Category Archives: Class Discussion

Unified Edtech

I remember when I first joined MET in one of my first courses I read “MindStorm” (Papert, 1980). I was shocked when I knew how old this book is and how futuristic Papert was! It is very sad how slow the educational system adapts technology. Until today a few schools teach code to their students as a mandatory subject. Even though programming means: project-based learning, applied math, creativity, and lifelong learning skills.

My vision to the future is a unified edtch. Students will master writing code and different programmable products both hardware and software will emerge. Learners will be building learning as they learn. Web 2.0 will become Web 0. which means that people or young people or learners are capable of building environments from scratch “Zero” and make their own rules for their environments. We can see that in trends today such as the dark web. Why unified. Because if we look at the telecom industry it is now in the unified communication era. Which means that all products software and hardware talk together. We also saw that recently with gaming when Xbox now connects with PS4. This force coming from the end-users requesting more open communication pushes competitors to work together on a common base to connect their solutions and respond to the end-user requests. So Unified edtech means that any piece of software or hardware connects together in a way. The future is people becoming producers all over again as they were once planting the earth and eating from their own farms. Yet now its technology as the seed

Papert, S. (1980). Mindstorms: Children, computers, and powerful ideas. New York: Basic Books.

Shaping Futuristic Thinking

Futuristic topics are highly challenging to consider, weigh, and assess. The authors of these types of writings typically work to expose how the patterns of predecessor tools and trends will inform the tools and trends of the future. Deeply woven into this issue are the social and cultural implications of these innovations to the places in which they are being developed, along with the growing disparities between western technologies and their applications when compared to rural and underdeveloped parts of the world such as Asia or Africa. Even though the readings from this week all pertained to the future of higher education settings (which I don’t plan to be a part of for some time after graduating this spring), they still spark a number of questions:

  • Which trends or predictions have the potential to stick?
  • Can maker education fit in outside of the science (I.e in the arts) in higher education?
  • Is ten years enough to close the massive gap that still exists in creating blended learning models in educational settings, higher ed or otherwise?
  • Do MOOCs represent the open-ended and personalized spirit of learning that Alexander (2014) alludes to in higher education institutions of the future?
  • Does professional development need to become more self-directed and personalized like Alexander’s (2014) discussion of our future students? Should instructors all have access to PD mentors as students would have academic mentors for personalization?
  • Can these writings in and of themselves work to shape the future –  do they plant ideas – for people who are exposed to them, spurring them into action?

MOOCs have always been a strange and unexplored aspect of the online world for me. I was always immersed in social media collaboration and networking with other educators; I never struck out to pursue learning in these seemingly more formal settings. To be honest, I always assumed that the schools that offered them actually utilized them in admissions and crediting processes so I was disappointed to read that this is not the case (Bates, 2014). Upon reading further, it seems that the structure of the courses is indeed there, but they frequently lack the support and feedback that is indicative of a tuition-paid university course.

ETEC 565A in particular has had me focus increasingly on online learning and pedagogical designs and how they differ from in-person or blended approaches. When considering the speed at which education is taking up these initiatives (hint: it feels much more slow than these readings suggest), I especially notice the social and political aspects that are holding us back. Alexander (2014) mentions the “decline of tenure,” for example, MOOCs suggest an openness that provides access to high-class educational content with nominal fees, yet we see instructors continuing to fight for these securities and institutions continuing to fight for standardization and control in educational systems. This occurs not just with universities, but in government too. Yet, even in programs like MET that are somewhat standardized, we all seem to hold a different degree depending on our experiences in the program: no two students are going to experience it in the same way as the other.

I believe that a major reason that educational social pressure against personalization and digital solutions is because the teacher/instructor/school has always been the source of information. Since we are no longer, it has disrupted traditional teaching and learning and has trickled down into the social and political hierarchies that be. For me, it is Bates (2014) who hits the nail on the head when we consider these issues: “What is needed is information management: how to identify the knowledge you need, how to evaluate it, how to apply it” (Bates, 2014, 5.6.3). We need to reevaluate the knowledge students might need from us as instructors and how we provide access and organization of that knowledge so that they can apply it. The consistent answer that I’ve seen is that this should come in the form of support, feedback, and guidance, with increased onus on the learner rather than the instructor.

 

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

Where is education going?

The New Media Consortium’s report identified to long-term trends in education:

  1. flexible, innovative learning environments, and
  2. increased collaboration between higher education institutions (2015, p.1).

In my personal experience, I can attest to the increasing collaboration amongst higher education institutions. As a frequent attendee of the Educational Technology User’s Group (ETUG) which is funded by BC Ministry of Advanced Education and supported by BCcampus, I have noticed people are making connections. This collaboration is occurring organically, without any formal agenda or mandates. I think when it comes down to it, people really do like to share and cooperate. I can appreciate the value of “adopting a human-centric approach to education” (New Media Consortium, 2015, p.9), and I’ve heard that discourse within the ETUG community.

As far as flexible, innovative learning environments, this is proving to be more challenging. I think there is only so much flexibility within the constraints of an LMS, and privacy concerns, and the need to track student data. Personally, in the courses I have worked on, I have not seen any personalized learning, other than questions an instructor, or facilitator may pose, or if they are brining in current “real world” examples. Again, this is primarily instructor driven, not embedded into the course design. I think there is great opportunities to develop personalized learning. I am “wowed” by the idea of personalized learning because I think that is one way to making learning more engaging and meaningful for students. I watched an interview with Dr. John Medina, the author of Brain Rules, who said that children (and adults) learn best when they are interested in a subject. I love the idea of students being able to select a topic to explore and personalize their learning experiences in that way as well.

The NMC Horizon Report 2015: Higher ed edition., refers to the print industry’s successful transition in the “in the past decade from print to digital to keep pace with the rapidly changing technology landscape” (2015,p.8). One concern I have with that transition, is that many publishers are now in the business of creating companion educational resources, and companion educational sites, which are basically online courses, in to which institutions can “plug -in” their instructors, and students. (See Jones & Bartlett Navigate 2. ) These training resources, while not open like MOOCs are (for the most part) as there is a cost associated with access, still have some similar issues when it comes to learning which requires critical thought. Another similarity is due to the “importance of instructor presence for successful for-credit online learning (Bates, 2104). In the publisher created courses, the instructor presence is very structured, and sometimes may require the use of an LMS to increase and improve the opportunities for instructors to interact with students. And when it comes right down to it, my biggest concern with MOOCs and publisher resources, is the risk of them facilitating the “diploma mills” concept.

Click on image to see an example of an Edx Honour Code Certificate which can be displayed in LinkedIn.

Click on image to see an example of an Edx Honour Code Certificate which can be displayed in LinkedIn.

I have registered in several MOOCs and I h ave completed only one. I am impressed with the “free” access to knowledge. Of course, as pointed out by Bates (2014)  there is still some room for improving the digital divide, and other practical concerns in order to truly democratized education. As Bates mentions, MOOCs are still relatively new, but I do think as the world becomes globalized, MOOC’s will play a role. If not in through educational credits (immediately) , then at least in a way to increase work opportunities for individuals. For example LinkedIn, not only allows users to display certificates of completion through Lynda.com, but ones for Edx courses as well. Students who complete and Edx course do not have to purchase a certificate, in order to display the certificate in LinkedIn. I think this is a great way for individuals to engage and demonstrate engagement in life-long learning and well as blending the trend of formal and informal learning (New Media Consortium, 2015, p.22).

 

 

References

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

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

Digital Story

The target audience for my digital story includes parents of children with FASD, teachers, social workers and other professionals who support individuals with FASD,  and individuals with FASD. Initially, I wanted to present my digital story in an interactive timeline format, because the goal was to show how the FASD diagnostic process requires many specialists and steps. After looking at a number of timeline tools, I found that they were too linear, or too restrictive in other ways that did not allow me to show the “big picture” well. The “big picture” and interrelationships are an important components of understanding the assessment and diagnostic process. I considered using PowToons, but again, that was something that learners sit back and listen at a set pace.

I ended up creating an infographic using Canva, and adding the other digital media in using Thinglink. I used some graphics which are included in Canva, and the rest I’ve cited the sources and Creative Commons information. I like that learners can read the main text content, see visuals, but also explore and access more information, in an organic manner, and at their own pace. I thought that worked well with the content and audience for the digital story.

As far as content wanted to include some personal stories, balanced with expert advice so that the subject is examined from a wider perspective. I like the story-telling part as that really makes the facts, and information about FASD really understandable.

The only thing to know is that when a ThingLink graphic is embedded onto a WordPress or an HTML page, the user needs to scroll over the image to see the target interactive links on the image. But for some reason I could not embed the link to this WordPress post, so here is the link.

Digital Case Study of Pediatric Oral Care

I could not embed my video directly because the file size was too big.

So here is my link.

Tanya’s Digital Story

This is a fictional case study based on an actual oral-health emergency treated by one of our course authors (a Pedodontist). Normally, we present this case study in written form to our course participants. I made some changes to it and created a digital story in the hopes that it would bring the story to life a bit and put real faces to a significant health problem in our society – the lack of access to dental care.

Here is the link to my Digital Story video reflection.

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Here is my Assignment #3 Reflection:

For my Oral-Systemic Health course for Family Medicine residents, I decided to start with a Pediatric module (taught over 2 weeks) because pediatric oral conditions are a common issue faced by family physicians. Our authors had a few text-based case studies on this topic, but I found them to be a little flat; so, the idea of creating a digital case study intrigued me.

In Week 11 of our course, when choosing multimedia, we are asked to question: “What will this add to the learner experience”? (UBC, 2016, para. 4) Indeed, Siemens (2003) cautions that although many media formats are available, it is important to select something that will present the learning materials effectively and thus achieve the learning objectives. So, I had to consider, what will my learners be asked to do? The answer was simple: Use the course content to improve the health of their patients. Would a digital case study help them do this? Well, according to Alexander (2014), stories, unlike raw data or reports, “will have a far greater likelihood of emotional connection” (p. 92). I wanted a multimedia experience to help make the case study come up off the page and so increase the chance of having a real emotional impact.

Viewing a digital story may at first seem like a passive learning experience, but according to Nel, Dreyer and Carstens (2010), active learning happens when students are engaged with the content and can tie in their own life experiences to the material. I am hoping that this human-interest story is engaging and will challenge students to think of their own practice environment and whether or not they may have passed up opportunities to help patients like Mati (the girl in my story). If so, they would now have an engaging reason to learn about oral health, so that more children like Mati don’t fall through the cracks.

I considered several presentation technologies, including GoAnimate, PowToon, and Prezi. I decided against PowToon. Firstly, I had used it before and wanted to learn something new. The ISTE Standards – Teachers (2008) encourages educators to “design and develop digital-age learning experiences” (p. 1); if I was going to learn how to do that, I would need to increase my repertoire of digital-software tools. The second reason for rejecting PowToon, was a design choice: I found the built-in pacing a little too flamboyant my purposes of discussing a serious medical case. I’ve always wanted to try GoAnimate, but its cartoonish quality wouldn’t have set the tone that I wanted, either.

I have been curious about whiteboard presentation software, so I narrowed my choice to Prezi or VideoScribe. I had never used either, but I found that the constant movement of the Prezi videos made me a bit nauseous and lent too casual a feel to the learning environment. So, I went with Video Scribe which enabled more of a story-board feel but with the teaching-presence (Garrison, Anderson & Archer, 1999) quality of a whiteboard presentation.

As I said in my discussion forum post, I ended up not liking the software. Despite having an excellent computer with a high-speed Ethernet connection, the software still froze frequently. Very few default settings could be changed, so everything had to be set manually. Publishing was very time consuming and had to be restarted many times due to website connection error, and in the end, I ended up with a huge file that could not be embedded within Moodle.

In choosing technology, I did not expect the Bates’ (2014) factors of ‘Ease of Use’ and ‘Costs’ to be an issue, but they were. I did not realize that VideoScribe was free to UBC students, so I ended up paying for a subscription. The cost of technology is actually one of factors prohibiting me from exploring new media. Most products come with free introductory subscriptions, but time provided is rarely enough to really work with the software. Consequently, the other cost factor – ‘Time’ comes into play, as does the ‘Ease of Use’ factor. Most of these technologies are easy for the learners but require a lot of instructor time.

This experience has taught me that even one piece of multimedia can lend a lot of quality to a course. Coates, James, and Baldwin (2005) point out that: “It is not the provision of features, but their uptake and use that really determines their education value” (p. 26). If one digital resource increases student engagement either intellectually or emotionally, then it adds value and becomes a purposeful learning activity.

I created my learning units in Articulate, a SCORM package with FLASH media. These units, originally created for another audience, in another platform, were modified to suit this course. I do agree with Boyes, Dowie and Rumzan (2005) when they state that many students enjoy media-intensive learning environments. Our department chose this technology precisely because we liked its dynamic appeal. Boyes, Dowie and Rumzan go on to praise FLASH technologies for “expand[ing] teaching options so that teachers are able to accommodate different student preferences” (p. 1). This technology can satisfy students who prefer to learn via text or audio and can also accommodate plenty of images, animation, and video for visual learners.

Many people when they think of dynamic, interactive learning only think of interaction between people, however, I really do appreciate the fact that Bates (2014) speaks of the importance of student interaction with the learning materials themselves. Creating quality learning resources can create “intense student interaction with learning resources [which] increases the time students spend on learning, which”, as Bates describes, “tends to lead to increased learning” (p. 288). Once students have worked through the content modules, they will still have a chance to negotiate their own meaning (Nel, Dryer, & Carstens, 2010) and find opportunities to integrate oral health into their practices through group discussions with others in the same type of practice environment as themselves.

 

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

Bates, T. (2014). Teaching in a digital age. (Chapter 8). Retrieved from http://opentextbc.ca/teachinginadigitalage/

Boyes, J., Dowie, S., & Rumzan, I. (2005). Using the SECTIONS framework to evaluate flash media. Innovate Journal of Online Education, 2(1). Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.186.6505&rep=rep1&type=pdf

Coates, H., James, R., & Baldwin, G. (2005). A critical examination of the effects of Learning Management Systems on university teaching and learning. Tertiary Education and Management, 11(1), 19-36. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11233-004-3567-9

Garrison, D. R., Anderson, T., & Archer, W. (1999). Critical inquiry in a text-based environment: Computer conferencing in higher education. The Internet and Higher Education, 2(2-3), 87-105. Retrieved from http://www.anitacrawley.net/Articles/GarrisonAndersonArcher2000.pdf

International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE). (2008). Standards for teachers. Retrieved from http://www.iste.org/standards/standards-for-teachers

Nel, C., Dreyer, C., & Carstens, W. A. M. (2010). Educational technologies: A classification and evaluation. Tydskrif vir letterkunde, 35(4), 238-258. Retrieved from http://www.ajol.info/index.php/tvl/article/download/53794/42346

Siemens, G. (2003). Evaluating media characteristics: Using multimedia to achieve learning outcomes. Elearnspace. Retrieved from http://www.elearnspace.org/Articles/mediacharacteristics.htm

University of British Columbia. (2016). ETEC565A-65A: New Learning Space: Week 11: Multimedia. Retrieved from https://blogs.ubc.ca/ldash2015/lessons/week-11/

Digital Story

The link to my DS is YouTube Preview Image

I have made the digital story to support the theme of the LMS created for this term project. There are many ways to tell a story.

There are many reasons why stories are used.

In one sense a story is a journey that engages for the purpose of conveying some form of message.

It made the most sense to me to use this digital story opportunity to focus on:

  • the audience for this course – who were they? what would their main concerns be?
  • state a problem they may be experiencing – ‘doesn’t it make you crazy when . . . ‘
  • inform of some kind of solution or expertise,
  • clearly show the benefits of that solution,
  • invoke some kind of action from them – sign up now or act now

I wanted to keep it short. Most people don’t have time for epics, no matter how creative they are.

I wanted to keep it on topic. Keeping the content focused will help the viewer be convinced that the content is useful (or not) for them.

I also wanted it to be succinct. Conveying the essentials is both bait and net.  In this case, it communicates the message that, “You could have more of these helpful tidbits if you signed up for this course.”

To create this digital story I used the tool PowToon. I have never used anything like PowToon. Creating a “storyline” with animations, music, pictures, and text is very complicated. The more streamlined it looks, the more effort went into the product. Timing the text and movements of the characters is a trial and error process. Choosing music that doesn’t detract from the overall theme is time consuming. Selecting size of image or word that won’t over-power or weaken the message is daunting. Having the list from Mayer’s (2009) that was in the Bates (2014) article was very helpful to refer to.

I can see how having a team would enrich the content/message. I can also see how this type of tool can capture what scores of pages of text could not. I would like to see where else this would/could be effective. I would like to try other tools, to determine the effectiveness of the features that accompany them.

 

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

Mayer, R. E. (2009). Multimedia learning (2nd ed). New York: Cambridge University Press.

 

Wanted: Simple video editor

For my photo story, I am recounting, in French with English subtitles, a story of an epiphany I had while learning French a long time ago. This story goes well with my course about the French language, that is being taught in English.

I learned how to edit film the old-fashioned way at Ryerson University in 1997. I had filmed a silent B&W 8 MM movie, and used a viewfinder, and would edit by literally cutting out frames I didn’t want and then scotch taping together two clips after one had been taken out. For younger colleagues, you probably can’t even imagine this process, physical pieces of film hanging at the side with the editor at a viewfinder literally cutting and taping.

During the same education program, I learned where editing was going by learning Adobe Premier and Avid. A few years later I would use iMovie on my Mac. Today’s iMovie is nothing like that version that I used, and kept when newer versions came out until something overrode it and I couldn’t keep it any longer in a later OS. Maybe I’m a luddite, but I really miss having a linear timeline, where I could drop in layers of audio, stills, or video files, and be able to trim them in and out by dragging the length of the clip through time. I’ve spent the last couple of days looking for such software based on Yurkiw and Bates’ recommendations of media selection. I just downloaded an open source editor called Natron. At first my Mac wouldn’t let me open it because it’s not official and from the app store. Finally I overrode it, but it isn’t the simple timeline format I was seeking.

Basically, I have all my audio and video files in place. I’ve considered using iMovie and Explain Everything!, but grew frustrated at their limitations. iMovie doesn’t seem to let me build my movie from audio outward, that is, starting with my recording and then adding images. The audio clip gets cut to whatever length of images are there. E.E. won’t let me use pre-recorded audio, as far as I can tell.

It’s a bit crazy to think that, now, about a month from getting a Master’s degree in Education Technology, that I still find computers extremely frustrating at times. When under time pressure, with an idea of an end result but not knowing how to get there, computers can still cause a lot of consternation.

Copyright and Digital Citizens in this Day and Age

     I saw firsthand just how important it is to monitor your digital footprint. When I was completing my teaching practicum with a grade 7 class, we were in the computer lab where I saw a few students on facebook. I asked if they were supposed to be on that site and they said no, but were trying to search my name up! I was petrified at the thought of them finding me and looking at pictures and posts that I created over the past years. I immediately changed my name on this site and made sure that my privacy setting was set high so it would be impossible for students to search my name. It really opened up my eyes and ever since this incident, I am more aware of my actions and extremely careful on what I post.

     I think it is very important for us educators to promote responsible digital citizens and to be aware of your digital footprint. Just a few months ago I introduced my class on how to be responsible digital citizens. I mentioned this in a previous discussion post and will briefly mention it here. I showed the class a padlock, permanent pen, toothpaste and a bar of soap. The padlock represents the need for a strong password for different sites, the permanent pen represents everything you put online is there forever, the toothpaste represents once you put information out there it is hard to get back in and the bar of soap means to keep your search results and text clean. I believe the students have a better understanding now. With this day and age, all my students are on Instagram and have Snap Chat and they need to make sure they are following the rules on how to be responsible digital citizens.

     What I don’t think most teenagers know is the privacy policy of Snapchat. According to Hernandez (2016), “Your content might be shared to a wider audience.” Snapchat has the right, under their privacy policy, to share your pictures or videos to other users without you being fully aware. This makes sense. I sometimes get updates from Snapchat asking me to watch a video of a crazy storm hitting Texas (uploaded by users) or to watch a mash-up video of posts from people around the world at a sports match. Do these people know that their video whom they sent to their friends are now being viewed by millions of people around the world? What about taking a screen shot of a picture that supposedly will self destruct once viewed? Do teenagers know that friends can take a picture of the picture being sent? I don’t think they know the ramifications of their actions. It’s important to educate our students on being responsible digital citizens, this will allow them to think twice before they post or send something over the internet. I tell my students that what you post now at your age, can haunt you down the road when you are applying for jobs as most companies now will search your name on the internet. Even if you write something as a teenager that you are not proud of later down the road, it still can affect you as an adult and your career.

     One thing that I need to be more aware of and to teach my students is the use of copyright. It’s one thing to cite sources in the information they use for reports, but it’s another to give credit for an image they may use found on the internet.

Hernandez, 2016. Oh, snap! Here’s six sneaky Snapchat secrets you might not have heard. Retrieved from: http://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/2016/02/02/oh-snap-heres-six-sneaky-snapchat-secrets-you-might-not-have-heard-of/

The price of tattoo removal

I have proudly and fastidiously been monitoring my digital footprint since 2012. I had heard of digital footprints before this, but an important moment was at a session that I attended at the 21st Century Learning Conference. The session leader had ‘googled’ all participants solely based on the email address that they had provided to the conference. She began the session by playing a video of snippets of what she found out about us. It was eye-opening! (Though I was lucky, even at that point, to have a secure and professional online appearance.)

Since then, I am aware of privacy setting within apps and web 2.0 tools I use, and I Google myself once a month.
I know that many people prefer to have dual accounts as teachers. One for their personal life and one for their professional life but I am not in the habit of doubling up on all accounts (too many passwords to remember!), so I use one account only and consciously post knowing the various audiences that may view my posts.
Since I am currently teaching Grade 2, there is not too much talk of digital footprint yet. Students usually have adult (teacher and parent) created accounts to educational websites rather than self-subscribed. The focus is more on cybersafety and cyberbullying.
When I was teaching middle school, previously, for the past four years, digital footprints were relevant. I like the UBC Digital Tattoo resources and the metaphor of online activity as permanent as a tattoo. In the future, if I am teaching older students again, I hope to use the UBC resources.

UBC Digital tattoo. Retrieved from http://digitaltattoo.ubc.ca/?login