Any topic (writer’s choice)
Respond to two or more of your colleagues postings in any of the following ways:
Build on something your colleague said.
Explain why and how you see things differently.
Ask a probing or clarifying question.
Share an insight from having read your colleague’s posting.
Offer and support an opinion.
Validate an idea with your own experience.
Ask for evidence that supports the posting.
first colleagues
Technology in education is the biggest change in teaching we will ever see (The NMC horizon, 2017). For years, policymakers, teachers, parents, and students alike have been weighing the potential benefits of technology in education against its risks and consequences. Prior to March 2020, some would say that technology allowed you to experiment in pedagogy, democratize the classroom and reach Generation Z students (Dhami, 2020). Others may have argued that technology in the classroom could promote cheating. I believe its a combination of all the above, specifically when the pandemic hit the world like a ton of bricks.
Students are digital masters, whether young or mature learners. However, our younger adult learners have grown up with technology; its woven into their lives. In fact, its one of the basic 21st-century skills that theyll need in school and the workplace. But using computer technology in the classroom isnt just about digital devices in class it relates to anything that facilitates interaction between teacher and student. Technology in schools could be seen as the culprit, or it could be harnessed to improve student engagement and effectiveness.
Digital education is generating new learning opportunities as students engage in online, digital environments and as faculty change educational practices through the use of hybrid courses, personalized instruction, new collaboration models, and a wide array of innovative, engaging learning strategies. As educators, its essential that we create the tone of our classroom to fit not only our learners but the world we live in today (Davis, 2009).
I plan to continue to incorporate digital education in my online classes and once we return to our traditional setting, Ill use trigger video clips to break up long lectures. Doing this captures the student’s attention and stimulates classroom discussion (Davis, 2009). Currently, for my online courses, Ive incorporated active viewing. Davis (2009) describes this as pairing a video with a reading assignment.
With any type of integration and adjustments in digital technology, there come advantages and disadvantages.
Advantages
Using technology in the classroom allows you to experiment more in pedagogy and get instant feedback.
Technology in the classroom helps ensure full participation.
There are countless resources for enhancing education and making learning more fun and effective (apps and e-textbooks to organizational platforms, theres no shortage of tools that can transform the classroom).
We live in a digital world, and technology is an essential life skill.
Disadvantages
Technology in the classroom can be a distraction.
Technology can disconnect students from social interactions.
Students dont have equal access to technological resources.
Davis, B. G. (2009). Tools for teaching (2nd ed.). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Dhami, H. (2020). James Langs Distracted: Why Students Cant Focus and What You Can Do About It. [Blog post]. https://tophat.com/blog/james-lang-distracted/
The New Media Consortium, & EDUCAUSE Learning Initiative. (2007). The NMC horizon report: 2017 higher education edition. Retrieved from https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2017/2/2017horizonreporthe.pdf
here my second colleagues
Open Educational Resources as an Emerging Technologies and Practices. The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) defines open educational resources (OER) as a verity of materials designed for teaching and learning that are openly available for use by teachers and that are devoid of purchasing, licensing, and/or royalty fees. 2002 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, 2020, pg 27
Rationale
A combination of advancements of technology and the current pandemic has forced students of all ages, all over the world to learn online. Teachers are redefining learning and reimagining their classrooms. In order to support online learners, open resources are more important than ever. Students now have access to You Tube content such as Khan academy (https://www.youtube.com/user/khanacademy), universities are posting their lectures online (https://ocw.mit.edu/index.html) and free textbooks from Open Stax are available to all (https://openstax.org/). Students taking science courses have access to different simulations from replicating nursing procedures to conducting chemistry experiments. The primary drivers for increased adoption of OER are affordability, access, and digital equity 2002 EDUCAUSE Horizon Report, 2020, pg 28
For many instructors teaching online, free and open resources can be used to supplement course materials, just like a reader full of PDFs used to be. My students prefer to watch videos rather than read textbooks, so it is not a far reach that videos are used for teaching now more than ever. We are also encouraged to use Open Stax textbooks to minimize the cost of learning for our students. Using free and open resources are encouraged at the community college and K-12 level. However, there have been lawsuits filed against 4-year universities charging full tuition for online classes. That indicates to me that some traditional students (consumers) at 4-year universities might not feel an online course (possibly supplemented with free resources) is not comparable to an in person class.
So what does the conflicting viewpoints mean for free and open learning opportunities? Sure, it is possible for everyone (including students) to use the free and open learning opportunities to learn informally, and broaden their knowledge about a variety of subjects. I would argue it does not compare to the opportunities that one must pay for, for example tuition for a course. When a student pays for a learning opportunity, they will have the support of an instructor/teacher. I believe we need to look at the idea of learning from an instructor perspective. What value does an instructor add? The instructors role will be to curate and organize the content, manage information overload and design meaningful assessments.
Incorporation
I want to make sure that in my class I provide a variety of resources to support adult learners with different learning styles. I would incorporate online OERs to complement my own course materials. My modules will include OERs such as YouTube and/or Khan Academy videos, free textbooks, as well as lab simulations (virtual labs). I do not think it is enough to just post these resources, but it is my responsibility to provide students with the context for the resources. Why were these resources chosen, how should students engage with them and how do they fit in with the learning objectives of the course.
Resources
https://library.educause.edu/-/media/files/library/2020/3/2020_horizon_report_pdf.pdf?#page=13&la=en&hash=0C5E0415C9202F58BC1E5577A709A5D673AB27D8
