Category: EdTech Reflections (Page 1 of 2)

The Future of Education…

“Now it’s been ten thousand years
Man has cried a billion tears
For what, he never knew, now man’s reign is through
But through eternal night, the twinkling of starlight
So very far away, maybe it’s only yesterday” – “In the year 2525” Zager and Evans

“Their system of oppression
What did it lead to?
Global robo-depression
Robots ruled by people
They had so much aggression
That we just had to kill them
Had to shut their systems down” – “The Humans are Dead” Flight of the Conchords.

B1-77y was late for class again. The family dematerializer was on the fritz because their dog Bork got into it again before B1-77y was finished in the personal sterilization tube. The thing was only meant for human-shaped objects and would get the co-ordinates wrong on anything smaller. B1-77y could already hear his mom chastising him about not putting up the doggy gate around the dematerializer. Not to mention, Bork rematerialized within neighbour K-41ty’s home defence robot that they had stored in the garage. Bork was now an 8-foot tall half-dog-half-mecha killing machine and he hated it. He wouldn’t stop whimpering and firing 25 mm recoilless shells into the air out of frustration. Luckily, K-41ty had the day off and could Bork-sit while B1-77y went to school. He would have to hurry and get Bork to the Atomic-separator or he would be in big Doo Doo with Ma and Pa. But that was later news, first B1-77y had to go analog to get to school. He put on his rebreather before heading out. A short trip like this oughta be fine but he could hear his Ma in the back of his head warning him, “Listen, B1-77y you’ll get the Covidcancer if you aren’t careful!”. So, he was careful. He didn’t want to tempt the gods of teenage punishment too much. He walked a couple of hundred meters to the circulatory pod. There were a couple of people ahead of him and it only sat 6. Though, one came every 90 seconds so he didn’t have to wait long. The pod took him and an elderly passenger whose shiny silver climate protection suit was very tight and very unwashed. The pod zipped underground and after a few slight jerks and drops, B1-77y and his smelly, and hypnotically jiggly co-pilot were at the hub. The door on the pod was cranky, and wouldn’t finish opening all the way. B1-77y held it more open his Pod-pal so they wouldn’t have to duck as they slowly made their exit. They turned around to smile at B1-77y. He smiled back, But, all B1-77y could think is, “First my dog, now I smell like an old person, great.”

The hub was bustling. People and a variety of personal bots were buzzing around. Hovering above, in a grid-like fashion, were dozens of drones. Most of them were tethered to the station with a thin line that acted as a power supply. However, a few larger ones, that slowly patrolled in a pre-programmed manner, were unchained. The announcements for the air-trams arrival came from all of these larger drones all at once. The volume was loud enough to cut across the ambient noise level of the station but not so loud as to deafen any of the commuters. “Air Tram a76 North arriving at Hub 07, Please scan your P.I.D. as you get on board. Have a nice day!”. B1-77y’s personal integrated device was a youth device so it dangled around his wrist. Once you turned 18 you could opt for an implant, which most people did. It was just way more convenient. Before, the airlocks could shut B1-77y saw one of the drones LED strips turn red, and heard a robotic voice, “L3n Brown, SN B01 207 698, Stop right there, criminal scu…” but it was cut off with the door shutting. As the air tram pulled away he saw a man in soiled non-protective clothes shaking violently to the ground as half a dozen drones launch their taze prods into him. “Sucks to be him” though B1-77y.

The rest of B1-77y’s ride to school was uneventful.

He arrived a little late. The school security liaison and two guard robots were still at their post at the front of the school.

“Hey B1-77y, late again I see”

“Yeah M4ck, dematerializer is on the fritz.”

“It’s always something with you haha” He laughed, “You know the drill, step through the weapons scanner”

They had the new model of the scanner at their school. It was much more accurate and didn’t require you to stand in a T pose when it scanned you.

“Looks good B1-77y. Now, get to class”

One of the guard robots said in a particularly canned voiced,

“R-e-m-e-m-b-e-r B1-77y get A’s o-r g-e-t v-a-p-o-r-A-zed H-a H-a H-a”

With a metallic clunk, the other robot smacked the shoulder of the jokester-bot with his arm blaster.

“121ck, y-o-u c-a-n-n-o-t s-a-y t-h-i-n-g-s l-i-k-e t-h-a-t” 

“H-e k-n-o-w-s I-m j-o-k-i-n-g, r-i-g-h-t B1-77y?”

“Sure, 121ck Seeyah guys”  B1-77y retorted, and as he ran off he could hear one of the robots start,

“W-e a-r-e n-o-t g-u-y-s. W-e a-r-e….”

B1-77y ran up to the school. Most kids did VRPS or Virtual Reality public school, which was basically a program that ran K-12 in the digital-space. It barely got an update every 5 years though. So Bi-77y’s parents shelled out the extra cred so he could attend class in real space. That’s why they weren’t home. Both of them worked and sometimes Bi-77y wished he did VRPS because he felt so much pressure to do well for them. Also, then he could hang out with Bork. And Bork was awesome.

Instead, he ran up to the wall rack, scanned his PID, and pressed the ejector. A clear square tablet came out. He flashed it in front of its face and it booted up. Two late homework notifications, “Yeah, Yeah I know,” he said to himself. He quickly walked to class. Most of the classes were electro chromatic plasti-glass-walled so you could see in and the class could see out at you. That is if they didn’t have curtain mod engaged. His class didn’t have the curtain mode engaged. So he tried to enter as inconspicuously as he could. Fortunately, the teacher had come as a holo today so their observation camera was tracking their avatar. Bi-77y hated when hated being called out this teacher loved to call out late students. The camera tracked to where B1-77y was seated just as he got situated. His bad luck must have been used up on Bork. Bork was always taking one for the team

In the class, the students were a mix of attentive, sending sneaky messages on their transmitters, and cycling through microvids on their PD’s. His classmates with iMatrix 10’s were particularly distracted. It wrapped around your wrist, only the user could see the video, and its audio was sent to the student’s personal transmitters so only they could hear it! The thing was basically designed to tank your performance characterization.

Two particularly giggly students were tempting fate, jamming the teachers’ holo avatar signal so it was wearing the latest popular avatar accessory. A spiky dog chain necklace that said in bold font, “The Bad Dog”. Their fun was cut short when they failed to de-accessorize her before the observation camera moved to where her avatar was located. Her voice came through their tablets, “That’s it. I’m putting on the PD jammer. ” The students that were once giggling with the trouble makers now looked at them accusatorily.

The teacher continued, “We’ll continue free work later. If you would please load lesson D88: Human-Mutant Biology Theory, we are continuing from last week’s lesson on Human-Mutant social history. S4m-4nth4 can you remind us what our big takeaway was.”

S4m-4nth4, one of the lead gigglers, couldn’t help herself, “Just because Muty’s munch our garbage doesn’t mean they don’t have feelings?”

“C’mon, S4m” The teacher chastised, “Try again”

“Uh, Muty-I mean Mutated Persons, are people just like us.”

“That’s right, does anybody else have anything to add?”

“We are all mutants just some are mutated on the outside and some on the inside and some more than others?”

“That’s right, every single one of you has genetic deviation, it’s unavoidable after the Corporate-Nation war.” She continued…

“However, when should you alert your PID”

B1-77y hesitantly raised his hand.

“Uhh, when we come across a flesh-eater?”

“That’s right annnnd….”

“Flesh eaters come in all shapes and sizes. Person and bot?”

“That’s right, so how do we know they are a flesh-eater?”

B1-77y thought hard and a couple of painful seconds past

“B0B do…”

B1-77y cut her off as the answer suddenly came to him,

“Because they wear meat trophies!”

“Good job B1-77y!”

B1-77y’s tablet glowed green for a second indicating a positive performance characterization addition. Maybe today wasn’t going to be so bad…

Edtech Camp Part Deux: The Re-Edtech-aning. I will post screenshots from the mural that was generated from our discussion below along with some links of interest. I was in the simulation discussion group. Though we ended up talking quite a lot about Ai and augmented reality. I brought the idea of process theatre being a form of simulation that is utilized in the real space as opposed to the digital space. We talked about our concerns about how much we may come to rely on digital simulations. However, we also discussed that there really isn’t a replacement for the real thing. Additionally, we discussed simulations as a form of access for learners who may not have access to certain real spaces. As I type that, I find it unnerving how more and more I have to differentiate between the real and the digital space. Honestly, I blame Mark Zuckerberg.

And here are some links from the mural,

Curation:

https://www.commonsense.org/education/top-picks/great-apps-and-websites-for-curation

Simulations:

https://phet.colorado.edu/en/simulations/browse

https://www.openanatomy.org/atlas-pages/

https://www.geogebra.org/calculator

Gamification:

https://ca.ixl.com/standards/british-columbia/math

https://beinternetawesome.withgoogle.com/en_us

Cheers!

R

I went to Tracy Humphrey’s BCedaccess session. However, I am just now reading about Damon Kirsebom’s story at https://unitedforcommunicationchoice.org/damon-kirsebom-when-people-see-me-typing/851/

I’ll get into the session later. I just wanted to comment on how beautiful and inspiring this young man’s story is. I think it encapsulates my understanding of access, which is giving equitable access to all students to both learning, and the world around them.

I know I really struggled in school. Though I haven’t been diagnosed as of yet, I know I have ADHD. I didn’t realize what shaped my experience in elementary and high school was my neurodiversity. I didn’t understand how I was different but I knew I was and often found myself struggling against both my nature and the school system. However, getting an assessment back then would have meant being put in a program that wouldn’t end with a dogwood so my parents opted to not have one. (My older brother was assessed and his high school experience was even worse than my own).

After our session with Tracey, the system does seem better but it is nowhere near where it should be. We talked about utilizing techs such as FM systems and AAC (Augmented alternative communication, much like what Damon uses in the video above). However, one of the main points she discussed was near the end. She emphasized that IEP’s can be very valuable, so long as the teachers use them.

Finally, we talked about stigmatization. I know, from my own experience, there was a stigma around ADHD. While I knew I had some sort of learning disability early on, I never asked my parents or the school to look into it (In primary elementary I was placed in a specialized learning group for a couple of weeks because I couldn’t focus in class. It was short-lived because they determined my reading was actually at a higher than average level.). Again, this was partially because of my parents worrying I would be treated like my older brother. However, it was also because every show I watched (mostly the simpsons), every comic I read (a lot of MAD), and the news I watched (Chek, weird for a kid – I know) characterized ADHD kids as vibrating little monsters who would be fed pills until they were zombies. Now I know it’s different, and it can be better. Not only for me but my future learners.

R

This reflection will be on Liberating structures, Online vs in-person learning, and open annotation.

What are liberating structures? From https://www.liberatingstructures.com/

“Liberating Structures introduce tiny shifts in the way we meet, plan, decide and relate to one another. They put the innovative power once reserved for experts only in hands of everyone.“

Basically, they are the way to promote brainstorming, discussion, collaboration, and participation in non-conventional ways. We fall into routines and conventions of interaction that can lead to stagnation. The website above offers a shwack of ways to avoid that. The title page says 33 structures can be found within the website. The one we used to practice was the mad tea exercise whose instructions can be found below (Pulled from Edci 336 slides made by Michael Paskevicius)

We discussed the best and worst parts of online learning during the mad tea exercise and were able to have a quick and engaged discussion! A fantastic tool I will carry forward with me.

Additionally, we looked at open annotation and https://web.hypothes.is/ which to me seems like another fantastic way to stir discussion and assess engagement.

Though to be honest I don’t have any user experience. I hope in the future I’ll have more time to explore and understand the site. Until then, it will remain safe in my resources bookmark tab!

Until Next time!

R

Edcamp!

This reflection will be on my first experience with Edcamp through Edtech. The model is simple. There is a theme and the users generate topics related to the theme. Then they all vote on the topics and whatever topics are in the top spot become the discussion topics. The main group then splits into smaller discussion groups to talk about the topics.

The two topics I spent the most time at were integrating arts into STEM and updating sex education in schools.

Firstly, during the Stem + art talk, I came across the acronym STEAM which I was unfamiliar with. According to my other group members, visual arts and stem subjects seemed to be heading toward a joined future which is great. This wasn’t necessarily a topic I had strong opinions about but I very much enjoyed hearing everyone else discuss their opinions and share their information.

The next topic I joined was updating the sex education curriculum. And from the sounds of it, it could probably use a strong update. The methods to teach it seems archaic to a modern sensibility.

We talked a lot about how we still have a lot of stigma around sex education and still teach sex and STI’s through a negative lens. Additionally, consent education needs to start young and be ongoing. Understanding their and others’ boundaries is crucial. One of the things we all concluded is, that for something that is so fundamental to human existence and interrelation – two weeks a year is not enough for teenagers. They need properly educated persons and more time spent on the topic each year. However, it sounds like Alaya will be pursuing generating change in a positive direction once she becomes a teacher. That inspires hope in me that there will be a change.

To conclude, it’s fantastic how Edcamp, with such little setup, can generate such interesting and engaging topics. Not to mention how much I was able to learn from my peers!

Until next time,

R

This week Trevor Mckenzie talked to us. While I had already bought into the Inquiry model this was the first time it really clicked. We talked through how our learning experience will inform our teaching experience. Spoiler alert, it really affected the way I see myself teaching. And while I see that as mostly a good thing, he did remind us to be wary of our biases that are created through our experiences as learners. Well, he said not to just be wary, but to be interrogative of our practice. He really does seem like someone who actively practices his growth mindset. And that reflects on the way he styles his pedagogy.

One of the questions he told us to ponder was, “am I doing something for my students that they should be doing themselves?” and that’s going to stick with me. Task delegation is one of my weak points as teamwork so I am sure that, if I am not careful, that could inform my teaching practice.

Additionally, a lot of what Trevor said just made sense. The idea of negotiables and non-negotiables being a part of how we design the term for our students really clicked.

He uses this image of a pool as a metaphor for his inquiry model,

And while it seems like a linear progression, what he insisted was that learners can go back and forth between stages. From my understanding, a lot of what Trevor is saying is to give as much agency as you can to the students to help them grow. However, another Trevor quote is ” The depth of agency does not equate to the depth of learning”. Which, again, makes sense, we want to give our learners the best opportunities to grow not arbitrarily give them free reign or structure because we think it’s the best methodology.

This leads to what strikes me as the foundation of good inquiry-based learning. Building relationships with your learners. You must know your students to know what’s best for their learning. One of the techniques he shared with us was for having the students set a personalized competency goal with a bitmoji sticker to track their progress.

Another other thing Trevor touched on was the subjectivity of marking. A statistic he gave us was there can be +/- 10% difference in assessment between two teachers

All in all, the information was accessible, he seemed genuine, and I really appreciated the sweet moment he had Professor brown.

10/10 Will buy his book.

Cheers,

R

This week was all about Jeff Hopkins and his inquiry-based independent school PSII. This class was interesting as I have strong notions and feelings about independent schools. However, after listening to Jeff, I was a little more favourable – at least to his situation. Jeff took us through what happens at his school and the model he uses. But, and I think as importantly, he took us through the process he had to take to bring this school to life. His struggle to have the creative freedom to pursue his pedagogical principles is inspiring. And the fact that affluent parents were willing to spend a lot of money to send their children to his school really means something. I hope that as he becomes more grounded he will struggle, as had as he did to create his school, for creating access to that style of learning for less affluent learners. It’s important we try our best to create equitable opportunity or we are failures as educators.

It sounded like all of his students did quite well. The evidence of the learning and creativity they brought to their inquiry projects was just astounding. I, personally, feel the inquiry model is the best model for creating self-regulated learners with a high level of self-efficacy and agency. Additionally, it’s the model I tend to do my best work in here in post-secondary. Back to Jeff, I was particularly blown away by the business acumen of the student who created the site for selling her fellow students’ art. I, however, can’t find the link that I had thought I had bookmarked if anyone knows what I am talking about feel free to comment below. My only critique is that I can’t seem to find a mention of it in my notes of community work. The student’s projects that were shared with us were a lot about innovating their own businesses and projects. I hope that is just the fact I was loose and fast with my note-taking or Jeff failed to mention it. Because, just like equitable learning, students should be focused on building community and connecting with the humans around them.

Jeff has done some amazing things and Jeff’s school is still young and well, so is Jeff. I hope he continues to refine his model into one that is accessible for all learners and keeps the students thoughtful of how they can help those around them as much as they can help themselves.

Cheers!

R

Blog post three or me and my ed-tech adventures-ee. On this day we examined the use of educational videos and also had a tutorial on video editing software by Rich McCue. Side note: Rich McCue has led two of our tutorials. He just has that calm tutorial demeanour and tone of voice that could give Bob Ross a run for his money. 

Carrying on, firstly, we examined the use of educational videos. I love good educational videos and often will use youtube as a launch point for my own research. I hope to seamlessly incorporate them into my classroom. We can all remember the lame videos that we were forced to watch in high school. The CRT, motorcycle strapped to a cart, with VHS’s that felt so old that they were more keyed toward our grandparent’s generation than our own. Though, to give credit to my high school teachers, I have experienced how difficult it is to find a good video that balances entertaining with education. I had to teach a class on mime and I found the most informational ones to be from 1975. However, I tried to balance it with some modern dance to draw a comparison between the two. The students still hated the older film despite my best efforts I’ll link it below so you readers can groan like my students did.

✅Marcel Marceau I Bip As A Skater [1975] by CIRCOFRENIA on YOUTUBE.COM

I understand they can be so much more and have an archive of videos I enjoy. I hope to continue building my library with more modern examples so the students are so removed from the content. Or, at least, I am able to provide videos that I am passionate about so I can sell the students on the content.

Next, we had Rich McCue as a guest. He lead us through a tutorial on Openshot and I, personally, found this workshop the most useful so far in regards to tutorials. I was able to instantly apply the knowledge to another class for an introductory video. I will undoubtedly use this software in the future and the short video-making format. Heck, if I can’t find the educational video that I want to use I could always make it. And now, I have the ability to do so. I’ve linked the video I built for the other class below!

Cheers!

R

The War on Drugs was a failure. Lots and lots of research and data have proven this(https://www.globalcommissionondrugs.org/reports). Likewise, abstinence-only sex education doesn’t work. Again, lots and lots of research and data have proven this(https://www.jahonline.org/article/S1054-139X(17)30260-4/fulltext). So why, as educators, do we take this approach to social media and modern digital technologies? The war on Tik Tok, Facebook, Snapchat, and Instagram has to stop. It’s unwinnable. The students won’t abstain. So, it is us who must adapt.

We had Jessie Miller in as a guest lecturer. He told us about the influence and integration of mobile tech in education. One of the early points he talked about is how society has now integrated modern technologies so deeply it’s part of our social infrastructures like roads or phones. He argued for the adaptation of these technologies into education instead of denying students access during class time. 

After hearing Jessie speak, I certainly won’t be separating students from their devices unless they are using them for racism, bullying, or other more extreme behavioural issues. One of his key arguments against denying access to mobile technologies to students during class is the anxiety it produces. To be honest, while I had no intention of doing something as drastic as collecting phones from students, but I hadn’t put much thought into my mobile phone policy in class.

 If the phone is just a distraction, that’s probably on me and my lesson. But, unfortunately, anything can be a distraction. While observing students in class, this became abundantly clear. I’ve seen students dissecting whiteout tape dispensers, counting change, and whittling pencils. So, back to Jessie’s point, educators should be working with this technology instead of fighting against it because its use by students is inevitable. You can’t stop a metaphorical river, but you can have some control over the direction of its flow.

I’m old enough to remember the mid 90’s and having computer blocks once a week in elementary school where we could have access to the internet. The schools saw this new technology, this new way of communicating, as something children needed to know how to use safely. For some reason, education stayed at that point while technology kept moving forward. We, as educators, need to catch up. We don’t need to know the ins and outs of every platform out there. The students will always know more than us. However, we should understand how to model being an “empathetic and ethical user.” (J. Miller, personal communication,  September 24, 2021)

Cheers!

R