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Research and the 4 R’s

Looking at the role that technology plays into gathering research is enabling me to think of our blog in a different light. I have not had any experience with putting together a blog, however approaching it and looking at it as a tool to use to curate resources for future use is a great way to look at using it beyond it just being used as a blog.

Looking at finding a way to visualize or collect vocabulary as we come across new and unfamiliar words and concepts is another way to collect and curate information, ideas and concepts for future use. The collection of such ideas, terms and annotations will help us to collect and really focus in on what our areas of research are. In addition I like to ideas of using Twitter to make connections and curate future contacts that me use and draw from at a later time in our research journey.

We have reflected on the 4 R’s, which help us to think about how we view the research materials and how they influence how we think about the research itself.

In looking at the 4 R’s:

  • Research
  • Researcher
  • Researched
  • Reader

I think will be really helpful to review and break down the 4 R’s as we look more critically at our articles, especially when we compare them. It is helpful to look at domains of research, as well as think about questions that may arise.

It was very helpful to see if in the first few research articles that we read for class to see that the researches were really able to break down the methods used, clearly state the purpose and identify the guiding questions, especially with being new to research methodology.

In addition the discussion on the literature review was equally valuable and helpful when thinking about what the purpose, means and implications for the research itself are, which are not always as clearly stated. Being new to this process, this was helpful to review.  It was also helpful to think about how we can apply these ideas to our own research projects, and not read into the research articles as literally as we sometimes do. I struggle with this at times as I feel that I am sometimes reading in between the lines with academic writing, trying to decipher what the underlying points are being made.

Jennifer spoke to our class about doing the background research and looking at finding out more about the researcher themselves, what their biographical and academic profile looks like as well as what other publications they may have. In looking at the background information, you can determine a lot more about the purpose or motives of the researcher. It is something that I have not ever really had to do in my academic experiences and yet it makes perfect sense. I look forward to doing more of the background searching and am thinking about the connections and implications that can be made about the researchers, especially in the areas that I am most passionate about, those being Educational Technology and Literacy, Aboriginal and Special Education.

July 9th, G.V. Reflection

https://www.veletsianos.com/

Looking at ways to engage with and use data to steer educational technology can allow us to make a great deal of inferences about our students as well as ask meaningful questions to drive our practices. We ask these questions to inform and make teaching and learning better.

The talk from George Veletsianos this week shed a great deal of light on the process of  using analytics to question and critique what online learning should look like and how we can use this data to interpret the needs of online learners to better serve our online community.

The learning management systems and learning platforms are designed to collect and gather data about students learning and from this information we can learn a lot about the needs of our learners as well as the accessibility points. This discussion was eye opening, as I had not realized the amount of information these systems collected. Although provided great  insight, I appreciated that the point was highlighted about making a human connection. The personal conference and ability to connect with a professor or fellow colleague is still far more meaningful and gives the educator a far better idea of how to best support the needs of the learner, rather than simply interpreting the data from the learning management system.

The concept of online learning and focus of flexibility and accessibility lend itself to a multitude of questions, as we think about and make assumptions about the neutrality of flexibility. This idea of “anytime, anyplace”, makes learning less rigid, more accessible, is more student centered, allows for more choice and often allow students to engage in material that is more relevant.

I appreciate that the concept is to create a more flexible learning environment where barriers are limited, however as was discussed there are other challenges presented that can account for other structural inequalities. I can attest to this where in previous online courses that I have taken the majority is self-paced and the material and options for assignments are heavily structured. While the flexibility is appreciated, online learning requires the learner to have the intrinsic motivation to stay on task and follow the flow of the course.

Digital Sleuthing

https://www.wired.com/story/shadow-politics-meet-the-digital-sleuth-exposing-fake-news/

This article by Jonathan Albright’s research I found interesting on the concept of digital sleuthing to expose fake news.

It also made me reflect on the efforts being made in my district to bring about more awareness on navigating the digital world. We recently brought a presenter the White Hatter, to Prince Rupert to speak to students about the fundamentals of traversing the internet safely. The emphasis is placed on understanding the realities of technology, such as concepts of privacy, security, positive opportunities, consequences of inappropriate behavior and cyberbullying. Students in grades 4 and 5 participated, as well parents were provided evening sessions. It was very well received in our district and increased overall confidence in how to use their technology safely. I would highly recommend it for anyone looking for something like this in their district.

https://www.thewhitehatter.ca/

Reflections from July 8th

The concept of digital citizenship and the effects of technology and social media with students made me reflect a lot on my own practice. How do we prepare our students to use the internet and social media sources safely? What does that preparation look like? Will that learning transfer from home to school? I feel that often the focus is primarily on the task at hand, and not looking at what it might look like for students that have had very little exposure with technology, or how to use it in a way that is both positive and meaningful. I have already in my short time at my current elementary school, contacted our tech support to assist me with adjusting safety settings for the google search engine. After several sessions with the public health nurse and sexual health educator, I was quite surprised to see what kinds of images students could access with supervised time in our computer labs. Enquiring minds wanted to know… far more than we were prepared to share!

The example Dr. Couros used of soft vs. hard technology- where students have used their cell phones for example to take pictures of their class notes stuck out for me. I have previously been open to students taking pictures of notes we have collected, especially when I taught at the middle and high school level. I have to question the practicality and wonder how effective this is? What seems like a practical solution to students with written output learning disabilities is not a one size fits all use of technology, especially if we consider how many students are reflecting back. Still I appreciate some of the useful options of allowing students to bring their cell phones to school, especially when it comes to very specific and useful applications. A scientific calculator application for your cell phone makes specific math courses more accessible versus having to purchase a scientific calculator.

Lastly, the comment that was made, “If you can google it, why teach it?” makes me wonder if we may in fact loose the concept of curiosity. If you can easily google the answer for pretty much anything, are you left to be curious and have wonder about anything? I’d like to think so, however now seeking that answer may be as easy as the click of your finger. The journey to get from point A to point B is much shorter. Will this discourage learners to think more critically and independently about their own ideas? Hinder their ability to question and be curious?

MLTS Reflections

MLTS- Reflections on this documentary

This documentary, Most Likely To Succeed, found at http://teddintersmith.com/mltsfilm/ made me think critically about our current state of education in my local school district. We have a strong focus on using ADST and STEM to support more project based learning opportunities for our students, which shows a positive shift in thinking from the historical model of education. This former model  that embodied solely a system of acquiring information without critically thinking. The documentary focused on looking critically at the current skills required for today’s learner.

In today’s world, content knowledge is everywhere and can be so easily accessed on the internet, so the emphasis needs to be placed on creativity and innovation. We need to think about how we can better cultivate the learning environment to support our leaners to become independent, innovative and confident thinkers. Creativity needs to be celebrated where failure simply becomes part of the natural learning process.

As the documentary discusses the acquired skills required from today’s learners are not so much cognitive skills, rather more about teaching the skills to productively use this body of knowledge taught.

Project based learning lends itself to encouraging students to think more critically about their own learning process, how they best learn, what they personally need to be successful and focuses more on the journey taken to get from point A to point B, rather than just the completion of a finished project.

Our school district has focused a lot this year on ADST and various project based learning initiatives from a district wide bridge building contest to Sphero Olympics to school wide cardboard day challenges to as well as season themed stem challenges. It is definitely a step in the right direction and supports the idea of focusing on the following skill sets:

  • Teamwork skills
  • Collaboration
  • Creativity
  • Logical thinking
  • Critical thinking
  • Self-awareness
  • Self-reflection
  • Empathy
  • Feedback

In thinking about this I am curious as to what the next steps will be? After reviewing multiple data sources to reflect on and further develop our school improvement plan , it is evident that problem solving and problem based learning still needs a lot of work. We did a core competency survey and found at our school that many students have difficulty with problem solving skills, yet enjoy making and building things. This is definitely a positive direction to continue on, but I believe a lot of the difficutlies we see with problem solving and project based learning have to do with the fact that our students are not yet as resilient as we would like to see them. This concept of growth mindset is essential to student success but is not something that will happen overnight. Fear of failure and fear of looking different from others is something that we grapple with. In teaching and instilling creativity, we too need to challenge our students to take risks, not be afraid to fail and recognize that trial and error is part of project based learning, but it is not something that will happen overnight and historically is not something that has been supported.

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