Tag Archives: #ontarioextend

Feb 23 2019
1 Comment
332thursday10

Designing a Better Future for our Students

For my final artifact, I decided to try my hand at a twitter essay. This was actually one of my first experiences with Twitter (other than our in-class task). I actually found it much more suited to my style than some of the more visual multimedia choices. As I tend to be a more verbose person, being able to articulate my thoughts in words (with pictures as an enhancement) was far easier. Still, there were certainly challenges. Having to parse your thoughts into 300 character snip its is certainly a challenge. However, I would certainly attempt to try this form of media again and could even see myself utilising this as an assignment for my future students.

 

 

As to the content of the essay, I delved into the Technologist training module on e campus Ontario. This is an incredibly handy resource that both teaches a teacher how to become digitally literate and how to make sure the technology being used is the most effective tool for the job. While incredibly useful, you would have to be a digital expert just to navigate all the information provided. Each tab had snippets of information with the bulk of the knowledge hidden behind a plethora of hyperlinks. It certainly is not an intuitive website which seems rather ironic for a website that’s promoting digital literacy among educators.

 

When discussing digital skills, I found that the resource all aboard  was efficient in laying out what skills an educator needs to develop to be successful. As well, the following TED talk did a great job of explaining digital literacies and the problems of not being literate in the 21st century.

 

The module then went into great lengths to discuss the Design Teaching Approach. I had absolutely no idea what that was, but the following video helped clarify it for me.

After reading through the module, I realised that I had utilised this process before without realising it. When I noticed students struggling to understand stoichiometry, I asked them what the issue was. After learning that the main issue was that they couldn’t visualize the reaction or what was occurring, I looked online for resources that might help clarify. Upon finding pHET, I found an awesome module that shows the products and reactants as both “normal concepts” (sandwiches) and molecules. Bringing this tool back to the students helped clarify the concepts and brought to their attention an awesome new resource to use in science understanding. Whilst this didn’t utilise all the DTA steps, it is founded in the same roots of empathizing, designing, ideating, and prototyping. I believe this is certainly the approach that should be taken whenever we look to incorporate technology into the classroom.

Overall, understanding digital technology and being able to use the DTA is all in an effort to be able to differentiate the instruction. This is important in the 21st century where one of the top priorities of any educator is to make sure that their classroom is equitable for all students. One way to achieve this is to make sure that all information being taught can reach all types of learners. Educators should use multiple forms of media and techniques to make sure that all learners can receive the full benefit of learning.

Tagged
Feb 22 2019
8 Comments
332thursday10

Teaching Technology to Teachers; Totally Tubular!!!!!

For this multimedia reflection, we were able to explore the use of technology within a classroom as well as ways to make technological lessons easier to access for all learners.  This was done through a module presented by eCampus Ontario with the help of Extend; they were able to clearly explain how easily this can be achieved in a classroom.  This is very beneficial in the classroom and can aid in your development of technology pedagogy.  A lot of teachers may lack knowledge in the technology department.
With an easy to follow module like the one that was presented to us, it allows for teachers to gain a better understanding of how to incorporate technology into their classroom in the most effective way for their students.  The module exhibits different steps or pathways to achieve the best
possible outcome for the students and to help teachers identify challenges they may come across with solutions to how to best solve them.

 

It is important to approach every lesson you prepare with openness; finding ways to share information on top of ways to allow your information to be accessible to a wide range of people.  As a future educator, incorporating differentiation into my pedagogy is key. Once the target audience is known (finding out the students in your class on the first day of school for example) you are able to make specific adjustments based on their needs.  Having particular needs should not penalize a student or make them any less.

Differentiation looks at the variety of differences and allows for adaptability where it is necessary.  Looking back on my first practicum experience, I know that this idea was something I failed to achieve.  Incorporating digital media into my lessons was something I found hard to do but thinking of all of the different exceptionalities that my students may have had at the same time was very hard for me.  I now can apply this module into my next practicum, ensuring that I make the different technologies I use accessible for all students as well as figure out any of the challenges I come across before presentation.  I will most definitely refer back to this module in a couple of weeks.  It is critical to have students reach goals in their own way that is best for them and I want to implement this idea in my next practicum.

 

When it comes to technology, I personally felt like I would have considered myself “technologically savvy”.  However, after going through the module, I realized I am just savvy in the social media field.  This is not a beneficial tool for me in the classroom or to my pedagogy.  There is a lot more to explore in the technology world, and I feel as though that not only this model, but this class in this entirety has improved my knowledge on this topic.  I will utilize everything I have learned to become a better teacher, but also to better my students and their needs in regards to technology.

 

The platform that I have chosen for this multimedia reflection was Canva.  (Click here for a better visual of it!) It was my first time using it, but I had heard many good things.  I however found it not user friendly.  This could have been due to my lack of experience with the website; identifying a learning curve that I was unable to meet.  I should have explored the website more before jumping right into the multimedia.  As well, I found that the lack of colour schemes was not beneficial. Most of the graphics I had searched for in the side tool bar were ones that you needed to pay for.  For a free website, having users pay $1 for a photo/graphic is absurd to me.  I found that adjusting certain objects and text boxes was difficult as it changed the font size itself as well as the positioning of certain graphics.  As well, italicizing font want not an option.  For my second multimedia I used Piktochart, which compared to Canva, I found to be more accessible to my needs.

 

Tagged , , , ,
Feb 22 2019
6 Comments
332thursday10

The Technologist In All Of Us

For my third multimedia reflection, I made a Twitter Essay based on Ontario Extend’s Technologist Module.

 

The Technologist module starts off with a video displaying a scenario where “Terry” is struggling to incorporate technology in a way that best support his learners. This is where the Technologist module comes into play. The module starts with an explanation of digital literacies, and how they can be defined in multiple ways. JISC’s Guide to Developing Digital Literacies, defines Digital Literacy as “…capabilities which fit an individual for living, learning and working in digital society”. The module stresses that digital literacy is developed over time, and is an ongoing process. The module then talks about the design-thinking approach, which focuses on designing things strategically and with purpose in mind. The design-thinking approach is outlined as six steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Connect and Test. The module goes into detail about each of the steps, and provides resources on how to help implement them.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about the module. While I think the module provides a great array of valuable information, it can be overwhelming at times. As we discussed in our last class, there are a lot of accessibility issues with this module (e.g. videos with only text and no sound, contrasting colours, multiple hyperlinks etc.). For many people, this module can be overwhelming, and hard to use, as there is a lot of text with many redirecting links. I think if the actual information and layout of the website was structured differently, the module would be more engaging and easier to look through. It is ironic that there are these issues with the site, as had the website developers taken more time to “empathize” with the public and educators, they would have learned about these issues, and prevented them.

The actual content in the Technologist module is good. It provides educators with easy steps to follow and use to create plans for implementing technology in their classroom. I like how the module places a large focus on empathizing with the learners. Since the tools are for the learners, it only makes sense that their thoughts and feelings should be taken into account. I think that the module will be beneficial to educators, and will help them learn how to incorporate technology in a meaningful way. In the future, I plan on referring back to this module when encountering an issue I would like to solve through technology. This site is a valuable resource to educators, and provides a great framework for incorporating technology in the classroom.

I chose to do a Twitter essay as I wanted to immerse myself in a fully technological-based medium. For my first multimedia reflection, I created a SketchNote which I illustrated by hand. For my second reflection, I created a Piktochart, which was a step towards technology, but still heavily involved visual and artistic elements. I wanted to challenge myself for the third reflection by creating a Twitter essay that required being concise with my words and thoughts. I enjoyed using Twitter as it allowed me to concisely summarize my thoughts on the module, by keeping tweets at 280 characters or less. I also liked that I could incorporate pictures and GIFs into my essay. The module had a lot of amazing graphics (e.g. mind maps), that complemented the tweets well. I also liked that through using the hashtags’ #UWinDig and #OntarioExtend, I was able to connect with my peers as well as other educators. I enjoyed having this extra level of connectivity that was missing from my first two multimedia reflections. In my Twitter essay, I summarize the module and give my thoughts about each specific aspect.

Click this link, search up my username (@_ms_reka), or look below to view my Twitter essay:

References:

Extend Ontario. Technologist Module. Retrieved from,

https://extend.ecampusontario.ca/technologist-scenario/

Tagged ,
Feb 22 2019
2 Comments
332thursday10

Technologist Assemble

Education is becoming more technical every day. We see this in our classrooms, in our board meetings, and in our society. It is important that we as educators collaborate with technology and use it in our classrooms. But teachers might wonder, where do I start? How do I implement tech? What if I am not great at using technology? Well there is an organization that might be able to help you with all your questions. Extend will help you become more tech savvy and will guide through the many skills that you would need to use tech in your classroom. During the module, I went through the scenario, overview, digital literacies for teaching, design – thinking approach, empathize with your learners, define your learner challenge, ideate, choosing a technology tool, using the sections model, and connection to the curriculum. Each strand mentioned will be talked about in my twitter essay link below. The module does a very good job explaining the role of teachers and how we should be okay with uncertainty when using technology. That the internet is so vast and has many unsolved questions that we can impose on our students to help their growth as individuals. I recommend looking at the module to experience it yourselves. Link is posted below. I hope you enjoy your journey and enjoy my views on Extend’s approach of digital literacy.

Tagged ,
Feb 21 2019
2 Comments
Uncategorized

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.

 

 

 

 

Tagged , , ,
Feb 21 2019
4 Comments
332wednesday12, Uncategorized

Design thinking? MORE LIKE DESIGN STINKING!! AM I RIGHT!?!?

Oh, what a controversial post title… Welcome, fellow traveler of the #UWinDig seas. Please, grab a seat. Stick around. I did a twitter essay – two actually.

*** (CW: NAUGHTY WORDS) ***

*** (CW: NAUGHTY WORDS) ***

*** (CW: NAUGHTY WORDS) ***

Part 1 – in which I come to the conclusion that the technologist module is mostly fine, but also maybe useless.

Part 2 – in which I talk about design thinking being a sham and make 1 VERY good joke (CW: NAUGHTY WORDS)

 

Reflection… (a lot of reflection is in the twitter thread, so I’ll try not to repeat myself too much here)

As stated in the first twitter thread, I did not find the module to be that useful.  Though I understand that it would definitely be helpful to a lot of teachers.  As I mention in the thread, their are a ton of great links to useful tools for the classroom.  It’s just that most of it seemed like common sense to me. I’m curious how many others found the module to be mostly common sense. Am I crazy? Am I too cynical?

Anyways, because of this I had a hard time figuring out what to do my reflection on at all. I ended up doing what I always do: complaining.  It was a lot of fun!  I had already been reading about education fads a lot over the last few months, as well as instances of education misrepresenting things from other disciplines (psych and neuropsych mostly).  So this topic kind of lines up all my current education related interests.  If I had more time I probably would have made a silly video, but I’ll have to save that for another day.

 

 

 

Here’s some good links I posted in the twitter thread that I’m going to post here as well, because I’m such a fun guy.

  1. This Vox video on doors that is very interesting

2. This video form a conference that is also very interesting and gives some history of design thinking and the perspective of a designer (Natasha Jen: Design Thinking is Bullshit)

 

3. This very appropriate (and not at all edgy) Medium post (Design Thinking is Kind of Like Syphilis – It’s Contagious and Rots Your Brains) – *this guy is probably being a little harsh

Design Thinking will mess up your brains. Decline sets in. Enthusiasts embrace sexed up platitudes as profundities and believe smooching lipsticked pigs is innovation. If you manage an organization, you do not want individuals infected with these mental models in your meetings. Their ignorance and gullibility are not assets but liabilities. But for all these issues, there’s an even deeper way in which pushing the DTs in education is problematic.

 

Tagged , , , , ,
Feb 21 2019
4 Comments
332wednesday12

Technologist taking tech on as a Teacher

Going through the role of the technologist on the eCampus modules proved to be an eye opening experience with it showing me how much that is taken for granted as an educator who was raised into a technology the skills that I employ naturally, but a majority of teachers would not. There is a natural effort throughout our lesson planning to integrate technology into the classroom so that it is relevant to the audience, therefore aligning it with curriculum. However, the one concept that I found that I commonly skip or overlook is the prototype stage, where I learned that I tend to just risk it but not form a controlled risk or have a segmented release of the tool. This made me self reflective of the tools that I do use in my lessons and it made me realize that there is many different tools that I use but they fit the same mold . That mold is traditional education through quizzes or testing of knowledge, such as kahoot or mentimeter. This made me critically reflect on the fact that I may use technology in the classroom but it might not be fully addressing the challenges of the learners which is the end goal for integrating technology. I understand that there may be a use of technology in the classroom but it may not be effective. The role of the technologist has so many steps and subtle nuances to ensure that when you as an educator employ differentiated instruction that it not only understands the class problems but properly addresses them. Furthermore, we always learn about student centered learning as a core concept to most teacher pedagogues, however I learned that you need to select the tool for the student not the technological tool that the teacher enjoys. The overall module for technologist was effective because it mirrored what it sought to enforce by providing multimodal education with it having facets that appealed to multiple different types of intelligence by utilizing textual, visual, auditory, and linguistic elements to reach the audience. this is effective while at the end it models further strong educational skills by emphasizing the value of feedback to improve its modules, while recognizing the fact the facing constructive criticism is one of the hardest parts of integrating a new tool into the classroom. This module had a far greater depth than I had anticipated which is the reasoning for why I chose to do an Infographic because there was far too much information to express with a more visually driven platform such as Powtoon.

Tagged ,
Feb 18 2019
1 Comment
322monday20

SHARING IS CARING

Well folks, here we are, rounding out our last semester at the Faculty of Education, eager to begin our professional careers. Now, if we were to jump in our Delorean with Marty and Doc Brown, we would surely be met with an extremely daunting and tedious task of acquiring and locating the physical resources we would need to write out (the horror!) our lesson plans and activities. Luckily, OER is here! What would be an unknown acronym to most, is a glimmer of hope to those of us who are just getting our feet wet in the classroom. Open Educational Resources. Say it out loud… beautiful, isn’t it? Void of copyright laws, business models and practices that restrict us from accessing the ideal learning materials, Open Educational practices allow access to copy and share without breaking any laws! Open educational resources allow the full technical power of the internet to be brought to bear on education. Not only that, OER’s are subjected to continuous quality improvement.

Which leads me to our third and final Multimedia reflection. We analyzed the Technologist Module; an open PD module of Ontario Extend provided free of charge from eCampus Ontario. Initially created for the Northern Building project, it was a collaborative approach to build knowledge, further develop skills and share resources that support the technological educational initiatives of the institutions. Of the six available modules, the Technologist provides information to incorporate technology tools and platforms to address specific learning challenges.

I have chosen to use a technological platform that I thought to be appropriate for the given content we were exploring. Prezi is something I have used a few times in my own instruction, seeing differing results based on students’ perceived levels of retaining and thoroughly understanding the material provided. Perhaps my presentation approach was not the correct technological tool that would support and enrich my students’ learning experiences for the given subject or method of delivery? Yes, I have succumbed to the comforts of familiarity and I am a glaring example of what many educators (in my brief experience) choose to do. Alas, have no fear, The Technologist module affords all educators with valuable information on how they can use the right tools effectively, addressing all specific learning challenges and learners’ needs, improving digital literacies in the process.

Technologist Module Prezi

Students are preparing to enter a workforce which differs significantly from 20, even 10 years ago. As educators, we must provide students with the appropriate tools and knowledge to thrive in the 21st century work environment. While technological skills are not everything; an individuals digital literacies can significantly enhance their level of success, and overall life experience.

It is imperative that we look to share as much of our own personal learning through teaching experiences and communications with other educators to provide a greater learning experience for all students. Reasons for this would be; more available lesson plan resources, professional development modules such as those offered by Ontario Extend, and creating connections in educational corners across the globe to name a few. We are all creating lesson and activity materials that are new and exciting for you and your learners, why not share that with the rest of the world?

 

Tagged ,
Feb 18 2019
4 Comments
322monday21

Technologist Teaching

As I read through the Technologist modules, I was reminded of the SAMR concept. Teachers tend to incorporate technology with no real reasoning. By following the five steps of design thinking, educators are able to use technology purposefully enriching the learning of the student in their classrooms. Technology has come so far and shows no signs of slowing down. As teachers, there is no escaping digital literacy. The more we expose our students to technology, the better. There is no telling what kind of digital work they will face after school and it is up to us to prepare them for a world that does not yet exist. Good teachers will not shy away from technology that intimidates them, but embrace all the positive uses that can be implemented into the classroom. The design thinking process ensures educators make good use of technological tools by enriching education. By empathizing with the learner, the teacher will understand the struggle they face. Then by defining the real issue and really taking the time to understand the problem can we hope to get somewhere with a solution. The teacher would ideate characteristics around the problem before sharing a prototype with the classroom and being open to feedback. Finally, the teacher will implement the technology in their own way and connect it with the curriculum. These five steps are what makes up design thinking and encourages digital literacy among students and teachers alike.

I had not yet created an infographic and was eager to explore this tool on canva. I found it intimidating at first because the infographics my peers have made were impressive and so professional looking. After reading the modules and taking notes, I tackled canva. Once I started, it really became easy. I had issues with finding a template, positioning the text boxes, finding the perfect images, etc. Then I found myself focused on tedious small details for far too long – sizing my graphics just right and lining them up perfectly. After seeing the finished product, I am happy with the outcome and would most definitely create an other if an opportunity arose.

For a bigger view of my infographic, click here.

 

Tagged ,
Feb 18 2019
3 Comments
322monday20

BE A TECHNOLOGIST

I used the medium canva to represent the main ideas from the module of Technologist. I used the infographic template to look at the steps to integrate technology in the classroom. I am somewhat comfortable with canva as I have used on about three other occasions in my academic career. Although, even using it this time, I still noticed features that I did not notice in the past. I think canva is a great template that can be used for a variety of projects especially in the classroom. It would help to engage those students who are not interested as well as offer assistance to the students who cannot do it on their own or get frustrated. Society is constantly changing and technology is not going anywhere. In order to be successful in the classroom, the integration of technology is essential. I think that as a teacher, I need to find a balance between using technology while catering to the other learning styles in the classroom as well as being sure that the technology is being used in an appropriate manner.

 

This module was a great tool to show how technology can be integrated. I love that it broke down into steps that showed the progressions and challenges that can be associated. Educators often find themselves torn and skeptical about using technology in the classroom – should they use it as it is the latest and greatest invention or for evidence-based practice (research). Although technology can have a number of benefits, it is important to be informed about when it is appropriate to use technology and when it is not. The Technologist module outlines how to select, use and integrate technologies to support, facilitate and enrich the learning experience. The success criteria for this module is to use technology tools effectively to address specific learning challenges.

Digital literacy can refer to a multitude of things but is an ongoing process. One of the aspects is incorporating technological tools to address specific learning challenges. This includes the ability to locate, use, summarize, evaluate, create and communicate through these digital platforms. Other challenges such as online safety and be responsible would be included. Design Thinking approach is the 5 step toolkit used to engage users in creating and experimenting online through feedback for improvement. It is a human-centered approach which consists of the following steps: Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype and Connect. I like this model as it provides a step-by-step framework to follow that is simple for the learner. It is a collaborative process that allows learners to engage with one another and use their feedback.

Empathize is the first step in design thinking which refers to know the needs of your audience. This similar to teaching as you want to teach to your class, therefore you need to know the students in your class. For example, when creating lesson plans you must think of the resources available in the classroom and the students’ learning styles in the classroom. Define is the second step in the framework which is about looking at the problem closely to build you solution around that. In this section, you want to start small and make your way to working big similar to a scaffolding approach in teaching. There are numbed of principles for assisting to help define a good learner challenge to assist the learner in this section. The next step is ideate which is the forming and building of features and characteristics that could be used to address your learner challenge. The question that you need to ask yourself is “how might I?” A number of technological tools are suggested to be used like mind maps to build off the main idea.

Prototype is the next step that involves putting a creation in front of your users and using the feedback provided to better it. The steps include: design, share and refine. Each of these steps are broken down even further to explain what each step entails. The last section is connect. This is the section where you integrate technology into your curriculum, the idea of how you will “integrate this integration”. This is the implementation plan on how your leaners will progress through your tech creation as an activity.

I like the modules provide different activities within each section for the reader to further explore the topic. For example, digital literacies provide a number of definitions or the use of the empathy map. I also like that each module also has extension activities to help further understand said topic. I like the modules include more information on how to do the various steps. For example, it outlines how to choose a technology tool. My favourite part as a learner is the module checklist. This helps the learner to understand exacts what it should entail.

In my own practicum, I try to incorporate technology whenever I can to engage my students and get more participation when possible. I find my students respond more and even better at times with technology is being used. One of my favourite classes to use technology in is math. This allows a step away from the standardized lesson format of taking up homework, new lesson and doing homework. I have used a number of technological platforms and the smart board to assist with the teaching and the learning in the classroom. This was my first time using some of these platforms, therefore I had to explore and discover prior to my classes. I found that most of my students were very comfortable with the tools being used. Using the module would be very beneficial as technology is on the rise and will not be disappearing in years to come in education but rather blooming in the classrooms. As a teacher, I want to implement technology as much as I can! It can help to reach all learners in the classroom and be more engaging than previous lessons. The important aspect similar to getting feedback is being a reflective teacher. After using a technology platform, it is important to reflect on if it worked, what would you change next time and if you would even use it again.

 

Check out my infographic here: Be A Technologist

 

Tagged , ,