Introduction and Initial Thoughts

This task was completed on Thursday July 21st, 2022, my reflections were completed the next day. I chose to do this as I had an eventful day in terms of leaving the house and actually going to an appointment. Most days during my summer vacation are spent at home, reading, watching television, talking to friends and completing school related assignments. As I was looking back on my day, I did find it quite difficult to think about my attention and its patterns when it comes to what areas I was focusing on. I did however find it easier to actually reflect on what I was focusing my attention on and whether or not that attention was focused or not (i.e., was I multitasking or not?). I made a conscious effort to stop after each focused activity to reflect on my attention. This would not have been possible if I was working as working as an elementary school teacher barely gives me time to take my full lunch break let alone stop and think about what I was focusing on. With the use of charts and records I will give an overview of the things that my attention was spent on for 12 hours.

Many times, throughout the day I would sometimes forget for a short period of time to sit back and reflect on my attention and thoughts each hour. Citton states that, “Paying attention is a genuine activity – preceding any form of subsequent action: it implies weaving together observations and gestures while respecting the correct level of tension for maintaining tenable relations with our milieu” (Citton, 2017, p. 23). After a couple of hours of struggling to remember and genuinely thinking about where my attention lied, I utilized the alarm application on my phone to specifically remind me for the rest of the day to stop and check in. I kept a log in my notebook of the timeline of the day and my thoughts and then digitized them afterwards. In the beginning of the assignment, I found it quite tedious to actually think about what I was thinking about and what I was paying attention to, especially when it came to driving. Both times when I drove to Starbucks and when I drove to the dog groomer my mind was occupied. When I drove to Starbucks, I typically listen to music and enjoy the drive whereas when I am driving with my dog in the car, I am typically extremely anxious, worried about him and where he is in the car (he does not like being in the back-seat), and worried about staying safe on the road. It is harder to pin-point what I was focusing on and giving my attention to and that point as all I really wanted to do was get from my home to the groomers safely. What was also interesting to note is that much of my time was spent focusing on this assignment and my attention was centred around when and where should I stop to take notes and record for this assignment. In the article by de Castell and Jenson, they state that each and every one of us, “owns and controls a full economic share of her or his own attention” but this assignment did have a large amount of control over my attention which would not be the case for a regular day (2004, p.381).

My Day and Thoughts on My Attentional Energy

I will first take time to go over the data that I collected and also how I viewed the information in thinking about where my attention has focused on throughout the day. Most of my days, on summer break from teaching, are spent interacting with my dog and my family but on this particular weekday, no one was home for the majority of the day as they were at work outside of the home. My morning wake-up time is structured based on when my dog eats breakfast and so my alarm (on my phone) is pre-set to reflect that time. The first thing I always do when I wake up is take my dog outside and my attention is focused on making sure he is able to relieve himself and feed him the correct amount of food that is measured by his measuring spoons. While my dog eats and spends time outside, I check into Twitter and Instagram to get “caught up” on any news or entertainment I missed during my sleep time. I also check emails and text messages that I try to respond to as well. A lot of my day is centred around my dog and ensuring his health and well-being but during the summer months, I am also able to focus my attention to myself and on my own self-care and driving to get a coffee is part of that routine. When I think about the things that take the most attention from me, it would be:
• Myself and My needs
• My Dog and His needs
• Technology
• Inside/Home Environment
• Outside/ Outside of Home Environment

My Attentional Records Pie Chart refers to the percentage of how many times these above-mentioned categories took up my attention.

As a natural process, I was also able to record my feelings and emotions throughout the day, especially during the point of an attention-grabbing moment. My Emotions Chart shows the percentages of each given emotion throughout the 12-hour timespan. In thinking about these feelings, I have noticed that a good part of my day, especially when being outside the home and interacting with others, leads to sometimes feeling annoyed or frustrated but also often times happy. On this particular day there were minimal feelings of sadness, except those brought on by watching a dramatic television show.

Analysis of My Results and Thoughts on Attention and Education

During my day of reflection, the day after recording where my attention lay, I had some insights regarding attention and how attention is allocated, particularly in schools, and particularly with students in a classroom. De Castell and Jenson state that, “Today, attention in schools is altered by political and technological conditions that have disrupted the traditional distribution of ‘‘information,’’ and thereby knowledge, where — at least in schools — the role of the teacher has been central” (2004, p. 382). It had not occurred to me previously to think about how often myself, as the educator, is the centre of attention for many of my students for a significant portion of the day. Although my personal teaching style does not highlight me being in the front of the classroom and lecturing for extended periods of time, my presence as the “leader” of the classroom has that effect on attention. Students may be thinking about my expectations for an assignment or to hear from me to answer their questions. In a traditional classroom with formal lectures and lessons, the teacher is even more the focus and commanding presence in a room that elicits attention.
Another place where education and attention intersect is when it comes to technology, “teachers grapple with ways to attract, rather than compel, students ‘voluntary attention” because “new technologies afford them far greater power and greatly expanded rights” (De Castell & Jenson, 2004, p. 380). As someone who teaches pre-teens in grade 6/7, I have first-hand experience in thinking about how to incorporate technology into my educational practice as I know that technological devices, application, and games, have a significant influence in this age cohort’s life. As educators, we find ways to make sure that students are engaged in the lessons we are having to teach and one way to do that is by utilizing these technologies to keep attention spans going. Some personal examples in my own classroom include having students listen to podcasts about evolution for our science unit and then creating their own podcasts at the end of the unit as well as also incorporating students love of Minecraft into building our own ancient civilization. Citton states that an attention economy is essentially, “a family of senders, which employ costly signals to attract the attention of audiences and have an impact on them” (2017, p. 7). With this thought in mind, teachers are effectively the senders who imply signals, or new and innovative teaching methods to keep students engaged and impact their ways of learning.

Conclusion

In essence, attention is the goal of which all educators, and really humans, are trying to achieve. Citton states that “managing attention and attracting attention are becoming universal maxims in business and economics” (2017, p. 7). Many can argue that this is the case in all facets of the world, including education. Whether we are just brushing our teeth, trying to perfect a recipe for dinner or thinking of new ways to keep students engaged in their learning, we are employing various forms of attention. Attention is a foundational part of our human experience and effects our everyday lives (work, family, school, and beyond) whether we reflect about it or not. Ultimately, we should take the time to understand where our attention is going to and how those areas can impact how we view the world and how we view ourselves.

References
Citton, Y. (2017). Introduction and Conclusion : From Attention Economy to Attention Ecology. In The Ecology of Attention. John Wiley & Sons.

de Castell, S. & Jenson, J. (2004). Paying Attention to Attention: New Economies for Learning (Links to an external site.)” Educational Theory, 54 (4): 381 – 397.

Who were these people, and how did each contribute to the development of artificial intelligence? How did each think “intelligence” could be identified?

Alan Matheson Turing was a talented, British mathematician who worked on understanding Nazi code during World War 2. His work led him to make many contributions to computer science and AI. Turing developed the “Turing Test” that worked to differentiate between AI and human (Biography.com Editors, 2014). Turing consistently states that intelligence consists of many forms of imitation (Turing, 1950).

John McCarthy was a mathematician and computer scientist who is famous for actually coining the term “artificial intelligence”. McCarthy also developed many different programming languages, including LISP and Elephant (Brittanica, 2022). In an interview, McCarthy states that “Intelligence is the computational part of the ability to achieve goals in the world” (Stanford University, 2007).

Hebert Simon was an American scientist who worked in the fields of mathematics, statistics, and operational research. Simon believed that computers could be used to examine human problem-solving techniques (Brittanica, 2022). Simon stated that the way in which we learn is by the “influence of other people around” (UBS, 2022).

Marvin Minsky was an American computer scientist. Minsky worked with John McCarthy to found the Artificial Intelligence project, now a laboratory, at MIT. Minsky also built the first neural network simulator which is a computer program that works similarly to the neural network of the brain (Brittanica, 2022). Minsky states that, “intelligence is a product of the interaction of non-intelligent parts” (Wikimedia Foundation, 2022).

Timnit Gebru is an American computer scientist. Her work in AI is focused on ethics and studying the shortcomings of AI technology. Gebru’s research found that AI was consistently less accurate when identifying women and people of colour (Hao, 2020). In an interview with Wired, Gebru states that the ways in which AI is formed, through data, and society, can lead to several biases (Levy, 2021).

How do “machine (programming) languages” differ from human (natural) ones?

Harris defines language as, “a system of spoken, manual, or written symbols that human beings use to express themselves, their identity, imagination, and emotions” whereas programming language is referred to as “logical, precise, [and] perfectly unambiguous” (Harris, 2018). The main difference is that human language allows and accounts for emotions as well as a plethora of non-verbal cues, body language and even tone and volume, whereas programming language is meant to be direct and does not involve reading between the lines (Harris 2018). Essentially human language has the freedom and openness to explore a holistic approach to both verbal and non-verbal forms of communication while programming language is driven by rules and regulations that allow it to work and be universally understood.

How does “machine (artificial) intelligence” differ from the human version?

Firstly, machine intelligence was created and specifically programmed to replicate and mimic human behaviour. Turing’s test to judge the effectiveness of AI’s wanted AI to be able to work so effectively as to actually fool the test into thinking the AI was human (Biography.com Editors, 2014). Essentially, AI would not be in existence if it weren’t for humans being at the basis and forefront of the creation process. “Intelligence lies in the general ability to acquire new skills through learning” while this is a skill that both AI and humans possess as they both can evolve and grow, change, and adapt, AI only does so with the help of programming and systems created by humans. Humans, evolve and adapt through experiences.

How does “machine learning” differ from human learning?

Machine learning and human learning vary greatly as machine learning uses specific technologies to formulate patterns that can respond to various situations and answer questions (Heilweil, 2020). Human learning is more complex. Humans and their needs vary depending on a variety of uncontrollable factors. Their ways of learning are less uniformed and cannot be easily controlled, therefore, biases can come into play. The biases that exist in human learning can ultimately prevail in machine learning as well, “these systems can be biased based on who builds them, how they’re developed, and how they’re ultimately used” (Heilweil, 2020). Because machine learning relies on systems and algorithms that are based on processes created by humans, the same faults and possible setbacks have to be considered.

And for your LAST challenge, a version of the Turing Test: how do YOUR answers to these questions differ from what a machine could generate?

All of my answers and knowledge have been derived from research, whether that be articles that were provided for me to gain knowledge from or through my own personal searching. Online resources that were gained through my own personal searching are extremely similar to information a machine could generate. In this paper, I did not include many examples from my own life as I was making a conscious effort to stick to the scope of the questions and keep my answers concise which in turn can create the belief that an AI could produce this work as there are no personal examples or anecdotes, which and AI would not be able to produce. Also, with the addition of quotations and sources being added to essentially back-up my information and summarize my learning, a machine could be able to organize that information as well. However, many of the questions required me to think about how I also viewed these topics in addition to generating sources and synthesizing information I read, I also needed to process the information I was being exposed to in order to form articulate thoughts to put into writing which is I am not sure an AI is fully capable of utilizing the creativity of language and verbiage to enhance a piece of writing.

References

Biography.com Editors. (2014, April 2). Alan Turing. Biography.com. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://www.biography.com/scientist/alan-turing

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022). John McCarthy. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/John-McCarthy

Britannica, T. Editors of Encyclopaedia (2022). Herbert A. Simon. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Herbert-A-Simon

Chollet, F. (2019, November 5). On the Measure of Intelligence

Dennis, M. Aaron (2022). Marvin Minsky. Encyclopedia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/biography/Marvin-Lee-Minsky

Hao, K. (2022, January 10). We read the paper that forced Timnit Gebru out of google. here’s what it says. MIT Technology Review. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/12/04/1013294/google-ai-ethics-research-paper-forced-out-timnit-gebru

Harris, A. (2018, November 1). Human languages vs. programming languages. Medium. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://medium.com/@anaharris/human-languages-vs-programming-languages-c89410f13252

Heilweil, R. (2020 ). Why algorithms can be racist and sexist. A computer can make a decision faster. That doesn’t make it fair.

Levy, M. G. (2021, November 9). Timnit Gebru Says Artificial Intelligence Needs to Slow Down. Wired. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://www.wired.com/story/rewired-2021-timnit-gebru/

Meet the Nobel Laureates in Economics: Do we understand human behaviour (UBS, n.d.).

Simon, H. A. (1995). Artificial intelligence: An empirical science. Artificial Intelligence, 77(1), 95-127. https://doi.org/10.1016/0004-3702(95)00039-H

Stanford University. (2007). Basic questions. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from http://www-formal.stanford.edu/jmc/whatisai/node1.html

Turing, A. M. (1950). Computing machinery and intelligence – inspiring innovation. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://www.csee.umbc.edu/courses/471/papers/turing.pdf

Wikimedia Foundation. (2022, January 15). Marvin Minsky. Wikipedia. Retrieved June 3, 2022, from https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marvin_Minsky

What is Usability?

Usability assesses the quality and ease of a specific technology, specifically during the process in which the technology is being used. Usability seeks to create an intuitive process for all users by “assess(ing) how easy user interfaces are to use” (Issa & Isaias, 2015, p.29). Essentially, usability is meant to enhance a user experience by working to solve, or ultimately, eliminate, any issues users may have while using any given technological tool.

Usability in Education

Usability in an educational context requires both collaboration from educators and students. Usability needs to be able to have knowledge on the individualized needs of both students and the educators who will work alongside the technology, “the relationship is between the use of educational software by teachers and their students, where the computer network is held to facilitate the teaching-learning network” (Freire, Soares & Padovani, 2012, p.1033). Usability in the context of education is inherently different from usability needs in an individualized context. Education is, by nature, a collaborative event, especially between learners and educators, therefore usability needs to meet both the individual requirements of educators and the information they need to gather in order to further their teaching and assess the quality of a technology. Usability also needs to gather information from students specifically using technological tools that could benefit their learning, specifically when it comes to the varying individualized learning needs.

Woolgar’s and Usability

Woolgar discusses how the company had a lack of knowledge about users, mentioning that one particular employee remarked that, “typically, the engineers don’t have a clue about users” (Woolgar, 1990, p.71). This particular drawback has serious repercussions when it comes to the validity of usability and what it is trying to accomplish. If the ultimate goal of usability is to make the user experience more seamless and hassle free, an engineering team that does not understand its user-base is doing a serious disservice to those they are serving. Without a fundamental understanding of the user’s basic needs and desires, a technology or tool will ultimately fail and require more changes and overhaul. Usability can only be executed well if everyone involved in the process has a clear direction and understanding of specific user needs.

Woolgar also states that the company implied that, “there was no point in asking users what they wanted because they themselves didn’t know” (Woolgar, 1990, p.74). This, alongside the company’s already present lack of communication between all their departments in understanding the user experience, clearly showcases a lack of willingness to participate in a valid usability tool. Usability, if used correctly can enhance the user experience and create less problems for the company down the line and instead of participating in the testing and realizing the validity of it, the company chose to devalue its users and their knowledge as it deemed it not useful. This was a short-sighted decision that undermined the usefulness of usability testing.

Issa and Woolgar: Uses of Usability

Issa and Isaias (2015) believe that usability, when used effectively and if the 7 principles are followed, can not only improve the user experience but also benefit the company when it comes to profits and user understanding which will in turn, enhance software and technology. If technology companies want to succeed and enhance the services they offer, they need to figure out a way to remain current and stay on top of any issues therefore, “Usability is a critical issue for websites as it improves competitive position, improves customer loyalty, and drives down costs” (Issa and Isaias, 2015, p.30). The less problems the company encounters, the less money they need to spend and the more time they can spend on innovation to further enhance the user experience. Issa and Isaias, in turn, also believe that usability is best for the user when utilizing technologies, stating that usability, “can mean the difference between performing and completing a task in a successful way without any frustration” (2015, p.29).

On the other hand, Woolgar, through research and company interviews, found that usability can have a negative effect when the parameters and goals are not met which ultimately undermines what Issa and Isaias have hoped for through their research and data. Woolgar continuously states, throughout the article, that an enhanced understanding of usability is imperative to its appropriate usage and ultimate success when it comes to analyzing and implementing data. “Defining the identity” of users and ensuring that the user and their actions can be analyzed and used for information purposes is imperative to the success of usability (Woolgar, 1990).

References

Freire, L., Soares, M., & Padovani, S. (2012). A children, Teachers and Designers as Evaluators of Usability of Educational Software. Work (Reading, Mass.), 41 Suppl 1, 1032-1037. https://doi.org/10.3233/WOR-2012-0280-1032

Issa T., Isaias P. (2015). Usability and Human Computer Interaction (HCI). In: Sustainable Design. Springer, London. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1007/978-1-4471-6753-2_2

Woolgar, S. (1990). Configuring the User: The Case of Usability Trials. Routledge & Kegan Paul etc. https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/10.1111/j.1467-954X.1990.tb03349.x

Image Credit: Pearson Canada

The Text I Chose: Global Issues and Governance, published by Pearson Canada

Why I Chose This Text:

To explore reconciliation and more specifically, Indigenous representation in important texts, I chose a current grade 6 level, Social Studies textbook entitled, Global Issues and Governance.

I chose this text mainly because this is a relatively new textbook that is used as a supplemental teaching tool for the British Columbia Social Studies curriculum. We received these textbooks at the school I teach almost 4 years ago to replace extremely outdated texts. This particular text is meant to accompany the grade 6 curriculum. Although I do teach grade 6/7, I have not used this particular textbook in my classroom as I do not find textbooks a very significant tool in my teaching style but other teachers who teach grade 6 in my school do use these texts often and I was able to borrow one for this project. I also chose this text to learn more about if this would be a useful and informative text that I could potentially use in my teaching in the future.

The first question that I really wanted to explore is in relation to Indigenous representation in the textbook. A while back, I was able to meet an Indigenous educator who came to my school to do a series of workshops in each classroom. One thing that she said that stuck with me was that, oftentimes in texts or a variety of historical accounts, Indigenous history is portrayed as just that, history. There is not always a representation or a sense given that Indigenous people are still living and thriving. I wanted to see if this particular textbook had been able to show Indigenous culture and traditions as alive and thriving. In addition to the original 5 terms (Indian, Indigenous, Aboriginal, First Nations, and Native) I wanted to ensure that present tense language was also used.

My First Question:

The first question that I really wanted to explore is in relation to Indigenous representation in the textbook. A while back, I was able to meet an Indigenous educator who came to my school to do a series of workshops in each classroom. One thing that she said that stuck with me was that, oftentimes in texts or a variety of historical accounts, Indigenous history is portrayed as just that, history. There is not always a representation or a sense given that Indigenous people are still living and thriving. I wanted to see if this particular textbook had been able to show Indigenous culture and traditions as alive and thriving. In addition to the original 5 terms (Indian, Indigenous, Aboriginal, First Nations, and Native) I wanted to ensure that present tense language was also used.

I found many examples in this text where language and terminology were explained and well thought out. Right in the beginning of the text, there is a page that clearly lays out terminology and clearly defines for young people, First Peoples, Indigenous, Aboriginal, First Nations, Inuit and Metis. There is also a note that is made on the page stating that “Whenever possible, a Nation should be referred to by its own name for itself.” (Doyle, Powrie, and Harding, 2017, p. ix) I found this information extremely helpful to be put in the front of the textbook to clearly guide students and educators into accurate use of terminology.

There is also a page that discusses First People’s Worldviews and clearly states the importance of Land, Oral Tradition, Holistic View, Languages, and Story. (Doyle, Powrie, and Harding, 2017, p.x-xi) This was helpful to me in my own research into how Indigenous people are being represented and if present culture and traditions are also being taught. This particular section highlighted the importance of understanding First People’s ways of knowing and how important and valuable that is today.

Another part of this text that I thought was beneficial and also unexpected was the section entitled “Thinking Deeper” that depicted many common media stereotypes of First Peoples. This came following a chapter on media influence and staying globally connected. The section shares very common and mainstream images such as, Peter Pan and also the Chicago Blackhawks hockey team logo, and asks students thinking questions such as: How are First Nations depicted in this image? and Why is there a call to change this image? (Doyle, Powrie, and Harding, 2017, p. 42-43). These images are very powerful and well known but the guiding questions help students to see how harmful these messages can still be in the present day.

My Second Question:

The second question that I really wanted to take a look at was whether or not there were any Indigenous people, organizations, or elders who either contributed to or were consulted when this text was created. After taking ETEC 565C last semester, I was made aware of the phrase “nothing about us, without us” and although in that course’s context, this was referring to people with disabilities, I think the idea is extremely important as true understanding, learning, and reconciliation cannot occur without history being told from Indigenous perspectives.

When examining the text and the contributors, I noticed that there were many teacher reviewers, from many school districts across British Columbia. I also noticed that among the advisors and contributing writers, is a Ts’msyen First Nations woman. I also found that the textbook did go through a Bias review before being published (Doyle, Powrie, and Harding, 2017, p. v). There are other contributors and writers listed but whether or not they are from British Columbia’s First Nation’s is not listed.

This information is helpful in knowing that First Nations Peoples were consulted and had a significant role in the content production and publication of this text. It is also important to know that a textbook of this nature did go through a bias review to ensure the quality of the content. I would have liked to have known that more than one person of Indiegnous heritage contributed to/ or was consulted on during the publication of this text.

My Lasting Thoughts:

Overall, I think this book far supersedes many of the Social Studies specific textbooks that I still see in schools in British Columbia today. The deep thinking questions that students are asked to engage in, especially when it pertains to stereotypes in mainstream media, can have a meaningful impact on how future generations critically analyze information and images they see on a daily basis.

References:

Doyle, S., Powrie, S., & Harding, C. (2017). Global Issues and Governance. Pearson Canada.