Category: MEd (Page 1 of 2)

Week 1 Reflections

September 8, 2024 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

“Twenty Years of EdTech” provided clarity around the rapidly evolving landscape of educational technology and I appreciated the approach of providing the reader with the positive aspects and the negative potentials of each of the educational tools. It was also interesting to see each platform be contextualized in time and space. It allowed me to recall my experiences with each: using wiki’s as a highschool student, watching through my young-adulthood as youtube evolved into potentially the world’s greatest and most up-to-date online resource, using social media as a tool to grow a business, integrating e-portfolio’s into my classroom five years ago with great excitement, and lastly, creating my own blog posts as a master’s student this past year.

One area of particular interest for me was the discussion around e portfolios and blogs. The general statement was that blogs are more progressive and e-portfolio’s are less applicable for students now. This quote is what sparked my curiosity and understanding:

“Although e-portfolio tools remain pertinent for many subjects, particularly vocational ones, for many students owning their own domain and blog remains a better route to establishing a lifelong digital identity. It is perhaps telling that although many practitioners in higher education maintain blogs, asking to see a colleague’s e-portfolio is likely to be met with a blank response.” (Miller, p. 14)

The question I’m left with is, does this blog preference apply more to post-secondary students, or is this about elementary or highschool students as well? I would have concerns around privacy with this, and accessibility. My preference up until now has been e-portfolio’s because they allow students to showcase their projects, whereas a blog post seems solely a tool of reflection and writing. In contrast, an e-portfolio allows me to facilitate the creation of multi-modal approaches: edited videos, digital posters, written assignments, reflective pieces of writing, artwork, screen recordings of their minecraft builds, and more. I am curious if my understanding of a blog is too narrow, if a blog can also serve as a “presentation” style of collections of work through the term.

Another area that sparked interest for me was about this paradox of social media. I agree with this paradoxical perspective of social media. I owned a business for a decade and I used social media as a tool to engage with our clientele, expand our reach, and for personal sponsorship in athletics and monetary gain. Having witnessed the potential for an entrepreneur in social media, I believe our students deserve a better understanding of skill acquisition prior to graduation. Particularly the later, senior years of school should have more digital media skills to transfer to our students. I felt validated in reading that, “many students will go through their education without being required to produce a video as a form of assessment. We need to fully develop the critical structures for video in order for it to full its educational potential, as we have already done for text.” (Miller, p. 11) I felt validated because I teach my students how to make recordings, and how to use capcut or other tools to edit videos to capture attention and relay information to the viewer. I’m always surprised at how many students have watched countless videos on tiktok or youtube, but really have no idea of how to start this journey into creating their own.

I do also recognize the negative aspects of social media. If it’s not being used as a tool for creation, and solely as a tool of consumption, the user can fall into a pattern of mindless-scrolling. We’ve also seen the rates of depression, anxiety, and suicide raising drastically since the increased use of social media, particularly in adolescent females. There’s also the concern for screen time taking away from time spent elsewhere, including physical activity, sports teams, health and wellness, connection with the outdoors. I’ve noticed my students do not possess the skills of tackling difficult conversations, face-to-face. I also have concerns around young users of social media coming across material meant for an older audience. The potential for inappropriate images, themes, or messaging, is high-risk for our young social media users.

Lastly, I’ve heard of digital badges, but haven’t put them into practice yet. This article seems to speak highly of the potential there, and that peaks my interest in wanting to know more about them.

The Landscape of Merging Modalities gave me a context for understanding the dynamic approaches of online learning. I am a visual learner, and I appreciated Table 1. Merging Modality Models that showed the type of online learning taking place, and the labeling of these styles of learning. My personal experience with online learning is small. My first real opportunity to learn online has been this Master’s program. The insight of this quote resonated with me for a multitude of reasons, which I will discuss below:

“To address this, designs should consider not only mixing modalities but also reducing synchronous instructional hours to create time for asynchronous activities and dialogue. Regardless of institutional or instructor plans for learner communication—whether synchronous or asynchronous—many learners in a course will develop their own private backchannel spaces to support learner-only asynchronous peer-to-peer communication” (Twenty Years of Edtech, 46).

Firstly, I appreciate that we have professors who understand the value of peer-communication and encourage this time for dialogue. In my teaching practice and school environment, I feel the one thing that is lacking is time for educators to share insights and ideas. Some of the most valuable conversations come from face-to-face interactions with my colleagues. For example, this week, I had an enriching conversation with a colleague about which teaching strategy to use in a vocabulary lesson with my grade 8 students. I was able to apply her suggestion with great success. It was clear at the time that her experience teaching ELL students was valuable to our conversation. I, in return, have experience in other capacities that I enjoy sharing with my colleagues. We each have rich, diverse backgrounds and tapping into those is not done enough because of time constraints and busy teacher schedules.

I can also relate to this question posed in this paper about learner-confusion with relation to expectations around online learning. I appreciate when specific boundaries and expectations of the online learning environment are expressed. For me, clarity in an online space looks like quick but valuable clarifications:

“You don’t need to have your camera on the entire time. / Or you do.”
“Share or ask questions the following way – ie. either in the messaging box / Or raise your hand.”
“This is where you will access your readings.”

These types of clarifications go a long way, and are established early in a physical classroom as well. Letting students know what will be expected of their behaviour and establishing routines are one of the fundamental ways to create a strong classroom environment with clarity of communication.

Finally, another quote from the reading that resonated with me was this:

“In a time of significant shifts to online learning in a variety of configurations, we should try to utilize common terminology to describe our intended designs and practices.”

I appreciate the clarification of these types of online-learning environments. This approach provides clarity, two-fold; the educator planning the class has a framework and can fit their goals into the practices they will put in place. And the learner benefits from understanding what is expected of them, how the information will be accessed, and what the learning environment with their cohort looks like.

Reference List:

The Landscape of Merging Modalities. (n.d.). EDUCAUSE Review. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2020/10/the-landscape-of-merging-modalities

Twenty Years of Edtech. (n.d.). EDUCAUSE Review. Retrieved September 6, 2024, from https://er.educause.edu/articles/2018/7/twenty-years-of-edtech

My Teaching Pedagogy Aligned with Learning Theories

March 25, 2024 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

“Describe your own experience teaching or learning in the context of learning theory (behaviorism, cognitivism, constructivism, social learning, connectivism). What theory best describes your belief around how learning takes place?”

Experiential Learning:

Participating in the Indigenous Specialization Program at UVic opened my eyes to the power of experiential learning and it’s guided my pedagogical practice. An example of this in my classroom is my Buddy Reading Program. I can talk to the students about the concept of “personal and social responsibility,” or, I can take my kids out of the classroom and give them opportunities to connect in their community. I believe this facilitates their identity and how it relates to community and the world. Students reflect on the experience positively, and self-reflect on ways they could improve their interactions with the Little Buddy’s.

Constructivism:

As discussed on “Most Likely To Succeed”, the school curriculum we follow was created 130 years ago. Since then, the way we access information has changed drastically. In my classroom, students are not lectured at or using the entirety of class to do worksheet or gather information without the process of applying it. Knowledge in my classroom is used as a tool to create, question, apply critical thinking skills or use in effective problem-solving situations.

An example of this in my classroom would be a recent project in my Social Studies 8 class. Students learned about the Social Hierarchy of the Feudalism System in Ancient times. Students learned from a variety of sources including a documentary, textbooks, and a powerpoint presentation. They then applied their knowledge by creating a “Modern Code of Chivalry” and creating a powerpoint presentation to share their modern day codes with the class. The summative project for the unit was a world in Minecraft Education that conveyed the social hierarchy in a 3D Model. Students created incredible homes and farms of the peasants, including farm animals in the homes for warmth, as was reflective of the time. Students conveyed their creativity by constructing detailed buildings for each aspect of the social hierarchy. Some highlights include moats around the castles, specific weapons in the Knights homes, and artwork on the walls in the castles. In my opinion, these two examples demonstrate social constructivism, as students worked collaboratively with others to create these projects.

These projects also remind me of earlier research we learned about around the “SAMR Model” of integrating classroom technology. In my opinion, these two projects are examples of high level thinking, and using technology through the process of redefinition. The students are creating new worlds that reflect their knowledge acquisition, and no two worlds that they create, are the same. They can diversify their and create visual representations of their learning.

“The SAMR model, represented as a ladder, is a four-level approach to selecting, using, and evaluating technology in K-12 education. According to Puentedura (2006), the SAMR model is intended to be a tool through which one may describe and categorize K-12 teachers’ uses of classroom technology (see Fig. 1). The model encourages teachers to Bmove up^ from lower to higher levels of teaching with technology, which according to Puentedura, leads to higher (i.e., enhanced) levels of teaching and learning.” (Hamilton et al., 2016, p. 434)”
(Hamilton et al., 2016, p. 434)

(Hamilton et al., 2016, p. 434)

Scaffolding:

Scaffolding has always been an ongoing practice in my classroom and pedagogy. Guided practice, modeling, graphic organizers, and chunking information are all part of my daily practice.

Community of Practice:

I have two consistent community of practice groups. One in technology innovation and another that gets together quarterly to discuss how to support our grade 8 learners in their transition from elementary school to high school. I enjoy getting together with other professionals so that I can enhance my perspectives, be reflective on my teaching practice, and enhance my knowledge base.

Progressive Assessment Practices

March 21, 2024 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

I’m fortunate to share my educative space with teachers who are implementing progressive practices in their classroom. I met with Connor Podmorrow in March of 2024 to inquire about his progressive assessment practices. Connor and I share a passion for integrating project-based learning, self-directed learning, and e-portfolio’s. In this interview, I am most interested in how he applies formative and summative assessment practices in his classroom. Here are the questions and videos of our interview:

Question 1: Tell us a little bit more about how you use student directed self-assessments, and with students helping with creating assessment in your practice. I’ll get you to start by telling us a little bit it was teaching philosophy and how you use it in assessment.

Dynamic Assessment Practices

Connor highlights many of the challenges we face as teachers, including being able to communicate effectively to the parents and guardians. Communicating home is one of the fundamental reasons I also use digital portfolio’s. I have my students email their parents their digital portfolio links, within in the first weeks of school, to practice writing professional emails and to learn to embed hyperlinks. My hope is that this facilitates parent and guardian involvement and that those at home can share in the students progress and success in the classroom.

Question 2:

How is assessment integrated with students? Would you do it at the beginning so that they can have an idea of what the formative process looks like or do you wait for at the end and then sit down with them and create a summative assessment rubric or like how does that look?

Connor responds by saying, “Again it’s very reflexive on the the kids that I’m working with so if I’m working with say like a group of grade 10, 11, 12s there will be I will usually have a group of curricular competencies based on that course whether it’s social 10 or social justice and I’ll have kids circle and take those curriculum pieces and place them into their own rubric and then from there.” He then goes on to describe that students will reflect directly on how their project highlights the strengths of that competency. He also has them address their growth in the project. He works collaboratively in a verbal conversation with each student in a conference setting. This is something I have been hearing more about in the classroom and I’m glad teachers are giving their 1-1 support to students in this way. In my opinion, this is much more comparable to how people get feedback in the workforce. They don’t get an “A+” on their work, they get feedback, suggestions, praise, or otherwise, and they have to digest that feedback and make changes accordingly.

Question #3

If someone is interested in the philosophies and the methodologies that you’re using could you suggest any books or resources?

Connor: “3 big ones that I lean on hard:

1 – Curse to Teach – Parker Palmer

2 – Seven Fixes – movement from summative assessment

3 – Ungrading (shown below)

https://studio.youtube.com/video/kXD7hzVlbIU/edit

Question #4

Okay, hypothetically, you’re sitting down with a student and you’re asking them about what they think their grade should be. What is some language that you use around that what’s the conversation piece if they feel like they got a certain grade, and you feel like it’s a different direction either better or worse?

https://studio.youtube.com/video/0x3WHcIhv2I/edit

Connor says he uses a visual representation of proficiency scale with, with engagement as the measurement. He says, “I lean more now to more of a visual representation of that great determination piece so I’ll have a piece of paper here and I would say like like an amber, a green, or a red and for proficiency scale that would be like extending, proficient, developing and emerging. Then, I’ll have an axel versus engagement, and then we’ll use that as a way to reference where they are.”

I appreciate that Connor has considered a visual component to the conferencing with his students. It’s important to have clarity around assessment and students are familiar with the proficiency scale, but often have difficulty understanding the association with their core or curricular competencies goals.

Overall, I appreciated sitting down with Connor and hearing his passion about assessment practices in his classroom. I gained some new insight into the practical application of conferencing with students, I myself have just started to do this in the last semester. I enjoy working one-on-one with students to talk about their perspective on their efforts and I value the formative approach that Connor has in his classroom practice.

Indigenous Education Experience

January 22, 2024 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

“Describe your best structured learning experience. It may be in a formal
K-12 or higher education school settings, apprenticeship, or experience
through your own teaching. What made it memorable and worth writing
about?”

During my Bachelor of Education, I enrolled in a program called the Post Degree Professional Program in Indigenous Education. As described on their website, “The Indigenous Education post-degree professional program is designed to enhance relational accountabilities with local Indigenous people and communities. It provides aspiring teachers (both Indigenous and non-Indigenous) with a relevant, relational, and transformative education designed to foster a deeper understanding of First Nations, Inuit and Métis histories, cultures, and ways of knowing and being.” {Updating}

Day one I recognized this program would be different. It was an enormous change from the style of learning I was used to in University. Instead of sitting at desks and listening to the Professor lecture, we sat in a circle, facing one another. Instead of taking notes, we learned through shared readings, stories and by sharing thoughts and reflections. My reflection after day one was… this is the first time anyone in my educational career in post-secondary had asked me HOW I was doing, emotionally. I felt seen, heard, validated, and quite vulnerable. I wasn’t used to sharing my feelings, in fact, I cried more than anyone in the group when it came time to share.

Perhaps the most profound thing I realized during my time in this program was that it was the FIRST time I had learned about Residential Schools in my entire life. I learned about Roman history, World Wars, and Civil Wars in highschool Socials classes – but not once did I hear about the colonization history in Canada and the effects on Indigenous Peoples. I remember thinking that I was robbed of this knowledge. I also distinctly remember that I would never let my students go without this knowledge in their lives. They deserve to know the history of their own country, so they have a clearer understanding and don’t carry biases or racism forward in their lives.

Another take away from the program was the way in which Indigenous Peoples learn and teach their young. I’m grateful that I learned this at a time when I was about to embark on my teaching career, as it formed and shaped my pedagogy and my belief in teaching in a pragmatic, experiential, and reflective way. Historically, Indigenous Peoples don’t teach in a linear or analytical way, they teach in a natural, experiential way. The Elders teach by doing, the young watch and learn, and practice by mimicking their elders. They teach through storytelling and oral language is how lessons are passed on.

We had the honour of working with an Indigenous Elder and I noticed many differences between my traditional schooling and the way he taught. He reminded me of my Papa, who would let me help him in his woodwork shop. My Papa was calm, patient, and forgiving. He would let me help him, but much of the time I just watched him work, watched how he slowly moved and carved wood into beautiful shapes. Pace was one of the biggest differences between my usual lecture-based classes, and the Indigenous ways of learning and teaching. The Elder seemed to slow time, unaffected by a clock or a regimented schedule. I was so used to working in a structure that I remember finding this difficult, and thinking, “When is this due?”

Our elder showed us how to make a paddle. We each received a large piece of wood and he taught us how to hand carve the wood into a paddle. The previous year’s class had made a canoe together, and we looked at the beauty of it as we formed our own paddles. The work we did embodied an Indigenous way of learning. We sat together, opened our hearts and shared stories, speaking our lives to one another. There was no checklist of things we needed to accomplish; the act of creating something together was the act of learning.

Later in my Career, I had the honour of working with two Indigenous Support Workers, one of which is an Indigenous man from our local Okanagan Indian Band. I gained respect for this man, who again, exemplified this calm, commanding of respect, attitude. I once again enjoyed this style of teaching he provided my students. He taught my kids how to use a bow and arrow, and how to play lacrosse, which historically has its roots in Canadian Indigenous culture.

We learned about reconciliation, and what it means to actually reconcile for Indigenous People. I learned reconciliation is about action, about creating connections, and healing through sharing stories and culture. We visited Tribal Schools on the Coast and learned how Indigenous communities are taking back their culture with language revitalization and celebrating culture.

We participated in a Seafood Festival on the Sea, where we hustled and bustled to cook fresh seafood caught by local Indigenous peoples, and served it to their community. What I noticed was these events weren’t always “glamorous”. Lying just below the surface of these families was generational-trauma, socio-economic conditions, and issues stemming from dependency on drugs and alcohol. As a class, we explored the underlying factors contributing to some of the things we saw and the lasting impacts on Indigenous communities. I felt my preconceived notions melting away and being replaced by empathy, understanding, knowledge, and a voice. A voice grew for those students who I would teach in the future and I have continued to use it. One example I will use is from an interaction I had this year with a colleague. Armed with my arsenal of understanding of Indigenous history and family dynamics, I helped one of our Indigenous students through the year with additional support. Honestly, it was mostly providing this student with adequate food, and encouraging them to get to school. Many factors at home were preventing them from attending regularly. Long story short, another teacher suggested that failing them might be a motivator for this student, and I was able to diplomatically disagree. I hope I was also able to impart some wisdom about supporting our Indigenous students and the reasons we need to make extra efforts to provide them with guidance.

I think about this program often and smile. I made strong connections with fellow educators and shaped my pedagogy to be embedded with the following ideas:

Education is not about checking boxes.

Life shapes us. Some students need more support than others.

Sharing circles can help us all grow.

Everyone learns in different ways and at different paces.

My role as an educator is to help students cultivate their strengths.

Learning is not always linear.

Celebrate Indigenous culture.

Teach about Indigenous history in Canada.

515 Discussion Forum #1:

December 2, 2023 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

Why do we do educational research? What counts as research?

What is the role of personal experience in research?

Think about the main research paradigms and types of methodologies discussed in the readings. What do you see as the strengths and weaknesses of each? Which ones do you think would be of most benefit to you as a classroom teacher? Why?

As I began reading our Educational Research textbook, the first distinction that resonated with me, was that “proof” is not the word to use. That you ultimately can’t prove anything in your research; only make hypotheses, correlations, and provide evidence for your theory. As Robert Burke Johnson states, “In all cases, the question is one of evidence. As a start, we suggest that you take the word proof and eliminate it from your vocabulary this semester or quarter when you talk about research results. Proof exists in the realms of mathematics and deductive logic, but in science and research, the best we can do is to provide evidence.” (Educational-Research_-Quantitat-r-Robert-Burke-Johnson.Pdf, n.d., p. 47) This is an important distinction and I’m glad they started the textbook with this viewpoint, as nothing we research will be a definitive, but rather, an exploration and discovery process that can ebb and flow.

Educational research is imperative because it helps create equity and change in education to meet the diverse needs of teachers and students. Without educational research, education reform would not take place and we need to make change as it’s needed. I see the needs of students changing in my classroom over the years. For example, when I started teaching fourteen years ago, cell phones were not in classrooms; those cell phones that did exist certainly didn’t have the capabilities they have today. In addition to the challenges cell phones have created, we are increasingly aware of the social emotional needs of our students. I’ve taught in many different schools and the correlation between socio-economic status and the needs of students varies drastically within our small town and is becoming the forefront of our student’s needs. As inflation makes it more difficult for families, I see the effects this is having on our communities. In one elementary school in our district, the S.E.S. is low, and students will come to school without proper clothing for the seasons, without having been fed, and with trauma-experiences from home. My mom taught for thirty years and she says, “life trumps school.” That is, if things are unstable in the home, we will see this as the primary concern for our student. How can a student concentrate if they do not have a full belly, a good night’s sleep, or a home that is stable? These considerations are always on the forefront for me, as the current school I teach at provides lunches, and seemingly more students are in need of counselling and support for anxiety, depression, and trauma.

In Table 1.1 of our textbook, a long list of areas of research is shared. From that list, I would say my areas of interest are: “Advanced technology for learning. Design & Technology. Education Reform. Motivation in Education. Teaching Educational Psychology.” {Updating}(Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2014). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (5th ed.). Page 49-50)

I’m interested in Education Reform because I see the needs of our students changing, the economy changing, technology changing access of information, and knowledge itself evolving… but I don’t think education has changed much fundamentally. I like the changes our district has made, shifting assessment practice from content-based retention and testing, to skill development. I appreciate this shift as it helps our students be prepared for the workforce. I also like the integration and focus on core competencies as our guide to creating students who are more socially-conscious and prepared for conversations, collaboration, critical and creative thinking and are aware of their social surroundings and communities. I feel passionately that experiential learning helps students create connections between their learning and their lives. For example, each year, I take my students volunteering in the community. I can talk all day in class about social and personal responsibility and caring for others, or I can take them into a Little Buddy classroom and watch them form mentorship connections with little ones. I can talk all day about the needs of our community, or I can take them to our local foodbank and get them to unpack deliveries, stock shelves, and handout food to people in need of that program.

Another part of the textbook that I appreciated was the poem they shared, called, “Elephant in the Dark.” In my classroom, I talk to students a lot about perspectives. I share the idea that we all have a certain lens for which we see the world. The way in which we look out into the world houses our viewpoints that are created from birth. From the biological makeup we each have that makes us different and unique (nature), to the homes we grow up in and the people that raise us (nurture). Each of these play a role in how we view others around us, they give us opinions to form of others, and sometimes sway us incorrectly away from critical thinking and into our own patterns. Here is the poem:

“Some Hindus have an elephant to show.

No one here has ever seen an elephant.

They bring it at night to a dark room.

One by one, we go in the dark and come out

saying how we experience the animal.

One of us happens to touch the trunk.

“A water-pipe kind of creature.”

Another, the ear. “A very strong, always moving

back and forth, fan-animal.”

Another, the leg. “I find it still,

like a column on a temple.”

Another touches the curved back.

“A leathery throne.”

Another, the cleverest, feels the tusk.

“A rounded sword made of porcelain.”

He’s proud of his description.

Each of us touchces on place

And understands the whole in that way.

The palm and the fingers feeling in the dark are

How the senses explore the reality of the elephant.

If each of us held a candle there,

And if we went in together,

We could see it.”

(Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2014). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (5th ed.). Page 78-79)

The textbook defines a research paradigm as a “worldview or perspective about research held by a community of researchers that is based on a set of shared assumptions, concepts, values and practices.” (Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2014). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (5th ed.). Page 79 ) I think we all have a lens, and will bring forth concerns that we have in our classroom and make that the focus of our research. To answer the question, “What is the role of personal experience in educational research” I would answer: what we personally experience in the classroom and what we care about is going to make an important research topic. The issues, concerns or challenges we see in the classroom will help us connect to the research from a fundamental place of care and inquiry.

Lastly, to discuss the different types of methodologies that we are learning about, I would say in my initial understanding of qualitative and quantitative measures drew me towards qualitative research methodology. This is because I like the idea of empathy, understanding and social psychology playing a role in research. “Qualitative research uses a wide- and deep-angle lens, examining human choice and behavior as it occurs naturally in all of its detail. (Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2014). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (5th ed.). Page 86). I like this idea of empathetic understanding as seen in our textbook description of qualitative research: “Qualitative researchers argue that it is important to “get close” to their object of study through participant observation so that they can experience for themselves the subjective dimensions of the phenomena they study. In qualitative research, the researcher is said to be the “instrument of data collection.” Rather than using a standardized instrument or measuring device, the qualitative researcher asks the questions, collects the data, makes interpretations, and records what is observed. The qualitative researcher constantly tries to understand the people he or she is observing from the participants’ or “natives’” or “actors’” viewpoints. This is the concept of “empathetic understanding.” (Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2014). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (5th ed.). Page 85-86). Conceptually, I’m drawn to this type of research methodology because I don’t see students as numbers, and I don’t value test scores as highly as I value interactions, discussions, and emotional growth.

I also gravitate towards qualitative research because I enjoy immersing myself in the viewpoints of others, exploring their perspectives. Phenomenology particularly interests me, looking at how “one or more individuals experience a phenomenon.” (Johnson, R. B., & Christensen, L. (2014). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (5th ed.). Page 102). For example, how trauma in the home can affect a student in their school life is of interest to me. I also like ethnography and the concepts of culture playing an important role in research. Narrative inquiry also creates curiosity for me and it likely would be the way I would conduct my research in the future as I believe we all have a story to tell.

Artificial Intelligence Presentation

November 8, 2023 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

What does the literature say about the issue, topic, or theme identified?

Presentation Created By: Deanna Fester & Jacquie Bascombe. UVic. 2023.

Research Document:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1e_P_2eZq46mVg8lXla-0irCsTeHoReweZ-CbVOpbtpU/edit?usp=sharing

Our Process:

We started researching, and found that there wasn’t much on our initial topic. We struggled to find research about how to apply artificial education in education. We wanted to take two different approaches, one for each of us; Jacquie would focus on the benefits of AI from a teacher’s perspective, I would focus on the students’ perspectives. During one of our Zoom sessions, Michael clarified our research project direction and we changed direction. That is, he defined our project as being based not on the TOPIC of AI, but instead, the RESEARCH behind AI. We decided that we would let the research guide us.

Initially, I wanted to use this research paper:

Yu, H. (2023). Reflection on whether Chat GPT should be banned by academia from the perspective of education and teaching. Frontiers in Psychology, 14, 1181712. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2023.1181712

Here was my summary of the empirical evidence gathered:

The emergence of AI has created quite a stir in the educational community and this paper outlines the dichotomous nature of the topic. While many see the benefits of the technology, others believe it creates more harm than good. “Some people believe that the development of AI technology should be supported and encouraged rather than restricted and hindered, while others believe that the rapid development of AI technology may bring enormous challenges and risks to humanity, which needs to be handled with caution.” (Yu, 2023, p. 3) The research paper outlines some specific positives for teachers, including: keeping up with social demands, providing students with more “efficient, interesting and practical learning experiences (Else, 2023). The main negative for teachers is they are struggling to differentiate between what was authentically made by the student, and what was created using AI. Positives of AI for students include time saving, and “increasing users’ interest and motivation for continuous creation.”(Yu, 2023, p. 5) The main concerns around students using AI consistently is that they will become reliant on the technology and lose the ability to think for themselves, “for example, over-reliance on AI technology could weaken students’ independent thinking” (Yu, 2023, p. 5) Although the article outlines the potential pitfalls of the reliance on AI, the underlying message and theme was that AI is here to stay. Instead of fighting the technology, “it is a better choice to integrate these tools into the education system, allowing students to learn and use them in a correct and responsible environment. However, it is essential to balance the rights of students to independently use these tools with the requirements of academic integrity, so that students can use these tools properly and responsibly. (Yu, 2023, p. 4)

“Plato claimed the use of this more modern technology would create “forgetfulness in the learners’ souls, because they will not use their memories,” that it would impart “not truth but only the semblance of truth” and that those who adopt it would “appear to be omniscient and will generally know nothing,” with “the show of wisdom without the reality.” – Plato

Tufekci, Z. (2022, December 15). Opinion | What Would Plato Say About ChatGPT? The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/15/opinion/chatgpt-education-ai-technology.html

Research context:

The article makes reference to forty-seven different research papers. One of those papers, titled, “A Comprehensive Survey on Pretrained Foundation Models: A History from BERT to ChatGPT” shares research from nineteen different researchers, spanning a global approach; collecting data from their experiences at nine different universities.

We then decided to do more exploring, and I discovered the paper I used in our presentation: Choi, E., Kim, J., & Park, N. (2023). A Case Study of SW · AI Education for Multicultural Students in Jeju, Korea: Changes in Perception of SW · AI. Applied Sciences, 13(17), 9844. https://doi.org/10.3390/app13179844

We then changed our presentation question to ask, “What does the research say about the impact of Artificial Intelligence on Education?”

I found the second research article to be more aligned with our requisites for the presentation; as the exploration was not on the purpose of AI, but rather, an in depth analysis of HOW the research was conducted.

I focused on:

Creating a Summary
Identifying the Research Problem
Identifying the Research Methodology
Research Analysis: Qualitative and Quantitative
Research Participants, including Background Variables such as Gender & Grade
Summary of Empirical Evidence
Conclusion

Jacquie and I worked together, by adding comments to google documents and our google slides presentation. I enjoyed opening our shared documents and seeing our progress. We worked to create thematic cohesion in our presentation. Jacquie was a strong partner, giving me critical and constructive feedback. She has incredible insight, and is brilliant at refocusing our research and letting the curriculum guide us. I am thankful for her insights and contributions.

Overall, I learned that I am more interested in AI than I originally thought. I even emailed my principal over the weekend and suggested the idea of starting a program at our school. Perhaps I can create an “Introduction into AI” course for our school. I am even considering using this direction for my project next year. We need more structure around the integration of AI into our classrooms and I’d like to learn more about how this might look in practical application.

Presenter at Innovate Ed Conference

October 18, 2023 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

What education technology issue, topic, or theme are you most interested in?

I am most interested in Gamification in the classroom. On October 20th, 2023, I presented at the Innovate Ed, Education Technology Conference at Vernon Secondary School.

https://www.innovate-ed.ca/

Event Description:

“The 2023 event will mark the 4th year of hosting Innovate-ED, BC’s premier educational technology conference. We are proud to say that we have welcomed over 1500 participants from across the province and hope build on that success returning to where it all began in Vernon for Innovate-ED23. Our conference tagline remains “Students @ the Centre,” where we will continue our original vision of keeping everything we do focused around innovation and the learning environment’s core participants, our students.” (n.d.). Innovate-ed. Innovate Ed. Retrieved October 1, 2023, from https://www.innovate-ed.ca/

My Presentation on Minecraft EDU

I began my presentation with asking all participants if it was okay that I film the session, and if they had any ethical concerns to please let me know prior, or privately once the session was complete. I then began with a land acknowledgement. We live on the ancestral, unceded territory of the Syilx Nation, an area of land that is plentiful and provides me with joy and appreciation every day. I then showed our agenda for the session. Next, I gave my fellow educators an opportunity to share the grade levels they teach, their subject areas, and / or, any questions they have about Minecraft. Here are some responses:

How hard is it to get Minecraft Education on old IPads?
Can the students use Minecraft to show the learning in different subject areas?
How can we unlock students’ creativity and trick them into learning – using this tool?
How can I effectively use it in the classroom?
What is its purpose?
How do I use it in the classroom?

I was pleased with these questions, as I felt my presentation was setup in a way that would answer these queries.

Next, I embedded the S.A.M.R. Model into my Presentation to enhance understanding around technology use in the classroom. I also believe the definition of “Redefinition” stage of Technology use, contributes to the validity of Minecraft. As I stated in my presentation, I believe Minecraft resides in the “redefinition” category of the model, as I’ve seen students apply their content knowledge to create incredibly creative worlds. One example of this was in my Social Studies Grade 8 class, recently. Students learned about the social hierarchy of the “Feudalism System” during the Middle Ages. They applied their content knowledge to build the physical representation of the manorialism, including castles, manors, churches, homes for the peasants and serfs, as well as the outlying forests, and livestock spaces. Students created entire villages, in this example, students are using “technology to create novel tasks.”

Next, I integrated some important perspectives from a research paper, titled, “Investigating the role of Minecraft in educational learning environments” by Noelene Callaghan. The main point I hoped to convey was the increase in engagement and interaction of gamification in the classroom. She stated, “Interaction is considered one of the most important aspects related to optimal experience with computer games” (Callaghan, 2016, p. 246)

I went on to demonstrate how to use Minecraft Education and how to access the “Subject Kits” in the program. Educators asked questions and we navigated how to use the technology.

Reflecting, here are some things I would have done differently:

Many teachers mentioned that they wanted to know HOW to “play” Minecraft themselves. I do not possess these skills – it was not the focus of my presentation. I wanted to teach them how to get their students using it; however, it would be helpful in the future.
I would have taken them through a lesson from the start, and had them “play / build” for a small amount of time.

Overall, I am happy with how the presentation went. I had 23 participants, of all different grade levels and subject areas. Some teachers came from Vancouver for the conference and I appreciated the diversity of classroom teachers we had. Of 23 participants, only 7 completed my exit survey, but here are the results:

Gamification is something I’m interested in learning more about. I wonder about:

Being able to quantify what I view as the most important part of gamification in the classroom: engagement. How would I measure engagement, if I were to use this as an area of research?
How can I collaborate with other teachers / would they be willing to partake in an explorative approach to Minecraft Education in the classroom and measuring the subsequent success of it?

Collaboration with S.T.E.M

October 18, 2023 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

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Westcoast Women in Engineering, Science and Technology

Inclusion, Collaboration & Innovation

I’ve been fortunate to be working with WWEST for four years now. I was forwarded an email from my Principal in 2020 about this opportunity and it has been an excellent opportunity for growth for myself and my students.

The WWEST come into my classroom and help my students create STEM Projects. We’ve done: Circuit Boards, MakeyMakey, structural builds, parachute creations, Minecraft EDU, Tinkercad, 3-D Printing, and more.

The biggest takeaway I have from this collaboration is that students get excited about novelty and building things with their hands. They don’t need as much direction as I always want to give; sometimes students can just explore something.

From my students, I saw engagement and excitement at this opportunity to create and learn new technologies.

How Do Other Careers Utilize Technology? Preparing Students for the Application of Technology in Various Job Sectors.

October 14, 2023 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

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.

My Interest in Integrating Technology and the Identification of Critical Action Research.

October 1, 2023 / hypeonlife / 0 Comments

What education technology issue, topic, or theme are you most interested in?

What does the literature say about the issue, topic, or theme identified?

Preparing Students for Their Future Not Our Past

“The Science Behind Change” – Katie Novak (Jeff Utecht, 2023).

One of my favourite education podcasts of all time is called, “Preparing Students For Their Future Not Our Past” by Jeff Utecht. Listening to it two years ago, I found myself looking at the education system with a more critical lens. I found myself wondering if collectively teachers were preparing students well enough for the rapidly changing social environment; specifically, with regards to technology integration in the classroom and preparing students for the workforce. Jeff calls it the “fourth industrial revolution” in this Podcast, referring to the time we live in as the “knowledge-economy” (Jeff Utecht, 2020). Essentially, he suggests that the way we used to learn is out-dated, suggesting that the education system was founded on a “just in case” model of learning, where we were taught everything… “just in case” we needed to know it (Jeff Utecht, 2020). Now, information is everywhere and more easily accessible. So we should, realistically, be changing the education system. I’m curious about this concept of education reform and thus stems my interest in pursuing this topic more deeply.

Building on this curiosity, I recently listened to another Podcast in his series, called, “302: Honoring the complexities of what it means to be an educator with Dr. Novak and Dr. Rodriguez” (Jeff Utecht, 2023). In this Podcast, he interviews Dr. Katie Novak and Dr. Kristen Rodriguez about their new book, In Support of Students: A Leader’s Guide to Equitable MTSS. I had yet to hear of this term, MTSS. A Google search defined MTSS as, “A multi-tiered system of supports (MTSS) is a proactive and preventative framework that integrates data and instruction to maximize student achievement and support students social, emotional, and behavior needs from a strengths-based perspective” (MTSS Definition – Google Search, n.d.)

302: Honoring the complexities of what it means to be an educator with Dr. Novak and Dr. Rodriguez

Many aspects of the Podcast resonated with me, which I will discuss, but what I want to talk about is more holistic. The entire approach the two Podcast guests were discussing made me recognize parallels in their research approach to what I am reading about in our textbook for 515, “Educational Research – Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches” by R Burke Johnson and Larry Christensen.

In the textbook, they describe action research as being “focused on solving specific problems that local practitioners face in their schools and communities” (Johnson & Christensen, 2014, p. 116). Action research is a combination of research and action. It generates local knowledge, and it often results in changes in practices. Action research is used to try out new strategies and practices, and the researcher carefully measures and observes the outcomes and consequences of these actions” (Johnson & Christensen, 2014, p. 116). As I’m listening to the podcast, and how the authors describe their work collectively with teachers, empathizing with them and working alongside them to enhance their teaching experience – it made me realize this might be what our textbook is describing. They have helped create strategies, what they deem to be four simple guiding practices, that will create a more equitable experience for learners. These practices will also create ease and clarity for teachers.

In the Podcast, Kirsten Rodriguez describes this aspect of their research: “I think part of the work around systems change is identifying a few key levers that we can pull, a few recipes that we can make available to this particular district that is lacking, that with those few, we can make something really amazing that everyone will benefit from” (Jeff Utecht, 2023). She goes on to say, “Designing deeper learning experiences. We are providing high quality professional development. We are adopting high quality instructional resources. We are using data authentically, and deliberately and meaningfully so that we can fast meet the students needs where they are and bring them to where they’re going. All of those actions are essentially the different ingredients, the things that we have to do, so that we can build a multi tiered system” (Jeff Utecht, 2023). This is describing actionable change, even changing the fundamental system itself, so that teachers and students can thrive. The message of their podcast sparked interest in me, that they are pursuing the very educative reform and adaptation that I had been searching for.

In our textbook, they describe critical action research as that which “emphasizes the empowerment of those with little power in their communities and society.” It further defines it as an “openly transparent form of ideology-driven research designed to emancipate and reduce oppression of disadvantaged groups in society” (Johnson & Christensen, 2014, p. 125) In comparison to the Podcast, Novak and Rodriguez say, “We cannot serve all students until we design learning that embraces the brilliance and loved experiences and identifies of our black and brown students, learners with disabilities, multi-lingual learners, students who are economically disadvantaged, LGBTQ students, students who experience trauma, and students who need more social, emotional and behavioural or academic support than we currently provide” (Novak & Rodriguez, 2023, p. 79).

Critical Action Research helps recognize marginalized individuals and groups of people, and makes actionable strategies and practices to create equity. I would then I would therefore classify Novak and Rodriguez’s work as both Participatory / Collaborative Action Research and Critical Action Research.

Reference List:

Johnson, R.B., & Christensen, L. (2014). Educational Research: Quantitative, Qualitative and Mixed Approaches (5th ed., pg 125).

Novak, K., & Rodriguez, K. (2023). In Support of Students: A Leader’s Guide to Equitable MTSS (1st ed.). Jossey-Bass.

Utecht, J. [Shifting Schools Podcast]. (2023, September 23). Honoring the complexities of what it means to be an educator with Dr. Novak and Dr. Rodriguez[Podcast]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u6KPqdvSgBo

Utecht, J. [Shifting Schools Podcast]. (2020, June 24). Preparing Students for Their Future Not Our Past [Podcast]. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ithf3LmyAFs