You are currently browsing the tag archive for the ‘Kristen’ tag.
Today’s class was packed with three presentations, all very interesting to listen to. Ryan introduced by discussing stereotypes in videogames. I liked his approach to the presentation because he did additional research and was very knowledgeable about the topic. I had never heard about this virtual world, LamdaMOO before. To refresh my memory of what it really was I looked it up and read a bit about it. After reading this information/review I came to realize that many find this environment very addicting and in fact, the forum I read was a warning about becoming obsessed and consumed with this text-based virtual community. In this environment, it was described as race being invisible. My first thought to this notion was no, identifying as a race other than your own does not make it absent. Ryan than pointed this out, shortly after that thought which reinforced the idea the regardless of how you identify yourself the idea of racial identity and discrimination will still be there…maybe experienced in a different way, but still very present. The video choice was well chosen and offered an opportunity to make connections to gaming and stereotypes. When asked to rank and identify from most to least the presence of each racial identity group, our group was fairly accurate.
Through Dragana’s presentation I learned more about the concept of deschooling. In my opinion, both formal and informal learning is important and of equal value. I wanted to bring up the comparison that Alex demonstrated on the board in regards to Silka’s comment about what makes a teacher a teacher. The chart represented two columns; one that listed information, content and expert and the other that listed communication, experiences and practical knowledge. There needs to be a balance of both columns. The school system remains in the first column, as it is those skills that often get you the degree. It was what Alex described as “the quality and assurance – the, I’ve been certified”. In order for people to make sense of their practice the second column is very important. The use of practical skills can relate to and challenge theory. I think my education at Ryerson really helped to create a balance of both knowledge and practical experience. Many people go through 4 years of University with no practical experience. This discussion brought me back to the area of new literacies and changing the whole notion of thinking, learning and doing. Learning experiences need to be diverse, provide multiple ways of doing and
Tabitha’s presentation startled me a little, as I went home and changed all my obvious account passwords. The videos she showed demonstrated that social hacking involves taking something believable and making it real. To be quite honest, I have limited knowledge about this concept and this was all relatively new to me. It was hard for me to think openly about social hacking being something that was acceptable. In terms of the question she posed at the end of the presentation, all I can really respond with is that morals and ethics are an extremely important part in the decisions that children and youth are going to make. It all really goes back to the ways in which you are raised. Children and youths are curious and often rebel. I think this all goes back to the opportunities that are provided for children and the ways that technology is used and introduced. Creating a purpose behind the use of technology and effectively using it as a tool will help in creating opportunities for learning. Its all about meaningful learning, right Diane?
After reading the chapter by Prensky (2001), I was initially excited about presenting as many class discussions had involved gaming and its link to education and learning. I think Prensky (2001) was able to capture the essence of the importance and value of “good games”, pointing to specific elements that make “computer and video games potentially the most engaging pastime in the history of mankind” (Prensky, 2001, p. 1). Many of the twelve elements that he addresses at the beginning of the chapter can all relate to a well-designed curriculum or learning experience in the classroom. The learning experiences with games can be endless and often are not even thought of. This brings us back to the notion of the ‘head fake’ that was brought up in Martha’s presentation of Randy’s speech. Actually now that I think of it, that term continuously is coming up throughout blogs and class discussions. The first question I asked during my presentation was to think about how you define fun. Prensky (2001) discussed the notion of fun and the resistance by some business people and educators to new learning approaches based on fun. This really made me think of my own learning and training experiences and what approaches worked and were memorable to me. I began to think about training and staff meetings that I have at work. My manager uses a variety of approaches to conducting staff meetings. The learning experiences that I am more likely to engage in are the hands-on, activities where I get to role play and go around the store as if I was in a real-life experience. Simply listening to her talk for two hours about what we need to be doing (instead of actually acting it out doing it), does not fully capture attention and engage in the learning experience. Prensky (2001) also brought up the phrase “no pain, no gain”, which I can associate some of my educational experiences to very well.
I probably should have written this blog as soon as I got home from class, because there was a lot of critical dialogue throughout my presentation that I wanted to blog about. Showing the frogger game online sparked something in Alex, as she questioned if the game was educational. In all honesty, it stumped me and I think the rest of the class (well, judging from the faces anyways). Cathy raised a good point that our views on learning are really influenced by the banking model. This frogger discussion brought me back to thinking about new literacies and how challenging it can be to change your way of thinking and learning. If I can remember correctly, Alex had mentioned that learning is something we do on an individual level – and it should become completely social. How can these new modes of learning filtrate? There is a need for a broader definition of literacy, which involves a collective approach. This involves an approach that becomes a reality in the 21st century, a new pedagogy and different way of thinking.
Today’s class was quite packed with presentations, all varying in topics, discussions and debates. It was neat to hear about a virtual world for transplant patients and think about benefits to having a space or ‘community of interest’ like Zora. I was really surprised to hear about all the features that are involved in a virtual space like that. Doctors and medical practitioners come in as quests, group meetings, pharmacies, health museums seems like a place transplant patients can feel valued. It was discussed in class that technology allows for communication that cannot exist otherwise and being part of a community of people with commonalities can be beneficial for children. Children going through the same thing can connect as they may have similar values. It can be a place where they feel expected and safe. The notion of experimenting came up again, as experimentation is becoming a large part of technology and becoming technology literate. Relating this to my topic for my paper, experimentation will assist in implementing and understanding new literacies. Using the computer as a tool and not a technique is something that keeps coming up. As I the concept of new literacies and brings media literacy into the school curriculum, I wonder about the role of the teacher and how willing they are to make changes and adapt to the notion of experimenting. As the class was debating this issue, I began to think about the difference between researching something and seeing its benefits and fully navigating a program. Of course you’d be nervous to just implement something you have no idea about and that where researching and experimenting come in; a sense of open-mindedness is needed as well. Learning alternative ways of thinking was mentioned, as well as supporting experimentation (this is a gradual and slow process). Today’s class really brought me back to a class I took first semester, Educational Change. In this class you talked about change (obviously) and how difficult change can be for some, especially when its forced upon them and they feel they were not part of the process. It is important to realize that technology is not a replacement and should not take over everything and anything that you’ve currently been doing. I’m glad Alex pointed out that there are environments that are not supportive of technology too.
To touch on Cara’s presentation on engineering and robots, it was difficult for me to think back on personal experiences with engineering. I’m sure there were many experiences with building and electronics from science class that I can think of, but nothing when I was younger. I definitely didn’t have the opportunity to make a robot that could make hamburgers. After watching some youtube clips of robots doing funny things, we got into the topic of pedagogy and who has the knowledge-someone has to have the knowledge. I really liked when Tabitha stepped in and provided a very clear analogy of what experimenting is all about; simply accept what the children know and let them bake without a recipe. Of course there is background knowledge, but we can’t always assume that that knowledge isn’t there. Its all about comfort, being uncomfortable with the unknown and not knowing the outcome that holds us back. The criticism that was pointed out with the robot article was that students were not able to articulate what they were doing. This all goes back to how are teacher’s incorporating these technologies (like robots) into the classroom. It’s all about effective use!
Really enjoyed Steph’s presentation on photography, it was need to see what the children were interested in taking pictures of. This also brought up the notion of interpretation and that every photo does not tell the same story. It is important to have the concept piece behind photography.
After Alex introduced the major paper criteria, I began to think about my topic and where I wanted to go with it. When researching I began to notice a lot of articles pertaining to “technology literacy” or being literate in technology. This is not where I want my paper to specifically go, and I was getting a little confused when differentiating articles and their purpose. I would like to look at how technology can enhance early literacy learning within the classroom environment. I am noticing the common theme of “media technology” coming out from the literature, technology to enhance literacy learning as well as teaching and learning through media literacy. The term media literacy/technology seems to be directing me through my research, so I am starting to think my topic has now been narrowed down a little. What do you think Alex? It has taken me some time to develop a topic because there is a lot of research in this area, but I have found that after reading through the articles I realized many were not pertaining specifically to my topic. I am still working away on it, so hopefully when the annotated bibliography is complete I will have a solid framework for my final paper.
Moving onto today’s class and the presentations, Maureen began by talking about the benefits of games or gaming. The youtube clips helped to create a mental list of all the things that can be experienced and learned through gaming. I personally don’t even think about the educational opportunities and learning that is going on when I’m gaming, but when you really sit back and think about it the learning opportunities are endless. The open-endedness, creativity, team-work, critical thinking, analytic thought and collaboration that can come from gaming were described. Through the class discussion probed by Maureen’s first question about students not having access to technology at home, will they be left behind or is the playing field levelled by adding gaming into the classroom? I didn’t really know what to think about this because the games provided at school can be so different than the ones kids have at home. I think this just goes back to the fact that there is always going to be kids in school who have more toys, better clothes, is in more sports teams, travels more, etc. This is a part of growing up and just accepting what you have and what your family provides you with. I don’t think I would really look at the playing field being levelled by having games at school. Regardless of what it providing at school, kids will always need to be able to experience and understand that you can’t always have what someone else has…that was my take on that. I think it is important to provide some element of gaming into the classroom, but it does need to be facilitated and guided appropriately.
Connecting back to my topic, the notion of media literacy did arise. The whole idea of what literacy is has changed through media literacy. Learning in different ways, reflecting in different ways, expressing in different ways all connects to the notion of new literacies. The context of learning to read and write has changed through media literacy, how people learn and the multiple modes of learning and doing. It was neat to see the clip about the classroom that adopted the PSPs into the classroom, as each child was provided with one to use. The speaker in the video pointed out that it wasn’t just about the games, it was more than that. I actually didn’t even know the PSP could do all that, I’ve only played a couple games on it. It was interesting that the teachers reported it not being a distraction, but simply a tool that was used in the everyday classroom setting. The kids just became use to using it, it just became something they valued and considered useful to their learning. The different ways it could be used, and the many ways that children could express themselves and learn is reflective to the notion of new literacies; learning through media technology. There seem to be so many benefits to this learning that many people seem to be quick to point out the negatives to having something like this in the classroom. Today’s class helped me think more about my topic and reassured me that I’ve have chosen something that will be practical for my own learning and professional development.
CJ began by introducing a brief history of edutainment. I’ll have to admit; I did not know this term and was surprised that I hadn’t after hearing about what it actually is. This presentation was actually really interesting for me to listen to and hear about because I am all about learning through fun experiences; I just like to be entertained when I’m learning about something new. Learning experiences in my opinion should be memorable and enjoyable, which is very possible in my opinion. The idea of meaningful learning keeps running through my mind throughout this course and throughout these presentations, as technology can provide an outlet for these meaningful learning experiences to occur. Technology does not always have to be expensive and sometimes people cannot get past the fact that it is a very worthwhile investment. Working around and through misconceptions and creating learning experiences with technology is possible in childcare centers and within the classroom environment. When I think of the science centre, which is what was discussed a lot this class I think of learning opportunities for all. I have rarely seen a child bored at the science centre because it is a place where children can manipulate and be creative. When Alex discussed taking her children to the science centre and the experience with the monkeys, it made me think about the head fake and getting children hyped up about learning. Learning doesn’t always have to be boring; in fact it should never be boring. Finding ways to learn through multiple modes has been a significant area of interest for me. After reviewing literature on multimodal literacy in my Research Methods class last semester, I want to look specifically at literacy learning through technology for my paper. The new term “literacies” is defined by using multiple modes of learning in the classroom. Throughout some of the literature I’ve been reading about technology and literacy learning, I am finding that technology has provided students the with learning opportunities that have had a significant impact on their language and reading skills. I will continue to think about this idea and shape more ideas throughout my blogs in relation to the class presentations and discussion.
I’ll start off by saying that today’s class was very lively; Danny is very passionate about what he does. Yael’s presentation began by introducing us to folk music, what it is and some examples were shown. My interpretation of folk songs was songs where we do not know the origin, older songs that tell us a story about something. The definition given by Danny was “simple songs for simple folk”. It was funny to see the clip of Woodie Guthrie on youtube singing the song we all know so well, ‘this land is your land’. We then got into a discussion around youtube and authentic vocal performances that are broadcasted through youtube. This made me think of a girl I’ve been recently watching on youtube, who sings a lot of popular songs but in her own style in her own home. Normally this girl (Krista Nicole, if anyone wants to check her out) is signing with her dad playing the guitar…before this class I didn’t really think about why I might be attracted to her voice and what made me keep wanting to watch more and more of her videos (other than the fact that she is really good). The authenticity is a big attraction now and we got a discussion going about reality and connecting with people through that authentic and real-life experience. I actually really love to sing and always wanted to be a singer but never thought I would ever make it and now feel like even at 23 I am too old to start trying now….gotta focus on my graduate course lol. I was able to connect with her and her talent, her desire and effort to get herself heard through simple recordings on youtube. After watching a few clips of “aspiring musicians”, Danny mentioned that crunching, crackling, low quality-sounding noise is becoming something that people are doing on purpose to sound authentic for appeal. Anyways, enough about the authenticity bit…I seem to have made my point about that. All start to talk a bit about Danny and Jason’s project, Songchild. I am actually quite familiar with songchild, as I was able to make a page on there for one of Jason’s classes in undergrad. Having personally experienced it, I can speak to the learning experiences and challenges I was faced with. The learning experience completely speaks to the notion of constructivism, as I created my own song, from scratch with very limited guidelines and restrictions. Although, I was very proud of myself when I was done I was very fearful at first. I had to learn a lot of new things on my own…(well, I did ask for help I must admit) the codes were very frustrating at times, but once I started getting the hang of it, my confidence grew and I wasn’t so intimidated. I could speak a lot about this experience, but I think the main point I want to make is that through the experience, I can reflect on so many positive learning outcomes for kids. In my case, I should have been working throughout the whole semester on my page. University life can get hectic at times and procrastination does exist unfortunately. Looking back, if I had taken more time to learn the wiki codes and programs ahead of time I would have been smooth sailing and that was the main cause of my limitations. This experience does speak to reaching out of your comfort zone and trying something new, challenging and different. This is something that people do not often do and that is why opportunities and outlets need to be available for educators. The notion of teachers teaching adults and the linkage between the construction of childhood was made in today’s class. How do we as educators view children and childhood can have a huge impact on promoting or creating opportunities for technology in your classroom.
I am glad I attended class today because not only was it fun to explore and talk about second life, today’s topic on meaningful learning was of interest to me as it relates to the topic I want to explore for my paper. Diane very creatively presented using a series of pictures she passed out to the class with signs depicting either active, intentional, constructive, authentic or cooperative) In our groups we talked about how each depiction represented the picture. This helped to get a better understanding of what meaningful learning was and its defining categories. We specifically talked about learning with technology and not from it. This concept involves meaningful learning and creating meaning from the use of technology, not it producing answers for you. The main discussion was around why teachers don’t go beyond the surface of software. This also is something I want to look into for my topic, possibly looking into teachers experiences with technology in their classrooms in relation to meaningful learning experiences. Last semester for my research methods class, I did a literature review on multimodal literacy and from that came many examples of how technology can foster learning. The particular implications we discussed in class in relation to teachers not going beyond the software were related to comfort, choice and not knowing the potential learning opportunities and possibilities and how to tie in with the curriculum demands. Someone had mentioned as practical example of a missed learning opportunity with technology with the classes computer. Two children were doing something on the computer that the rest of the class seemed to think was interesting to so they were all hovered around the one computer, which the teacher broke up. This demonstrates that children are interested, their curious and want to learn and see what was going on with the computer. Alex mentioned teacher days with technology, which may help to inform them and spark interest.
I must now quickly touch on my experiences with Second Life because it was quite the experience creating my advatar and roaming around different worlds. Considering I spent most of the class playing around with my hairstyle, I guess that demonstrated a lot about me and how important getting that right look is. I was surprised that I was trying to make it look like myself at first, and then it ended up turning into someone I probably wished I looked like. How nice it would be to click and have smaller hips and thighs haha. The notion of playing and gaming was raised as we were discussing the concept of second life and the fact that it’s not a game. It was hard for me to rap my head around that notion until I actually started getting into it. I can now see the potential affects that it can have on an individual and understand that this is another world that people connect to on a deep level. This virtual world opened my eyes the opportunities of meaningful reflection that could be tied to meaningful learning. I was able to connect my experiences with second life and some of the concepts we’ve been talking about in class quite nicely.
Today Silka began by reviewing the history of E-Learning, the early stages of communication, conferencing and technology and education. The piece of technology and education was an area of interest to me as she questioned the class with what would you have to go through if you were asked to put technology into your classroom? This question seemed to puzzle us, but did make me think a lot about skepticism and possible resistance from teachers. In my experience in working in schools, there has always been that one identified teacher as the “tech buff” who every teachers turns to when it comes to using any new sort of technology. The idea of collaboration also seemed to emerge through this discussion, as working together is an important element in creating effective changes. One student brought up the fact that it’s always easier to transition when learning something new with someone by your side. I could completely relate to this and it made me think about learning in a class together with possibly a student as the expert. The teacher has always been viewed as “the keeper of all knowledge” the one that never has the wrong answer. This may be a reason why teachers may be fearful of letting technology take over their power and position….just a thought. I’m glad Alex filled in the missing piece about the experimentation phase and the fact that there were many trial and errors, 100’s of projects and testing before implementation of certain technologies. It is important to think about and consider that you cannot just put something in your classroom and expect everything to run smoothly without testing it yourself. The implementation of E-learning takes a long time, needing mass applications, multiple buy-ins which require people to make these buy-ins. This led into the fact that teachers basically need to just take their own initiative in learning new modes of technology, which I don’t think is happening as often as it should. During a discussion about learning new technology and how it can be difficult for some who have limited experience, I began to think about my experiences and how I’ve been gradually bought into using and adapting to technology. I am 23 and since elementary school, I’ve slowly adapted to the internet and many other uses of technology that continuing to change and evolve. In my era, the latest and newest versions of things were always important to know about and have access to and in many cases own. The idea of businesses and their need to evolve advance and challenge other business; they simply need to keep up.
We also started talking about online classes versus typical class in the school environment and the limitations to both (mainly, the online). This discussion was helping me think of a potential direction for my paper as I wanted to focus on technology and meaningful learning. We learn best when we can connect meaning to something, when were motivated and are interested in what we’re doing. Alex also raised a good point about the fact that we are human and interaction and emotion is something we as humans need to connect to experiences. I seem to be writing a lot today, but I must touch on Cathy’s presentation on Digital Natives because it was so well done and I learned a lot from it. I defined myself as a digital native as I was born in 1985. The categorizations helped me to understand that a digital native may think completely different and use technology in a completely different way than a digital immigrant. It was neat to reflect on the idea of the digital immigrant and the fact that they need to just accept the reality of the world we live in. This related to teachers who aren’t open to technology and left me thinking how can this change?
Wow! This week’s class was quite packed, but very informative. I enjoyed listening to Alex speak on social media and the difference between social media and visual media. What struck me was when she mentioned that page numbers on books were not invented until 70 years after the actual book was invented. It’s hard to believe that something that seems so logical and simple to us now, wasn’t even thought of until 70 years later. This made me think of all the advancements that have been made just in the last 10 years and how technology has helped us make those advances. It was also interesting to hear that you gain a reputation on Ebay based on how people have rated you. This is a testament to the personal connection that technology can allow in creating trusting relationships with people you may not have met or talked to face-to-face. I connected well with Alex’s point about wanting a connection with people and their personal stories. She gave an example of the soldiers and the different messages that are being sent out through the news in contrast with their personal blogs and videos. I hope to continue to learn more about social Medias and it would be neat to see some more examples and learn more.
To touch briefly upon the presentations, I would like to start off by saying I have been thoroughly enjoying them; well done girls! Yael created so many questions that seemed to generate good discussion. Something that particularly stood out for me was the talk about “happy childhood”. I began to think about children whose families were separated through divorce, death or illness. There were so many things that were running through my mind when this question was posed and I think it does always come back to context and situation; it really does depend on so many factors. This question was similar to good parenting or what makes a good parent. This then lead into the area of quality time with family and what makes children happy now in comparison to when we were kids. In terms of technology, there was a brief discussion around technology taking away from family time. When this comment was made I began to think about my relatives in Sweden and other parts of Canada who I communicate with through the internet all the time. This is just one example of many to demonstrate the value of technology. Tina and Lindsay also did a great presentation on Constructionism and the importance of situated learning and creating your own meaning.
