Throughout my teaching career, I have been involved in leading integration of technology, mostly good. My first year of teaching started with me clumsily playing around with Dreamweaver in the hopes that I could ‘teach it’ to Year 9 students which highlighted my focus on the tool. Skip to now, where I am having conversations focused on pedagogical, learning principles, and on how digital tools could be used to improve learner outcomes and experiences.
Past Innovative example
Some time ago I ventured into student digital portfolios using Blogger which was completely new to me. This multimodal tool, accompanied
by a tablet and Internet access, allowed students to digitally share their learning journey. Initially, I was narrowed in on the tool rather than directing my attention to the benefits associated with reflection which Martin-Kniep illustrates. Reflective learners “choose appropriate goals, can develop and implement reasonable plans, and can make appropriate adjustments if unforeseen circumstances occur. In short, self-regulated learners are strategic” (2000, p. 75). Unintentionally, this process of journaling resulted in wonderful conversations and I fondly recall a fantastic and lively discussion about YouTube security settings and critical feedback via the comments feature. Christensen et al. (2012) refer to these beneficial learning experiences as unanticipated opportunities. This experience, and others related to online portfolios called upon social constructivism, connectivism and constructionism learning theories (Mattar, 2018; Ng, 2015; Sims, 2014).
Digital tech has not met your expectations?
Pilot projects, I have seen and been involved in a few of these tech-related projects that kind of make me cringe. These failed projects are those that did not have a strong ‘Why?’. They were not strategically planned out and often involved throwing tech into classrooms, or at people without support. This isn't about tech being the problem, it is about the approach. In Learning First, Technology Second, author Liz Kolb (2017) highlights research behind one of the most common reasons for using technology - engagement. She refers to tech-focus first as false engagement and “...eventually (students) will lose interest because they recognize that the technology is a mere trick and not actually adding value to their understanding of the content” (p. 2). In reflection, some past experiences were examples of false engagement as Kolb refers to it.
Final thoughts
As an Educational Technology Director, I am currently inquiring into areas that I am not too familiar with, areas that are of importance now, and in the future. These are STEM education, data governance and security.
With climate change, the immense pressure placed on natural resources and food production, I believe that STEM education is going to be of vital importance in helping us identify and solve problems that currently do not exist.
The design of houses, cars, etc are becoming ‘smarter’, and machine learning and AI continue to improve. With this, so does the amount of data being generated which provides opportunities for Big Tech (Knox, 2019). The issue with data is that it "is intangible. We don't actively hand it over. As a by-product of our online activity, it is easy to ignore or forget about. A lot of data harvesting is invisible to the consumer" (Chakravorti, 2020, p.122). So, what does this mean for educational organizations who regularly part-way with the data of vulnerable subjects (under 18)? In my role, how can I ensure that the security and privacy of individuals within the organization are protected?
Thinking about the above two areas, I plan to apply what I have learned from the past to ensure a strong purpose and authentic engagement.
Massey Course Outcomes
Foundations of Digital Education (261.764)
Identify and synthesize key concepts and principles underpinning contemporary practices in digital education.
Critically evaluate links between the theoretical foundations of digital education and situated practice.
Critique the benefits and challenges associated with using digital technologies in contemporary, complex learning situations.
Teaching & Digital Education (261.766)
Reflect on the central concepts, theories, and current areas of debate in the study of teaching with digital technologies.
Analyse and critique the roles and responsibilities of an educator in digitally-enhanced formal and informal learning situations.
Apply knowledge of contemporary learning theories and digital technologies to plan, and design a teaching resource applicable to formal or informal learning situations.
Bibliography & References
Chakravorti, B. (2020). Why It’s So Hard for Users to Control Their Data. HBR. https://hbr.org/2020/01/why-companies-make-it-so-hard-for-users-to-control-their-data
Christensen, C., Allworth, J., & Dillon, K. (2012). How will you measure your life?. Harper Business.
Harvard Business Review Isabel is wonderful!
Kolb, L. (2017). Learning first, technology second: The educator's guide to designing authentic lessons. International Society for Technology in Education.
Knox, J. (2019). What does the ‘postdigital’ mean for education? Three critical perspectives on the digital, with implications for educational research and practice. Postdigital Science and Education, 1(2), 357-370.
Martin-Kniep, G. (2000). Becoming a better teacher: Eight innovations that work. Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development.
Mattar, J. (2018). Constructivism and connectivism in education technology: Active, situated, authentic, experiential, and anchored learning. RIED: Revista Iberoamericana de Educación a Distancia(2), 201. https://doi.org/10.5944/ried.21.2.20055
Sims, R. (2014). Which learning theories? In Design alchemy (pp. 49-61). Springer International Publishing. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-02423-3_4
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