Category Archives: Class Discussion

Digital Story

Hi there,

Here is a link to my digital story for viewing. You can find my video reflection here. I’m sorry it’s late being posted. I didn’t realize people were linking them here as well. Also the embed function isn’t being reliable (though I fought to make sure everything worked on Moodle) so I’ll include links to the files on each subtitle.) This was intended to be a transmedia digital story, told over different forms of media with student participation at the end. It was supposed to be an introduction to the course.

Timmy’s Dilemma:

Commercial:

Created with Haiku Deck, presentation software that inspires

Sarah’s story:

What do you think? Will online learning work for you like it did for Timmy?

Cork Board

Late post on New Trends

I was interested in hearing exactly what the difference is between a MOOC and other OER, but Bates said “see Chapter 10”, and at this late juncture I don’t have time to go looking for it. I suppose a MOOC is designed as a complete course whereas and OER can be any little bit of learning applicable to several different course.

I found Bryan Alexander’s article quite interesting and hopeful, though I was expecting him to say that Health Care will become the biggest sector, not due to changes in government policy, but due to the unending pollution of our planet!

The future is Augmented!

One of the areas of most interest for me has to be the application of AR (augmented reality) to education. Unlike virtual reality (which requires and entirely digitally created environment) AR enhances the real world by adding an overlay of information to reality. Google Glass is perhaps the most well known example of an AR application, but Oakley created a similar product for skiers in 2012 and many car manufacturers are attempting to redefine dashboards in vehicles using AR applications.

With the sheer volume of mobile devices, app developers are taking advantage of built-in GPS and compasses to create applications that can interpret the needs of the user and provide suggestions about surroundings. Apps like YapQ can determine a users location and will narrate Wikipedia articles about historical landmarks that are nearby. The Smithsonian National Museum of Natural History (http://naturalhistory.si.edu) has developed an AR app that acts as a personal guide. As a visitor wanders through the gallery, sensors within the gallery trigger the application which in turn provides the visitor with information curated by the museum and other guests.

AR makes learning a personal experience – one that is determined by the learner. As education in the 21st century moves to being focused on the individual, AR is an exciting avenue for educators to explore when creating interactive lessons for students. Using apps like Aurasma (https://www.aurasma.com), teachers can embed content in to images within student worksheets. When students scan an ‘Aura’ the digital content created by there teacher is opened and presented to the student on their mobile device. For example, in a lesson on three dimensional forms a student might scan over a net for a cylinder and on his phone or tablet a fully formed cylinder may appear. This reinforces the learning for the student, making visible what was once difficult, if not impossible to see.

Bates, Alexander, and the Hewlett Packard people.

When I read that the report for K-12 sector was funded by Hewlett Packard, I was a little reluctant to be moved by the findings. We have something similar in BC in the Fraser Report on education. Look up a school by their name and find out how they rate against all the other schools in the province. The results for both studies are, to me, going to be skewed.

When I searched for, and read more about Bryan Alexander, it made sense that he couches his “vision” in story, as his PhD is in Romantic-era Fiction and Poetry. I think it was Jason that wrote, many of the elements mentioned are already in place, making it seem less likely a vision of the future.

The future of education through the eyes of Bates however, seems the most compelling. Bates inferentially acknowledges that in order for “higher” education institutions to retain their relevancy to the general public they need to be providers of some “knowledge” learners want. If the “medium” is MOOCs then those MOOCs will need to integrate technology in ways that strengthen the experience for students. The earlier chapters from Bates serve to give the reader (or creator of a course) tools to use for their future encounters with technology.

Will MOOCs be THE answer? I have yet to find a technological (or educational for that matter) panacea. However, I think that the thinking grounding Bates schema provides those who make use of them, a means to critically assess the strengths and weaknesses of any way of teaching.

Education will only be as good as the sum of its parts and that means individuals bringing their best to the situations they find themselves in. Education can only work when it is flexible, creative and inclusive. If technology works to make those things happen, then it should be used. My concern, as I look forward, is that we (older ones) would not limit the thinking and creativity of those who come after us. The loudest voices are not always the “correct” ones. How I see myself “shaping that landscape” is by providing opportunities for that plastic/elastic practice for the little visionaries that I hang with every day.

References

Alexander, B. (2014). Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the future. Educause Review, 4(5) Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-education-2024-glimpsing-future?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email+marketing&utm_campaign=EDUCAUSE

Alexander, B. (2016). Bio [webpage]. Retrieved from http://bryanalexander.org/bio/

Bates, T. (2014). MOOCs. In Teaching in digital age. Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/part/chapter-7-moocs/ (Chapter 5)

Fraser Institute. (2016). School performance: Elementary and secondary school rankings. Retrieved from https://www.fraserinstitute.org/school-performance

New Media Consortium. (2015). NMC Horizon Report 2015: Higher ed edition. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-HE-EN.pdf

Welcome, to the world of tomorrow!

Ever since I first heard about MOOCs a few years ago I have been fascinated by the concept of widely available and on-demand education. I find it really interesting that so many educators and educational technologists feel that MOOCs are going to be a big component of education in the future. Since I don’t spend much time in the classroom, I am definitely more curious about the technologies that are up and coming. The two that pique my interest are probably virtual/augmented reality and machine learning/artificial intelligence. The idea that students will be able to experience learning in a virtual environment is going to open so many doors for unique engagement opportunities. I definitely think that the level of understanding is going to increase with VR learning. Machine learning and AI are also going to make the learning process look vastly different than it appears today. I would not be surprised to see intelligent computer-based tutors and trainers within the next 10 years. While both of these technologies are amazing in their capabilities, they also foster a more individualized learning environment. So I hope that some form of social component is developed or a ground breaking tool is created to advocate the social aspect of learning. One thing that I worry about as an educational technologist is where we are actually going to fit in the structure of learning. It has been an interesting 15 years with the transition from basic computing and communicating to cloud-based platforms and hyper-connectedness. In another 10 years are roles like ours going to be needed for educational institutions once instructors are properly trained, teachers are employed who have grown up with advanced technology, and once systems become more user friendly and easily accessible. As a career choice I hope there will always be some aspect of technology that will outpace the comfort level of instructors and administrators.

This Ride is Going Faster and Faster

I was debating between the title I ended up using and a lyric from the Dusty Springfield song, “Windmills in your Mind.” Education Technology does feel like a spinning wheel (another one I could have used) that is consistently expanding with more spokes and gaining momentum. I think it’s partially the general state of how technology is evolving, but I that a huge part of it has to do with educators themselves. I think as educators we generally want to create a learning experience that is engaging and connects with our learners. As educators themselves become more engaged with technology I think it’s only natural for us to start to think about how these technologies can impact the learning experience. I know that was my first thought when I viewed a video about the Microsoft Hololense (n.d.)

That enthusiasm without measure is part of the problem. It’s really, really easy to be distracted by the new shiny technology on the block. That’s why I think the most valuable thing that we’ve done this entire semester was the become familiar with the SECTIONS model (Bates, 2014). Ultimately as educators we need to consistently remind ourselves to refocus on the purpose of the experience. I’ve even had to struggle with that during the creation of our final assignment for this course. I’ve run across an app called Anchor.FM which allows you to have recorded conversations that can be shared. I really like the format and I think it has some real merit for collecting experiences to use in class materials. When I think about the audience for online learning, which is really world wide, the possibilities of providing authentic real life examples that I could never get on my own. The problem is, I’m not sure that I should use it in the unit that I’m creating. To be honest, if I were creating the full course the technology fits other parts of the course better. That being said, I may do it anyway just so I can play with the shiny new technology.

When I was reviewing the assigned readings this week, I zeroed in on the NMC Horizon Report as I think it has a lot do to about answering the questions regarding the role of technology is playing and will play moving forward (2015). The truth is as I was reading the report, especially when I was reading the final section on anticipated time to adoption I found myself not getting excited about new technologies, but wondering how long ago this report was written. Far from being cutting edge I found that a lot of the technologies were already becoming mainstream. I was actually a bit disappointed as I reviewed the material, at least initially. As I’ve already mentioned the pace at which technology in general is sometimes astounding, so reflecting on it I can understand why some of the future technologies seem like they’re already here.

As for my vision I think there are a few levels where technology is going to impact education, but one area that really worries me is access from a couple of different angles. One in terms of those can afford to access the technology will benefit from it. It is especially evident with the rise in the BYOD scenario. I fear that those that are not able to access the devices will not be able to access the variety of free courses available online and even some parts of paid courses. It’s not just access to devices that is the issue. It’s also still, in some places, just a basic question of accessing the internet in general. In Canada we have prime examples with remote communities and rural areas where internet access is either expensive or second rate. My own parents live 20 minutes outside of Charlottetown, PEI and had dial-up access up until three or four years ago.

In terms of instructional design, I think many educators are excited by the variety of possibilities that technologies affords us in terms of types of activities and information delivery. As I’ve already expressed the pace of the development of technology is happening at a rate that I find hard to keep track of, and I really doubt that I’m alone in that. I think that hard part is that as educators we not only need to keep track of changes in technology that are intended to be used to education, but we also need to keep track of changes in technology that could be used for education. The difficulty is not only in keeping up with technologies but in assimilating it into a classroom environment.

I think that the final major trend that will be a change driver moving forward has to do with assessment. I’ve had a few conversations with people that I used to work with around assessment, specifically competency based assessment for workplace environments. It’s definitely one of the visions that exists for digital badging. I know that in this course we’re all familiar with using badges within a course environment, but there is definitely also a movement to use digital badging as a form of credentialing. Don Presant writes a blog called, “Littoraly Learning Across the Margins” that outlines the impact that digital credentials could potentially have (2016). Reading Don’s blog it is easy to see that the are many more complex uses for digital badging. I think it’s going to be interesting to see how this will tie into assessment for workplace certifications. Ultimately there could be huge impacts that create change across the current education and training industry.

As for where I see myself helping shape the landscape. I honestly don’t know what kind of impact I’ll personally be making. I find it hard to focus on just one aspect of technology that could be used for education, and perhaps that’s part of my problem, I can’t focus on just on part, but I seem to need to know a little bit about everything.

References:

Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in digital age http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/ (Chapter 8 on SECTIONS framework)

Microsoft HoloLens. (n.d.). Retrieved March 27, 2016, from https://www.microsoft.com/microsoft-hololens/en-us

New Media Consortium. (2015). NMC Horizon Report 2015: Higher ed edition. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-HE-EN.pdf

Presant, D. (2016). Littoraly. Retrieved March 27, 2016, from https://littoraly.wordpress.com/

Digital story

Sorry, I did not think to post here, and only posted in Connect.

Every year, I great dulled eyed students already dreading the memorization and work to be completed in the grade 10 science class. Truth be told, I teach a special branch of science, applied science, a more hands on approach to the traditional science. Yet often the students are placed in my class because they failed “traditional” science; so in short, I end up with people who are tired of science, who find it boring and have very little self confidence in the subject matter. While other teachers start the year running with the periodic table, I prefer to introduce the true nature of science to my students through a short mini lesson on anecdotes about science; what is currently going on, how science can save your life. Obviously the examples usually turn around the funny, the weird and the impossible, yet it renews their intrigue for science. The second class, students arrive smiling and have an ambition to learn.

Transferring my love of learning and of science to an online community is much more difficult than doing so in person. I wanted to come up with a way that I could still entertain the students and spark an interest. Seeing as I did not want to simply record the lesson, I wanted to place it into a funny context of mad science, inspired by a student stating that I would make an awesome mad scientist (I am not too sure if it was a compliment but I will take it that way). I did not want something cold or static; I wanted to create something that represented who I am. I also saw it fit to end the digital story with the poem that always adorns one of my class walls “Here’s to the Crazy ones”. It sums up beautiful what I want students to take away from my course and from the education system in general; anyone can change the world and that you do not need to fit into a box to succeed.

I created the video using a combination of Powtoon and PowerPoint to animate and embed the pictures. I also used capture. The main issue that I had while making the video was the audio. My apartment is currently situated between the elevator shaft and the ventilation system, needless to say my microphone picks up on the low rumble. I used audacity to reduce the background noise as best as I could.

I truly enjoyed creating thsi digital story I hope that you will enjoy watching it.

Thank you

Danielle

10 years from now?

I was very intrigued Alexander’s (2014). Although the scenarios provided are quite optimistic, I cannot help but question the relevance and validity of creating scenarios. Would a future scenario not be constrained by the knowledge and experience of the scenarist and his/her entourage? Therefore, higher education might consider that all students will have “taken between one and six wholly online course before starting college” (Alexander, 2014), yet without discussion in the K-12 educational circles, this assumption will not come to fruition and will limit, impede and even prevent the full implementation of the scenario. Such scenarios, if they do not consider the view points from all stakeholders, will, I fear, be doomed to failure as they will be either overly optimistic or pessimistic. Hopefully, the actual turn of events lies somewhere in the middle of these extremes.

A discrepancy between two velocities is plaguing the educational system; technology is evolving rapidly, whereas the implementation of technology in education seems at time dormant or overly-cautious. This discrepancy may be the result of timeframes; whereas a 10 year time frame may seem daunting, a shorter time frame, such as those presented in the Horizon report (New Media Consortium, 2015), might seem overwhelming both financially and technologically. The affordances and limitations of these timeframes might actually explain to a certain extent the overly-cautious attitude of the educational system.

I do not claim to have enough knowledge on the socio-economic factors that regulate behind the scenes the education system, and thus I have always refrained from making long-term predictions. In my experience, these types of predictions can lead to complacency from stakeholders without the proper know-how. The notions of “I will learn it only when it is necessary” and “why bother, it will simply go back to the way it was before”, were often the first line of defense used by teachers unwilling to try or to buy into a scenario. This underlies the importance that realistic and valid educational scenarios must be relevant to all; these scenarios should result from a common discourse, not from the select few.

So where do I see the system in ten years: still taking baby steps towards the proper integration of technology. From my personal experience in ten years of teaching from 2006-2016 I have seen the implementation of projectors and SMART Boards, the rise of Facebook and smart phones. Yet these are still not being used to their full affordances. We should focus on the technology we currently employ and take the time to critically analyse our situation and needs before jumping on the costly (time and money) bandwagon. The scenarios provided by Alexander (2014) do not necessarily consider the issues surrounding these changes or challenges, unlike the NMC Horizon Report s. I prefer the more pro-active approach to moving the system forward, one in which we look at our current situation and set an end goal, not a scenario. As we have a goal in mind, we can strive to reach that no matter what comes our way.

I quite honestly believe that many of the stakeholders in the field of education lack the technological knowledge and the time to critically assess and establish a valid and relevant 10 year plan. Until all stakeholders can actively and critically participate in the discourse, I fear that technology in education will still advance slower than expected. I would like to see myself helping inform the many stakeholders, providing them with the tools and knowledge to participate critically in the discussion that will shape the world of education. I believe, as educators we need to refocus our efforts, we need to lead technological change.

References:

Alexander, B. (2014). Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the future. Educause Review, 4(5) Retrieved from http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-education-2024-glimpsing-future?utm_source=Informz&utm_medium=Email+marketing&utm_campaign=EDUCAUSE

New Media Consortium. (2015). NMC Horizon Report 2015: Higher ed edition. Retrieved from http://cdn.nmc.org/media/2015-nmc-horizon-report-HE-EN.pdf

The Future of Professional Development

I really enjoyed Alexander’s “Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the Future” article. I found his scenarios both realistic and extreme (which is a very interesting combination). I think I felt this way because he incorporated technology that already exists but made it common place. For example most people having 3D printers. While this technology exists it is not yet economically feasible for the average person to utilize – hence both realistic and extreme.

In his Renaissance scenario, Alexander (2014) said,

“And professional development most often occurs remotely, including through social media, for reasons of cost (using the Internet is cheaper than traveling) and efficiency (people respond well to rich media in this 2024)”.

While this sentiment is simple, it would be a game changer in my industry. I cannot tell you how many conferences I would have loved to attend but couldn’t because of cost and timing. Being able to access international professional development content would expand the horizons of practitioners and create a global learning community. I recently read an article by Vescio et al. discussing the benefits of professional learning communities for both educators and students. Research has shown that student achievement increases when educators participate in PLCs (Vescio et al, 2008). I have noticed more and more resources being available online but have yet to experience a remote professional development conference. On the flip side, if professional development information is more widely accessible it calls into question whether or not you need dedicated professional development departments – which is of course a huge concern for me.

A trend I have noticed in my industry is professional development being advertised as a value add and client incentive. Our department is getting more and more requests to organize seminars for our clients. Not only are we sending people off-site, we are recording live seminars and posting them on a secure site for our clients to access. In the last few years there has been a push for more e-learning (which was one of the reasons I started the MET program). Our department, as it currently stands, does not have the resources to create online seminars at the rate our clients (both in-house and external) expect. I have openly said that our department needs to dedicate more personnel and resources towards online learning, but the legal industry is infamously slow to change. Perhaps technological advances will force our hand and require us to focus more on online content to stay competitive in the market.

References

Vescio, V., Ross, D., & Adams, A. (2008). A review of research on the impact of professional learning communities on teaching practice and student learning. Teaching and Teacher Education, 24(1), 80-91. http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2007.01.004

Looking into the Future

I thoroughly enjoyed reading the article by Alexander (2014) since it allowed for us readers to get a glimpse of what the future could look like in terms of technology. What struck an interest in me was when he mentioned the desire of residential institution leaders’ to blend their heritage with online resources. There is much debate over this as I learned when I took another MET course, ETEC 521: Indigeneity, Technology and Education. First Nations, Metis and the Inuit all look to their elders for their history, oral story telling and view them with the highest respect. What some elders aren’t so great with, is technology. They view technology as another tool that will diminish their culture and heritage. How can Indigenous cultures evolve with the times and incorporate technology without compromising who they are? This is a very good question. How can we be certain that what we view on the internet is legitimate and is coming from a reliable source? These can be setbacks, but I do believe that they will be overcome with time. Recording oral stories is one way that will allow all Indigenous cultures to save some history and can still be passed on from generation to generation.

What else will be seen in the year 2024? According to Alexander (2014), digital-storytelling will be seen in public and private spaces. We all had first had experience creating our own digital story within this course and we will definitely see more of this with the years to come. Instead of seeing billboards while walking down the street, we will see more digital and virtual boards popping up everywhere. Instead of paintings hanging on our wall, we will have digital stories hanging. Once I created my digital story using Videoscribe, I now have commercials coming from this company when I watch Youtube. Is this a coincidence? Perhaps. Digital stories can be used for so many things. I have a feeling Alexander (2014) is right.

From now looking into the future, it is up to us educators to adapt with the times and embrace the change. We should use technology in the class and make the most of it. Would I have liked to have grown up with technology such as our kids today do? The answer, no. I like seeing how technology has evolved since my time in elementary school and now can see first hand how it can affect the classroom, for the better.

Alexander, B. (2014). Higher education in 2014: Glimpsing the future. Educause Review, 4(5) Retrieved from: http://www.educause.edu/ero/article/higher-education-2024-glimpsing-future?