How are you organizing yourself to engage with research about educational technology?

As an educator, I believe in preparing my students for their future jobs and careers; including integrating digital literacy and skills around various technologies. My students create Digital Portfolio’s, allowing them to represent their authentic work through the term, reflect on it, and share it with parents and guardians. They work on the following platforms and applications:

  • Google Drive: Google Documents, Google Drawing, and Google Slides.
  • Google Drawing: imbedding links, pictures and videos
  • Digital Editing Apps: Capcut and IMovie
  • Tik Tok
  • Minecraft EDU
  • Roblox
  • Tinkercad
  • Gmail: how to properly format formal and informal emails, including imbedding hyperlinks

Communication:

My hope is that these skills will transfer over to create students who can effectively communicate with the public. If they have questions, they can advocate for themselves if they have the appropriate tools to reach out. I am always surprised at how few students know how to write a properly formatted email, embed a link, upload and download, and transfer files.

Troubleshooting:

Another skill that I’m hoping to address in my students it that of resiliency with regards to troubleshooting. I have noticed students are often quick to give up when they reach an obstacle when utilizing technology. For example, we use our iPhones to create videos. They do not easily transfer data to our school chromebooks; Ipads would be easier. However, the task is not impossible. It usually just requires a few extra steps to get a video from their phones, onto the school computers. I suggest students download Google Drive on their phones, and transfer the videos or content to their computers through Google Drive. I am again surprised by how often students face obstacles and want to give up on the task, without trying various ways to reach their goal. It’s my job to facilitate learning and give them options, so those I provide, but I would like to see them apply more critical thinking and make suggestions for their paths. In reality, I believe they just haven’t had enough exposure to these tasks. I’m curious about this. I hear other teachers discuss E Portfolio’s and they just don’t have the experience themselves to teach the steps; are we providing our teachers with enough support to implement digital literacy?

Brad Crawford – Vernon Fire Captain – Fulton Secondary School

Teaching Careers Life Education gives me an opportunity to bring friends into my classroom to discuss their careers, as well as discuss how technology is utilized in various sectors. On October 11th, 2023, I asked my friend Brad Crawford, Captain of the Vernon Fire Department, to talk to my students about Career Firefighting.

I vividly remember using paper maps when navigating my journey to University from Vernon, and I was happy to hear that our firefighters have also upgraded their technology with regards to navigation. Brad referenced many ways in which technology has woven its way into his career. He too, remembers this time of using paper maps to navigate his way.

After this guest speaker, students were asked to upload media from the presentation, and reflect on their learning experience. These students are in Grade 10, and I am always surprised at how many lack the ability to understand how to execute basic technology skills such as: uploading and downloading media, navigating trouble shooting, typing proficiency, screenshots, screen recordings, crop, edit, and post to their E Portfolio’s. I’m also proud to be helping them navigate these skills and help them grow their repertoire of digital skills.

Michelle Girard – Owner of Remax Vernon – Fulton Secondary School

On Tuesday, October 17th, my good friend Michelle Little came into my Careers classroom to share her experience as owner of Remax Vernon. I inquired as to how she utilizes technology in her job. One of the main ways she utilizes technology is to manage and organize her daily tasks. As managing broker, she has a wide range of responsibilities. Technology facilitates ease of managing these responsibilities on a daily basis.

Another way she utilizes technology is through digital marketing. That includes weekly updates for her staff, video creations, photos of homes, 360 walk throughs, and social media content creation. Michelle has created a vast collection of Tik Tok’s, which has created a stir in the real estate world. One of her videos went viral and she has maintained a strong social media presence to enhance the reach of her business.

Cory Drinkwater – I.T. at Jealous Fruits – Fulton Secondary School

On Wednesday, November 8, one of my Careers 10 students brought her Dad in for her “Mentor Interview”. Her Dad is a volunteer firefighter, and a full-time employee of Jealous Fruits and specializes in I.T.

My questions for Cory were:

“How do you use technology in your career?”

“Do you think digital literacy is important for our youth? How can they be better prepared for their workforce with regards to technology?”

Cory’s responses were interesting and we delved into the areas of importance for student learning of technology. One of the most interesting takeaways he left me with: students need to be able to hold conversations, in person, face-to-face. I enjoyed hearing this from someone who specializes in technology. Although we NEED technology proficiency, we also need youth who can hold conversations, maintain eye-contact, and ask questions when they need help. Empowering students to ask questions and have self-advocacy in a career will help our youth stay safe in their jobs and help them grow and learn.