Category: edci339-blog

The Universal Design for Learning is something that was mentioned quite a few times in my second year of the elementary education program, so it is something that I am quite familiar with. Overall, in Basham, J.D., Blackorby, J., Stahl, S. & Zhang, L. (2018) I learned that there are many more companies who are investing in the content and delivery systems of classrooms utilizing online learning and UDL and that the opportunities for students to participate in blended and full-time virtual schools are also increasing greatly. One thing that surprised me in this reading was that for some students with disabilities, ELL’s, or who are living in poverty online learning is not as beneficial as one might hope. This is a topic that I am interested in looking further into, as you often do not hear of the negative effects of online  learning, just the positives.

In Selwyn. N. (2020) I was not surprised to learn that during COVID-19 teachers soon realized that they would need to allow for asynchronous and flexible “classrooms”, as well as stretching out pre-determined schedules and offer alternate options for working offline. As a student I also soon realized the exhaustion of synchronous online meetings and can empathize with teachers having to adjust their entire schedule and create new lessons plans to fit the students needs online. COVID-19 has taught not only teachers, but students the importance of having social, emotional, and affective aspects when it comes to using technology-based education. Overall, COVID-19 has not only given me, but I am sure millions of other people in the world a new appreciation for relationships between both peers and teachers.

Lastly, in Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012) there are 8 design principles discussed. I have heard of a lot of these design principles in a direct way through either talking to teachers or indigenous education representatives. As someone who grew up in a community with a large indigenous presence I have also seen these design principles put into action without even knowing it. I saw these principles not only in classrooms, but at other events in the community that I have attended. One design principle that I saw a lot of is principle 5: a space to practice oral and written language. I saw this happening a lot in my high school, indigenous students would often speak at events for their culture and could often be found in the auditorium practicing. Another time when this practice would occur was at our annual basketball tournament, Totem. At the opening ceremonies for this event there was always an elder who would greet everyone and acknowledge the land, as well as a student (often one male and one female who played on the teams) that would say some words in both English and their respective language in front of everyone. Overall, after reading this article I will definitely notice more often when these principles are being implemented, as well as incorporate them into my future classroom.

References:

Basham, J.D., Blackorby, J., Stahl, S. & Zhang, L. (2018) Universal Design for Learning Because Students are (the) Variable. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 477-507). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012). Chapter 4: Design Principles for Indigenous Learning Spaces. Safe Learning Spaces. Youth, Literacy and New Media in Remote Indigenous Australia. ANU Press. http://doi.org/10.22459/LS.08.2012 Retrieved from:   http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p197731/pdf/ch041.pdf

Selwyn. N. (2020). Online learning: Rethinking teachers’ ‘digital competence’ in light of COVID-19.[Weblog]. Retrieved from: https://lens.monash.edu/@education/2020/04/30/1380217/online-learning-rethinking-teachers-digital-competence-in-light-of-covid-19

There were three readings this week all of which I found easy to follow and that discussed eLearning and its history and benefits/concerns.

In the first reading (Roberts, V., Blomgren, C., Ishmael, K., & Graham, L., 2018) the authors discuss the many benefits to online learning, as well as some reasons that teachers may not use technology too much. Two benefits to open learning that are discussed are that open learning can be used for students who need more flexible options or to allow a course to be asynchronous so that students can take courses without having to be present at a set time. By allowing students to have more options, the students who may not be too great at reading or writing are able to listen or type out their learning. Asynchronous courses are also good for students in K-12, not only university (like our class). By allowing for asynchronous learning then students who may need extra assistance from parents are able to get that when it is most convenient for them.

In the second reading (Barbour, M & Labonte, R., 2018) the authors talk about eLearning organizations and practices in Canada. One fact that I was surprised by is the large number of students who use eLearning in British Columbia. In 2015-2016 there were 69, 735 students enrolled in a one or more courses and I can only imagine how much this number has grown since. Where I am from it is quite common to take a few courses online, but I never realized just how many students utilize eLearning. Another thing I thought was worthy to note was that Canada’s eLearning programs are government-funded not private. The companies involved are providing services to the government programs (content, technology, etc.) and not independent in how they run.

The final reading (Bates, 2014) talks about a lot of different topics, but one that I had never heard of is connectivism. What first comes to my mind when reading about the design principles of connectivist courses is inquiry. Inquiry is very learner-centred and open as is connectivism. There are some criticisms of the connectivist approach such as assessment strategies, or the lack of structure. These are all concerns that I would have too when first hearing about this, but in the second year of my elementary education program my class travelled to a school called the Pacific Institute of Innovation and Inquiry and some of these concerns I also had were put to ease. The students completed projects to show their learning (could be cross-curricular to show numerous course competencies) and the teachers were always there to support them and get them started when they were struggling, but after a while, the students needed them less and less because they started to become more independent and learn how to do things on their own.

Overall, I look forward to learning more about how eLearning and technology have advanced over the years and more ways that I can utilize them in the classroom.

References:

Barbour, M & Labonte, R. (2018) An Overview of eLearning Organizations and Practices in Canada. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 600-616). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Bates, T.(2014). Learning Theories and Online Learning. [Blog post]. Retrieved from https://www.tonybates.ca/2014/07/29/learning-theories-and-online-learning/.

Roberts, V. , Blomgren, C. Ishmael, K. & Graham, L. (2018) Open Educational Practices in K-12 Online and Blended Learning Environments. In R. Ferdig & K.Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 527–544). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Teachers can effectively build relationships and promote student learning by encouraging safe communication and interactions online by using technology that has been proven safe and that follows privacy guidelines (Garrett Dickers, A., 2018). To help create purposeful online learning environments teachers need to be purposeful in design, utilize a team when looking to implicate a new online learning platform, and make sure to incorporate activities designed for interaction between students, the teacher, and the content. One thing that I believe is very important when implementing a new program into your classroom (online or in-person) is the presence of a team or group of teachers or researchers who have used the program before or that have researched it before. By having this group before you implement a program you as a teacher are best able to evaluate whether it is a program that you and the students enjoy using, as well as a platform that students will learn from.

After examining the readings I have found one topic that I would like to discuss in this blog post, student tracking and discrimination (Regan, P. & Jesse, J., 2019). Student tracking and discrimination have been around for a long time. The debate about tracking began in the late 1800s and has evolved over time and is still around today even if we may not notice it as much. In the 1900s tracking was often used in the form of where students were going after high school. There were various paths that students would follow based on their prior achievements, such as going to college or getting vocational training. These paths were found to be discriminatory, as students of colour were often kept from the same long-term achievements than those of white students (ie. a white male would go to college whereas a male of colour may go get general training).

The use of technology has helped discrimination in the classroom decrease but also has some negative effects. By having technology to use in the classroom teachers are able to utilize differential instruction in a way that students are able to be easily assessed all at once, but with varying levels of difficulty. When certain programs are used for this however, the student’s age, gender, grade, etc. are all included in the database and analyzed. By having these factors analyzed discriminatory actions could be taking place. When a profile is created using the student’s demographic or interests then they are automatically grouped with others of the same data, regardless of who they are as a person. When a student is grouped based on demographics or test scores there are many things that are not taken into consideration such as maybe that student had a bad test day due to home problems or that they can comprehend material but have poor writing skills which would lead to a poor score on a written test. These programs may prove to be more efficient or easier to use than if a teacher were to evaluate each student on their own, but by using these programs teachers are subjecting their students to discrimination that they may not even notice. Overall, more research needs to be put into the effects of educational technology on student learning and the discriminatory and privacy concerns that may arise.

References:

Garrett Dickers, A. (2018) Social Interaction in K-12 Online Learning. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 509-522 ). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.

Regan, P., & Jesse, J. (2019). Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: Twenty-first century student sorting and tracking. Ethics and Information Technology, 21(3), 167-179. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2