Reflection Week 3

Another week has come and gone, and once again I am so surprised by how much I have to learn about the world of Educational Technology!

Social Media & Privacy

This past Friday Jesse Miller came in to speak with us and really opened up a lot of great discussion about many Educational Technology topics. I specifically found his discussion surrounding social media fascinating! He emphasized the important role that technology can play in our students’ lives, and thus the importance of understanding the complexity of it. He showed a few examples of articles which essentially showed us that the research surrounding student use of technology isn’t as black and white as many people think it is. Really what I got from this is that it is about balance – the experience a student will have with technology and social media will depend on them as an individual, whether they know how to properly use it, whether they have proper guidance, and whether they have other opportunities throughout the day that give them a break from it. One of the takeaways from this discussion for me was just how important it is for us as teachers to learn how to use various platforms safely so that we can also be implementing these productive strategies with our students. By doing this we are hopefully giving them skills which they can take with them into all of their other experiences with the internet/technology.

What I also found very interesting about this presentation was the discussion surrounding our individual internet presences. In the past I feel like the message I always received was “no presence is the best presence” but what was emphasized on Friday, was that having a positive public presence on social media is actually more beneficial than no presence at all. This is definitely a change for me to wrap my head around, and one that I think will take some getting used to.

Theories

With all of these discussions on the importance of understanding how to use technology in the classroom and the benefits it can have for students, I am realizing how much I have to learn. In exploring some different theories surrounding educational technology, I found the Technological Pedagogical Content Knowledge (TPACK) framework incredibly beneficial. I watched this video and it helped me feel as though I had a good starting point in which to anchor my current knowledge about teaching and technology, as this model works to show you what you know, what you don’t know, and where you want to go. It also suggests that we start with content and pedagogy and then layer in technology, emphasizing that technology is a part of great teaching and not something that exists as a separate component to teaching! What I really like about this framework is that it can continue to be used no matter what stage of learning you are at, as it can continue to evolve as you evolve, incorporating new knowledge and new goals. In working from this model, I can then recognize what I need help with and who I should ask for assistance from.

Web Accessibility

One of the main themes that I also dove into learning about this week was web accessibility. We had some discussion on this topic in class time, which made me think about how I as a teacher will make sure my resources are accessible to my students and their families. To me this is a daunting topic to think about because I still feel like I am incredibly unfamiliar with many of the platform options, and thus would easily default to whatever was simplest. With this being said, I thought that instead of scaring myself with that task right now, I would start looking at some simple ways to make sure things, such as my blog, are more accessible. I read a few articles which were interesting, as they discussed how aspects of a resource, such as headings and images, actually make it more accessible. While these are both things I normally included, I did it more for visual appeal rather than realizing it could also be making my blog more accessible. With that being said, there was an aspect of accessibility that I had never even thought about before, that being colour contrast. I never knew how colour contrast would affect someone reading my blog. I used this site to check some of the colours on my blog to make sure they were of a ‘passing’ status, which was really cool and super easy to do – I’d highly recommend anyone do it! I also realized how my blog was very writing heavy and thus not very accessible. In realizing this, I decided I would also include an audio recording of my blog post in order to increase accessibility to all.

Bye for now,

Jaime

Photo by Marvin Meyer on Unsplash