The information presented in this article is in itself presented in a trendy web fashion: the infographic. Although the audience is not specifically defined, I would argue that this infographic is not directed towards Ed-Tech professionals, learning technologists, or venturers. Anyone in these fields already has what brief knowledge is outlined in this document and would require deeper engagement. This infographic has been developed for the people who are removed from the educational-technology sphere, those who genuinely wonder, “So what is educational technology, anyways?” This may include the broader community of educators not necessarily tuned in to technology, administration, parents, or mature students.

The article is pleasing to the eye and easy to navigate, with information presented as generic quips and sweeping generalizations that are not specifically cited and often that fail to present the entire story. For one brief example, we learn that a MOOC from Stanford had 160,000 participants register from 190 countries. There is no mention of a completion rate, but it’s from Stanford so it must be good, right? Other information contradicts itself, as is the case under the topic of Free Education Resources, “Online Accredited Courses” has subtext reading may be subscription based (read: not free), although this caveat is not noted for the more general “Online Courses” and “DIY Degrees.”

This infographic could be dangerous for educational technology professionals as the information is so basic and brief that it could be misinterpreted by higher administration, department heads, or any other higher-level stakeholder. For example, the infographic culminates with a few predictions such as schools realizing they can “save big bucks by allowing students to use their personal devices in the classroom,” or “…ditch [traditional] textbooks in favour of less expensive e-books, which may attract more readers.” These two assertions, again not specifically cited, could put the proverbial bee in a bonnet of an stakeholder wishing to invest in (and therefore save money by) utilizing these trends. If this were to happen it could result in a massive headache for the ET department to straighten out.

Good morning!

I am wondering what the “first” day of the week is for this course – and by corollary, what day is the last day of the week, when our assignments will be due 🙂   In my previous experience this has sometimes been Monday and other times Sunday, so I didn’t want to make an assumption.

Thank you!

Nicola

Hello everybody! It’s nice to be starting Winter Term 1 with you.

My name is Nicola, and I am originally from northern B.C.. For the past three years (and since commencing MET) I lived in Haida Gwaii and worked as a librarian on reserve and an educational consultant. Projects included a variety of technology-supported educational ventures, including a mobile app for the local Aboriginal language revitalization initiatives, and an eSchool for adult learners.  I have been interested in ETEC522 since 2010 when I was first reviewing the courses MET had to offer, as I believe that the ability to successfully pitch and analyse pitches is an essential component of any educator’s skillset.

I took a break from the 2013 summer term in order to move to Quebec in order to pursue French as a second language.  For the 2013/2014 school year, I’m living about 90km northeast of Quebec City, in a small town called Baie-St-Paul where I am employed at an école secondaire as an English language monitor through a program funded by the Department of Canadian Heritage.  My new workplace has strong ET leadership and significantly innovative projects, including a recently completed, fully equipped CNC lab with an elective course for students to create their own snowboards from scratch; and an award winning, student-led television program.

This term, I am taking my eighth and ninth courses of MET, with my other course ETEC565M: Mobile Education. I have a variety of interests in the field of educational technology and it seems that with every course, I develop new interests to add to the list. Major themes through my MET courses to date have included technology applications for language acquisition, applications of 3D printing, and more recently, educational technology in defense/military settings. Wearable technology is one area that I currently know little about, but would be interested in delving into.