For our final week of the course, while finishing up our CIP, we had a few articles to read and our weekly task called for some reflection upon our learning journeys throughout the course as a whole. We were asked specifically to create a visual representation of our learning. Here are my thoughts as the course comes to a close and my final post and visual representation:
After reading the final articles this week and reflecting back upon my learning throughout the entire course, I realized that a static image was not going to be enough for me to represent my own learning. Because of this, my visual representation is being shared through a Prezi. Although there are many things about the Prezi platform that I dislike, I do think that the template that I chose and the way in which I used the tree themed images is valuable enough to put up with the swinging motion that transports you from slide to slide. Please note: For some reason, Prezi dislikes two of the URL links that I used and will not load them properly from within my presentation. If you would like to look at these two examples from the portion of the Prezi called ‘Extending Learning Beyond the Classroom’ here are the links for the two websites that keep resulting in errors when clicked upon: - Learn Music from expert musicians (http://dl.msmnyc.edu/k-12community/coachings) - Learn about the events of the Holocaust through a personal story (http://www.hanassuitcase.ca/) My Prezi can be viewed here. While reflecting back upon my own learning throughout the process that we have taken for our CIP, I began to realize that a simple digital story created by me was not going to be enough to show how my thoughts were shaped by the research, the project tasks, and the rich discussions with my group mates. Because of this, I decided to create a mini website of my own based on my theme (the power of digital storytelling) alone. We are planning to use Livebinder to house all of our learning artifacts, so hopefully a link will be easy to embed and access from within the Livebinder platform. I have included the link here to my own CIP website.
Over the past few weeks we have been collaborating to develop our CIP while also working independently on our own individual themes that all fit within the broader topic of digital storytelling. Each of the four group members have selected really solid themes that are going to lend strength to our finished product. Our four themes are: 1.) The Power of Digital Storytelling (this is my theme) 2.) Skills Developed Through Digital Storytelling 3.) Meeting the Needs of Diverse Learners through Digital Storytelling 4.) Essential Elements for Creating and Selecting Effective Digital Stories We have now finalized our annotated bibliography and lit review and are starting to think about our next steps- what will our CIP look like in the end? Hopefully, we can make some firm decisions soon and begin the final stages of this learning project. I have attached a copy of our annotated bibliography and literature review here. This TED Talk was one of the resources that I used within my own theme on our literature review. I think that it demonstrates just how powerful the digital story can be. I enjoyed the work involved in our Vignette #2 assignment more than I did for Vignette #1 mainly due to the fact that I had a choice of options to focus on. Upon reviewing all of the topics that we were allowed to choose from, I was quickly drawn to the topic involving museums and virtual tours. Having experienced both powerful museum tours and virtual field trips firsthand, I wanted to examine the related resources more deeply and take the time to reflect upon their potential power in the classroom. I also enjoyed engaging in discussion with my group mates about their own pursuits into the topics that they selected. I appreciated the use of a peer editor to help me revise my own work prior to submitting it to be graded. I truly do feel that this practice enhances the quality of the finished product. This was a really great learning experience. I have attached a copy of my vignette analysis here.
Related links:
Vancouver Holocaust Education Centre. Vancouver Holocaust Educational Centre, 2002. Open Hearts Closed Doors: The War Orphans Project. Victoria's Titanic Exhibit Titanic: The Artifact Exhibit Again, I appreciate two elements that are consistently being implemented within this course; 1.) I like that there are a variety of questions/topics that we are able to choose from to shape our individual contributions to the discussions each week, and 2.) I like that a small group format is being used for discussions, as this tends to reduce the amount of repetition in the discourse that takes places especially toward the end of the week. In our small group discussion this week, we have been comparing and contrasting e-learning and face-to-face learning. Although the MET program is my only experience with e-learning, I think that the learning experiences that I have had thus far have been enriching, valuable and overall they have far exceeded the expectations that I had going into the program in regard to what I thought I would be able to get out of online course work. Here are the thoughts that I shared in my small group discussion this week: For this week’s discussion, I am going to focus on the following proposed questions from the course notes: Dreyfus (2001) poses important questions on page 32: 1. "Can distance learning enable students to acquire the skills they need in order to be good citizens skilled in various domains?" 2. "Does learning really require face-to-face engagement, and if so why?" My experience in the MET program is my only experience with online learning. Although I am sure that not all online learning opportunities are of the same quality, I do believe that my experiences with online course work have been incredibly valuable. I have learned a vast amount of information about everything from learning theory, to designing and then creating a unit of study using an LMS, to playing videos games for educational purposes and using structured frameworks to help me select the right technology for my own classroom with sound pedagogy behind my incorporation of that technology into my teaching practices. In light of this last statement, it seems undeniably clear to me that learning does not require face-to-face engagement to be valuable and enriching. Through the use of technology today, the aspects of face-to-face learning that may have been restricted to the real classrooms of the past are no longer restrictions in the e-learning environment. Throughout my online course work I have been able to connect up with many of my classmates via web tools like Google hangouts which are the next best thing to being face-to-face. In fact, one could argue that it is actually better than face-to-face collaborative sessions, as in my own experiences with this, more often than not everyone is engaged in conversation while simultaneously contributing to a group task within a Google document or other web based tool. Going into this program I had worries that I would feel isolated in my course work, as many of my colleagues had expressed negative opinions about online course work, tell me that it would be tedious, disconnected and unengaging. This has in no way been my own experience. As technology allows us to ‘meet’ virtually regardless of the physical distance that separates us geographically speaking, students can work just as closely in online course work as they do in traditional face-to-face classrooms thanks to the affordances of technology. Having said this, I do feel that face-to-face learning is an incredibly important aspect of an individual’s education and I am in no way suggesting that online learning should become the dominant form of education. Online learning has tremendous benefits for upper level educational opportunities, however in the formative years, in elementary schools in particular, students need to be immersed in the traditional classroom wherein they are engaging in hands on learning with their teachers and peers. I am a firm believer that social constructivism (which can happen in virtual learning environments too) with this age group is particularly critical for their development not just as students, but as functioning members of society. They need to play real games, share real experiences and face real conflicts. It is these foundational social (and emotional) skills that will later allow them to be self-motivated, respectful and efficient citizens in society and digital citizens in cyberspace. In regard to the question as to whether or not distance learning can help students acquire the skills that they need in order to be good citizens skilled in various domains, I would say a firm ‘yes.’ By reading articles such as the one written by Leonard Annetta that we read this week (and there are countless other articles like it), it is clear that education is changing, as is the definition of citizenship in the 21st century. As educators, we are being encouraged, pressured even, to help our students gain skills for success in the 21st century. Skills such as being a collaborator, contributor, critical thinker and innovator are being valued not just in our schools, but in our societies and in the workplace as well. The employers of today and most certainly the employers of tomorrow will be seeking workers who are competent in the areas of ‘logic, memory, problem solving, critical thinking skills, visualization and discovery’ (Annetta, 2008, p. 231). The Annetta article goes on to support the fact that technology and educational video games in particular can help to instill and nurture these 21st century learner attributes in our students. There is a greater and greater swing in education today away from content based learning and a move toward enabling students to be effective and responsible users and producers of information is in progress. It is these skills that will help students meet with success both academically in their education, as well as in their future endeavours in the workplace beyond their schooling. The information given in regard to New Media Literacies in Table 1 (Annetta, 2008, p. 232) further illustrates this shift that is taking place in educational institutions today. References:
L. A, Annetta. (2015). Video games in education: Why they should be used and how they are being used. Theory into Practice. 229-239. |
ETEC 532
Technology in the Arts and Humanities Classroom Archives
April 2015
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