#UWinDig

This course has constantly been showing me how important digital literacies are in the classroom, especially for us up and coming teachers! The technologist module really outlined how it is possible to do it, essentially breaking it down step by step.

I really enjoyed going through this module because of its interactiveness and multiple options to extend each module. There were a lot of useful definitions, links, and videos that really helped understand the concepts being presented. I do appreciate when teachers use technology in their classroom and it genuinely motivates me to the same. The entire piece on design thinking made me realize that there is a real process to doing things and incorporating new elements into the classroom, rather than just going in blindly. Research is necessary and this really highlighted how important it is to know your students. It is all about them right? We need to be able to cater the learning in their favor rather than cater the teaching in ours. During my practicum, I had to keep finding ways to keep students engaged because French was clearly not their favourite subject (for the most part). I used a lot of videos and music clips but I feel there was more I could do. Having taken this class and gone through that module, I know I can definitely expand my arsenal to incorporate different digital literacies in the future.

My first reflection was a sketchnote, and that one went alright so I went with the twitter essay for my second reflection and I absolutely loved it! I was on the fence with trying something new for my third reflection, but given this module, I legitimately believed the Twitter essay was the best way to encapsulate everything. It allowed me to break down each part of the module into small blocks (tweets) so I could keep it organized on my thread. As previously mentioned, the module outlines a step by step process, and that is exactly what I tried to do in my essay. It keeps things clear seemingly chronological. I hope you all enjoy the gifs just as much as I did for a little comedic relief!

Check out my thread below!

Struggling to integrate technology in the classroom? Trying to get your students engaged? Check out this site and thread for a great guide and doing so? https://t.co/qsMd7zuDjk #uwindig

— Anthony Tannous (@atannousUWIN) February 17, 2019

For my second multimedia assignment, I was really excited to do a Twitter essay. The in-class assignment of the hashtag chat really got me engaged to use Twitter as my multimedia medium! Using the Twitter essay is perfect for this assignment in my eyes because of how recent we used it as a class. I used to be an avid Twitter user for leisure use, but being able to use it for a school assignment really had me enjoy it, rather than stress and dread over completing it on time. This piece by Dr. Michele Jacobsen was an excellent read and very relatable as a student and future (and kind of current) teacher. It really tied in the course material with realistic situations and even backed up by evidence of over 175 studies.

This course has opened up my eyes on how connected we really are, even when we don’t know it. As we discussed some of the negative effects in the hashtag chat in class, this multimedia piece focuses more on the positives. As I started reading the article, it seemed like it was going to go in a negative direction, and that is where my essay was going. It turned around very quickly as I read more and more on the article, truly seeing the positive aspects of the 24/7 connectedness.

Before reading this article, I would honestly say that I was indifferent on the subject. To me, I guess I understood why some teachers would not change their ways in the classroom and remain analogue, but this article has definitely changed my opinion. For some, they might have a “if it’s not broken, don’t fix it” attitude towards their ways, and it is understandable. They have been doing something for a long time, and it has worked for the most part, why change it? I had no idea how much students truly benefited from including digital literacies in the classroom. Being at the faculty of Education has really made me see that it’s about the students, not us. My views have definitely changed about adaptation and teaching styles. There is always room for improvement.

I saw a lot of these benefits during my first practicum as my associate teacher always tried her best to stay connected to her students at all times. She used the Google Classroom platform so that she could post all resources and materials used in class, easily accessible to the students. She also used the Remind app to be able to give students updates on whatever she needed to, at all times of the day. The Remind app was also very useful because she turned on the option where students are able to message her back, almost like texting. The article really emphasized how it is up to the teacher to create a positive online learning environment for the students – giving them the best chance to succeed. I could really relate to that because that is how I want to teach when I am teaching full time. I want to be as engaging as she is, always looking to keep the students interested, no matter the lesson. After reading this, it has really encouraged me to be more aware of my technological resources because it can benefit me and my students in both teaching and learning. This course is teaching me a lot of about digital literacies and I am really looking forward to seeing what’s next to come!

Here are a few tweets from my Twitter essay, click on any of them and check out the thread to get the whole meat and potatoes on how I feel about digital literacies making their way into the classroom.

The digital age is forever changing the way we do literally anything, and it is currently making its way into the professional world #uwindig pic.twitter.com/jTfbkHzoAu

— Anthony Tannous (@atannousUWIN) October 29, 2018

🙂 pic.twitter.com/KcSv1WuqeA

— Anthony Tannous (@atannousUWIN) October 30, 2018

For my post, I chose to analyze the article Digital Ghosts in the Classroom by Ashley Hinck. This article revolves around the use of templates and digital shortcuts constantly being used by students and teachers in the classroom. I found it very interesting because I have always been a fan of templates and strict guidelines. Similarly, to her main point of the article, I found it much easier to use a template because I was afraid of doing something wrong; it was simple to just pick one and work off of it rather than going through a long process of choosing colours, fonts, backgrounds and much more than I could possibly imagine. She outlines a student’s fear of failure in the trial and error process and that is where I could definitely relate. I usually like to shy away from new things because I am afraid of failing the first time, even if it is a natural process. Hinck claims the school system is set up to have students shy away from trying new things because failure is so frowned upon – shying students away from taking risks. To break these barriers, she suggested troubleshooting with classmates and that is an excellent idea; the chances are very high that there is somebody else in the class that is sharing the same struggles. This article really opened my eyes on the importance of creativity and expanding digital literacy; getting excited about working with less detailed instructions and more so a blank canvas.

Here is my sketchnote; I took one picture of the full document and broke it down into 4 separate pictures to help view them into more detail, I hope it helps!

Stepping out of my comfort zone, I did stick with an analog approach, but with more creativity making a sketchnotes page even with my lack of artistic ability. Although it is not technically “digital”, I believe that it has helped me think more creatively and will ultimately help me expand my digital literacies in the future. The process was not easy for me, and the challenge has turned it into a piece that I am proud of. I sat there blankly for about an hour or so, having no clue where to even start. I began with a “rough draft” with a plan to redo it, making it more professional looking but those plans changed. I decided to keep my original sketch as it shows a great development in my creativity as the sketchnote goes on. It is messy, but it really encapsulates the ideas running through my mind while reading this article. Although this particular multimedia piece is not digital, it has shown me that risk-taking is fun and very rewarding, making me very excited to try something new for the next project!