Month: September 2019

This post aims at my identification of a problem that I hope to address through the integration of digital resources into a learning activity.

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Modern mobile technologies now have the ability to facilitate active exploration by learners of all age (Power, R. 2013).

The Duolingo app is a useful resource.  I download the android version and evaluated it using the CSAM framework, below are my findings:

Collaborative – learners have an opportunity to participate in a number of activities individually and collectively.  Based on given instructions from the teacher, the students can compete with each other in peered activities that will foster their understanding of the language being taught and develop proper pronunciation and listening skills.

Situated – have learners migrate to a resource room that is decorated and labelled in a way that reflects a country that speaks the language of focus (e.g. France – French).

Active – within the resource room, students will be encouraged to speak only French (short sentences/phrases), to communicate with each other and the teacher.  All questions and instructions will be given in French and through the usage of their app. interpretations can be obtained to gain clarity of unsure words, phrases or sentences.  Assistance can also be obtained in providing responses when faced with uncertainty.

Mobile – the app. version contains high quality content and facilitates holistic interaction.  Being mobile allows learners to practice, compete and engage on the go within and outside of their regular classroom settings.

Other criteria that I would use when critically evaluating such digital resources would be time and interest.  The allotted time spent on this app must be managed properly so that students do not over indulge and allow other subject areas suffer by this focus.  Observing and engaging the students will allow me to determine their level of interest (as it peeks or drops).  Being aware of how interested the students are in all the activities, will also allow me to determine the amount of time that should be allotted.

Reference

Power, R. (2013). Collaborative Situated Active Mobile (CSAM) learning strategies: a new perspective on effective mobile learning. Learning and Teaching in Higher Education: Gulf Perspectives, 10(2). https://doi.org/10.18538/lthe.v10.n2.137

Take an activity that you have done with your students in the past that had an impact on digital literacy (or build upon a past activity to make it better support digital literacy). Write a short description of this activity, describe how it develops digital literacy, and relate it to one of the “types” or “levels” of digital literacy described in the readings. Try using Mozilla’s Web Literacy tool to develop learning outcomes for your activity.

Teaching at a school in the rural part of my country was often a challenge for us teachers, as we often do not have all the resources readily available at our institution.  2008 was the first time my school got computers donated to our already built computer lab, that were long overdue.  I and two other colleagues who were the most tech savvy on staff had the privilege of introducing the students in each grade to the usage of the computer.  Since EdTech was a part of our curriculum, we taught this subject once a week to the students before the computers were donated by content only and limited hands-on experience which was done through the usage of teachers’ personal laptops.  Introducing the students through hands-on experience was an exciting task for both the students and teachers.  The first introductory activity was to have the students name and identify the external hardware components of the computer. After which students were guided in opening and using a new word document in Microsoft word.  Students were asked to write about their first experience using the computer and then share it with the class.

The three main principles of digital literacy to obtain competency were exercised: use, understand and create.

• Use – the students had prior knowledge of the computer and its hardware components. The students were able to engage with the computer and were able to navigate through guided instructions.
• Understand – a fair understanding of the usage of the keyboard and mouse was exhibited by the students. Students understood how to open a word document and that the selection of each letter was present on this document, similar to the way in which they wrote in the notebooks.
• Create – through guided instruction, the students were able to create their personal reflection and what they have learnt.

Mozilla’s Web Literacy Tool, reveals that the learning outcomes of this activity were write, read and participate.  The writing component of the literacy tool, allowed to students to revise what they previously knew about the hardware component, then they used the components to compose their experience.  Read, promoted the skills of search and navigation.  The students had to learn how to use the mouse to get it across the screen and the exact position that they wanted to obtain their desired goal.  Participate, students shared their experience about their first hands-on activity with the computer.  This activity was the initial step in exposing the students towards 21^st century digital and web literacy.

Reference

https://learning.mozilla.org/en-US/web-literacy/participate/(Retrieved September 22, 2019)

http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/digital-literacy-fundamentals(Retrieved September 22, 2019)

“Digital literacies are transient: they change over time, may involve using different tools or developing different habits of mind, and almost always depend upon the context in which an individual finds herself.”  Douglas Belshaw

Being digital literate, I still consider myself a novice when compared to so many of my friends and colleagues, but on the other hand when compared to my hubby, oh gosh!! I’m an expert 🤣

The below table provides information on a few of my strengths, challenges and resources that assist me within the educational technology field.

PS.  Even this table shows that I am still a working progress, as for the strangest of reasons I am unable to align the center column to meet with the other two columns.  It works perfectly in my word document, but on my blog, it’s not aligning.  Tired on numerous occasions but to no avail😢😒, welcome all feedback.

References 

Time To Know. (2018, January 17). The essential elements of digital literacy for the 21st Century workforce [Infographic]. Retrieved from https://www.slideshare.net/Time_To_Know/the-essential-elements-of-digital-literacy-for-the-21st-century-workforce

http://mediasmarts.ca/digital-media-literacy/general-information/digital-media-literacy-fundamentals/digital-literacy-fundamentals

Technology Education is a vast and open field of study.

As exciting as EdTech is, it can be frustrating at times, especially when you do not get the chance to master certain skills that were introduced before something new pops up.  Sometimes, I get left behind in this ever changing world.  There are a number of challenges within EdTech, however, a few of my greatest challenges are:

• Keeping up-to-date with the rapid change.
• Being able to incorporate technology within the classroom in all subject areas to facilitate the main purpose, so that growth can be achieved by both the students as well as myself.
•  Effectively manage appropriate technology, so that the subject(s) objective(s) can be achieved.
• Not obtaining the proper training to achieve maximum results.

With the rapid changes that are seen within our technological world, a few of my go to places for help with these challenges are:

• YouTube and Google – for instruction on its usage.  Whenever, there are new apps or resources available, I use these websites to self teach and also to build on what is common between new introductions and those similar to those already expose to.
• EdTech Experts – people who I know personally and are certified in this area are always my to go resources for concepts unclear or ideas on how I can use certain resources.  I also seek support for my colleagues during training sessions, so that future lesson can be planned for effectively.

Trusting reliable sources are of utmost importance, as there are a lot of things to consider when using technology: safety, awareness and ethical.  No one wants to be hacked, be incompetent or lack confidence in the delivery of a lesson.  I trust personal EdTech experts within and also outside my organization, my students’ input and/or suggestion after carefully evaluation, selected Google search engines and YouTube videos (after evaluating the content presented).

Describe and discuss one or two elements from the Bates or Watters chapters that allowed you to think deeper about your past or present teaching.

The history of the future of ed-tech. The refrain of this talk: new
technologies are easy to develop; new behaviors and new cultures are not.

Throughout my learning and teaching career in Jamaica, one of the methods to assess what students have learnt was through the administration of exams (internally – at the grade level and within the school; externally – within the region and island wide).  Multiple choice test items were always a part of the way exam papers were set up.  As a kid, I enjoyed doing them, but when I became a teacher I had mixed feelings about them.  I think that they do not allow points to be awarded to a child who has partial correct thoughts about a given question and as a result, made some students feel as if they were dumb when they realized the got the answer incorrect.

Watter spoke about the “machine to score intelligence,” which was developed by Sidney Pressey.  This machine was used to determine the eligibility to enlist individuals into the military.  From this machine the invention of multiple choice questions begun and teachers used their own modifications of this concept to test students on their level of intelligence.  A lot of my past colleagues argued that multiple choice testing was never a true reflection of the students’ capabilities, but it was the best way to manage their time in terms of “the amount of the time spent grading papers,” since they were marked by a machine.

As teachers, should we be concerned more about time spent on grading papers or should we be more focused on the concepts our students have learnt?  Yes, short answers and essays are indeed more time consuming in regards to grading. However, it gives a clearer picture of what each child understands, so that we can re-teach concepts if needed, know the strengths and weaknesses of each child, so that we can better prepare our lesson to cater to the needs of each individual within our classroom.

Reference 

Watters, A. (2014). The hidden history of ed-tech. In The monsters of
education technology (pp. 7-31). Vancouver, BC: Tony Bates Associates Ltd.
Retrieved from https://s3.amazonaws.com/audreywatters/the-monsters-ofeducation-technology.pdf#page=7