Digital and Media Literacy [Bloggers D: Ericsson (2012) & Media Smarts (2017)]

Computer Use 774
Bloggers D: Blog Post - 29 February 2017

The development in the industrial sector has led to huge technological advances, which in turn has led to changes in the ways we go about our daily lives. An example of where said changes have taken place can be seen in our approaches to teaching and learning. We are engaging in a shift from the chalkboard to the computer screen in the classroom. The following discussion will briefly explore how digital and media literacy can benefit both the teacher and the learner.

Traditionally, digital literacy refers to personal, technological, and intellectual skills necessary to participate in the digital world safely, wisely, and ethically (Media Smarts, 2017). Media literacy refers to the consumption of mass media in a critically engaging manner. The infiltration of digital practices in media means we cannot posit that digital literacy and media literacy are separate concepts. They are interrelated and mutually supporting in their constant flux of change and adaptation. Although most learners are digitally inclined, they still, however, lack the digital literacy skills to apply critical thinking to digital texts and approach the internet in a responsible and ethical manner. (Media Smarts, 2017). Therefore it is now the role of the educator to guide the learners and provide them with the necessary skills to do so. Thus, the educator aids the learners in the development of their digital literacy in order for digital pedagogy to function successfully.

Ericsson (2012) argues that textbooks and chalkboards no longer interest students, seeing as they are so reliant on digital stimulation. Through the implementation of digital pedagogy, learners will be able to comprehend, contextualise, and critically evaluate digital information in order to make informed decisions (Media Smarts, 2017).

“Knewton” and “Coursera” are examples of programs that can be used in the classroom to aid and develop the learning process. One of the major benefits of “Knewton” – which is an online aid – is its ability to predict failure in advance and, then to prevent it from happening again. The more people use it, the better and smarter the system gets which allows for more effective learning. It allows access to a lot of information and not just a textbook. “Coursera” offers high a quality product at a very low marginal cost for a student. Interactive videos allow the students to exchange ideas and questions. It also has various meaningful assessments and not just multiple choice exercises. The interactive basis allows the learners to form a community and ask questions that will be answered, and also creates a social experience.

One can thus argue that digital pedagogy benefits the learner, seeing as digital and media literacy is developed, and the learner is provided with a functional skills set in terms of searching for online information.

Mapping semantics: What a brain dictionary looks like

"Where exactly are the words in your head? Scientists have created an interactive map showing which brain areas respond to hearing different words. The map reveals how language is spread throughout the cortex and across both hemispheres, showing groups of words clustered together by meaning. The beautiful interactive model allows us to explore the complex organisation of the enormous dictionaries in our heads." (Nature Video, 2016)

Explore the brain model for yourself here: http://gallantlab.org/huth2016 

Read the paper here: http://www.nature.com/doifinder/10.10...

Group C: Davis (2014), DoE (2004), and Provenzano (2015)

Computer Use 774
Bloggers C: Blog Post - 22 February 2017

As we move into a more information-technological (IT) world; the youth education platform is reshaping. More and more educators are starting to use social media platforms in order to interact with and educate their learners. As this IT revolution starts to take over the teaching world, the question still remains: is there a place for social media and technologies in the classroom?

"The challenge is to transcend the mere exchange of information and to transform e-Education into a range of learning activities that meet educational objectives." (DoE, 2004).

One challenge between the developed and developing countries is the increasing inequalities between the rich and poor, both among and within nation. Only 6.4% of South Africans have access to these technology platforms (DoE, 2004). According to the White Paper on e-Education, ICT as a revolution has had an impact on curriculum development and delivery, but also continues to present new challenges for both education and training systems all around the world (DoE, 2004).

Challenges are in three areas, “participation in the information society; impact of ICTs on access, cost effectiveness and quality of education; and integration of ICTs into the learning and teaching process” (DoE, 2004: 8).  

In the context of South Africa inequalities affect the integration of ICT’s into education (DoE, 2004). There are still over 19 000 schools that do not have access. There is also a visible gap in the ability teachers to effectively use these technologies (DoE, 2004).

Social media should be considered a valuable learning resource. It can be used to make one's classroom more engaging, relevant and culturally diverse (Davis, 2014). Social media can also encourage learning outside of the classroom (Provenzano, 2015). This tool can lead students to interesting articles, discussions or videos that relate to the work done in the classroom.

This is not only seen in schools but also in our own experiences in university. Students learn through researching and communicating via social media. As demonstrated in our current module, the use of social media has provided us with many alternative ways of communicating. Groups need not take extra time to travel, group work is completed online. Exposure to technologies such as interactive whiteboards, will advance us as future teachers. If we are placed in a school where these technologies are used, we will be fully equipped to operate these systems.

Although the implementation of technology may be difficult in certain areas, but once integrated it can be a helpful tool. Children can explore a whole new world of possibilities through digital data. Davis (2004) and Provenzano (2015)  demonstrates that it can be a very useful tool if used in the correct way. It creates creative learning opportunities and provides multiple platforms where teachers can communicate with their learners. Social media is not going anywhere, so we may just as well use it to our advantages.

Group B: Cox (2015), Levin (2011), and Henderson, Selwyn & Aston (2015)

Computer Use 774
Bloggers B: Blog Post - 15 February 2017

Cox exclaims that lesson planning is one of the most crucial elements in a teacher’s career. According to the article, the creation of this detailed guide should consist of exhaustive steps which outline the objectives and aims of the teacher as well as what the student is to accomplish by the end of the lesson. Essentially, lesson planning helps educators achieve their role which is to help learners apply concepts and their ultimate responsibility as “In loco parentis’’. Cox further explains that there are multitude resources available online which can assist teachers in lesson planning and the process of curriculum development (Cox, 2015). 

Cox concludes that without a lesson plan it would be nearly impossible to execute a lesson. Thus the lesson plan will help the educator manage her/his classroom and keep the learners focused. A precise guideline, to lead them to what information the student will be learning and how the educator will go about teaching the required content.

The interview, which was conducted by Levin, shed light on the difficulties many students face in the mainstream school system of rote-learning. One solution was evident where the learners started their own movement to educate themselves in group format  inside their own school environment. This process spontaneously sparked a thirst for knowledge in each learner and may benefit us in our current context to enlighten teachers in different modes of education, in terms of group- and independent work. This approach would allow the learners to explore subject content to their satisfaction and it also gives learners their own responsibility and allow them to be agents of their own knowledge (Levin, 2011). 

Henderson,Selwyn and Ashton (2015: 1-12) argues that the use of digital technologies create an ideal platform to engage into student’s lived reality. This however has the consequence of disrupting students’ study experience and needs to be supported by “more user-friendly” systems.          

In the Higher Education environment, digital technologies were found to be more useful in the management of the logistics of the learning experience than in enhancing the learning material itself. Digital technologies make the learning experience accessible, flexible and mobile. Complimentary leisure’s provide great support to enrolling first year students, as well as transfer academics.  Yet, rather than seeing it as the preferential means of studying available, digital technologies should be regarded as one of many securities offered by our Universities (Henderson, Selwyn & Aston, 2015).

How to Apply the SAMR Model with Ruben Puentedura

Following up on this week's class; here's some more Ruben Puentedura – piped in from YouTube :)

I'm curious to find out if anybody reading this blog has had any experiences of ICT integration in teaching practices that make sense in the light of SAMR? What does SAMR-guided teaching look like in our contexts? What would it look like in your own classroom?

Let me know in the comments!

FWMK

Group A: Unwin (2005), Tufekci (2014), and Fullan (2014)

Computer Use 774
Bloggers A: Blog Post - 8 February 2017

Unwin[1] advocates the value of ICTs (information and communication technologies) in confronting obstacles in the education system in African schools and states that it is vital to implement ICTs by using “print media, audio, video, computers and the Internet” in their curriculum. In a South African context where resources and efficient teachers are often lacking, especially in rural settings, this is a difficult goal to achieve. Unwin does offer some solutions to the various challenges of using ICT in an African context but does not address the issue of raising the extensive resources needed for ICT implementation.

Unwin evidently shows that ICT is an advancement for the education system in Africa. For the implementation of ICT to be successful, teacher training is of vital importance. Unwin discusses possible solutions to better equip teachers to educate in all regions and implement a system such as ICT, which allows for a more blended learning system. Increasing internet access and computer laboratories in Africa allows for unlimited access to information that will further help their education processes.

“Social media has helped move us to a world in which people are no longer passive” says Tufekci in her piece responding to the apparent ignorance perpetrated globally by leading newsrooms regarding “misunderstandings” over the ways in which social media works engage. She continues, “because that's how the medium works”, albeit in reference to journalistic practices. Using social media as a platform through which educators could encourage active participation and critical engagement in the classroom promotes equity and inclusivity on a platform that has already been wholly embraced by an educator’s target audience.

With technology in this modern day, social media platforms has made it easier to share with the world. Tufekci gives her opinion on social media, and states that it indeed helps us to progress to a world where people aren’t “passive, silent subjects of journalists”. In teaching any given subject, communication is an important platform. Learners and/or students must be able to communicate freely with their teacher/lecturer, whether it be by means of social media or direct contact.

Technology has the ability to provide students with information anytime, anywhere. In his video, Michael Fullen[2] discusses the role that technology can play in deepening the quality of learning. Fullen concludes that technology plays a part in making learning “irresistibly engaging” and allows students access to problem solving at all hours. One approach that Fullen suggests for integrating technology in the classroom is the “flipped classroom” where students can access a recorded version of the lesson at home and can reflect or do the “homework” in class. Teachers are activators of and students partners in learning.

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[1] Unwin, T. (2005). Towards a framework for the use of ICT in teacher training in Africa. Open Learning, 20(2), 113–129. doi:10.1080/02680510500094124
[2] How Technology is Changing the Conversation (2014, January 20). Michael Fullan: Technology, the new pedagogy and flipped teaching Retrieved from https://youtu.be/GCvwtiOH0co

Using ICT vs Integration: What's the difference?

You might be looking at the Computer Use (Ed) module, wondering what all the fuss is about. Fear not, I initially wondered about it too!

To my mind, the affordances of technology had always seemed obvious: Tech allows us to do cooler things than before, duh! (Then again, I remember the 80s, and I've always been a bit of a SciFi geek... so there's that.)

But it isn't all as simple as that. Not only can Information and Communication Technology (ICT) be incredibly helpful – it can also be incredibly frustrating, or even scary. This ambiguous potential seems amplified when it comes to the business of teaching and learning. Some teachers/learners love ICTs, while others loathe it. The problem is, however, that we often have to fend for ourselves when it comes to adopting technology for learning and teaching – whether we have a choice in the matter or not. How do we do this, and why?

Both these questions are important to consider if we are to benefit from ICT in education. "Why" is, in my opinion, the first question we need to consider before we can get to the "How". I am not going to give you an answer though – as I want you to reflect on this and come up with some suggestions (you're welcome to use the comments section below).

Why do you think ICT is/isn't important in your teaching practice?

Maybe looking at some of the "How" ideas can help us reverse-engineer the issue:

One of the more common hiccups I've encountered in teaching practice relates to misconceptions about getting technology into the classroom. What exactly does it mean? Aren't we trying to get technology out of the classroom? Can't we just teach the way we always have? And that's the point, really... I'm sure you've been in classrooms (or lecture halls) where the facilitators are quite chuffed with themselves for "using technology to teach", mainly by translating their handouts and notes into a PowerPoint presentation. Some advancement on this approach might be a facilitator using clickers (once) to demonstrate polling. While these instances are indeed examples of using technology in the classroom, they are not exactly shining examples of integration.

What is the difference between using and integrating technology in our educational practices? The following chart, by Aditi Rao (2013), highlights some important distinctions that might help us think about the matter:

Source: https://teachbytes.com/2013/03/29/whats-the-difference-between-using-technology-and-technology-integration/

One way to look at it, is to see using ICT as a perfunctory nod towards innovation in education, while integrating ICT can be seen as a fundamental acknowledgement of the augmentational and developmental potential such innovation might hold for our pedagogies.

How do you see it?

FWMK