#UWinDig

I chose to respond to the podcast that was written by Chris Friend and Amy Collier. I have chosen to complete a rant and discuss how teachers are always told to follow the curriculum exactly and “teach to the test”. In this rant, I will discuss my opinions about teachers teaching to the test and how they should branch out and try new teaching methods. It will also be discussed how every student learns differently, whether it be visually, kinaesthetically, interpersonally, etc therefore we shouldn’t just have one method of teaching. The whole point of teaching is to take risks and experiment with different teaching methods to see what works best for your students. You need to encourage risk taking with your students, and to teach them that making mistakes is okay and they won’t get punished for it.

I chose to edit my project using iMovie. I have never used this medium before therefore I had some difficulty when I was first using it. I was hoping to film my entire rant in one take, but unfortunately that did not happen. Luckily, I was able to film it in 2 parts that way I didn’t have much editing to do but I still had difficulty editing those 2 clips. I tried to play with the program a little bit, but was having no luck so I had to call a friend who has used the program before for help. She was able to talk me through what to do and helped me to better understand the program. Now that I know how to use the program properly, I would definitely use it for future assignments and in my future classroom.

Rant 

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

I chose to respond to the podcast HybridPod – Questioning Learning by Chris Friend and Amy Collier. The podcast included the ideology of the push to inquire more in the classroom, and that students should not only extend and deepen their learning by doing this but feel comfortable in doing so. The podcast also touched upon the importance of the relationship between teachers and students. In personal experience, I’ve had teachers who have impacted me both in and outside of the classroom. Chris and Amy analyzed the result of removing the teacher-to-learner and learner-to-teacher relationship, and how it would not be beneficial to either of the two parties involved. As future educators, I believe we should empower our students to inquire. To inquire themselves, and further understand their thoughts, and to question us moreover. Students should be aware of their thoughts and should be able to uncover the complexity of them by making connections, considering different viewpoints, and building reasoning. While it is constantly reiterated that we are the change, I believe it is difficult to make change. We sit in desks longer than we are before them, and while in those desks, are faced with expectations of our own that mirror the methods of old teaching.

I knew I wanted to create some sort of video after listening to the Friend/Collier podcast. As I was listening, my mind began racing to the fact that everything sounds great on paper, and how things are often easier said than done. With this, I decided to put my thoughts into a rant and explain how I feel in that we have yet to change as much as we say we want to. Biteable is a medium I haven’t used before, and while using it I found myself confused and frustrated. While I am happy I pushed myself to try something new, I wanted to be free from limitations and decided to opt-out of using a template. I created my video from scratch, and found I could be more creative in doing so. Along the way, I noticed many of the options I wanted to incorporate required a fee. After I accepted the fact that I was limited to free options, I ran into another obstacle when trying to sync my audio recording to the video clips I had selected. Biteable did not allow me to view the audio clip while in editing mode. To see if the audio synced, the video needed to be ‘published’, and I had to physically sit and listen to whether the idea I stated, matched the video clips I selected. This process was quite tedious and timely, as it took about twenty minutes each time. All in all, though I wish the system ran smoother, I am pleased with my final piece. I’m thankful I had the opportunity to listen to this podcast, and was thankful for the text that was provided with it. I was able to revisit ideas in the text by use of Command + F, rather than trying to find the timestamp in which it was said in the podcast.

Below you’ll find my interpretation of the Friend/Collier podcast, mixed with my opinion on how we have yet to shift from standardized education.

Carla

I confess, I’m a shortcut platform junkie. I have used most of the ones mentioned in the Hink article at least once. They have helped me in my work and in my personal life but I can see the limitations.

As the article explains, these platforms have become just another way for students to try to ‘get
the right answer.’ They are haunted by the ghosts of education past that say that students should be filled with facts and figures. Those facts are then regurgitated onto a worksheet or standardized test. This model of education continues to permeate our system and many of the tools we use to try to extend beyond it continue to limit students within the context of rules and boundaries. The Powtoon below both describes this idea and is also an example of the limiting features of these types of platforms. Just check out this Powtoon by another student in a different class to see how limiting they can be – we created something very similar and we don’t even know each other (somehow I think we even sound the same!)
I do want to challenge the article in one way. Many of these platforms can act as a scaffolding tool to something bigger and better. Especially in the junior years I believe they definitely have a place in getting students creating digital content, even if it is within certain parameters. One of Hinks criticisms of shortcut platforms is students believe they are “guaranteed [a] working product at the end with little risk of failure.” Students need to learn to take risks but sometimes they need an opportunity to create something with a small risk. Once they are comfortable in an area, they are more likely to move beyond it to something more challenging.  And believe me, there is no guarantee even on a platform like Powtoon that everything will turn out they way you want it to. I was ready to give up on mine more than once!

So, my ‘take-away’ is to be careful. Be careful of the message we are sending to our students with each platform we use. We need to be sure to celebrate failures and show them how we are limited within the frameworks. Creativity takes a lot of risk and we should provide our students with as many open-ended opportunities as possible.

Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom raises many relevant points comparing the assumptions made regarding media use and the realities seen in classrooms today. Ultimately, the author indicates that students must be encouraged to develop digital literacy outside of shortcut template platforms (STP). While I certainly agree with the author that students must develop creativity in order to become creators of digital content, rather than simply relying on available templates.

By creating the above reflection, I had the opportunity to explore two different STPs: Mindmup and Canva. While both have their benefits, there are also many drawbacks. Mindmup allows the user to create a mindmap, using pre-determined themes. It is free provided that the user does not include any images. The mindmap can then be downloaded as a .jpg file that is very high quality. Meanwhile, Canva allows the user the opportunity to create their own design using a blank template (a feature that the author fails to recognize). Therefore, I uploaded by mindmap in order to add photos and make it more interactive in that regard. The drawback to doing this is that the overall image quality was reduced. This has resulted in a more dynamic reflection, that is of lower visual quality.

Ultimately, this combination of positive elements of free STPs with the inevitable drawbacks is a reality of much digital content curation. Hopefully, I will be able to elevate my students beyond my own comfort level to enable their creativity and encourage them to become far more comfortable with digital content creation than I am.

Please select the image to view in greater detail.

Ashley Hinck’s article Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom was an interesting read. After reading the whole article it made you think of all the social media applications you can make templates, GIFs, YouTube Videos, and much more on, and how they are limited to what they provide to their consumers.

There is no visual step by step process written out for you on most of these sites. Students do not like that and wish there was a process for them to follow. I’m the type of person that can figure out the steps along the way, but for the average Joe student, I don’t think that is the case. It comes with practice and years of experience working with different softwares. If I was teaching a class and I knew the site did not have any steps to go along with the project, I would make sure to make my own project as a guide for the students, and communicate with them the steps I took in order to achieve the final product. Along the way it is alright to fail, we as future educators have to encourage the failing process, because if we fail a few times we know what it takes in order to succeed. Students have to realize that failing is not bad thing, but a learning experience. Maybe sometimes a wake up call, but majority of the time sometimes we need it.  

As a teachable being in the arts, these programs are awesome because art is all about creating something visual, something auditory, and an emotion. Students will be creating their own assignment through the help of these programs. Schools, teachers, and future educators need to bring the creative process to the classroom. You wouldn’t believe what your students can create if they put their mind to it.

2018/09/30 – 103586003

The Hinck article, “Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom”, linked here: http://hybridpedagogy.org/digital-ghosts-modern-classroom/  addressed the difficult issues of using pre made templates, filters and drag and drop tools that can minimize the creativity of the person using it. Furthermore, students get anxious and frustrated if there is not a step by step instruction to follow when using technology. When using these platforms, making mistakes is a great way to learn; however, many of us feel like we are failing if we are making mistakes. I also feel this way, I am more comfortable when I know that I am completing the proper steps to achieve the desired end goal. I need to step away from this frame of thought so that my future students may be able to step out of the box and create things of their own in their own way. In many ways, we are programmed to assume that the creative process is linear and Hinck discusses this in the article. There is no step by step process in digital media and the mistakes you will make should be viewed as challenges and apart of the process rather than a failure. Digital media is the process of creating, and there is no right or wrong way to create something out of nothing.

As a future teacher, the process of creating, learning and trying new things is going to be a part of the job. I must become more comfortable with digital pedagogy and pushing myself out of my comfort zone so that my students may do the same. I also need to expose them to my own struggles and failures so that they can see that I do not expect perfection from them. I chose to use Imovie because I do have a little bit of previous experience with it but would like to play around with it more. I also chose Imovie because I enjoy video representations of ideas and would like to produce more video content in the future. I also chose to write by hand with chalk because I really enjoy brainstorming and producing ideas by hand with a tactile object like chalk. Also, the juxtaposition of chalk and the video representation is a blend of the past and future of learning in classrooms. Also, how I would like to have my own classroom, a blend of both ways of learning and teaching! I have never published a video on to a blog or Youtube, so I originally tried to use Uview but the video would not embed into the blog post. I started to get frustrated that it did not work the first time. I assumed it would be very simple without any struggle and immediately got frustrated. I had to create a Youtube account to publish it on there and then embed it and it finally worked. My own struggles and expectations of wanting it to be successful in the first try mirrored the struggles that students have in the classroom. Therefore, I realized I cannot have expectations that my students won’t get frustrated and want to give up because I feel that way myself when I am facing a new platform or project. For the next project, I want to try a platform I have never used before!

Thanks for watching!

The internet is full of websites and platforms that allow digital media making easier and that requires little technical knowledge. Canva provides templates for posters and social media posts. Google Slides offers pre-made themes for slideshows that doesn’t require any decisions on font, color, and placement. These platforms invite students to follow simple directions and receive admiration on the creativity of someone else. Although students are starting to create their own media now, the ghosts of the shortcut websites are still there. Students are identifying their hesitancy and trial-and-error as a failure, rather than an inevitable and important part of the digital making process. Troubleshooting has helped students see their projects as works in progress and has allowed them to see the expertise in themselves and their classmates. We have to help students see that they are capable of producing digital media and they don’t have to limit their creativity with the platforms that are out there.

Head to my twitter @mrpopel for the full thread! https://twitter.com/mrpopel/status/1045437774655102978

I hope you enjoy!
Michael Popel

HybridPod, Ep. 10 — Questioning Learning

I selected the Hybrid podcast “Questioning Learning” by Chris Friend and Amy Collier to analyze and reflect upon. I personally connected most to the podcast. For this assignment, I used a platform that was out of my element, something that I had to learn myself. I am trying to be open to all new forms of technology and different platforms that can be used in the classroom.

The Hybrid podcast “Questioning Learning” was an incredibly interesting story. This podcast touches a large base of facts about “not-yetness” and how it relates to critical digital pedagogy. Education should be valued at an in explainable level and some teachers are having difficulty encouraging the risk in learning and emphasizing the importance of questioning to their students. One of the main foci for this podcast discussed how critical pedagogy encourages students to ask questions first and to not always make assumptions. To   encourage our students to not take everything they see or hear at face value, but to truly question and analyze it. The podcast also addresses how a movement and shift from the instructivist model to a constructivist model. Amy Collier stresses the importance of being more learner centered and to be responsive to students learning. After listening to the full podcast, I believe that this is a reality for several teachers, even in today’s society. I fully agree with the concept that teachers need to encourage that the “not-yetness” is okay and that because one strategy may not work, and you fail, it is okay. Many students do not feel comfortable in taking risks and asking questions because they are afraid. Afraid of what their peers may think or even the teacher. We need to empower students to believe that there is no wrong question.

I strongly believe that as future teachers, we need to encourage students and make them all aware that it is acceptable to ask questions. It is okay to fail and to truly shift to a constructivist model of teaching. Future teachers should be more learner centered and focus on what the students learn. I believe that every student will succeed and establishing a classroom culture where students feel comfortable and willing to take risks and realize making mistakes is part of learning; student knowledge, understanding and skills will blossom in a classroom where students feel safe and confident.   For the beginning of the school year, I am in the learning process for this course. After listening to this podcast, I am intrigued to listen to more and learn more about how to become a teacher who is learner centered. Critical pedagogy is something newer for myself. I believe questioning learning is crucial to becoming an excellent teacher who instills the love of life long learning in every student. As future teachers, we need to learn together and become comfortable ourselves with asking questions and accepting that “not yetness” okay. In order for our future students to be comfortable with asking questions and not feeling like failures, we need to have a strong understanding of our learners.

The experience of creating my artifact connects to the podcast that I reflected on because I took risks myself using a new platform. I had never used Promo before nor had I created a video and put it on youtube. I reflected on the artifact in a way that allowed me to think deeper into how I want to instruct my future students. I do not want my students to feel nervous when using a new platform the way I did. I know my future students will have mostly grown up around technology and from day one in the class, I want to ensure that my students know “not yetness” is okay. I want them to know that it is okay to ask questions and that no question is a dumb question. I felt this way while creating my artifact. With helpful feedback from my instructor, I was able to complete the task and receive positive feedback to improve the piece. Creating my artifact completely related to the podcast in my own personal way. I am thankful to have had the opportunity to listen to such a powerful, current, podcast topic that I was able to clearly make connections to my own life and future teaching career.

My video is discussing the article “Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom”, written by Ashley Hinck. The article describes how student expectations of technology classrooms often stems from their experiences both in school, and from the common websites or programs they might use in their daily lives. Websites like Canva provide templates for students, with simple to follow instructions to get a working product. These instructions provide little-to-no risk for failure, and students have the preconceived expectation that what they might do in a technology classroom would be akin to following instructions on a worksheet (with the assumption of there being a ‘right’ answer) or following a template saved in programs or websites. As students are given access to more open-ended programs like HTML, students still have the tendency to assume that there is a ‘right’ answer, instead of experimenting and exploring what they could create. Teachers who want to critical digital pedagogues should expose students to failure (by showing that even their teacher will make mistakes, and there is no shame in mistakes), and show that templates are limiting to their creativity and their expression of their individuality. I decided to make a video on the subject because it would be something atypical for me, and would allow me to be more expressive.

Thank you for watching~

Christopher Cuffaro