Author Archives: alicewong

Science & Technology: Communication, Differentiation & Flexibility

J L is a secondary science teacher. Promptly after the graduation from the teaching program, he started teaching at his current school. In this off-shore school, the language of instruction is in English and the school follows the Alberta curriculum. Given this unique environment, students have limited access to English-based learning materials in their community. The interview took place on Saturday, January 18th at: 12:45 pm. at an off-shore school in his classroom. Below are five interview questions asked:

What role does technology play in your classroom?
How does technology influence your planning and or teaching practice?
What have you noticed in the way in which students respond to technology-assisted learning?
How do you handle the troubleshoot demand for project-based learning?
In what what ways do you think technology can be best utlized?

During the interview, JL, spoke optimistically about the affordance of technology. After rewiewing the interview responses, three key themes emerged: communication, diffieniation and flexibility.

Communication

JL views technology as an inviting platform for communication. Technological tools are designed to facilitate communication. The communicative platform allows JL to communicate to a whole class and or to engage in personal 1:1 communication methods. Additionally, technology, in Jason’s perspective, solves many logistic issues related to students’ access to teaching and learning resources. This helps students to develop their organizational skills to keep track of their learning schedule. JL also believes that these technological tools also scaffolds students’ ability to develop time-management skills to organize learning expectations and tasks. More specially, through the platform – Remind—students receive reminders for project due dates and test dates.

Differentiation

Since all the materials are digitized, students are able to access resources and task instructions regardless of location or time restraints. Jason feels that this provides opportunities for self-directed learning. He is a firm believer of using technology as a source of flipped learning. With self-contained lessons, students can review information in their own time. For example, students are able to review videos and other learning resources that explain learning concepts.

Flexibility

JL values the need to coordinate use between colleagues. When sharing resources and facilities, he speaks of the need to be flexible and sensitive. When technological challenges arise, JL envisions these as opportunities for students to develop and expand their digital skill set. Students are quite adaptable and can easily reimagine technological challenges are sources of learning.

Additionally, to combat troubleshooting demand, JL also feels that it is important for teachers to remain diligent and flexible to plan for unexpected technological challenges. Educators should be able to deliver similar learning outcomes regardless of the amount of support received from technological tools.

Moreover, JL feels that by digitizing materials, he is able to curate and reflect upon teaching resources. Personally, teachers develop a better teaching repertoire when compiling useful instructional materials. At offshore schools such as TIS, since the teacher turn over rate can be quite high, new teachers can easily access digitized teaching resources.

Follow up Considerations

Evidently, JL’s perspective of the affordance of technology is contingent on students’ high level of independence and agency. In our earlier discussions, one post proposed the idea that digital education needs to fit into teaching. Luckily, in JL’s case, given that ‘students’ are referred to high school students who are confident at using technology, he feels that students are already adequate learners to use technological tools for learning. Unfortunately, JL is unable to provide additional insights about troubleshooting demands. He simply handles them in class. It can also be inferred that students use their own time to fill learning gaps. Thus, this would not impede upon precious class time. It is apparent that JL uses technology in a seamless way to deliver content and communicate expectations. Perhaps a more challenging use of technology is to design and create learning experiences that connect students with learning tasks that involves unfamiliar technology.

Curriculum Trade off

“Where is there room in the curriculum?” – Teacher D

In the case videos, it is apparent that technology integration required more learning time and commitment. Students are spending time to explore technology and develop their competencies as they deepen their understanding of learning concepts. In preparations for standardized testing, educators have to be extra mindful to ensure that the projects cover expected curriculum objectives. Thus, allowing their students to be prepared for standardized testing.

Limited time to cover content area is also a consistent theme in the primary classrooms. Similar to the need of preparing students for standardized assessment, practicing basic literacy also competes for students’ time. As a grade 2 teacher, the students are just beginning to read and write. They are still in the early stages of developing and polishing their basic literacy skills. Should typing be practiced like printing? Given that it is more difficult to navigate a new communicative space students should be explicitly taught how to decode and navigate through digital information (Bolter, 2001). The important question is how can teachers balance these curriculum demands? It is likely that flipped learning is favorable in these situations in order to meet additional curriculum expectations. Teacher C in middle school life sciences remediates limited lab time by asking students to complete tasks as homework. Project-based learning requires time and commitment from educators to mentor and watch the students learn digital literacy competencies and to practice content knowledge.

Additionally, the lack of basic literacy skills makes it harder for them to solve problems when using technological tool. A pre-service teacher in learning environment 3 suggests that young learners may only be practicing ‘recognition based skills’. Some technological tools are substitution in disguise. Nonetheless, with a firm grasp of literacy, students are better at regulating their learning with technological tools. Students are also more able to independently troubleshoot and problem solve.

What other plausible solutions are available to assuage literacy gaps and limited time?

Strategy 1: Collaborating with Others

Interactive learning in a small group is ideal when students are exposed with unfamiliar technology. With technology, students can engage in “spontaneous helping and teaching”, turn taking and competition (Clements & Sarama, 2002). Together, students can also discuss and reflect about learning concepts.

Strategy 2: Utilising Personal Learning Plans

A rather radical plan, one plausible solution is the abolishment of grades levels and modifications of ‘standardize’ testing. Skill based and mastery based learning should be key pedagogical philosophy of current education system. Students should progress in various skill-based groups depending on their level of mastery. Consider Altschool: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N8ZrUuZjsow

Strategy 3: Enhancing Digital Competencies

Literacy learning is as important as digital literacy. Therefore it should be taught at the same time as other basic skills. Some regional or national polices recognize this, thus making changes to the curriculum to assuage the need. Recent changes in the BC curriculum recognizes of the value of explicitly teaching multi-literacies. For example, the curriculum moved away from content-based learning to an inquiry approach that prioritizes viewing and demonstrating proficient use of multi-literacies. This may also explain why families feel that Altschool’s personalize learning is insufficient. Robinson (2017, November 21) writes that families are leaving Altschool due to the fact that their children are behind grade level expectations. Perhaps Altschool’s personalized learning should be coupled with STEM learning. This may also allude to the differences in the social understanding of student achievement.

Strategy 4: Developing Educational Reforms

Curriculum expectations may ease some expectation concerns. Since this changes how students are assessed, it should be reflected in national assessments. This refashions the fundamental understanding of learning, schooling and knowledge. Internationally, students are evaluated with standardized exams. This then is inconsistent with the notions that STEM projects promote. Students are developing a battery of skills to solve challenges. Instead of provincial exams, students should have the option to be evaluated through STEM projects.

Moreover, Knapp (1997) suggests that education alignment is key to successful reforms. More specifically, district level support and more targeted outcomes directly influences. Consider nation-wide e-learning reforms like ICT strategic plans in Bhutan and Nepal. Local and national support is also a key factor in ensuring a higher success rate of the strategies. Bhutan and Nepal budgeted over 16.5 million to support their strategies. Infrastructural upgrades and professional development opportunities for educators are key strategies that Bhutanese and Nepalese government uses in order to support their vision.

Conclusively, personalized learning coupled with educational reforms and a strong need for social learning is key for 21^st STEM learning. While this may be a romantic notion of what education should be, it provides clear directions as to where education should be heading. It is evident that current education landscape has the potential to continue due course, however, without appropriate changes in the local and national level, current challenges remains unchanged.

Reference

Bolter, J.D. (2001). Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 3246, 7798.

Clements, D. H. & Sarama, J. (2002). The Role of Technology in Early Childhood Learning. Teaching Children Mathematics, Vol. 8, No. 6, Focus Issue: Learning and TeachingMathematics with Technology (FEBRUARY 2002), pp. 340-343

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics Retrieved from: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41197828

Knapp, M. S. (1997). Between systemic reforms and the mathematics and science classroom: The dynamics of innovation, implementation, and professional learning. Review of educational research, 67(2), 227-266.

Government of Nepal. (2013). Information & Communication Technology(ICT) in Education Master Plan 2013-2017. Retrieved from http://www.moe.gov.np/assets/uploads/files/ICT_MP_2013_(Final)_.pdf

Robinson, M. (2017, November 21). Tech billionaires spent $170 million on a new kind of school — now classrooms are shrinking and some parents say their kids are ‘guinea pigs’. Business Insiders. Retrieved from http://www.businessinsider.com/altschool-why-parents-leaving-2017-11

Royal Government of Bhutan.(2014). iSherig Education ICT Master Plan 2014 – 2018. Retrieved from http://www.education.gov.bt/documents/10180/10994/Education+ICT+Master+Plan+2014-18.pdf/00392bc0-0ed2-47c9-9e2e-ed30e23ccf8f?version=1.0

Technological Tools

Here are some initial thoughts about the use of technological tools in a math and science classroom.

Technological tools should encourage experimentation to construct understanding and show results in an efficient and effortless way. Changes and modification should be easily made and results should be displayed in a seamless way.

Technological tools should encourage social interactions where students reflect upon ideas and identify lines of thinking about a concept. Students should have options to share, view and annotate the contributions from their peers.

Technological tools should support documentation and assessment of learning. Educators and families should be able to track student learning.

Technological tools should be use in combination with support in regards with digital literacy and critical thinking. Students should be supported with additional skillsets to confidently utilize technological tools.

Technological tools should be used outside of the classroom to further support students’ learning. Learning should continue after initial lesson and there should be tools like videos, social media platforms and social bookmarking sits to help consolidate learning and to further develop deeper understanding.

Although a classroom teacher is a one critical element in initiating the efficient use of learning technology, school wide and national policies should also reflect this priority. Schools should share their values about using technology in the classroom and provide professional development opportunities to its educators. National policies should reflect upon current research and trends to consistently support the development and use of educational technology.

Alice

Misconception & Reflection

Week 2 Discussions – Facades of Misconception

“Why dose this metal fork feel cold after we removed it from the hot water?”

“Well, ‘cold’ goes inside of the fork so it feels cold.”

“Actual, heat is a type of energy. Without heat, something feels cold. In the case of this metal fork, this type of material allows for heat to easily move around.”

In our grade two class, we are investigating the relationship between hot and cold. Most of the students assume that that cold is a concrete and physical attribute that can be exchanged. However, it is the absence of heat that makes something feel cold. If I didn’t ask the question about heat, I may not be able to correct this faulty idea.

Through the video and the selected readings, it is apparent that learners come into a classroom with prior knowledge. More specifically, Piagetian believers would agree that learners have schema (i.e. their own understanding) and ideas about the way and the way it operates. At the time of the début of this theory, the idea that learners have their own independent thoughts and inferences is groundbreaking. Confrey (1990) radically suggest that children are equipped with a personal set of knowledge and perspectives about scientific or mathematical concepts. Other constructivist theorist like Fosnot joins the scholarly conservation and together they propose the idea that knowledge is a variable that can be altered.

More specifically, some misconceptions can be altered if properly exposed and handled. Posner, Hewson & Gertzog (1982) discusses the processes of altering thinking concepts. Misconceptions are rather resilient attributes. However, under favorable conditions (e.g. viable solutions after confrontation of the theory) accommodations can happen. For example, accommodating can happen by linking accurate information with “prior experience, images, or models which make them appear intuitively obvious and which make competing concepts seem not just wrong but virtually unintelligible.” (Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog, 1982, p.213-214)

The narrator in the video also claims that Heather benefitted from having the opportunity to explain and apply her reasoning. Thus, Heather rejects her faulty assumptions about the shape of Earth’s path since it was insufficient to explain her ideas asked by the production team. This explicitly demonstrates the fact that students will not keep faulty ideas if it fails to solve immediate problems. “Central concepts are thus not judge in terms of their immediate capacity to generate correct predictions. They are judge in terms of their resources for solving current problems” (Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog, 1982, p.213)

How should misconceptions be handled and assuaged?

In more recent research, Shapiro (1988) believes that children should be co-architect of knowledge. Upon further inspection, what learners require is an opportunity to reflect about their learning and to apply the understanding in unfamiliar circumstances. The video also suggests that misconceptions require confrontation. Posner, Strike, Hewson & Gertzog (1982) insist that learners can increase immunity to misconceptions by increasing commitment to viable concepts and fruitful experiences.

Making Thinking Visible

Following these ideas, it is important to explore tangible and mobile solutions to encourage externalization of thoughts. Simply, reflecting about their own ideas and verbally materializing thoughts may be sufficient. With these reflective practices, students slowly and objectively unpack ideas to expose misconceptions.

Recent research in technological tools makes reflection an effortless process. There are more digital options to reflect upon experience and demonstrate understanding. Ingram, Williamson-Leadley & Pratt (2015) agrees that ‘Show and Tell’ mobile solutions encourage dedicating a reflective space and time. The application promotes an active reflection of understanding. Beyond providing a reliable and safe place to make learning and thinking visible. Hence, students are more aware of themselves as learners. This is consistent with Confrey’s (1990) discussion about students developing more confidence as they envision learning. More specifically, the scholars believe that students benefit from customizing personal interface and sharing about their mathematical understanding (Ingram, Williamson-Leadley & Pratt, 1016).

In computer supported collaborative learning environments, thinking can be tracked, promoted, evaluated and self-regulated (Lin, Preston, Kharrufa & Kong 2016). Using a touch screen table sized device, users can physically manipulate and reorganize information. They can easily define and redefine the way in which pieces of information are connected to each other. These scholars also claim that these technological tools provide an explicit overview of user’s thinking process. Directional features encourage users to evaluate their thinking process.

It is apparent that there are more mobile tools to help expose faulty thinking and more strategies to reflect concepts. This may positively influence learners by helping them develop habits to assess and retain accurate conceptual understanding.

Discussion Questions

How has the development of communicative landscape influence reflective process?

How was your experience using reflective technology?

Reference

Cone, J., Rowe, S., Borberg, J., & Goodwin, B. (2012). Community Planning for Climate Change: Visible Thinking Tools Facilitate Shared Understanding. Journal Of Community Engagement & Scholarship, 5(2), 7-19.

Confrey, J. (1990). A review of the research on student conceptions in mathematics, science, and programming. Review of research in education, 16, 3-56. http://ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/login?url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/1167350

Ingram, N., Williamson-Leadley, S., & Pratt, K. (2016). Showing and telling: using tablet technology to engage students in mathematics. Mathematics Education Research Journal, 28(1), 123-147. doi:10.1007/s13394-015-0162-y

Lin, M., Preston, A., Kharrufa, A., & Kong, Z. (2016). Making L2 learners’ reasoning skills visible: The potential of computer supported collaborative learning environments. Thinking Skills And Creativity, 22303-322. doi:10.1016/j.tsc.2016.06.004

Posner, G. J., Strike, K. A., Hewson, P. W. and Gertzog, W. A. (1982). Accommodation of a scientific conception: Toward a theory of conceptual change. Sci. Ed., 66: 211–227. doi: 10.1002/sce.373066020.

Sharples, M. (2005, April). Learning as conversation: Transforming education in the mobile age. In Proceedings of conference on seeing, understanding, learning in the mobile age (pp. 147-152). Budapest: Institute for Philosophical Research of the Hungarian Academy of Sciences.

Microsoft Paint and communicative space

In high school, I remembered that one of my favorite programs was Microsoft Paint. I used MS Paint to create informative posters for my projects. Given my limited fine motor skills, drawing and writing was difficult for me. It was easier to type and to manipulate pre-defined shapes and colors. Paint was a suitable alternative since it allowed me to be more efficient when creating a visual representation. I also enjoyed using MS Paint because I was able to zoom in to make bit-sized modifications.

Microsoft paint was free software that pre-installed with other Microsoft applications. It is essentially a giant piece of white paper with different tools to create a visual representation. Users can create defined shapes of any sizes, fill in spaces with different colors, make copies of the current visual and select and move any part of their creation. It also allows the freedom to integrate pictures and text. According to the SAMR model, MS Paint would resemble a textbook case of substitution (i.e. for art paper).

However, is there more to Paint than a simple application that helps users fill in a blank space with color and shapes?

Specifically, Microsoft Paint influences the technological landscape by introducing new cultures such as ubiquitous use of technological tools and new typographic freedom. First, ‘undo’ and ‘redo’ options is a powerful feature that helps demonstrate the flexibility and the ubiquitous use of technological tools. MS Paint represents new ways of organising and understanding information. Users have more autonomy and independence to make and unmake decisions. They can benefit from making a choice and immediately receiving the corresponding results. This strongly influences the length of one’s attention span and their tolerance for delayed gratification.

Bolter (2001) would agree that the features of Paint allow for typographic freedom. Hence, the visual and verbal ratio is now a customisable variable. Users decide how words and pictures are positioned in relationship to each other. Moreover, Microsoft Paint may very well be the catalyst for the ‘Rip. Remix. Feed’ culture. MS Paint makes it easy for users to ‘remix’ previous work – i.e. alter and modify existing creations. For example, users can easily import pictures and or use stock pictures to layer words, add comments or alter visuals.

In the 21^st century, immersive technology provides users with expanded creative spaces. Consider Kipmen’s (2006) talk about Microsoft Holographic Lens, users can experience their artistic creation. Kipmen argues that holograms and immersive experience allow users to easily gain a new perspectives about their creation. Users can also interact with different elements in their creative piece. This has realistic applications. For example, engineers can improve their models by turning their creations in different directions. Scientists can use the virtual space to explore new terrain. Ultimately, this visual experience allows users to think outside of the box. Now, this use of this New Media would represent the ‘Redefinition’ part of the SAMR model.

Given this review, how has Microsoft Paint influence your digital journey? How are your memories of Microsoft Paint? How does Microsoft Paint influence the communicative landscape?

References

Bolter, J.D. (2001). Writing Space: Computers, hypertext, and the remediation of print. Mahway, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates, pp. 3246, 7798.

Kipmen, A. (2016). A futuristic vision of the age of holograms. Retrieved from https://www.ted.com/talks/alex_kipman_the_dawn_of_the_age_of_holograms/transcript

Hello from Macau!

Hello everyone! My name is Alice. I grew up in Canada and am currently teaching overseas in a Canadian elementary in Macau. This is my 5^th teaching year. I am a firm believer of using inquiry-based learning pedagogy and technological tools to help students thrive as gritty inquisitors. I enjoy seamlessly embedding opportunities to practice digital literacy and citizenship.

This is my 7^th MET course. Previously, I was actively engaged in: 511, 512, 520, 530, 532, 540, and 565. I have been mindfully selecting courses applicable for educators. All of these courses continued to pique my interest about learning technologies. This program supported my goal to build a firm academic understanding of emergent issues and insights about technology, pedagogy and education. More specifically, I am interested in the use of New Media such as VR for education. Recently, I am interested in learning about the technological landscape of emergency responses.

Through 533, I hope to continue develop a pedagogical-sounded understanding of technological issues and tools related to math and science. I am curious about designing technological learning experiences. I am hoping to curate tools to support students while engaged in math and science related tasks.

To peers, I am known as a skilful photographer and avid traveller. Given my geological advantage, I am travel frequently throughout Southeast Asia. My recent adventures entail a ride in a hot air balloon in Myanmar.