Category: EDCI 572- Development and Implementation of Curriculum

Photo by Alexander Sinn on Unsplash

It is hard to find the drive to write a post this week. I am on spring break and I should be relaxing, but I can’t get this out of my head. I was going to make a post on the basics of Adobe Premiere, but I have no access to this software at my house and therefore cannot screen capture the video. That got me thinking, how will I teach computers from home? Furthermore, how do I teach computers to learners who don’t have internet, or computers, at their house? I have realized that it is easy to take for granted the things we have, and it is only at a time like this do we see the issues many face around us.

The software adaptations are easy and the lessons would be based on the software the students would have access to, using their Microsoft school district accounts. I would have to retool what is taught to be based around that software only and not the Adobe suite that I, and my students, are used to learning. Overall, this adaptation is not hard. However, that does not solve the problem of accessibility to all learners. There is equity to think about. Though I don’t know how I am going to combat this issue, I am comforted to know that with our late spring break, this affords other districts to tackle that issue and come to some solutions that I can adapt to my own practice. 

Though my class, while in the school, is based on individualized, self-paced, open learning, I would have to adapt and so will they. This will allow me to renew my understanding of certain, attainable software and expand my arsenal of learning for the students. 

As for the school, I am thinking, with administration consent, I will start a school youtube channel where teachers can have their own playlist. That way they can screen record their lessons and load them onto the channel for the students to use and learn from. This will afford them to have access to their teachers and learn from them. Though this again does not answer the equity of access issue.

So here I am, sitting at this laptop, thinking of ways to close that chasm. I find it hard to visualize what form my content and teaching will take, but that is part of the challenge. Maybe, this will add new ways for me to reach learners. Maybe, this will force me to redefine my pedagogy. Maybe, I will just be spinning my wheels. I am unsure as to what the next few months will mean for the education system and how we teach at this time. However, until we answer this in a way in which I can reach all my learners, not just the privileged, there is little light at the end of the tunnel.

 

Photo by Priscilla Du Preez on Unsplash

The medium of my day was written. The way that we showed we understood/learned, was by completing a test or write a paper. That was it. It was less about empowerment and more about being an automaton.  In the rare class, we would do an oral presentation. Those times have changed. 

In class this week, we heard from Tim Winkelmans. He discussed the creation, and importance, of the BC Digital Literacy Framework within the education system of BC. I can’t agree more with the creation of this framework, though as my job is teaching technology, I may be biased. Having heard about the International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE), during the meeting,  I dug deeper into the ideals of this society. I feel it is nothing but a validation of how myself, and my fellow teachers at my school, are trying to increase our digital literacy to better empower our students. Though we are yet to meet all these standards, we are working to improve our abilities to incorporate more in our practice and, in turn, create more independent, adaptable, resilient, and multi-faceted students. In this blog, I want to concentrate on the empowered learner from both the BC Digital Literacy Framework and the ISTE Framework. Though the two are similar, it is interesting to see where the ISTE framework is more rigorous in terms of a student growth mindset. 

The ISTE site describes the empowered learner as:

1a- Students articulate and set personal learning goals, develop strategies leveraging technology to achieve them and reflect on the learning process itself to improve learning outcomes.

1b- Students build networks and customize their learning environments in ways that support the learning process.

1c-  Students use technology to seek feedback that informs and improves their practise and to demonstrate their learning in a variety of ways.

1d- Students understand the fundamental concepts of technology operations, demonstrate the ability to choose, use and troubleshoot current technologies and are able to transfer their knowledge to explore emerging technologies. (“ISTE Standards for Students,” n.d.)

See Chart created by Deirdre Houghton, Gary Soles, and I, displaying the BC digital Literacy outcomes the students will be meeting, below:

 

BC Digital Literacy Framework	Learning Outcome	Student Activity
Research and Information Literacy	Locates, organizes, analyzes, evaluates, synthesizes and ethically uses information from a variety of sources and media. (Gr. 10-12) Integrates, compares and puts together different types of information related to multimodal content. (Gr. 10-12) Understands the different purposes and contexts of digital image editing. (Gr. 10-12) Integrates, compares and puts together different types of information related to multimodal content. (Gr. 10-12)  Structures, classifies, and organizes digital information/content according to a certain classification schemes or genres. (Gr. 10-12)	Learners complete an Inquiry Project on Truth and Reconciliation using various research sources (website/articles).  Upon completion of Inquiry, learners create a hand-drawn motif on paper (via knowledge from inquiry project), then transfer their design to Adobe Software then finally to Aspire.  Learners will then transfer their files via memory stick to the carpentry shop to upload the G-Code to the computer numerically controlled router (CNC machine).
Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making	Creates complex models and simulations of the real world using digital information. (Gr. 10-12) Can program ranging from using block building code tools to a high-level programming language. (Gr. 10-12)	Learners will have a defined workspace in which to print their reflective motif. They will have to measure and design their section of the feather in both the carpentry shop and in the Aspire software.
Creativity and Innovation	Remixes different existing digital content into something new. (Gr. 10-12) Understands how meaning is produced through multimedia (text, images, audio, video) and how culture is produced through the Internet and social media in particular. (Gr. 10-12)	Learners will have to respect and attain permission to use any Indigenous symbology.  Learners will have to design around the artifact, if used, to make sure that the representations of the symbol are used correctly.
Digital Citizenship	Understands the legal and ethical dimensions of respecting creative work. (Gr. 10-12)  Distinguishes between taking inspiration from the creative work of others and appropriating that work without permission. (Gr. 10-12)	Learners using digital images will have to either design the images themselves or use creative commons licenced images.
Communication and Collaboration	Uses digital media to be part of a community. (Gr. 10-12)  Makes valuable contributions to the public knowledge domain (e.g. wikis, public forums, reviews). (Gr. 10-12) Is familiar with the meaning of terms commonly used in user manuals for the operation of hardware and the installation and configuration of software. (Gr. 10-12)  Troubleshoots systems and applications. (Gr. 10-12) Has a reasonable knowledge of available technologies, their strengths and weaknesses, and is able to make informed decisions about whether and how to use technologies to pursue personal goals. (Gr. 10-12)	Learners will be using digital media to create a permanent community project, that will represent the growth of our knowledge of Truth and Reconciliation as a community. Learners will have to troubleshoot both digital and technical issues that arise throughout the project.   Learners will have to evaluate the proper tools, both digital and physical, to create their vision.
Technology Operations and Concepts	Solves a theoretical or practical problem, of individual or collective interest, through or with the support of digital tools. (Gr. 10-12)  Solves technical problems and knows what to do when technology does not function. (Gr. 10-12)   Transfers current knowledge to learning new technologies. (Gr. 10-12)	Learners will have to collaborate collectively and work in a unified manner using the tools prescribed.    Learners can work around malfunctioning software and adapt by using similar yet different software.   Learners will be required to use the base functions of computer literacy from one program to another.

 

In the master’s project that Deirdre, Gary, and I are aiming to create, we will be looking at cross-curricular inquiry, incorporating both theoretical and experiential outcomes. The students will have access to many technologies and classrooms to complete this project. The finished project is pre-designed as an outline, but the portion that the students are creating will be individual and representative of both their learning and the area that resonated with them. This, we hope, creates ownership and empowerment.

These standards mentioned above (both the BC Digital Literacy, and the ISTE framework), are the impetus for the expression of students learning. If a student is able to display their learning using the digital tools available to them, they tend to dig deeper into the process of learning, and not just make the pre-defined product that concentrates more on the result, than on the journey. In our school, the teachers who do inquiry, send learners to my lab to create different representations of their essential questions. The use of slideshows, movies, photography with voice over, photoshop representations, and others, affords the learners to not only realize they have an interest in technology but that the technology can help them realize their voice.  Most importantly, they have to visualize what they want their presentation to look like and then learn how to make that a reality. This creates perseverance and troubleshooting skills that are essential to future life experiences. 

Attached is a video series explaining the digital literacy we have created using OBS to showcase what the Aspire Software looks like:

References

Digital Literacy. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/education-training/k-12/teach/teaching-tools/digital-literacy

ISTE Standards for Students. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://www.iste.org/standards/for-students

 

Andrew Vogelsang