Author Archives: prescotr

Feb 25 2020
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Teacher Rules for Tech Tools

The Technologist Module and You/Us/Me

Everyone knows that collaboration is king, but I opted to look at Ontario Extend’s Technologist Module instead of learning more about how to co-operate with colleagues (which is a skill we should all have by now, considering the unending wave of group projects sent our way, some of which have their teams randomly built). I want to expand my understanding and practice of digital and technological tools or concepts as much as I can, as the world will (obviously) entrench itself further and further into this current Information/Digital Age. I want to be prepared to excel exceedingly well, and I’d much rather be the one explaining how to use technology tools than be the one struggling to catch up.

The Technologist Module gives us lots of guidance in terms of which processes to follow when implementing a tech tool, and provides a plain and clear series of steps (Empathize, Define, Ideate, Prototype, Connect) to adhere to if seeking success. I’m no fan of being overly-regulated or heavily restricted when it comes to thinking and acting creatively for academic purposes, but it is important to realize that these are loosely defined guidelines for us to follow in the footsteps of, and shouldn’t be thought of as a fence barring us from acting as we wish with whatever digital or tech tools we find ourselves using.

https://extend.ecampusontario.ca/technologist-design-thinking/

The main basis of this module is centred on reflection, careful consideration, comparisons, and trial and error, of which all are meant to stop us from acting wildly or over-eagerly with tech tools. One step of the process is meant to lead into the other, beginning first with “Empathize”, where you take into account all of the wants and needs of your learner(s). Gathering this information leads you to planning and then acting accordingly, hopefully leading to less bumps in the road for you and faster, finalized successes.

I can say that during my placement, I may have opted for Chromebook usages on several occasions, but having acted prematurely and without actual consideration for how best to use those Chromebooks (having been convinced they would be beyond helpful regardless of purpose solely because they were *CHROMEBOOKS*), those devices were little more than substitution rather than augmentation, or even modification. If anything, using Chromebooks for the lessons I had in the works for those classes, the devices were more of a handicap than anything, adding unseen challenges to what should have been easy tasks of research and mapmaking.

https://edu.google.com/products/chromebooks/?modal_active=none

It may sound lame to follow some third-party’s checklist, keeping in mind every little thing the module makes note of, or sound like a lot of unnecessary work to do recon on your learner(s) needs, and the hypothetical making of many mindmaps seems daunting to some, but in reality, these procedures really will (or should) lead you to craft better lessons with properly thought-out tech tools. You don’t want to use a device or software solely due to “cool” factor or assumed effectiveness, but due to your own proper reasoning skills. 

https://medium.com/the-montessori-insider/pros-and-cons-about-having-digital-devices-in-school-587ea2e358d7

In the end, it really is all about working within the needs of your learner(s), but you should also work for their wants, trying for some dual effort of making your tech implementation effective but also engaging. If you want further insight, you should definitely check out my Twitter essay for more information, or go right to the source itself. 

My Twitter essay can be found here, starting with the first tweet: https://twitter.com/RileyPrescott7/status/1232106702981488640

Oct 01 2019
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“Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom”: An Unexpected Horror

Enthralled by Ashley Hinck’s article “Digital Ghosts in the Modern Classroom”, all about the institutional barriers set against students’ intuition and agency that only increased with our technological development, I set about writing my first multimedia reflection and blog post in reflection to that. To break up the monotony of text, I also opted to include an infographic. Lacking the hands-on artistic vision of my more creative colleagues, an infographic, when supported by the right software provider, can be easy to create and present information effectively, coupling them with just the right visuals, images, colours, and more to pass on a lesson in one of the best ways possible. I chose to work with Canva. 

Hinck focuses on the fact that the education system is ushering in a series of “template sites or services”, where student usage of technology is becoming analogous to worker bees: press this button now, mirror each other’s actions, find the same answer (essentially the “drag and drop” concept Hinck repeatedly draws attention to). While there is certainly something to be said for efficiency and streamlining, it is coming at a cost of individuality and expressive freedom, with students now feeling like they can’t or shouldn’t step beyond the set paths. 

Courtesy of Canva.

As the students of today and tomorrow continue to be steered away from the trial and error system, we collectively seem to forget one of life’s best lessons: you learn from your mistakes. With our education systems using technology and digital software to the extent that it is, a pattern set to climb with every passing year, it’s simultaneously making erroneous moves a taboo thing. It doesn’t help that the software we use or the tech pieces everyone has access to have increasingly sophisticated tutorials, how-tos, and walkthroughs directing us on how to operate what we’re using, all to the point where it’s expected for anyone under the age of twenty to have the technical mastery of a graduated IT worker. From a generational theory perspective, these kinds of expectations have become burdening pressures: if you’re a young person, you should know how to use this stuff, and if you don’t know, then you must be some sort of social pariah. 

In the English language, there are several different words for “hello”, but there are millions of ways to greet someone with a hello. Instead of limiting the pool of correct answers on how to use and what to do with our software and technology to the one-word “heys” and “his”, we should be much more open to accepting different styles and answers, whether it be another way to phrase it, like “good morning” or “how’s it going”, or another way to do it, like the handshake or high-five.  We need to let students come up with different ways to do the same thing, and not throttle the correct answers to a predetermined answer-key. While these concepts can be applied across the teaching spectrum, it is especially important to apply it to classroom uses of technology. Everyone should be on the same page, and no one should be left behind. With choice comes creativity, and limiting the former completely snuffs out the latter.