Category Archives: Module 1

Discussion: “T” from SECTIONS
T: Teaching and learning: What kinds of learning are needed? What instructional approaches will best meet these needs? What are the best technologies for supporting this teaching and learning?

The T in SECTIONS resonated with me because I use digital tools in the classroom for problem based learning, formative assessments and competency tracking.

Like many educators in post secondary education, I started out as a “sage on the stage”. I soon realized after attending several workshops hosted by the Center for Teaching and Learning (CTL) at my college, that I needed to enroll in a 12 step program for lectureholics. As time went on I began incorporating more and more group work in my class, recognizing that the best learning happened when students were thinking, discussing and doing. One of my favorite activities with my students was/is to do problem based learning in groups. The way in which I have incorporated technology into this exercise is to give students a case (on paper or pdf) and have them look up the necessary information to solve the case using a smartphone, tablet or laptop computer. As good fortunate would have it, 100% of my students have at least one of more web-connected devices. I felt this was important because, in the real world, lifelong learning as a healthcare provider is not an option. Healthcare providers have to learn continuously to stay up-to-date and to improve their practice. And, one of the quickest ways to stay up to date, in addition to using your peers as a resource, is to be able to access credible information quickly on a mobile computer device. One of my responsibilities as the educator is not only to recommend the appropriate tools for finding information but to teach information literacy so they can recognize when and when not information is credible. In terms of strategic support, the institution must be able to provide broadband access to all students. In terms of tactical support, the educator, in this case me, needs to be able to provide students with the appropriate apps that are either free or available at a minimal cost. My responsibility is to find apps that are appropriate to the type of research that they need and contain credible information and reliable functionality. For example, I give my students the names of three or four prescription drug apps that are free and will provide them with the necessary information they need, and available on a variety of operating systems, to complete their work. In order to keep the case presentations limited to a single page, what I plan to do in the future, is incorporate QR codes on the page that the students can scan to bring up an image such as an electrocardiogram or some other relevant information to the case. Again, from a tactical standpoint the goal is to provide an app for scanning QR codes that is device agnostic and free.

Discussion: digital age teaching professionals ETEC 565A

In Steve Wheeler’s blog post (2013), he predicts “Technology won’t replace teachers, but teachers who use technology will probably replace teachers who don’t”. Whether true or not, this prophetic statement speaks to the urgency to develop standards for the incorporation of technology in the classroom so that pedagogy precedes technology.

The international Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Standards, formally known as the National Educational Technology Standards (NETS), provides guiding principles for educators to consider when designing, implementing and assessing technology integration for learning. They read almost like a mission statement. These guiding principles appear to be designed to ensure teachers are thinking about how technology will improve or enhance learning by putting pedagogy ahead of technology. The first section addresses the highest level of blooms taxonomy with “facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity”. It focuses on The concept of incorporating technology that will foster student reflection, problem-solving and collaboration using a constructivist model. The second section places emphasis on designing, developing and assessing the technology to be integrated so that learning is contextual. It also speaks to incorporating technology that addresses and assesses, both formative and summative assessments of the cognitive, psychomotor and affective domains of learning. The third and last section speaks to the importance of digital literacy for the teacher, student and community. It calls upon teachers to demonstrate fluency with technologies and to share that knowledge within the teachers sphere of influence. Because of the philosophical nature of the standards and the mission statement like approach, I will be posting this page in clear view from my desk so that I can reflect on its recommendations when choosing a technology.

Some of the ways in which I incorporate technology in the classroom to meet the goals as outlined in criteria for this assignment are as follows:

1. facilitate and inspire student learning and creativity;
2. design and develop digital-age learning experiences and assessments;
3. model digital-age work and learning;
4. promote and model digital citizenship and responsibility; and
5. engage in professional growth and leadership?

• I often ask my students, what might be the best way for you to learn about _______ using digital technology? In one instance, I wanted my paramedic students to work on their patient history taking skills. The students came up with the idea of videotaping themselves role playing.

• My students, when in the patient simulation lab, are expected to give a verbal report at the end of each scenario to the instructor. We found that this wasn’t an effective way to become proficient at giving a medical report as the students only took a lead role in scenarios 2-3 times per class and the feedback they received from their instructor was on the spot and not recorded. So I developed an assignment within my theory class in which the students would create audio recordings of 4-6 medical reports based on patient simulation scenarios from their lab. I created a rubric so that they know what the expectations were. The feedback I received from the students and the other faculty from the lab was that their reports improved substantially.

• Increasingly, the field in which my students will be working is going digital. Patient care reports are digital, medical diagnostic tools are digital and collect a great deal of data that can be used for quality assurance purposes. So I and the other faculty demonstrate and facilitate the of things such as e-patient care reports and various other e-reports and how to navigate through the settings of, for example, a diagnostic monitor. Even the millennial and generation “Z” students are often fearful of technology, so we as faculty have to be digitally literate to model the kind of valuing of technology that the students will need.

• One of thing things discussed at the beginning of our two year college program is the benefits and risks associated with social media and the importance of using it responsibly and for being accountable for their actions. There are significant patient privacy concerns that have to be balanced with the benefit of leveraging social media as a learning environment.

• I also like to explain to my students the benefit of differentiated learning that comes from exploration, inquiry and development of a peer learning network (PLN) of platforms such as Facebook, YouTube and Twitter. I teach them to be skeptical and to seek information from multiple sources so that we can have richer discussions in the classroom.

Wheeler (2013). Technology Won’t Replace Teachers, But… Retrieved from Learning with ‘e’s: My thoughts about learning technology and all things digital web site: http://steve-wheeler.blogspot.ca/2013/03/technology-wont-replace-teachers-but.html#!/2013/03/technology-wont-replace-teachers-but.html