#UWinDig

For this multimedia reflection, I discuss the technologist module created by eCampus Ontario as part of their promotion of digital technology in classrooms. The artifact I chose was a Twitter essay and I analyzed the module as it relates to differentiation and the universal design for learning (UDL) framework. I reason I chose Twitter as my platform is because I feel that I can spread the word regarding this resource much more effectively than other platforms. Also, I want to keep my thoughts more short and concise (which was how the module was organized) for this reflection and I feel that the 280 character limit of Twitter greatly helps with this.

The technologist module talks about digital literacies and the path of design thinking, which is categorized into five main steps: empathize, define, ideate, prototype, and connect. This path follows a logical flow in the process of implementing a tool in the classroom. The teacher must first understand and identify the challenges that students face, brainstorm a tool and develop a prototype, and implement the tool and seek feedback for improvement. Most importantly, the tool must connect to the curriculum and learning outcomes. My overall impression of the module is positive. The content does not feel to be too overwhelming, and I am able to follow all their points clearly and proceed at my own pace. At critical points, there are accompanying visuals or videos to help clarify the concept. I like their definitions of digital literacy because I find that there are so many aspects to it, and the meaning can change from person to person. I also like their design thinking process because some teachers may rush to implement their tool into the classroom because its “cool” or “novel” that they do not stop to think whether it will be effective or not, essentially skipping over all the steps of design thinking (including feedback) and straight into the testing phase. In my opinion, a tool poorly implemented can hamper student learning much more than an effective lesson using traditional means. The empathize step really stood out to me because new tools should be implemented when students are challenged or struggling. Do they really need a new tool if everything is going well? As educators, I believe that knowing when to implement the tool is crucial. Another step that stood out to me is connect. Even though the module only spends two paragraphs talking about it, I find its message to be powerful. Does the tool enhance student learning to help them better achieve the learning outcomes? In the end, that’s what matters most in a classroom: technology is a tool to enhance student learning, not replace it.

The ultimate goal of the module to allow for differentiated instructions. For example, if students are not enthusiastic about writing an essay, perhaps assessing their analytical abilities through other means may provide better results. In a sense, it allows for students who may not be the best at writing to express themselves through other means. This promotes equity in classrooms because those students will not be unfairly evaluated due to their learning styles as opposed to their abilities. It also aligns with the UDL framework, which emphasizes engagement, representation, and action and expression in multiple means, because all students can now produce results based on their strengths as opposed to a few students. Ideally, the tool should accommodate expression using text, visual, audio, or other means. One example that I witnessed during my first practicum of a tool in action was Kahoot. As opposed to reviewing using traditional pen and paper or through oral means, teachers can quickly and effectively provide feedback on student learning and identify areas of improvements. In addition, students can also quickly produce Kahoot quizzes to engage the rest of the class. If certain students have issues with Kahoot, then they can also orally say the answer or write it down. As a final point, technology can also allow for many-to-many communication that is not possible before. This greatly improves the efficiency of information transfer. Of course, this also comes with the risk of cyber dangers, which I touched upon in my previous multimedia reflection. Therefore, teachers should be very familiar with the tool and digital safety (part of digital literacy) before its implementation.

Overall, Twitter was a user-friendly platform to use. It does produce a bit of an uncomfortable feeling knowing that my essay is posted on one of the most popular social media sites for all of public to see. Looking back on my experiences in this course, I must say that I am definitely more digitally literate and am more comfortable working with technology. For example, at the beginning of the course, I would never have dreamed of using Twitter as a platform for my multimedia reflections. In addition, I am also starting to think more critically about digital technology and find myself looking for the finer prints of a platform at times. One thing that has been consistent throughout is the strange feeling of not-yetness that I discussed in my first multimedia reflection. I am never really sure how things will turn out when I think about implementing a tool in the classroom. There is always this feeling of unfamiliarity at time, when I feel like I don’t understand technology at all or how to best use it to its full potential. I believe this is due to the ever changing state of our digital environment, where every educator must learn to quickly adapt or be left behind by their students and society. As a future educator, I must be prepared to take on this challenge to effectively integrate technology into lessons and provide high quality lessons with each class.

-Michael Wang

This blog post is a response to the article by Michele Jacobsen and a video by Henry Jenkins regarding participatory learning in classrooms. I choose to do a mind map on Coggle for this reflection because of the ideas presented in the two pieces and the concept behind participatory learning. We are currently in a transition period in bringing the digital technology that everyone uses in their daily lives into the classrooms. As such, the article explores the different possibilities that digital technology can bring to teaching and how we as educators can better prepare for the change. This is similar to a mind map, where a central idea is presented, and various aspects of that topic are mapped out or explored as diverging branches. In my artifact, I present four major aspects that are touched upon by the article, which are a shifting society, our changing pedagogy, the benefits of social learning, and the need for professional learning. All the images are obtained from Unsplash.

In our day-to-day lives, we are exposed to various forms of digital technology including cell phones, laptops, televisions, projectors, and so on. We use these devices to perform complex tasks, check the news or weather, or keep in contact with friends and family through social media. As such, our world has become incredibly digitized (when was the last time one went without using any form of digital technology listed above?). Even in work places, employers are incorporating various technology to improve efficiency and promote their businesses locally and abroad. They are increasingly looking to hire graduates with high digital literacy skills. As a result, schools are looking to improve the digital literacy of children. In participatory learning, teachers are demanded to develop lessons incorporating technology. This means that our pedagogy must change from one of traditional, teacher-centred essentialist mindset into one of more modern, student-centred constructivist mindset. From this, students can engage in social learning, and they can use technology to interact and collaborate more efficiently with peers and teachers, contribute their ideas more freely, and network with other students with similar interests. However, this also means that teachers must be able to keep up with the demands of society. They must engage in professional learning which can be provided through support from principals and other teachers, and through participatory learning communities online.

Overall, I think that a lot of the points raised in the article are important, such as the need for professional learning and the need to prepare our students within a rapidly changing society. In this respect, my opinions are mostly unchanged before and after reading the article. After all, they will become the backbone of our country in the future as they enter the work force. The author even states that participatory learning provides measurable benefits to students through previous studies. However, what I thought was interesting about the article was the types of learning that participatory learning can induce. I have not really given this much thought before, but it opened my mind a little into the teaching and learning possibilities. For example, the strong constructivist approach means that students can apply their own learning style to build their knowledge, which traditional classrooms may struggle to meet. However, it is also important to keep in mind the dangers and drawbacks of digital technology. I often hear in the news about cyber spying and hacking, and I believe that it is critical that this be addressed in classrooms. In my opinion, it is our duty as educators to educate students on the need for cyber security and net etiquette. From the article by Tufekci, the dangers of social media and digital technology are clearly highlighted. In addition, if these technologies are abused, they can easily be used for cyber bullying or cheating on assignments and tests. Furthermore, cell phones and laptops can also act as major distractions in classrooms if proper rules and management are not put into place. This was seen from time to time during my practicum when students will be engaged during activities such as Kahoot, but would browse social media during other times and not paying attention during class. As such, it is important to keep both the positives and negatives in mind when building a successful and meaningful participatory learning environment.

Using Coggle has been quite a learning experience for me. The platform was relatively easy to use, although it took me a while to figure out how to present the ideas in an aesthetic manner (i.e. formatting the lines and text boxes). I choose to use it over bubbl.us because it allows for image uploads on free accounts (albeit, a bit small). Manipulating the nodes has been straightforward as well and saving and exporting the finished mind map is extremely convenient and accommodating. It allows the user to either share it through a URL or export it in a variety of formats such as PDF and PNG. Coggle is a platform that I may consider using in the future, whether it is for personal or educational use.

This blog post is a response to the interview conducted by Chris Friend with Amy Collier regarding critical digital pedagogy and the concept of not yet-ness. My thoughts and the key points presented in the podcast are briefly summarized in my sketchnote. I choose to do a sketchnote for this post partially because of the structure of the interview. In the interview, the concept of not yet-ness is the main focus. Not yet-ness is simply a term used to describe the feeling of trying something new but not really getting what is going on. In a pedagogical sense, it can refer to teachers trying new and riskier teaching methods without fully getting or understanding the end result. Throughout the interview, Amy contrasts this teaching method with the traditional pedagogy, which can be described as learnification. Learnification refers to the transition from teaching to learning at higher education. It also places an emphasis on individualized learning. Therefore, my sketchnote highlights the defining features of each pedagogical method as two paths that new teachers can travel down. I want to present a contrast in my multimedia reflection as described in the podcast.

The key difference between learnification and not yet-ness is presence of risk. The traditional and commonly used method “de-risk” the situation as Amy describes it. Students are assessed similarly and learning outcomes are formulaic. Teachers can efficiently assess the students and the risk of things going wrong is much lower because all the variables are removed. In a sense, having something stable and unchanging is very appealing in consideration of one’s career. From my perspective, I do believe that the concept of learnification is faulty. However, I do not believe that all the connotations attached to it are bad. For example, formulaic assessments may not totally be a bad thing. At higher education, when class sizes become too large, it becomes incredibly inefficient to consider and satisfy the needs of individual students. I believe that teachers and professors do consider this when formulating their learning outcomes and designing their lesson plans. However, this does not mean that teachers cannot engage in risk-taking from time to time (from what I learned in Pedagogy of the Arts course, risk-taking is the best form of learning). I believe that good teachers do take risks at times, to design lesson plans and learning outcomes that excite the student and themselves as a result of students’ work. I strongly agree with Amy that teachers should drive curiosity and improve the educational experience of students. With not yet-ness, teachers have a lot of room to grow and reflect through mistakes and uncertainties (self-reflection is incredibly important for effective teaching as highlighted in Philosophy course). If I must summarize my point of view, I will say that different situation calls for different needs. Good teachers will know how to differentiate between the two and take the correct path when needed to improve learning for students.

The other reason I choose to do a sketchnote is because I want to try out a new form of “note-taking”. Throughout my academic career, I have taken many notes but doing a sketchnote makes me realize that adding a visual element can really make my notes and points appealing to readers (including myself). With sketchnote, I learn how to effectively summarize the key ideas and points and demonstrate the link between various aspects of the presentation. I notice that I retain the information much easier than with a text-only note. With the increasing demand that teachers be more digitally literate, I believe that this multimedia reflection gives me a great opportunity to try out a different form of response and develop my skills in this area. I hope to improve myself in sketchnoting and in other platforms that I may use in the future.

Edit: Added link to interview

Edit 2: From all the wonderful comments below, I just want to say that sketchnote is definitely a consideration for me when it comes to teaching. I am not sure how it will work yet, but I guess this reinforces the point that Amy Collier makes when it comes to critical pedagogy, that new teachers take risks and try something new. In a sense, that sensation can be described as not yet-ness.