#UWinDig

After reading the article and examining the Technologist module, I found it very interesting how technology and the classroom intersected with one another. Furthermore, I found that there was one major positive factor that came out of the using the module. More specifically, the use of this sort of module allowed students with many different learning strengths, abilities and methods to be able to participate and interact with the same information. Not only would this allow for an entire class to progress through a lesson or unit at a similar speed (and thus allows the class a chance to come together and discuss the information they are currently covering), but would also allow the teacher to administer the class to a number of different learning styles. Furthermore, I also feel as though the module provided a quality introduction to those students who might not be very technologically savvy, as well as a good refresher for those students who may have been away from technology for a while. In addition, I also enjoyed the fact that the Technologist module emphasized the importance of gaining quality feedback from the people using the module; namely the students. While those who are creating the module might think that every aspect of it have been well-designed, those who ultimately use the finished product might have a different viewpoint. Clearly, gaining realtime feedback from those students who are actually interacting with the technological tools can prove massively useful to the producers of these types of modules. That being said, I feel as though there was a missed opportunity for the producers of the Technologist module. More specifically, the producers could have provided multiple different experiments and activities that teacher candidates could eventually implement in their classrooms. While it was nice being able to experiment with the activities that were provided, I feel as though a list (even at the end of the module) of potential classroom activities could have given users of the module another educational resource. Furthermore, I really enjoyed engaging with the module for this media reflection as it provided a more interactive experience than some of the other previous articles. Overall, I found the module very useful because it provides an effective way to implement useful technology within the classroom.

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

In my second multimedia reflection, I have chosen to focus on the Tufekci article titled How Social Media Took us From Tahrir Square to Donald Trump. This article focused heavily on the way in which social media had experienced major transformations since its creation. More specifically, this article examined how social media had originally been used by the youth during uprisings to communicate and connect with one another, but had transformed in to a way for oppression to spread throughout the media sphere. This article often goes into the gritty details of some of these uprisings, and allows the reader to vividly picture themselves in the situations described by Tufecki. As a student who has grown up around a number of forms of social media (Instagram, Facebook, Twitter, etc.), this article resonated with me because I could very much imagine myself in situations where I was able to use the beneficial aspects of social media to keep in touch with others who are not directly connected to me in the physical world. That being said, I was also unfortunately able to connect with some of the less-idealistic aspects of social media that people can often encounter when using these platforms. More specifically, I recently encountered one of the more frustrating (and quite frankly disturbing) aspects of social media; targeted marketing. In this situation, a product that I had been discussing with a couple of my family members suddenly appeared in the advertisement bar on both my personal Facebook and Instagram accounts overnight. Not only was this a little unsettling (especially because I know I had not searched this product previously), but it made it clear that many of what we consider “offline” daily conversations are actually being monitored or studied by any number of our social media accounts. This was all the more concerning because of something I had recently witnessed while out on my practicum. One of the first things that I noticed when arriving to placement was how massively digitally connected high school students are in our society today. While it is only a rough estimate, I would say that well over 95% of students I encountered on practicum not only had a smartphone, but also used it multiple times throughout the course of each class. This constant monitoring goes against my own personal views as far as the way in which our constantly increasing levels of technological connection should be used. More specifically, I would say that I subscribe to a more classical sense of the use of technology, meaning that I am happy to use the latest and greatest forms of information technology, but would like to do so without being constantly tracked by “big data” companies. After reading this article and completing the Canva infographic, I would say that these personal beliefs have only been strengthened, as it becomes more and more clear that we are losing online privacy by the day. As far as new information provided by the article, I found it interesting just how many different organisations and individuals were using social media to help further their personal causes. While I know this may sound confusing when we consider how prevalent social media is in our daily lives, I personally have been guilty of only focusing on daily updates or news from within my own personal sphere of information and perspective. Considering the way in which digital media platforms and large organisations are currently able to target individuals with specific products they might find interesting, it is quite concerning how susceptible our younger students are to these practices.

That being said, I feel as though the actual creation of the Canva infographic went much more smoothly during my second multimedia reflection. Having been able to practice with this platform throughout my first multimedia reflection, I feel as though the end product I was able to produce was of much higher quality than the final product from my first reflection. While I was able to credit most of this increased output to more experience using the actual Canva site, I also felt that this article was much more interesting than the first, and thus left more of a lasting impression after my first read of the article. On the infographic, I have used the main ideas that I was able to take from the article and include them in large font to ensure the eye of the viewer was drawn to these critical aspects of the article. From there, I have broken down each of these main ideas with a smaller, more specific write-up regarding each topic. I have used different colours to move the eye throughout the infographic, as well as to draw attention to the main points within the article. Finally, as consumers and social media users, we must be conscious of the way in which the information we knowing (or often unknowingly) provide to large corporations is being used. In turn, this means we must be willing to demand quality policing of digital media platforms in both the political and economic realms. Overall, this article was eye opening as well as concerning, and I feel that it is relevant to almost everyone within in our digitally connected society.

After reading the article Digital Ghosts in the Classroom by Ashley Hinck, I chose to complete an infographic to outline the main takeaways from this paper. In this article, Hinck describes how remnants of previous (older) forms of digital media are currently impacting the way in which student’s creativity and individuality are manifested in the present. More specifically, Hinck describes how students have come to expect that there is a “right answer” for every question or situation that is presented to them, rather than than taking an individualistic or creative approach to arrive at their own solution. After studying the article, I felt as though this tendency to look for one specific answer proved very detrimental to the students, as they were so focused on being correct that they actually lost the majority of their ability to be creative and find novel solutions. This feeling of requiring a “right answer” is something I can personally relate to after completing this assignment, as I am very much a linear learner. Therefore, I found it difficult at times to stay on task and keep in mind where my infographic was ultimately going. As someone who has grown up utilizing various forms of social media such as Facebook and Instagram, I can see in my own work how these forms of digital media ghosts have influenced my own work and creative abilities. More specifically, this assignment and the readings that accompanied it made me realize that my level of creativity and comfort bubble when using these more open forms of digital media (such as the attached infographic) have been heavily impacted by my relatively frequent use of “drag-and-drop” and structured media forms. When I began reading this article, I thought of how detrimental this decrease in creativity and ingenuity could be on students effected by it; but never realized that I may be one of them. However, in my critical analysis of the article, I came to realize that I was very much one of the students who had been influenced by these digital ghosts of structured media forms, without even being aware of it. This ultimately struct me as concerning, as it made me realize that every day we can be negatively impacted by forms of media that many of us include in the “required” section of our daily lives. Overall, I was forced to step out of my comfort zone in creating this infographic, and thus faced a number of challenges in utilizing an entirely new form of media. That being said, I feel as though I have produced a product of digital media that has proven useful for both myself, as well as the people who will be viewing the finished product.