How has technology been helping or hindering us along the way in relationship to your personal life, education, society as a whole? #bolt677
With respect to #education, technology has been incredibly helpful throughout the covid-19 pandemic. The use of which would have been nearly impossible to manage, and arguably has saved many lives as a result.
The biggest barrier I’ve experienced in the last year as schools moved online was what the Society for Human Resource Management calls “technophobia”, whereby many educators were disinterested or feared utilized the technology available to enhance their online classes.
Tony Bates also discussed this concern with respect to higher education in 2011, noting faculty mistrust of technology. This concept is not new.
As more faculty members are disinterested in the use of technology, it breeds a “culture” of technophobia, Bates argues.
How has this affected me? Technology has offered me the ability to take a Masters program online, and afforded several adjunct teaching roles I otherwise wouldn’t have available as they are in areas outside a realistic commute from my house. #bolt677
Furthermore, my interest in technology and willingness to try new technology, including software or LMS systems in the classrooms, has provided me with more teaching responsibilities in a post-secondary institution.
And I’ve been able to achieve all of this while working from home saving money on my commute and (some) child care costs! Win-win #bolt677
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Is the way we are using technology switching our students off to learning, to people, and to the world around them? #BOLT677
This past year one of the many highly debated topics was the question of whether to mandate students turn their cameras on during synchronous video sessions, or to allow them to keep their cameras off.
One argument, and the process I followed, was that given that we are all living through a pandemic, the last thing we needed to do was worry about showing up in person with a camera on and exposing our home/private life to our entire class on camera. For a student, they
What are the questions we should be asking about how to use technology in schooling? #Bolt677
I actually spent an entire course analyzing one of the classes I created for MacEwan University last year utilizing Tony Bates' SECTIONS analysis. Information regarding SECTIONS is available here: wiki.ubc.ca/images/1/19/SE…
"SECTIONS" provides a framework for educators who wish to integrate technology into their classes. It is broken down as follows: 1. Students 2. Ease of Use 3. Costs 4. Teaching and learning 5. Interactivity 6. Organizational issues 7. Novelty 8. Speed
What type of supporter of #edtech are you? Someone who values the social, the vocational, the pedagogic or the catalytic rationale? #bolt677
Technology forms a large basis of both my instructional practice and to an extent, my pedagogy. I instruct post-secondary and rely heavily on authentic assessment principles. That is clearly evident and supported through answers to the Essential Q's in previous tweets.
I instruct technology courses related to legal assistant and paralegal diploma or certificate programs. It is imperative that I not only use the technology available but that I stay up to date with what technology is used in the workforce and is applicable to legal assistants.
What are the implications of current educational technologies with respect to formative and summative evaluation and reporting? #bolt677
The biggest concern brought to my attention while teaching online (at least in post-secondary) this past year, has been the concern around plagiarism. It is thought that with a purely online presence, that plagiarism would increase.
Here is a fun online gaming resource to teach academic integrity at a secondary level (or even post-secondary) before I go forward: de.ryerson.ca/games/aio/#/
What does it mean that #edTech have been based on design principles with roots in cognitive psychology and instructional science? #bolt677
Similar to my last tweet referencing Bates and his constructivist pedagogical view towards the use of technology in the classroom, Schurman (1994) notes that some technology actually makes students MORE willing to participate in learning.
Reference: BOLT 677 Unit 1 Study Guide - “The Media and Learning Debate”
What are my thoughts on the innovation that is the calculator? #bolt677
Well. Firstly, as this video describes AI and its use in the classroom … the calculator certainly doesn’t seem like a huge innovation anymore!
In the above video, Martin McKay discusses machine learning and its use in the classroom. This is a hotly debated topic among educators as there has been ample chatter about the concept of AI replacing the role of teachers (see my previous tweets about this!)