Tag Archives: #332THURSDAY10

Feb 21 2019
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Gucci, Prada, Chanel…What Design Thinking Are You Using?

eCampus Ontario’sOpen PD Modules Summary – Piktochart

For a separate window to view the Piktochart – click HERE

 

My response to the key points

Digital Literacies

I think that that I would agree completely that digital literacy is certainly complex. Recently I was speaking to a professor and they told me how he, and many other adults, assumed that my generation is completely tech savvy, but that was a false notion. Even though I have grown up in this new age, I still find it difficult in trying to navigate through the technology world. 

Design-Thinking

After watching the video and reading the script on the design-thinking section I was still confused as to exactly what the process was because the description it gives in the script is different than the words and explanation that the video gives. From what I did understand I do agree that it is good to find solutions directly from the people affected instead of simply following some crazy idea that I haven’t even received any feedback for.

Empathize

This is a very important step in the design-thinking process as it is the root for the whole process. The goal is to connect better to learners and if I don’t know what the learners are really struggling with or wanting then I’d be stuck throwing darts in the dark.

Define

To me this is the hardest section of the module because I find it extremely difficult to pinpoint the true reason for the challenges of a learner. Often I have found it comes to learners not being motivated, but every learner is different and that makes it difficult to pinpoint what truly motivates them. This is why I find the empathize section to be so important because then I’m not left on my own to ponder the reasons behind learners’ lack of motivation.

Ideate

It seems daunting to try and simply create ideas about each potential technology and so it is extremely helpful to have links to various places that give ideas about what questions I should strive to answer and what technologies I can look through. Here is one example – website resource.

Prototype

This makes sense that now is where I would start to develop deeply into my top technology choice(s) otherwise I would be in the design process forever.

Connect

I also agree that I only start to connect my specific goals and curriculum aspects to my technology idea because there’s that potential that after I start using one during the prototype stage I may assess that the current one may not be the right fit for me.

Module Checklist

In terms of organization of modules and a summary section, this is great. It is concise and allows me to quickly assess whether I’ve done all that I needed to do and as a checklist I can visually cross things off which would give me a greater motivation by having a sense of accomplishment with each checkmark.

Extend

All in all I believe that the extend portion of the module for each section is one of the most important aspects. The extend truly helps go that extra mile that guides the process and sharpens every detail. Especially as someone who works much better with continuous feedback from other, the extend portion easily connects me to little hubs that allow me to put forth my ideas, receive feedback, and then tweak my ideas and plan afterwards. The extend truly enables me to have a fuller picture of the process and of what my actual goal in this is.

 

 

 

 

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Oct 31 2018
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332thursday10

Integrating Technology Into Student Education

I choose to do the article Teaching in a Participatory Digital World by Jacobsen, M. The article does a good job presenting the perspective of how important technology is in the education system in today’s society. The educators of today must be willing to learn and adapt to using new technologies in the classroom. There is great importance in applying these technologies in the classroom. Students can have a more individualized education by using the internet as a resource for their specific topics of interest. The article mentioned that people that are interested in something more niche can now be interconnected on the internet and gain access to previously unavailable information. Not only is more information accessible through technology but students obtain a deeper understanding of material and can complete more complex learning goals when supplemented with the right use of digital technology.

The article changed the way I viewed how important the use if technology is in schooling, teaching and learning. The importance of teachers knowing how to utilize the use of technology can affect their students. The article really opened my eyes and made it clear that many different organizations and people are responsible for teachers to learn about these technologies. It was important to learn from the article that students obtain a deeper understanding of concepts by integrating technology into their learning. More complex learning goals can be achieved for your students as well. Ultimately, the article informed me how useful, important and life changing proper use of technology can be to students in the classroom.

For this multimedia reflection I choose to use coggle. Coggle is a website that allows you to create a digital mind map. At first use it did not seem very user friendly. As time went on the program became quite easy to use. I recommend using a mouse when trying to create a mind map on Coggle to improve your experience. Coggle allows the use of inserting images into the mind map which can greatly enhance the theme. There are, however, several features that are locked behind having a subscription which is a drawback. Overall, Coggle was good to use for this article as it allowed for lots of connections to made with the main theme of the article. It was easy to make connections between ideas with Coggle because of the connections you can make with the branches of the mind map.

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Oct 31 2018
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332thursday10

But I’m Ready to Learn of the POWER of Technology! (Yes, it’s a Celine Dion Reference)

For the second multimedia reflection, I chose to analyze the perspectives of Henry Jenkins, who created this notion of participatory learning (you can view his video here) as well as Dr. Michele Jacobsen who looks at all the possibilities that technology brings to teachers/people (you can view her article here).  They both view technology as a very important resource in the teaching world in today’s society.

Technology is beneficial in more ways than one, as it is such a powerful resource.  It is a useful tool in order to collaborate ideas with people. This can be student/student collaboration, teacher/teacher collaboration, or just sharing ideas for others to utilize.  Social media and technology allow for this to occur on a global scale.  As well, using technology helps students to become more engaged in classroom activity.  Students are glued to their phone (this was seen during placement), and any lesson that incorporates the use of their phone/computers of any sort becomes so much more interesting to students.  They can use it in a positive way, which in turn makes them feel like they are contributing so much into the classroom.  Teachers need to integrate more things that students can connect with on a personal level, and what better way to start than with technology.

Technology allows for the support of autonomous learners.  Students have the ability to become more creative and individualize their work.  It allows them to learn in a way that best suits them; they can utilize information given to them and form it into a learning model that works best for them.

However, there are some problems that can come up when dealing with technology.  One problem is most teachers are uneducated in how to use specific platforms.  Jenkins quotes “don’t build something like YouTube, use YouTube”.  It is very true in the sense that don’t build something to be used, use the tools that you have in front of you, but use them properly. There are many resources that can aid teachers, but some aren’t willing to adapt their teaching methods to best suit these students.  Also, most students have some access to technology, whether it be through a phone, computer or even iPad.  A problem that we are faced with is that students aren’t using it properly; in inappropriate ways.  We as educators (in training) need to teach students how to use technology in the best way for them.

My blog post (which you can view here) shows how useful technology can be, how teachers need to be willing to adapt and it looks at the tools that digital media bring to the table.

A lot of things came into my mind while absorbing all of this information.  In my opinion, it’s crazy that some teachers were defiant to the idea of incorporating technology into their pedagogical methods.  Why not use a resource to make your life easier?  I understand that in 2014 technology and the internet were still relatively foreign concepts, but it is an easy tool to learn.  If my teachers in high school incorporated more technology, I think school would be a lot more enjoyable and allow more connections to be made.  As well, I personally think that being able to connect with people all over the world and share ideas is such a cool concept.  Why not help each other out with becoming better teachers?  Why not share ideas, or lesson plans?  I know I will be reaching out to see what I am able to utilize for my teaching.  I can also show students what other schools/teachers are doing in their classrooms on the other side of the world and compare learning strategies between them.

Also, while reading the article/watching the videos, I was trying to envision how I was going to incorporate more technology-based platforms into my teaching methods when I go back on practicum at the end of November.  Standing at the front of the room and seeing all of the students on their phones is disheartening, but if I come up with ways to positively utilize them, then the students will be more engaged.  This is where platforms like Kahoot will come into play, especially in a science-based classroom.  As a student, I enjoyed activities that allowed me to be engaged and get involved. Now, with the big technology epidemic, what better way to involve students.  I know that if I was a student, I would have been able to get a better understanding of certain topics with all of these platforms at my fingertips. Even the addition of Edsby in the classroom is such a valuable, useful resource.

For this multimedia assignment, I decided to try a new platform.  I chose to utilize Piktochart.  It was an overall positive experience, that I was not expecting.  It was easy to use and right at my fingertips. They have different graphics, icons, shapes and pictures that can be added right to your piece.  Changing fonts, sizing, and backgrounds was also user friendly. However, the only downside that I came across was colour schemes; you need to upgrade (pay) for the version to be able to pick your own colours.  This meant that I had the option of choosing between dirty brown or unpleasant green as my default (I went with the green!).  I would definitely recommend this platform for anyone who is doubting using technology, as I was hesitant during the first Multimedia assignment.  I am definitely more open to using technology!

P.S. The Piktochart itself is a little blurry… I tried to add close up shots of it in different frames, but they seem to be blurry too.  I inserted a link into the post above, but here’s another link if you want to view in better quality!

 

 

 

 

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Oct 03 2018
6 Comments
332thursday10

I’m experiencing a haunting…HELP!

I’ve just read the article, “Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom”, by Ashley Hinck and I have to say it was an interesting read.

Check out this link for a quick infographic on my summary of the article and a few of my thoughts.

                                                               

I think the main idea behind the article is a sort of tension that Ashley has noticed between the previous/ current model of education and creativity. She clearly sees how this negatively impacts the way students in her digital classroom want to interact with digital platforms. So in a sense, the education system is very teacher-centred, and students just follow a set of directions (prescribed by the teacher) to arrive at a satisfactory finished product which they are then marked on. This causes them to want the same procedure to be followed in making digital media. They want templates and a series of steps to follow. She calls these the digital ghosts in today’s classrooms. I imagine this is very frustrating, because digital technology is the “new frontier“ of creativity so why would everyone follow the same old procedures? According to Ashley, a way to combat this, at least in her classroom is to allow students to experiment with open platforms where they can make mistakes and make their visions come to life. Also, they need to be able to critically examine whatever platform they are using and consider the affordances of that platform and whether it allows them to create a digital artefact the way they envision it. This can also be applied to education in the broader sense, where, within any content area, students should have room for creativity and making mistakes should be a part of the success.

I had never really thought to critically examine the way we have been taught in school and higher education until I got to teacher’s college. I definitely agree with Ashley on the fact that a lot of education is very teacher-centered. This applies to digital education as well. But I don’t know if I agree with the fact that to be creative you must use open platforms. Now, as someone who doesn’t dabble in the digital media world aside from consuming it, short-cut platforms are great. It allows me to participate in many-to-many communication using a digital/visual medium. I think for someone just starting out, short-cut platforms can be a great introduction to the digital-media creating world. If I had to do the same but write code instead, to get my message out there, I probably wouldn’t get very far because I don’t know anything about it. Now, that does not mean that I will not try to learn how to do it. But that takes time! So I think it is important to look at whether you are creating a digital resource/ website to show your creativity or to make art or whether you are just using the digital medium as a vehicle for the knowledge you want to share. In the latter case, maybe a template platform would be a better idea.

As an emerging teacher, I realize that this opinion means I am still at the Enhancement stages of the SAMR model and not yet the Transformation stages. But as I learn more and more about these template/ shortcut platforms, I am increasingly interested to learn how to design and create my own resources. Maybe even from scratch!

I used Piktochart to make the infographic for this article summary and really enjoyed it. It was my first time creating anything digital and while I was initially really nervous about it, I ended up having a lot of fun playing around with colours and graphics. I did have a few moments of frustration and I can see where Ashley is coming from because there were certain instances where I couldn’t do something I wanted to do because of the template I was working with. Even considering this, I would 100% use Piktochart again and look forward to using it with my students in my teaching career.

Thanks for reading! Post some of your thoughts below!

Bharti Mor

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