Digital Citizens in an increasingly Globalized Century

Notice...

For my last blog, I have opted out of a summative, reflective post, as I hope that this will continue beyond the classroom requirements!

Digital Citizens in an increasingly Globalized Century

The advent of the internet has undoubtedly changed the course of the world in many ways. As a university student majoring in History, when I think of the fact that past undergrads had to write their papers without access to thousands of scholarly articles at the tips of their fingers, it really allows me to appreciate the decade I was born in.
The internet is such an integral part of society. It has provided us with a space of self-expression, has allowed us keep up to date with events around the world, and provides entertainment. Some of the biggest stars in the music industry, such as Justin Bieber, were 'discovered' through the internet.

I am a part of the 'digital' generation. I have heard many older people give their sympathy to younger generations, claiming that they missed out on 'true' childhood. Others present frustration and anger towards youth, claiming that they are consciously wasting their lives - not realizing that childhood is reflective of the society it resides in. While many adults have much to criticize, fearful that society is becoming more self absorbed and unable to socialize 'properly', there are (thankfully) those who accept daily technology use as something that has a lot of potential for the better. 

For myself, I argue that how adults describe youth currently are similar anxieties that took place fifteen, fifty, and even five hundred years ago. Society is constantly changing, and with change brings resistance against traditional forces. Working my way towards my goal of being a part of the education system, I would hope that I would not be joining another traditionalist force.

Photos like these are popular portrayals of teens and technology...
courtesy of pinterest.com

but it's these that need to spread: winners of the Future8 awards, celebrating talented programmers, animators, filmmakers, and musicians between the ages of seven to seventeen.courtesy of the guardian.com

One of the greatest philosophies for education, dating back to ancient Greece, is "Know Thyself". As teachers, curriculum developers, and researchers we are constantly assessing the ways in which we can provide students the opportunity to develop themselves and gain senses of identity within their work. I think that part of the 'New Story' needs to leave space for an examination of the digital self, in helping students to understand how they represent themselves not only in a classroom, but in the world wide web.

courtesy of thewiredhomeschool.com

In a day and age where everything you write/create/post/share leaves a digital footprint, it is essential for teachers and students to collaborate in an awareness of their digital citizenship. 

Teachers can use digital platforms to reach their students and create lessons based on digital citizenship. "Miss. W" is a teacher whose classroom actively blogs as self-reflection assessment, but also as a space to provide lessons/activities. One of the lessons directly death with students learning to create their own digital footprint, and its implications. Other organizations have also attempted to educate students about social media and digital citizenship.

An effective video to show students would be the following work created by Flocabulary Productions, who create an interesting and creative take on educating social media awareness.

Others have also commented on what should be included in digital literacy. Entrepreneur Matt Ivester, in his book  lol…OMG! What every student needs to know about online reputation management, digital citizenship and cyberbullying, shows how students can navigate through grey areas in being an online citizen of a global community. Within his book he provides ten considerations to take when taking part of this realm.

1. The Golden Rule: Are you treating others the way that you would want to be treated? Would you want to be tagged in that photo? Would you want someone saying those things about you online?

2. The Golden Rule 2.0: Are you treating others the way that they would want to be treated? Is it possible that they might interpret what you are doing as cyberbullying? What assumptions are you making about their comfort level with the sharing of their personal information? How are you affecting their online reputation? How well do they handle teasing? How easily do they brush off a insults and let go of hurt feelings? The fact that people differ so widely can lead to reactions that you don’t anticipate.

3. The Laws and Policies Test: Does what you are doing violate a law? Perhaps harassment, invasion of privacy, defamation, or cyberbullying? Does it violate your compus’ honor code, or fundamental standard? You you be comfortable doing this in front of a police officer or school administrator? These rules are put in place to protect people. If you are violating them, there is a good chance that what you are doing is unethical.

4. The Everybody Test: What if everybody is doing the same thing that you are? Would that change your mind? It may seem as though you are doing just a little bit of harm, but it’s hard to know whether other people are also doing the same thing. Together, you might be doing a lot of harm, and the consequences might be much more drastic than you expected or intended. You probably don’t want to be a contributor to that.

5. The Offline Test: What is the real-world equivalent of what you are doing? Would you be willing to do that real-world activity? Would you be willing to make that same comment to the person’s face?

6. The Real Name Test: This test applies only to behavior that you engage in anonymously. How would you change your behavior if you knew that your real name would be associated with it? Would you still do it? Would you say it differently, perhaps more thoughtfully?

7. The Emotion Test: Are you doing something to someone because you are angry, jealous, or otherwise emotionally charged? Is the recipient of your actions becoming or likely to become highly emotional as a result of those actions?

8. The Whole World Test: Would you be comfortable with the whole world knowing what you are doing? Your family, friends, professors and professional contacts? What would the story be on the cover of The New York TImes? Are you okay with that?

9. The “Get It?” Test: Is what you are trying to say hard to convey online? Is it likely to be misinterpreted? Do you have certain context that others reading it don’t? If it were misinterpreted, might it be hurtful?

10. The final test is Your Test. This is the test that matters most. Consider how what you are doing reflects on you as a person. What does it say about you? Do you like what it says about you? Is the action in line with your personal values? Does it reinforce the notion of the person that you want to be?

I think these are great considerations to take and enforce when students activate themselves as online members. Overall, we need to convince to both resisting cultures and youth that there is a place for technology and social media in fostering productive and engaged members of society. While there have certainly been recent advancements in curriculum incorporation, the education world needs to further increase the attention paid to developing digital literacy.

Recently, teachers are increasing their incorporation of real world issues such as environmental disasters or political incidents into their lesson plans as a way of fostering deeper learning and critical inquiry. However, I would argue that digital literacy - while increasingly relevant in current affairs - as been relatively untouched by teachers as 'teachable moments'. An example being the recent iCloud hacks of celebrities' nude photos. Due to the racy nature of the subject, events that are heavily discussed and plastered over students' social media news feeds and favourite websites carry as non-existent in the class room. With current adaptations to the provincial sexual education (refer to my Genius Hour Presentation video below for more information!) I think it's time to start the conversation. I am devastated to hear news about increasing numbers of young students (such as Canadian students Amanda Todd, Raetah Parsons, and others) ending their lives because of leaked nude photos/videos, cyberbullying, etc. Instead of ignoring the issue, let's address it in the classroom, where students can educate one another about not only the potential dangers of the internet, but also its endless opportunities.

Genius Hour Video

Gamification: Experiencing the DO of technology in the classroom

One of the most thrilling parts of my elementary school life was the computer lab. While it contained more "out of order" and blue screens of death than working computers, this place was like a royal palace growing up. While I had a computer at home, my parents established strict guidelines that the family computer was to be used only for homework, emails, and educational games. The computer lab periods were few and far in between, but it was really the only exposure I had until I reached about grade six. Playing games like Math Circus or Reader Rabbit didn't seem like work or learning, it was just downright fun!

courtesy of www.mentis.co.nz

Gamification (the inclusion of video games in lessons) is one of the buzzwords in education right now. It is empowering, exciting, and under the right circumstances can be the disruptive innovator many teachers desperately need in order to change the dynamics between knowledge and the learner.
Many online forums note the explosion of tools destined to gamify the classroom, most of which are web-based, while others come in the form of an app. Understandably, a teacher might wonder what is the best way to navigate through this sea of new, and subsequently, not thoroughly tested activities and tools.

The following is a guide to the benefits of this "Gamification" craze, created by Edudemic.com, a website promoting the connection of education and technology.

During my placement at an older school in Thorold in second year, the teacher used a math program purchased by the school to help with multiplication tables in a fun and interactive way. The program was essentially an arcade style format where students could gain points and unlock games/prizes/objects by completing different math mini games. My teacher showed me how each student was responsible for their learning, but the program allowed him to log on as a facilitator and monitor their progress. The school's math scores had been low for many years and administration had been trying to implement programs to put the fun back in mathematics for several years. However, the area in which the school is located has a very low SES level and many of the school's resources were going into making repairs on the building and providing essential needs for the students first (eg. breakfast programs, school supplies, etc). Therefore, implementing more technology in the classroom has been a slow and costly transition for this school.

My question of the day: There must be some way of finding educational games/platforms to incorporate with lesson plans for little or no cost, right? 

After some online research, I found three highly recommended game-based platforms for teachers that are all completely free.

SOCRATIVE 

The first (and one of the most popularly recommended) game-based classroom platform is Socrative. A prominent member of the “audience response systems” family, Socrative is a powerful tool that offers many options to teachers. It is also one of the most diverse and adaptive of all platforms, as it offers three different highly customizable modes: the typical question-based game mode, a mode called “space race” which is a mode that aims to combine accuracy and speed, and a third mode called “Exit Ticket”, which can best be used at the end of a lesson as a means of taking the pulse of the classroom.

Socrative supports multiple choice, true/false, and open response items. It also allows the user to import images to the question items, and it features live results, immediate feedback, and effortless data analysis. It can work equally well as a web-based tool as well as a mobile app. Socrative is by far one of the most user-friendly, most customizable, most comprehensive free pieces of software, with some functions and abilities matched only by expensive EdTech platforms.

Here is a short introductory tutorial on Socrative I found:

PLAYING HISTORY

Playing History is a resource-based search engine that provides links to hundreds of educational historical games, aggregating information on these resources in a simple, searchable database making it easy to find, rate, and review historical games. The database connects to educational websites, museums, foundations, and more. Students and teachers can search for the best suited game for their classroom based on subject. The following is the database's explanation for their program.

ABOUT

A flurry of interest has arisen around the potential of digital games, simulations and interactives to promote humanities learning, spurred in part by a growing body of research on the value of educational games. Foundations and universities have invested millions of dollars into developing these games, yet many are built, tested, and promptly shelved, played by only a handful of students during the pilot testing phase. There is no comprehensive directory to connect teachers with these resources. If high quality educational games, grounded in current academic knowledge and at the forefront of the digital technologies, are to reach teachers and their students, there is a clear need to build a collaborative directory for reviewing and sharing information. Playing History is the beginning of just such a directory (retrieved from http://playinghistory.org/about).

GEN I REVOLUTION

Gen i Revolution is an interactive/strategic game that was developed for middle school and high school students in the United States by the Council for Economic Education. The game gives students a chance to compete against each other while learning important personal finance skills, including fifteen rescue missions. Within each mission, students are introduced to a character who is facing a particular financial crisis. As a part of the Gen i Revolution, the student learns about the crisis, strategically selects "Operatives" and then completes activities to solve the mission. Students learn about important financial literacies such as; building wealth over a long term, choosing occupations, education, budgeting, credit, risk and return, alternative financial institutions, stocks, bonds, mutual funds, research, and financial planning.

Creatures of Habit

The missing link: parents in a 21st century education

Courtesy of  http://3.bp.blogspot.com

Much of my thought process and conversation with peers has revolved around the implications of teaching 21st century literacies, student reaction, and school-based experience. But I have realized this week that I have been ignoring a key component in this profound transformation of the education system: the parent. While being so consumed on student/teacher reaction to these new focuses and strategies, I have largely left out the question of how a parent's role may or may not fundamentally change.

I think this is an important point to postulate on, as throughout my studies I have been made increasingly aware of parental impact on student achievement. Students with parents who are engaged in their learning tend to be more successful in their academic output. However, this can be affected by a variety of factors, including socio-economic status. A classic study that demonstrates this statement was the six-year study by Hart and Risley (1995) that followed the outcomes of children selected from different socioeconomic backgrounds. They found that by age 3, the children of professional parents were adding words to their vocabularies at about twice the rate of children in welfare families. Both the quantity and quality of phrases directed at the children by caregivers correlated directly with income levels. They found that a pattern of slow vocabulary growth helped put in place a slower cognitive pattern by the time children turned 3. In fact, IQ tests performed later in childhood showed the welfare students' scores trailing behind those of the more affluent children by up to 29%. But when put into context, these types of studies make sense. If you are on shift work, do not have adequate access to education or resources, your children will be fostered within that social sphere and will not have experiences beyond that until they are of age to provide it for themselves (eg. reading books or going on trips).

courtesy of www.ascd.org

Not only may parents have cultural, ethnic, religious, or class-based differences from the social school structure; they will now be in a different educational sphere. The way in which our parents were taught is drastically different from the 21st century learning process. Even when I go into placements at the high school I graduated from, I am consistently shocked to see how much has changed even within four years. In consideration of this I believe that parent-student-teacher engagement is more important than ever. While I do not suggest that parents should dictate how 21st century learning should look in the classroom, they should be made aware of it so they can assess if the domestic and educational spheres of their children are complimentary. 

While the majority of online sources showcasing 21st century learning is very teacher/administrator-directed, I did manage to find some really great sources for parents to gain a better understanding of their child's education system:

A Parent's Guide to 21st-Century Learning by Edutopia is a downloadable PDF for parents interested in understanding the new framework for learning across grade levels. As advertised, "Discover the tools and techniques today's teachers and classrooms are using to prepare students for tomorrow -- and how you can get involved. What should collaboration, creativity, communication, and critical thinking look like in a modern classroom? How can parents help educators accomplish their goals? We hope this guide helps bring more parents into the conversation about improving education. " 

Parents & Communities - The Partnership for 21st Century Skills is an interactive website that provides resources for parents to understand what 21st century skills are and why they are important in the education system. P21's publications allow parents to understand how they can prepare their children for active engagement in their studies. Like Edutopia, this site also provides downloadable PDF documents.

I think that it's really important for parents to receive resources like this to better understand what is going on in their children's classrooms, and how they can be an effective mentor at home to continue the development of learning. If we can't provide this for parents, our advocating for a system that can better engage students will be drowned out by the negative and ill-researched acclamations of media such as this globe and mail article, which likened the effective and creative strategies of individual teachers to a hybrid version of Summerhill. There is a clear need in the education system to advocate these changes to not only students, (soon to be-)teachers, and administrators - but to parents as well. If we are unable to open the minds of all involved, we are condemned to be creatures of habit.

21C Learning: implications on parenting?

The obvious first implication in the new story that may conflict with notions of parenting is character education. While I believe that character education is important for the success of the student and their intellectual growth, the actual process of implementation might be more difficult. Who gets to decide what values promote grit, creativity, and other important aspects of character education. Some parents may argue that they send their children to learn, not to be. Some parents may view character education as an inherent intrusion into the parenting styles in the ways they teach their children to conceptualize the world

Can objectives like the development of citizenship have different values to different people?

Getting to the Bottom of Deep Learning

http://www.all4ed.org

When originally discussed in class, I was both confused and compelled by the notion of deep learning. My initial reaction: That sounds great, but what is it?

At first it seemed a bit of a tawdry concept, something that sounds really great on paper but doesn't hold the merit and promise within the 'real world'. I have found that the majority of education classes that I have taken thus far often promote theoretical/methodological approaches, but never really given an accurate 'how to' in terms of application. I think that's why I find this course so interesting, because we are no getting exposed to the practical means of larger theories like constructivism.

courtesy of http://www.musicteachershelper.com/blog/wp-content/images/quote2-300x225.jpg

As I've been perusing the internet, I've come to the realization that a lot of work has been done in many school boards to incorporate aspects of project-based learning, bringing applicable examples into the classroom, and allowing children to not only learn but DO.

A student-based learning objective seems ideal to me, but as an education student who does not have the advice/experiences of co-workers, organized professional development classes, and an abundance of school board resources - I have found that the internet has been the greatest tool in finding unique and interesting ideas.

The following is a list of websites filled with deeper learning objectives and resources that I found particularly helpful:

Edutopia PBL - Edutopia is a site containing outstanding educational content for teachers. It contains an area devoted to Project Based Learning. Edutopia defines PBL, "as a dynamic approach to teaching in which students explore real-world problems and challenges, simultaneously developing cross-curriculum skills while working in small collaborative groups." The site contains videos, real life examples, articles and blogs relatinging to PBL activities, lessons, practices, and research.

PBL-Online - has tons of information on Project Based Learning! It assists teachers in planning rigorous and relevant standards-focused projects that engage students in authentic learning activities and teach 21st century skills. It also has a PBL-Online Collaboratory and Project Library in which you can search for projects and contribute your own.

In my ventures into the world wide web, I also found interesting videos on YouTube that show how classrooms are incorporating deep learning. The following video discusses some deep learning being incorporated into various boards in the United States. I really enjoyed the report because it showed three different examples ranging in subjects and grades.

This video aligns nicely with the conversations we've had in lecture - it even discussed the fixed mindset versus growth mindset study that we discussed in class last week. And while I really enjoyed how these teachers were implementing new ways of learning, the video also raised some questions. The first of these request ions is how this kind of learning can be implemented as the intermediate/senior level of teaching. I believe that this kind of pedagogy requires students to have a lot of faith and trust in their teacher (as we have seen this be an important issue within our own classroom), which is difficult when you have students for a restricted amount of their school day. The video had a high school classroom that completed a statistics activity outside of regular school hours. The teacher must have worked hard to gain the respect from her administrators and students needed in order to do something like that.

Another immediate question this video raised was the issue of cost. It seems that the first two examples within the video implemented the usages of resources that would put extra costs onto the classroom. One class had a robotics lab set and another had a visiting artist twice a week. How much would these types of tools cost? If a student had a project that required a variety of materials, who would be responsible for the purchases? I know that at my high school art supplies were a prominent issue, and I was in a Regional Arts School. I often heard snippets of conversations between my drama teachers complaining that their budgets had been cut once again. It is my opinion that schools should allocate more funds towards the arts, but I am aware that there are certain realities that a teacher must face, even with great planning.

Regardless, I am appreciative of the opportunity to expand my horizons of how I wish to teach. I have found some great resources and examples to lean on for the time being, and I know that as I start my practice I will have even more to expand with.

I will end this post with a quotation that one of my favourite teachers in high school often recited:

"The best teacher is one who makes himself progressively unnecessary."

The importance of the preposition: Assessment of, for, and as Learning

Welcome to my first attempt at blogging. I am technologically challenged at the best of times, so we will see how this turns out; here we go! For the sake of formalities and the delicate nature of tradition, I will quickly introduce myself. My name is Jessica Morris, I am a fourth year Concurrent Education student with a passion for history and academic discussion. I am a varsity athlete on the Women's curling team, and have also recently applied to be a volunteer at the humane society in St. Catharines. In my spare time (still considering as to whether this actually exists as a university student) I enjoy writing poetry, watching compelling documentaries on YouTube, and making lists/schedules. While these descriptors certainly don't encompass my whole livelihood, they were the first things that came to mind and hopefully give you a glimpse of what I'm all about.

In taking the metaphorical leap encouraged by Professor Drake, I wish to discuss the notion of assessment in the classroom that was vividly outlined in Chapter One of Interweaving Curriculum and Classroom Assessment.

In the early hours of Thursday morning, I found myself armed with a cup of coffee in one hand, a highlighter in the other, and an open mind. While I found much of the chapter to resemble previous notions of critical pedagogy and instruction discussed in previous education classes, the discussion of assessment caused me to pause and actually reflect. I had previously heard about the introduction of the J curve versus the bell curve, but didn't really know the details, or cared to really consider the consequences of assessment. Often, when discussing the importance of teaching, there is an implicit understanding between people that the topic is on instruction: which methods are the best in engaging kids? how can we promote social justice? in which ways can we develop classroom management? 

But I can't say I've ever really had a meaningful discussion on assessment and its powerful capabilities as a tool for learning. It's quite ironic as from what I have experienced those most avid to talk about assessment have been people outside of the academic realm of education, exemplifying the social anxiety of how our education system fares against other nations. A lot of people rely on standardized testing comparisons to evaluate how we measure on a global scale, but many do not understand the implications of standardization in limiting the identity of the student and valuing certain ways of learning over others. People take generalized statements like "Our math scores are falling behind you know," without taking the time to get a greater socio-cultural understanding of the situation (as if looking at a graph will accurately explain the dynamic nature of education and the values and ways in which we determine its existence.

A table from http://education.alberta.ca depicting how Canada fared in science testing compared to other countries in 2006. People use these images as proofs or statements, instead of seeing them as opportunities for further understanding.

I think that the concept of Assessment as Learning and Assessment for Learning are really interesting and compelling concepts. In allowing students an opportunity into their own assessment, the autonomous power of grades is dispelled and the students can actually comprehend their own learning. In my own experience as a student there are many times where the grade has become more important than the course in itself. Reflections on courses with teachers that did not emphasize the importance of learning often becomes a description of what grade was achieved. In turn, any courses that I've taken with a great instructor I've been more likely to describe what I actually learned, and how the course was instructed.

The following is a Tedx presentation by Craig Messerman, who is a 9th and 10th grade physical science and biology teacher at Sentinel High School in Missoula, Montana. Messerman discusses his pedagogical approach to creating a grading process that will provide success for both teacher and student. His presentation clarified for me the potential successes of using assessment AS and FOR learning. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bn_sCLoQNVs

These methods of assessment not only empower the student, but also benefit the status of the teacher. In times where national emphasis on test scores peaks, you often also see criticism of teachers and initiatives to promote educational structures where teachers are paid according to the testing success of the classroom. While these systems may benefit certain systematic flaws, I believe it also fundamentally changes the directions of the teacher to be instructing to the test, instead of for the sake of learning and knowledge.

Furthermore, while it may seem radical, I think that the push for student empowerment in assessment can go even further into teacher assessment. I believe that the classroom environment would benefit as a whole if students had the ability to provide these tactics for their own teachers. In my opinion, who would be the better representative to evaluate the work of a teacher: an administrative superior or those who are consistently engaged and directly affected by the work of the instructor? My conclusions are largely influenced by the university practice of students evaluating a professor at the end of the course. While I think that this is effective for the professor and those who have to facilitate a performance review, my question is always: How does this benefit me? The class is over, I may never have this professor for another course again and my own opinions based on my learning may not be applicable for the instructor's future students...

Therefore, I believe that the system would benefit from having evaluations during the year, so in that the appropriate changes can be made while they are still relevant, serving the class as a whole. And then my question becomes; why stop at university? Why can't we do this at lower levels? While students may not have a vast knowledge of the curricular expectations and the pedagogical theories, they do know how these strategies are affecting them. If we are to say that student choice and autonomy is important, we cannot limit that position to protect the already dynamic nature of the profession.