home?

 

Ideate

Now that a problem is identified, begin to work towards formulating a solution. One way to approach it is to ask yourself “how might I?” and create a mindmap to accompany your responses to this question. From there you will need to select and evaluate the appropriateness of a tech tool.

Some ideas I came up with were due to the case specific knowledge I have of this student. I know that they don’t have a computer/ laptop/ or iPad at home. However, I do know that they have a phone. One solution is to ask the student to record audio responses to questions and submit them through Edsby.

However, that would only be solving this issue for this student. If I really wanted to open up access to the majority of students I could look into ensuring that I create and assign digital tasks that have multiple avenues which can be completed within a class period. One such platform I could use to design this in class homework is Sutori. It allows for a range of information medias to be communicated, matching, quizzes, forums and short answer questions.

 

Prototype

Get ready to play around with your chosen tool. This is necessary to ensure that you become proficient in its use and familiar with its limitations.

I have already engaged in this step previously as Sutori was an app I explored for a previous assignment. For those of you not fortunate enough to be in section 20 of the Digital Tech and Social Media class, feel free to check out my Sutori. In keeping with the Extend models’ suggestion of Define, Share and Refine, this is the time where I would make the designed task available to share and request my peers, or students to give me feedback to improve.

 

Connect

Lastly, connect the use of this technology to your curriculum. Envision how your learners will use this technology in the way you have asked them to. As you do this think about learning objectives and outcomes and whether or not they are being met.

The checklist provided by Extend is an easy way to quickly reflect on whether you have adequately met the needs of the Technologist Module Design Thinking Process. 

This module for tech integration in the classroom is something that I will practice using in my next practicum and in future. I see it as being valuable because it takes into account the needs of the learner first. Having spent the entirety of my practicum time at a very culturally diverse low SES school, it is something that I need to be employing. If I’m not taking a design thinking approach I won’t be facilitating the use of technology to modify and enhance tasks for the benefit of my students.

 

So, to Sketchnote, or not to sketchnote?

In terms of application for students, this type of note taking would be ideal for those who have trouble focusing on teacher centred lessons, or who need to keep their hands busy. I can see this being extremely effective (with a bit of practice) in an intermediate to senior level classroom. This use could take shape in either pen to paper or stylus to tablet method, depending on the school and student resources available.

In my own personal experience working towards creating my visual media, I found the process of sketchnoting to be really fun and helpful in clarifying big ideas. I tend to be a visual learner and processing information in this medium helped me not be overwhelmed by text and the to see concepts clearly. Something that I didn’t expect was that in the time it took me to draw out an idea, slowing down truly allowed me to process information, reflect on it and make connections. When in doubt, sketchnote it out!

-Alyssa

 

In reading “No Dark Corner” by Matthew Carney it is hard to not recall the famous novel by George Orwell.

The article explores the rewards based system that China is planning for 2020. It will score individuals based on prior achievement and future choices. There is a pilot project already in place which uses 200 million CCTV cameras to live update citizen’s scores. High achieving individuals receive VIP status at airports and hotels and no down payments on things like car rentals or homes. It is hard to argue that this doesn’t sound appealing. Who wouldn’t want to be rewarded for good behaviour? If you always pay your bills on time and are a model citizen why shouldn’t you receive some perks here and there? Everyone loves a gold star.

However, there is the other side of the coin. Low performing individuals are penalized to the degree of being cast out of their own society. They become unable to purchase travel tickets, or acquire certain jobs. There is a Chinese journalist who has become housebound and fears for the future security of his family. His freedom of speech has been removed and his social media censored. The thought alone of this is terrifying to me, however it is in fact a dystopian future that many people are living.

The idea of this is so jarring to me because I am fortunate to live in a country where I have freedom of speech and am able to make as many (reasonable) life mistakes as I choose without facing severe repercussions.

When I think of this notion of reward and retract in terms of education, I see some scary parallels. I understand that China’s demerit system is the extreme, but rewards based systems have existed in education for years. When these types of reinforcements are used in the classroom we are telling students that their worth is based off of a quantifiable number. Some of this parallel can be observed in Natasha Singer’s “Privacy Concerns for Class Dojo and Other Tracking Apps for Schoolchildren”.

In reflecting on both articles, I know that I believe that classroom management and creating rules and consequences for students is imperative. I also firmly believe in teaching them transferrable life skills and that teaching those skills are arguably more important than curriculum. However, I don’t believe in tracking behaviour and rewarding certain students while routinely punishing others. I also firmly disagree with the awful component of publicly tracking them. This method simply tells students that we value them solely off of their behaviour and not based on what they have to contribute to the learning environment.

In my classrooms I have tried to the best of my ability to make it part of my practice to welcome all facets of students, positive and negative. I think when we give ourselves a way to keep tabs on student behaviour it can influence the way we think and feel about them. I aspire to get to the point where I am able to leave most of my preconceived notions and conscious and subconscious biases at the door of my room.

 

For this artifact I chose to complete a Twitter thread because I am more comfortable with writing out my thoughts than representing them visually (although the gif’s do add alot). I tried to post the thread the first time but only the gif’s posted with no written content. PANIC ENSUED. I am not super tech savvy and started to freak. I had lost all of my work with nothing saved. I was restarting at ground zero. I recreated the thread to the best of my memory (the gif’s I had used the first time actually helped me remember my written content – shocking), screen shotted them this time just in case and reposted. Tada, my first successful Twitter thread. I felt complete relief and something akin to pride in my ability to get it to work.

Check out my social media prowess

After reading "No Dark Corner" by Matthew for my Digital Tech and Social Media class I have a few thoughts on rewards based systems themselves and their use in education. #UWinDig pic.twitter.com/4ZU3bMW8Iq

— Miss Poole (@alyellen_ed) October 28, 2018

Still not entirely sure how other people nicely embed photos into their actual posts. I will make that my goal for my next artifact assignment!

Multimedia artifact #1

For my first multimedia reflection assignment I chose to read the Hinck article titled Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom. The author begins by stating that students today are fascinated with digital media and love to create it. However, most tend to use predominantly “drag and drop” models which recall the students as container education theories of the past. This method of education saw students as a tabula rasa (blank slate) which needed to be filled with the right answers which educators neatly provided to them. The process of education was seen to be linear with no room for deviation, student centered learning or creativity.

The author argues that these popular template/shortcut platforms mimic this archaic way of viewing students and education. These sites can be seen that way because they have predetermined settings with little to no room for students to make individual choices or display creativity. If, as educators, we encourage our students to create their own meaning and connections in the classroom, why should we not do the same when it comes to digital media?

In the article it is also pointed out that when students are asked to struggle through the process of working with HTML coding or CSS they often get frustrated and see any challenge as a personal failure. The old linear way of thinking still haunts students. They are uncomfortable with making mistakes and trying to fix them, they just want to achieve success (the “right” answer) and have a finished product.

I myself struggle with this phenomenon. My ineptitude with digital media and technology has, on more than one occasion, caused much anxiety and feelings of personal failure. In beginning to create my Piktochart infographic artifact I was nervous at just the thought of having to create my own content and share it in a digital space. I spent quite some time struggling to try to get everything to look just as I wanted. I had to look a few things up and ultimately learned a few tricks along the way (like how to mask pictures together to get different shapes). The process was uncomfortable but I kept Hinck’s article in mind throughout and kept on.

In moving towards a better future with our students, we have to learn from mistakes and try to employ digital media to teach them to create original content. Part of doing so is to show them that the road to success is filled with many mistakes and that working to fix these mistakes ensures progress. Students need to learn to value progress and problem solving over rushing to create a finished product. When they can achieve that, we can empower them to see themselves as valuable makers, creators and speakers in the digital world.

-Alyssa Poole