Three New Trinkets in the Teaching Tool Box

Make the Game Worth Playing
When teaching, creating meaning and purpose is significant. It makes it worth playing the game. It is what leads learners to participate to their fullest in the game. There are two types of motivation: intrinsic and extrinsic. These are assuming that learners are on a healthy level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of needs. However, Perkins speculate that meaning has started to diminish due to the misunderstanding of the usefulness of education. Students are missing the “why?” And “where is this going to help me?”. Perkins (2009) states, ” the challenge is to choose and frame content so that it is genuinely worthwhile, and it’s worth is transparent” (pg.56). Student must know the purpose and it’s important to allow for motivation, attention, and transfer to other contexts.

A large part of a new push at our school is extrinsic motivation. We have amped up rewards for the students to motivate them to behave better or work harder. However, sometimes I think there is a very fine line that needs to be placed. Students need to do the expectations because they are expected. In the work place, you do not get a raise or an incentive for showing up on time. That is your job. I understand using motivational factors to help, but I think it is important to align the incentives with personal improvement goals or when students help others and show kindness. Students need to know that these things they are working toward for the incentive are things that they should be doing without the incentive. I would start with a high push of rewards but slowly back off so to lead the student to realize it is not for the candy or the free time, but for themselves and the good habit that will make them successful for the rest of their life. Then I feel they will become more intrinsically motivated in those lagging categories. Motivation is not the only way to make the game worth playing. Engagement is one as well. Our district has mandated many engaging strategies in our classrooms. Such as student led book clubs that rely on student agency and student choice. Engaging stations are also a requirement that lead to hands on teamwork.

As an educator, I know there are going to be some children influenced by Maslow’s Hierarchy. However, as hard as I try there are some students who may need further help than what I can offer. Sometimes I fear schools lack enough resources for students. Whether it is for the emotional support or family out reach program to help things at home, or things that are prohibiting a child to learn. A lingering question is what other programs or resources could be used in the school to help students.

Working on the Hard Parts
Anticipating the hard parts allows for the healthy struggle and frustration to exist. Many times this is why teachers tap into the students pre-existing knowledge on the subject so it can inform our teaching. If teachers present too much material it can be overwhelming and lead to negative behaviors and a lack of motivation. It will stop the game. Perkins (2009) discusses a Plan A and a Plan B in learning. Plan A is to just practice everything (in his case, every piano piece). Plan B is to practice the weakest parts to improve (pg.79-80). This is also where reteaching may occur. Sometimes teachers think that student have fully grasped a concept. However, it is not until application later when they learn that it may not be true. That is why as a teacher, there must be flexible in order to really teach these hard parts. Perkins, on page 83, writes about one of the four principles: on-going assessment. Assessment can be formal and informal. It does not have to be through memorization of information but could be through application to show deeper understanding. Perkins (2009) later discusses peer assessment (pg.84). This assess two things: the ability of the person being assessed, but also the understanding of the assessor. This is another great resource that assess understanding whether during the hard par or before it. Working on the hard part motivates learners, but also allows the full game to be played and be successful.

A few examples of these hard parts in the classroom being explicitly taught exist in the writing process. Although teaching expository writing right now, I have spent a week on each type of paragraph in the essay. I have spent a week teaching and practicing introductory paragraph techniques that are general and not just for expository. I found students struggled with knowing what a topic sentence looks likes. Therefore, we back tracked and spent the time reviewing these necessary elements that would lead them to be successful in writing an expository piece. However, I know citations is going to be the next hard part. Therefore I will spend a week focused on teaching it explicitly. I am anticipating its difficulty. Whereas before I was unaware of the lack of transfer for paragraph formatting. I had scaffolded for what I assumed would be there level. Once I assessed where they truly were I had to rework the unit. The hard parts are by far the most rewarding part of teaching. Another example I have recently crossed is that when having the students create presentations they have lacked the ability to create such things on Google Slides. I had to assess what they did not know and teach them these computer skills that are important to their success in nearly all paths of their future. It was a hidden game that needed to be taught and played. One I did not plan on being a “hard part” until I informally assessed their presentations.

Perkins specifies three different types of feedback that are crucial to on-going assessment and teaching of the hard parts. I firmly believe that choosing which type of feedback depends on two things: the task at hand and the student. The assessment type is influential in choosing feedback. Depending on what type of assignment the teacher’s comments and corrections should differ. It is also directly connected to the full class assessment as well. If more than one student is struggling with something, perhaps individual feedback will not work, but instead a full reteaching. As mentioned above, it is also dependent on the student. With many 504s and IEPs, it is necessary to ensure plans are followed. Even behavioral students with a low tolerance to criticism may need it to be a more conversational piece opposed to a flat out correction. It truly depends on what the student needs and how they need it to be taught to them in order to be successful. As the numbers in the classroom increase it becomes more and more difficult to informally assess all the students. I wonder what systems can help with informal and formal assessment for teachers. This leads to the final concept: artificial intelligence.

Artificial Intelligence
Although artificial intelligence is not perhaps a cognitive concept we have learned, it is instead the ability to replicate the intricate and vast abilities of the mind. Although technologies have advanced incredibly, there are just some shortages in abilities of artificial intelligences. After reading this week, it is clear that artificial intelligence is everywhere. Some programs being simplistic online programs, while others are human-like and appearance and ability. In the article titled “The Relationship Between Emotion Models and Artificial Intelligence” the authors write about how the façade of emotion in the AI leads users to have higher expectations. It states, “the mere presence of an animated face raises the expectation levels of its user. An entity that is able to express emotions is also expected to recognize and understand them. The same holds true for speech. If an artificial entity talks then we also expect it to listen and understand” (pg.10). The users will immediately recognize the lack of intelligence and understanding or proper emotional response because they will be treating the AI as a human and not what it truly is. Therefore resulting in a let down.

During a dinner at my parents, I was shown the new AI device Alexa. It was incredible to watch as Alexa answered us, even joked and had the startings of a personality. However, there were limits to her responses, which were usually covered up with some quirky and humorous remarks. Even so, it was intriguing to listen to this computer generated persona. Although, I would like to use AI in the classroom more. Below is a video that describes the abilities of AI in the classroom.

Click Here For Other Examples to Use in the Classroom

Final Reflection
These three trinkets are now tools in my tool box. They surround the present and future of my classroom. They are things I will consider and continue to research until I have woven them through my teaching. I will include all mental cognitive practices in this endeavor and continue to question and push myself in order to better my classroom and prepare my students for their bright futures. I look forward to enjoying each game and its hidden game in the classroom with my students.

 

Resources
Bartneck, H., Lyons, M., & Saerbeck, M. (2017). The Relationship Between Emotion Models and Artificial Intelligence. Retrieved from https://arxiv.org/ftp/arxiv/papers/1706/1706.09554.pdf
California State University Dominguez Hills. (n.d.). Cycle of Reflective Teaching [Digital image]. Retrieved from http://www2.csudh.edu/tsr/images/cycle%20of%20reflective%20teaching.jpg
Mcleod, S. (2017). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Perkins, D. N., & ebrary, I. (2009). Making Learning Whole : How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass.

A Consortium of Cognitive Necessities

By Alyssa Barrett

Motivation
As an adult the emotional cognitive relationship is still there however, we are able to provide for ourselves and adjust our place on the hierarchy. Another factor that leads to a better motivation is our ability to control the emotions. By the time we are faced with learning as adults, we should have a handle on the emotional aspects. We should be able to stay objective and cooperative despite frustrations or outside influences. However, Karen Thoms Jarrett writes of two types of teaching styles for adult learners in “They’re Not Just Big Kids: Motivating Adult Learners”: “present information in a manner that permits mastery. This means “bit-size chunks” of information rather than everything in one huge swoop” and “present new information if it is meaningful and practical. If the learner sees no connection between the job/course and the activities, that person will very likely lose interest and not succeed in the class”(Jarrett, pg. 4). These two activities are direct correlation to Perkins ideas in Making Learning Whole : How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education. Whether it is whole game approach or junior version these two techniques are important to success in a classroom of any age. Joseph Houde writes, “The sixth principle of andragogy relates to motivation. The assumption about adult learners in this principle is that ‘while adults are responsive to some external motivators (better jobs, promotions, higher salaries, and the like) the most potent motivators are internal pressures (the desire for increased job satisfaction, self-esteem, quality of life, and the like)'” (Houde, pg.91). This shows the intrinsic and extrinsic factors that come into play. However, this is not just for adults. All learners have these. Perhaps parents, bosses, or society has an expectation for us. However, it is our intrinsic desire that leads us to succeed or reach true understanding and meaning. Extrinsic can only be so motivating. In teaching, these can be the incentive, grade, punishment, peer pressure, parent, etc. However, in your own life it could be your desire to get out of the toxic environment or your dreams coming true. It could be a better self-confidence or desire to begin something new. Extrinsic motivators can do a lot to help learners and motivate them, but it is not until the learner themselves are intrinsically motivated that transfer and meaning exist.

I firmly believe a good balance of intrinsic and extrinsic motivation works to truly motivate and inspire children to become life long learners. Sometimes using extrinsic motivation leads to the practice of good habits that are important to intrinsically motivating students before they are mature enough to know what makes them want to learn. Eventually as they discover what they want to become or do with the rest of their lives the intrinsic motivation comes into play. However, balancing both as the student grows is important in order to really create life long learners. As an adult I am mostly intrinsic. However, topic I do not deem as important to me may take an external motivation.
A large part of a new push at our school is extrinsic motivation. We have amped up rewards for the students to motivate them to behave better or work harder. However, sometimes I think there is a very fine line that needs to be placed. Students need to do the expectations because they are expected. In the work place, you do not get a raise or an incentive for showing up on time. That is your job. I understand using motivational factors to help, but I think it is important to align the incentives with personal improvement goals or when students help others and show kindness. Students need to know that these things they are working toward for the incentive are things that they should be doing without the incentive. I would start with a high push of rewards but slowly back off so to lead the student to realize it is not for the candy or the free time, but for themselves and the good habit that will make them successful for the rest of their life. Then I feel they will become more intrinsically motivated in those lagging categories. Just some food for thought.
The Game: Emotions and Learning

Emotion is one of the human factors that lead to true understanding and desire to learn. It is even routed in the ability to learn. When looking at Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, educators see that students cannot begin to comprehend and feel safe in a learning environment until other aspects of their life are well balanced. If they are not, they tend to disregulate their emotions. This then leads to the student unable to regulate their behavior or learning ability as they push through the healthy frustration of doing a challenging task at school. The author of the article “Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs” writes, “When a deficit need has been ‘more or less’ satisfied it will go away, and our activities become habitually directed towards meeting the next set of needs that we have yet to satisfy” (McLeod, 2017). Therefore as a student pushes past their basic needs and up the pyramid, they will desire to learn and be driven to improve themselves in that way. Until then the student is more concerned with trying to find food or resolve a conflict at home, which directly affects their emotion. At that point, no part of the game is worth playing. However, allowing for junior versions can be much more useful and attainable for the child. Perkins writes, “The better solution is junior versions, better because junior versions involve learners meaningfully in whole games from the beginning and situate bits and pieces meaningfully in a bigger picture”(pg. 37). Instead of giving learners on the lower level of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs a task that can overwhelm them, a differentiated method would be to give the students a junior version that begins to put together the many pictures that lead to a whole. This is very evident in the inner city district I teach in. Everyday we are working with emotions and preparing students to be learners despite the hardships they face. Sometimes that does mean giving them the whole game. What is their end game? Why are we learning this? Giving them the answer of “because it is in the curriculum” does nothing for them. We tell them the truth. We tell them the how and where they will use this again. We motivated them to show them how this is a necessity. Something needed to survive and even thrive.
Until recently there has been no drive to develop the learning environment in an emotional way. Teaching in an urban district has taught me a lot about combating emotions and preparing students to be learners. A lot of it lies in Maslow’s Hierarchy. When a student is misbehaving it more than likely has to do with some sort of external factor that is not allowing them to respond appropriately. Most of the time, educators are the ones who need to help them regulate their feelings. We see them the majority of the day and are an outlier to their daily home lives. In Advisory we teach many important ways to regulate your emotion, whether it is what to do when you feel yourself getting mad or how to prevent situations. It is hard to sometimes regulate emotions as an adult but imagine being a young child and have numerous expectations demanded of you and your mad because coming here does not seem important to you when you know your siblings have not eaten all weekend and you need to solve that issue. Or you are not safe at home and you do not know what to do or say to someone.

Anticipating the hard parts allows for the healthy struggle and frustration to exist. Many times this is why teachers tap into the students pre-existing knowledge on the subject so it can inform our teaching. If teachers present too much material it can be overwhelming and lead to negative behaviors and a lack of motivation. If the students are not paying attention or motivated there is no true learning. The article “The Relationship Between Working Memory and Attention” writes that, ” Attention can affect both initial feed-forward processing in early sensory cortex and the later processing stages (in higher-cognitive areas)” (Fougnie, pg.4). Therefore, attention is not just for learning in the moment but in the long run. Attention lead to educational transfer which allows for information to be committed to memory. Without this there is no concept learning or building of one’s own logic.

However, allowing for junior versions can be much more useful and attainable for the child. Perkins writes in an earlier chapter: “The better solution is junior versions, better because junior versions involve learners meaningfully in whole games from the beginning and situate bits and pieces meaningfully in a bigger picture”(pg. 37). If teachers take the time to create these junior games within the game they will allow their learners to succeed. A few examples of these hard parts in the classroom being explicitly taught exist in the writing process. Although teaching expository writing right now. I have spent a week on each type of paragraph in the essay. I have spent a week teaching and practicing introductory paragraph techniques that are general and not just for expository. Students found struggled with knowing what a topic sentence is so we back tracked and spent the time reviewing these necessary elements that would lead them to be successful in writing an expository piece. However, I know citations is going to be the next hard part. Therefore I will spend a week focused on teaching it explicitly. I am anticipating its difficulty. Whereas before I was unaware of the lack of transfer for paragraph formatting. I had scaffolded for what I assumed would be there level. Once I assessed where they truly were I had to rework the unit. The hard parts are by far the most rewarding part of teaching

A large part of this is assessment. I firmly believe every new skill should be pre-assessed, whether formally or informally. It could be a KWL, a pre-test, or just pre-learning mapping. It should always inform your lesson. It also begins to interest the learners. I like the want to know piece. I always ask them what they would like to know about that topic and weave that in along the way. A lot of times I find the students ask why it is important and where can I use it outside of school. When they are already asking that at the beginning of the lesson, they are beginning to be intrinsically motivated. They are finding the meaning behind it all before they even begin to understand. It is a great way to begin their exploration into a topic or skill. I like to even assess myself using their pre versus post testing as a way to make sure I am reaching my potential as their teacher. Sometimes I make them take the same test or do the same activity in order to compare. This allows the teacher to recognize where they are, what the hard parts are, and how we can teach through these hard parts. However, through out the whole unit, teachers should be formal and informally assessing. Perkins writes of three styles of feedback which are corrective, conciliatory, and communication (pg.85). Choosing which type of feedback depends on two things: the task at hand and the student. The assessment type is influential in choosing feedback. Depending on what type of assignment the teachers comments and corrections should differ. It is also directly connected to the full class assessment as well. If more than one student is struggling with something, perhaps individual feedback will not work, but instead a full reteaching. As mentioned above, it is also dependent on the student. With many 504s and IEPs, it is necessary to ensure plans are followed. Even behavioral students with a low tolerance to criticism may need it to be a more conversational piece opposed to a flat out correction. It truly depends on what the student needs and how they need it to be taught to them in order to be successful

.Click Here for a list of ways to assess your students.

Connections
The whole game is difficult to play with such diverse classroom today. Every day is different due factors that influence learning such as emotions, attention, memory, transfer, and motivation. In classes of around 30, it makes teaching a whole game nearly impossible. However, teaching junior versions are necessary to create the scaffolding and differentiation necessary for such large and diverse groups. Every student of mine demands something different from me. They may need emotional support, while another needs writing support, or may be an ELD student. The whole game can be discouraging to these students. Sometimes the whole game is the best way to teach a topic, but in the classrooms I have been teaching in, breaking own and focusing on the hard parts is more important for my students. It increases engagement and decreases behaviors caused by emotional or academic frustration. Engagement is deeply rooted in motivation and attention which leads to the transfer of material. These are all interconnected cognitive notions that are irreplaceable pieces of the puzzle of educational success.

References
Fougnie, D. (2008). The relationsihp between attention and working memory. In: New Research on Short-Term Memory. Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Houde, J. (2006). Androgogy and motivation: An exanimination of the principles of androgogy through two motivation theories. North Carolina State University.
Jarrett, T.K. (2001). They’re not just big kids: Motivating adult learners. In: Proceedings of the Annual Mid-South Instructional Technology Conference.
Learner’s Motivation [Flow Chart]. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://blog.commlabindia.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/consider-in-elearning.jpg
Mcleod, S. (2017). Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved January 30, 2018, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
Perkins, D. N., & ebrary, I. (2009). Making Learning Whole : How Seven Principles of Teaching Can Transform Education. San Francisco, Calif: Jossey-Bass.

 

 

Dipping a Toe into Cognitive Learning

By Alyssa Barrett 

 

Learning Styles 

Learning style is defined as, “characteristic cognitive, effective, and psychosocial behaviors that serve as relatively stable indicators of how learners perceive, interact with, and respond to the learning environment” in the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education (Romanelli, F., Bird, E., & Ryan, M.,2009). In simpler terms, it is the way an individual learns in order to be the most successful at understanding something. It differs for every person. My personal learning style leans towards the following four styles: active, intuitive, global, and verbal. When it comes to my own learning, I take notes for everything. I return to them later and make connections and reread what I did not understand. I even put questions in the margin and potential half formed thoughts and initial connections. This is an internal conversation I have with my prior knowledge and this new knowledge. It is an analogy I create. It is how I categorize and connect for deeper understanding. I have become self-aware of my learning style and have grown with it as I have changed as a learner. However, that may not work for all people. At the school I teach at, the middle schoolers are required to take a Learning Inventory survey, From there, teachers helped students learn strategies that would lead them to eventual student agency and success in the classroom and in the outside world.  

 

Interested in discovering your learning style? Click Here  

Looking for great accommodations for students with different learning styles? Click Here 

 

Mental Representations 

The three mental representations of logic, rules, and concepts are imbedded into every human being’s behavior. It does not just exist in their educational behavior, but in the everyday behavior that humans do not even think twice about. To begin with, logic is the higher order thinking that is done through human inferences and deductive reasoning (Slaughter, 2012). This is completely based upon our pre-existing knowledge and is what makes humans unique. No one person has the same background, therefore, their logic will differ from one another. In teaching, prior knowledge is different for each student. Assessing their previous experiences with the upcoming material is necessary in order to teach for true understanding and meaning. All of our units begin with pretests and some sort of brainstorming on the essential question. In the classroom, higher order thinking is what every teacher should strive for. Questions should reflect those of deductive thinking opposed to inductive thinking that leads to a singular correct response, opposed to allowing for connections, problem solving, and other creative means of learning.  

Rules are an if/then response, sometimes habitual while other times self-taught or taught by others (Slaughter, 2012). For example: if I read quietly for ten minutes, the class can earn free time and I can earn an A for the week. People have their own rules that will lead to habitual behavior responses. In the classroom however, teachers are attempting to reteach that response and create one that allows for the proper behavior and study habits for learning. The if-then structure is what teachers call procedure and incentives. Teachers use it every day in order to create the right balance of successful learning behaviors while also pushing students to a healthy learning frustration level that challenges them. 

The Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy writes of concepts as corresponding, “to the words in spoken and written language, are an important kind of mental representation”(Thagard,1996). Concepts are abstract ideas created by one’s own mind that causes connections and categorization while seeking understanding. Concepts lead to individual thought behaviors and then to applied external behaviors, and finally into a possible learning imprinted on the brain and transferred into other aspects of a student’s life. This occurs every day in the classroom. However, it is highly influenced by rules and logic. These rules and logic lead to whether or not a student will fully understand the concept or just receive the information without meaning. The three mental representations are highly important to creating meaning for students. They cause deeper thinking and allow for the transfer of information across curricula and into their own lives. Rules and logic are also a part of a student’s learning style. We succeed at the styles that match our internal rules and logic. However, external rules and taught logic can help students learn through other methods.  

Another mental representation that ties into the three mentioned above is problem solving. Problem solving is described in the article On the Cognitive Process of Human Problem Solving as, “a cognitive process of the brain that searches a solution for a given problem or finds a path to reach a given goal”(Wang, et al, 2010). This definition alludes to a potential failure dependent on the rules, logic, and concepts presently in the minds of those solving the problem. The authors later describe problem solving further by writing, “when a problem object is identified, problem solving can be perceived as a search process in the memory space for finding a relationship between a set of solution goals and a set of alternative paths” (2010). Therefore, students or problem solvers are expected to rule out numerous “paths” in order to deductively decide which one will succeed. Due to problem solving being heavily based upon prior knowledge, adults may be much more successful at this opposed to children. Children also tend to rush for rewards and take the first available path because they have not learned better. They are also developing parts of the brain that are patient and trained to do the extra thinking and connecting. Therefore, they are lacking in experience and prior knowledge. However, creativity may be a strength of children as well as their ability to work with others. Again, this connects to learning styles. If a student is learning in a way that is not cognizant of the preferred styles, the student must problem solve and collaborate/communicate in order to fully understand a new concept. Each of these mental representations are intertwined with learning styles, differentiation, and the everyday classroom.  

 

Artificial Intelligence  

What is Artificial Intelligence? 

How does it affect us? How does it learn similar to us? 

Where we see AI on a daily basis in the classroom: 

• Google Translate 
• Grammarly 
• Virtual Reality Programs  
• Nextex Learning 
• Grading Systems  
• Spam Filters (students and teachers) 
• Chromebook Blocking  
• Plagiarism Checking Systems 
• Voice to Text Devices 
• Differentiated Games/Online Projects 

Where it is going in the future:

Final Connection 

These three are the most predominant elements of my teaching and learning. Differentiation is a key component in allowing for different types of learners succeed. At the heart of learning styles are logic, rules, and concepts which may be taught but are also largely based on the varied background knowledge of each person. All of these unique differences is what leads to the difficulties in successfully obtaining true human-like artificial intelligence. It is near impossible to completely copy the human brain. Each brain is so different and ever-changing. What works for one person as a student may not work for another. How are they going to be able to teach or create this conscious shift of meta cognitive learning and self-regulation that does partially deal with emotions (learning does allow for a healthy frustration and engagement or even motivation which is driven by a human desire to learn or discover)? There are many questions still buzzing around my brain, but is has been enlightening to put names and meaning behind larger concepts I had not been able to fully understand or connect to other new ideas.  

Resources 

Coldfusion. (2016, July 19). What is Artificial Intelligence Exactly? Retrieved January 25, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kWmX3pd1f10 

Fiedler, Richard and Barbara A. Solomon. Index of Learning Styles Questionnaire. North Carolina State University. Retrieved from https://www.webtools.ncsu.edu/learningstyles/ 

Romanelli, F., Bird, E., & Ryan, M. (2009). Learning Styles: A Review of Theory, Application, and Best Practices. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 73(1), 09. 

Slaughter, D. (2012). EDUC510 Unit 2 Video Presentation. Retrieved from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMX8ZM5s4fc&feature=youtu.be 

T. (2017, January 18). How Will Artificial Intelligence Affect Your Life | Jeff Dean |TEDxLA. Retrieved January 25, 2018, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BfDQNrVphLQ

Thagard, P. (1996, September 23). Cognitive Science. Retrieved January 15, 2018, from https://plato.stanford.edu/entries/cognitive-science/ 

Wang, Yingxu & Chiew, Vincent. (2010). On the cognitive process of human problem solving. Cognitive Systems Research. 11. 81-92. 10.1016/j.cogsys.2008.08.003. 

 

Online Identities, Personalities, and Blogs – Oh My!

The Yellow Brick Road

As students walk the yellow brick road that is education, they face unplanned obstacles as our five protagonists do in the Wizard of Oz. They hold fear deep in their chest of failure, new challenges, and self-worth. They face new worlds never seen to them as Dorothy and Toto do. They face the new and constantly evolving technological community. Some stay stuck in their ways as the Wicked Witch of the West while others bear the hardship and continue on the yellow brick road, knowing what greatness lies ahead.

I am at that fork. I had thought that I had known a lot about technology. Much like Dorothy, everything I knew was uprooted by a metaphorical tornado and landed me in a new and awe-inspiring land. A land unseen to the eye and whizzing behind a screen. A community of vastly different people and beliefs. A place open to all voices. However enchanting this land may seem, beware there are hidden dangers. As I have learned in this course, this online world instantly creates a permanent identity. Whichever platform used, the eyes of the online world are judging as if they are the Wicked Witch through her crystal ball. And her crystal ball can see all.

“Claim your identity on social media before someone else does” (Zwilling, 2015). 

In a much similar fashion as the above quotations from an article in Entrepenuer, Susan Adams lists ways to manage your online identity in an article published in Forbes. The final of which writes, “keep private things private, while assuming nothing is truly private”. An online identity is open to all; whether people like it or not, it is a reality the online community must come to terms with. There is no avoiding it. In order to be successful in your field, it is important to make sure all of your online accounts are professional. That includes social media outlets.

 

What Does Professional and Positive Personalities Mean and How do I Create this Identity?

 

 

 

Confusion Alert: Aren’t Blogs Supposed to be Informal AND Personal?

Another obstacle on our yellow brick road happened upon us in the form of blogs. All this talk of professionalism and now a suggestion is to create personal blogs. It seems contradictory. Yet, it is not. Blogs are the professional way of allowing others to hear and experience your personal voice and thoughts. Blogs are highly experimental. They lead writers to explore and converse. In Identity Technologies : Constructing the Self Online, the authors converse on the topic, discussing the balance of personal and professional:

My interest in the blog was to try to think about writing as communication rather than the way I think about it when I’m writing normally, which focuses on my fidelity to the idea and the question. When I’m writing out of fidelity to the idea and the question, my writing tends to involve longer sustained abstractions, and when I’m writing to humans . . . I’m much more likely to be closer to a storytelling modality (Rak, pg. 260)

The author alludes to a story-telling voice that creates the informal platform where people can collaborate on specific topics. Blogs have become a new form of education for life-long learners. They allow people to discover and experiment in an applied learning type of way. Therefore this type of digital footprint may seem personal and a bit messy, but it truly is just part of the learning process.  It creates applied learning through collaboration, personalized topics, and student agency. As a result, blogs allow a sense of self-respect and voice that creates confidence in students and their voices worth in the community.  As proof, Identity Technologies : Constructing the Self Online contains charts (Table 1 and 2) that show a significant growth in categories pertaining to the above learning attributes (KILIÇ, pg.1174-1175).  The whole article discusses the motivation and confidence that students begin to display due to this type of writing and exploration. Blogging is moving into the classroom due to its values of agency, voice, and personalized learning that are creating professional and positive digital footprints for the life-long learner on that yellow brick road.

 

References

Adams, S. (2013, March 14). 6 Steps To Managing Your Online Reputation. Retrieved November 10, 2017, from https://www.forbes.com/sites/susanadams/2013/03/14/6-steps-to-managing-your-online-reputation/#7ad9d2247767

Grovo (2013, July 22). “Create a Positive Online Presence” by grovo.com. Retrieved November 10, 2017, from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zV70jJs-AAs

KILIÇ, E., & GÖKDAŞ, İ. (2014). Learning through Blogging: Use of Blogs to Enhance the Perceived Learning of Pre-service ICT Teachers. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 14(3), 1169-1177. doi:10.12738/estp.2014.3.1987

 

Rak, J., & Poletti, A. (2013). Identity Technologies : Constructing the Self Online. Madison, Wisconsin: University of Wisconsin Press.

Zwilling, M. (2015). 6 keys to a positive online presence and reputation.Entrepreneur.

 

 

A Reflection of Turmoil and Triumph

In a technologically advanced world, digital multimedia is predominantly the way to teach, learn, and communicate. It is in the classroom, the workplace, and the social setting. Educators, as well as digital citizens must learn how to create positive and professional media. But, it is not easy. After stressing over numerous platforms and strategies, I have finally figured out a few that are easy and useful in both the workplace and school setting. Despite the frustration, I now have the ability to create the videos and teach these skills to students. I can use this as a teaching tool, but also as a project-based learning activity.

Why do we need digital media?

The article What is the Impact of Technology on Learning? lists the impact of technology in the classroom. There are many positive attributes that create engaged, creative, and collaborative students:

• Learner Motivation
• Self-Esteem
• Improved Assessments and Understanding
• Transfer of Learning
• Language Acquisition
• Overall Reading Comprehension

These are just a few of the positive aspects of using multimedia in the classroom as shown in the article (Pritchard, 2014). Another resource focuses on the idea of the student-centered classroom. In the book Teaching with Digital Video: Watch, Analyze, Create, the authors write of student agency and its importance when using digital multimedia in the classroom. They write, “each of the four subject-specific chapters in Part 1 of this book presents sample activities categorized according to the primary means by which students are engaged with the video: watching, analyzing, and creating” (Bell, et al, pg. 5). The book later gives content specific activities, but it is important to realize that each activity has the three skills: watch, analyze, and create. Two of the three of these are high order thinking skills that need to be in the classroom in order to create engagement and deeper understanding. In the attached video is another reflection of what digital multimedia is doing in the classroom.

https://biteable.com/watch/embed/digital-multimedia-1656970

Digital Multimedia on Biteable.

How we can use it?

Educators can use digital multimedia to teach or to also assess. It is more useful for teachers to use it as a learning tool than a teaching tool. Project-based learning is a creative and hands-on approach that will allow students to learn the skills but learn them at their appropriate level of learning ability. It can be seen most importantly as a tool of differentiation through personalized learning. Although it is usually a creative outlet, there are virtual reality sites and other platforms that practice skills in different ways through an engaging and informational approach. Technology is endless and full of possibilities. For more information on how to use technology in the classroom feel free to check out these resources:

• https://www.edweek.org/topics/multimedia/index.html
• http://www.pbs.org/kqed/oceanadventures/educators/sciencemedia/
• https://cirt.gcu.edu/gcufaculty/frc/facultyacademy/odw/multimedia

References

Bell, L., & Bull, G. L. (2010). Teaching with Digital Video : Watch, Analyze, Create. Eugene, Or: International Society for Technology in Education [ISTE].

Pritchard, S. O. (2014, April 30). What is the Impact of Technology on Learning? Retrieved December 01, 2017, from https://www.education.com/reference/article/what-impact-technology-learning/

University of South Florida. (n.d.). Multimedia in the Classroom . Retrieved December 01, 2017, from http://fcit.usf.edu/multimedia/overview/overviewb.html

Digital Citizenship Statement

 

Digital citizenship is our responsibility to participate in the technological world. As academics, social people, and as professionals. However, it is not just simply participating. We must protect, educate, discuss, and allow ourselves to emerge into an ever-changing resource while we forge through the difficulties to remain on track toward our goal. Which leads me to my digital citizenship statement:  

 

I will adhere to my own voice and beliefs while remaining respectful of other’s and myself. I will be professional and attentive to concerns or new technological platforms while never losing sight of my academic inquiry-based purpose.  

 

Why is this important? 

Digital literacy is the ability to appropriately use the internet or other technological devices. By appropriate, I mean that the person should know how to use, what to do with it, and how to be responsible about using it. The world has become consumed by technology. We must adapt or struggle. I feel my digital literacy is rather advance.  Although, I use Google Applications and many other platforms daily. I need to discover what works and shift my curriculum towards that opposed to just trying everything. My ability to learn new technologies and then teach them to students is my strength. It alludes to my growth mindset. As the article “4 Prinicples of Digital Literacy” states, I consider myself at the curation level (Heck, 2013). I can use these devices to store, share, collaborate, and organize for myself or with my whole class.  

Digital literacy is a must, especially for our students. The world is advancing faster than we can even imagine. The students need these skills in order to survive. Another article writes that digital literacy is commonly used just for social practices (Bhatt, 2012). However, it is turning into much more as nearly every branch of work utilizes some sort of technology. Even life needs are rooted in technology today. The article also mentions that social digital literacy could also be considered more of a collaboration. It has moved to be included in the classroom in a more social outlook.   

How do we stay professional? 

A third article, “6 Keys to a Positive Online Presence and Reputation”, writes that we must create a profile or reputation that is something we want to be seen as within the digital world, but also in the real world (Zwilling, 2015). I believe this is really something the next generation of students are really struggling with. Snapchat and other social media outlets are becoming highly personalized and students do not realize that over-sharing emotions or photos can hurt their reputation for the future. One thing I have been focusing on with my advisory class is netiquette and protecting your reputation on the internet. It is important to learn as soon as possible in order to set yourself on the right path for the future. Our world has become engrossed with technology. Even when we are not on it, it is still influencing our decisions and future.   

As the world becomes a more technology driven place, whether socially, academically, or educationally, important questions regarding safety and etiquette arise. What are the proper ways to act online? How do we stay safe or professional? What are the expectations for each type of online platform? Although there is no guideline that is held above the rest, there are unwritten and damaging beliefs that lead people to prioritize their privacy and information safety online. As the younger generations begin to adapt to new social technologies, new norms of oversharing have begun to harm reputations and even careers without the children noticing it. The authors of Generational Views of Information Privacy write: “Many social commentators have expressed the belief that young people don’t care about privacy’’ and this sentiment appears to have caught in the popular culture and as a way of interpreting young people’s willingness to post vast quantities of information on social networking sites and to conduct much of their lives in this relatively public space” (Regan et al, 82-83). There is no shame but a norm to share everything on social media. As they age however, most jobs look at their negative digital footprint as a reason to not hire. The lack of concern now transforms into a lack of ability to provide and therefore is a stressor on society. When moving from the child to an educated young adult the question of privacy transforms into a privacy of content socially and academically. When researching and studying materials are thrown at students. As they access these online and utilize them to further their discussion and study, the student now questions the copyright policy. How do if your citations are appropriate or if it is even allowed to borrow the piece in academic writing? What happens if you do? The article above later mentions this progression: “Based on life stage changes, all generations will become most concerned about individual privacy during their middle years, when they are most concerned with the stability and integrity of their social and economic lives, with lower levels of concern during their younger and older years; we would thus see a similar bell-shaped curve regarding privacy attitudes across all generations” (Regan et al, 89). Later in life their seems to be a less professional technology drive due to the social drive of retired people (less work related and no need to be professional anymore), but also a contentness with the limited technology they need to use.   

There are numerous security devices. However, as universally known, nothing on the internet is really private or ever deleted. There are platforms people “trust” or pay for, but in all reality it is more important to just stay safe and put the responsibility in the person’s own hands. In Respecting People and Respecting Privacy it writes, “When security and privacy technologies fail, those with the knowledge, role, and skills put them in the best position to prevent the failures bear much of the responsibility” (Camp, 28). Therefore, people must learn to protect themselves and their professionalism on the internet.  I have made myself this promise as well. No one can help your own positive and professional image as much as your own self.  

Conclusion 

There is much to learn about digital citizenship. However, it is a learning process. I have learned so much already and plan to continue throughout my life. Enjoy the video below as something that helped me understand better.  

 

Resources  

Bhatt, I. (2012).” Digital Literacy Practices and their Layered Multiplicity”. Educational Media International, 49(4), 289-301. doi:10.1080/09523987.2012.741199  

Camp, L. J. (2015). Respecting People and Respecting Privacy. Communications Of The ACM, 58(7), 27-28. doi:10.1145/2770892  

Heick, T. (2013). “4 Principles of Digital Literacy”  

Regan, P. M., FitzGerald, G., & Balint, P. (2013). Generational views of information privacy?. Innovation: The European Journal Of Social Sciences, 26(1/2), 81-99. doi:10.1080/13511610.2013.747650  

Zwilling, M. (2015). “6 Keys to a Positive Online Presence and Reputation”. Entrepreneur.