#UWinDig

Ashley Hincks article Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom talks about how some digital media sites utilize and ‘drag and drop’ formulas in order for users to create a digital project. I have done my fair share of digital work, ranging from photoshops to vector images to even a few Adobe Flash cartoons back in high school. I completely skipped over the ‘drag and drop’ formula sites and jumped right into what Hincks considers to be more open and free software. As such, I initially had a hard time grasping parts of her argument because I simply could not relate to them. I realized however that my other hobby, miniature painting, follows a similar formula to these ‘drag and drop’ websites. You buy a miniature, build it, and then there are instructions in the box or on websites which shows you step by step how to do it. Now of course, the instructions are done by a professional painter, so even if you follow the steps perfectly, your product won’t look nearly as good as the professional one, which is similar to what Hincks discusses. The ‘ghosts’ that she mentions are created from formulas like the ones mentioned previously, and teach students that in order to succeed or produce a ‘good’ product, they must follow the steps exactly as they are outlined. The problem is, this teaches students that they are either wrong or they are right, when in reality they should be taught that being wrong is a necessary step in learning how to do something. As I said in my Powtoon video, trial and error learning should be given priority over the current ‘step by step’ model we employ now, because don’t learn how to creators or thinkers for themselves, rather they create or think in whatever way people of authority tell them too. If every great artist in the world followed the steps taken by some of the first artists in history, the cavemen, the Sistine Chapel would be covered in cave drawings. To create things of beauty, one must be willing experiment and break the rules and go beyond what is expected of them by others and make things that they can be proud of.  

As someone who jumped right into open concept programs, I found that these digital media creation sites which present you with a predetermined template were extremely constrictive to what I wanted to accomplish. I found myself chuckling at certain points because of the irony of the situation I found myself in. I was to make a digital media presentation about how template websites limit creativity, and I found myself in that very same situation! While the creation process of my actual Powtoon was quick and painless, I found that I didn’t learn anything from my time in the program. Specifically, I felt very restricted because I only had access to the basic website. As such, I could only use a few characters and my video have to be under 3 minutes long which made me feel even more trapped. Furthermore, I kept comparing my work to other ‘whiteboard explain’ videos on youtube and felt that mine didn’t seem all that impressive due to my limitations.  While I had a great time using Powtoon, I think in future reflections I’ll be utilizing a different medium that doesn’t hide all its content behind a paywall.  Initially I had wanted to make a stop-motion video about this topic but not having a stable camera stand made such ventures impossible. I think I’ll definitely be doing a stop-motion video later in the school year as that artistic style is just so amazing. I really enjoyed the opportunity to express my thoughts in such a artful way, having come from two writing disciplines, it was nice to not have to write an essay with references for once.

Take a look at my Powtoon below!

After reading the article Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom by Ashley Hinck, I was given a better understanding of the consequences of constantly using worksheets and pre-made templates in schools for the students’ creativity. Hinck points out that, by using those templates, we are preventing students from being creative and setting them up for what they see as a failure, when they struggle to do something on their own. Especially in a digital sense, when using templates on websites, we are restricting ourselves to a very small number of templates that might not fit what we are trying to express. As I mentioned briefly in the video, I was able to, first hand, experience what Hinck was talking about. I was becoming very frustrated working on this video because it was far from straight forward. I did what I could manage and below you will find that doodle video, made on Animaker. The video summarizes the points I thought were most important from the article, as well as touches on a few of my feelings on the topic, which may resonate with you or you may disagree with! Cheers.

https://youtu.be/r6MIjSSPVCM

My link doesn’t seem to want to cooperate but this Nelly song does, so partly to prove that I wasn’t lacking digital skills and just didn’t know how to do it (and I did trial-and-error several things), partly because throwback Nelly is great, and partly because it was only just a dream that I thought everything would work out smoothly, I decided to leave it here for you guys to enjoy! Just don’t forget to click on the hyperlink above to see my video!

Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom – Ashley Hinck

http://hybridpedagogy.org/questioning-learning/

I found the article by Hinck to be extremely relevant and also relatable from a personal standpoint. Digital Technology is a massive part of education now, and will only continue to grow, and teachers are afforded the responsibility to ensure it is used to unlock the students greatest potential, Hinck points out in this article that this is not happening. As far back as I can remember, and as recently as last school year, I have always been quick to resort to pre-made templates and shortcuts when tasked with making a presentation of some sort. It was definitely not as evident then, how much this was killing my own creativity, however this issue was brought to light in this article and forced me to critically think back on how I used digital technology in my own experiences. You can’t “drag-and-drop” your way to success in life, and I believe it’s imperative that students learn to tackle problems with innovation and without a fear of failure. Shortcuts and templates can guarantee results in the end, but what was learned in the process of ‘making’, or was there really any process of making at all? One of the concepts from Hinck’s article that really resonated with me was her connection between playing with LEGO and how we should be inspiring children to think and take on projects and challenges. Hinck states that “building LEGO without directions can invite openness, creativity, and agency,” and I believe these qualities are lacking in today’s digital pedagogies. I was big into LEGO when I was a child, and I remember the sense of freedom and shear creativity when building my very own creations, no templates or shortcuts available, all my own work based on trial and error, this was the influence behind the LEGO border of my Sketchnote. As educators, I believe it is our responsibility to motivate our students to utilize methods that may not be comfortable for them, allowing them to fail and revise rather than using simple template-based programs. I tried to make the bridge in the middle of my Sketchnote a central focus, symbolizing the need for teachers to bridge the gap between the use of things like templates, worksheets and shortcuts, to inspiring students to follow their own paths to success, even if that means failing and revising multiple times. Reading this article made me realize the reason I am still quick to use templates, worksheets and shortcuts is because of my lack of knowledge in digital technologies. I look forward to learning more about how to creatively make various projects using digital tech., and expanding my knowledge so that I can one day ensure my students are taking on their work with the empowerment and cconfidence I fell it is my job to instil within them.

The Hybridpod Podcast emphasises the transition required in order to take our traditional systematic approach to education and integrate Critical Pedagogy. This does not require just an integration of technology. At this point in the 21^st century technology has already been integrated in the classroom. This technology however has only been integrated around what the establishment believes is best practices. “If this is what was done previously, how do we reach those outcomes but with technology?” Amy Collier, the guest speaker on the podcast argues this is not the right way to approach education. She argues the point of stepping back from what we know to be best practices and practice ‘Not Yetness’. ‘Not Yetness’ is a practice of taking on the high risk of teaching what we do not quite understand yet in the chance that the student and the teacher embark on something truly extraordinary. The idea of best practices and specific outcomes taking away from the riskiness of education is fundamentally wrong. The education process is a risky one and with such high risk comes a greater chance for reward. Tenure and security are not the only important things in teaching. Amy explains how this integrates well with the idea of Critical Pedagogy because they both ask questions of the current education establishment. Education is not meant to be about specific and established outcomes derived by people of power who went to school 30 years ago. Education is about exploring the unknown, diving into different forums, asking critical questions, trying to answer big and important questions and taking a risk to try and have a truly enlightened educational experience. We as future teachers should not act as machines and try to program each student in the same exact way. When we do this, all we are left with is Credential Clones and we have what is known is a canned educational process. Each child is fed the same exact process and expected to meet the same exact objectives doing the same exact exercises. With this process, individuation is stripped from students. We as teachers should be encouraging a move out of the classroom and take fieldtrips to different forums to interact and see what the real world is like. Education is in a delicate state. New processes of teaching and learning are presenting themselves with the help of different technological forums. However, this raises some unpredictability in education but “what becomes unpredictable is incredible.”

#UWinDig

I found Ashley Hinck’s article Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom to be a very thoughtful and relevant piece. Although it felt somewhat overwhelming for me, as someone who has really only ever used shortcut/template platforms, I was able to understand and even agree with her arguments. We expect digital technology to take education in new directions and help students develop new skills, but our cookie-cutter educational ways of the past are still looming over us and restricting the full potential that digital technology could bring to the table. Students have been trained to follow strict steps and believe that there is only one right answer. Therefore, students are accustomed to thinking that they are only successful if they can find that single right answer using the methods that they have been taught. There is little to no emphasis on the educational journey and learning from mistakes. These troublesome notions still haunt our current digital practices in education. Students are using websites where everything is laid out in a pre-set theme or template instead of experimenting, building, and creating from scratch by learning how to code, because coding is more complex and messier, so although it may be more valuable as an educational process, the end result won’t be as neat and tidy. Once again, we see where our priorities are. We need to reform these old ways and put the emphasis on the learning process! We need to kill the ghosts! By encouraging students to experiment and giving them license to make mistakes we can rid them of the notion that making mistakes, or “failing”, makes them failures.

My first instinct was to represent my response in a Sketchnote, but in the end, after a lot of back-and-forth, I chose to use Coggle. I felt that it was important for me to explore a new platform. I also felt that it would help me to be more in tune with the article if I used a template/drag-and-drop platform like the ones she talks about. I think in those senses, it was a successful choice. I learned a lot about a new platform whilst being able to experience a lot of the elements she spoke of in her article. Coggle was very limiting. Sure, it was fairly easy to use. A couple of clicks and some drag-and-drops were all I really needed to get by, but it was very limiting in terms of style and therefore caused me a lot of frustration and second-guessing. Should I just be doing this on paper? Should I just look for a platform like Paint, where I could have more freedom? Ultimately, I still feel like this allowed for a more authentic experience in relation to the article’s topic.

Originally, I set out to make a mind-map. In my head, this consisted of a web-like form with a center and multiple lines of thought branching out. What I found once I started, was that my “mind-map” was turning into more of a linear stream of consciousness. Hinck’s article really made me reflect on the roots of our education system. Digital technology facilitates student-centered learning, but our system still seems to be carrying its past traditions of teacher-centered learning and template teaching, where students have to find ways to conform to the lessons and teaching techniques presented to them, instead of those elements being tailored to them. I believe that if we can get to a place in education where the focus is completely on the individual student and their educational journey through experiential learning, then we will see more “complex” digital platforms being tackled in classrooms, but we first have to remove that fear of “failing” or being “wrong”.

Preview:

PDF of my Mind Map made on Coggle: Schoenberger Modern Classroom Ghosts Mind Map

Vicky Schoenberger

I chose the podcast with Collier and Friend because I found it extremely interesting after reading a brief synopsis on the contents. Collier’s points throughout the podcast made me reflect on not-yetness within my own learning experience and I noticed that in the past I have sometimes gotten caught up in the idea of education being a step-by-step process with only one answer. This may be due to a mix of teaching styles utilized by teachers and my own attitudes within the realm of various classes throughout my career as a student, but it is something that I needed to be exposed to earlier in my life. I definitely agree that the current education system forces students to focus solely on the end result, which causes them to become frustrated when they don’t get something right away. It is definitely important to help students understand that it is perfectly okay to make mistakes, especially when it is with something they are not completely familiar with at the time. If this idea can become ingrained into students’ minds by promoting the ideas of not-yetness and risk-taking, the learning process can become much more beneficial for future students. This podcast is something that I could have used much earlier in my schooling experience, but I am glad to have access to its contents now so adjustments can be made throughout the rest of my life.

I chose to do a Twitter thread because I feel it gives a nice mix of explanation through text and visual aids through GIFS. Sometimes it is harder to transmit ideas (especially more emotional ones) through text, so I felt as if this would be a good choice for my first blog post. One drawback of using Twitter as a platform for the assignment is that there is a character limit per tweet, which is obviously made easier by being able to make a thread of ideas, but sometimes there are certain ideas that I wanted to convey all within one tweet and was forced to make it into multiple ones. This was not a big problem; however, and I thoroughly enjoyed creating this Twitter thread as it was something I would recommend to anyone looking to try something different in their next assignment. Without further ado, enjoy my Twitter thread by clicking on the link below!

1. Today, I would like to talk to you about the concept of "not-yetness" and how it relates to the classroom experience. What in the world is this concept, you ask? Fear not, Chris Friend recently delved deeply into this idea on HybridPod with guest Amy Collier. #UWinDig pic.twitter.com/YuCbI03DI9

— Cameron (@Cameron0580332) October 1, 2018