Technology is not neutral, and this understanding is critical for everyone involved in schooling to comprehend and interrogate
I think this is important for everyone to understand, technology can be perceived as a fair tool exempt from the inequalities in our real world but the truth is that they are embedded in technology that sometimes it can be hidden. We all need to realize this in our use of technology especially in educational settings.
The bacon/egg/cheese saga represents the one-size-fits-all scenarios we often see in our classrooms: Every student is expected to read the same book at the same pace, listen to the same lectures, and complete the same math problems using the same materials.
This was a great analogy because while a lot of people enjoy this sandwich, not everyone is able to eat it leaving some people without the resource they need to be successful ending with a hunger for more.
even in the lack of diversity among authors of the readings we assign.
This is why multicultural education is so important, so students are reading text from diverse perspectives and have equal representation in the classroom material.
Ultimately, learning and development are social processes that happen all the time, including during formal classroom instruction and informal play time during recess or an after school club.
Students learn a lot when they are given the opportunity to socialize with their peers in an educational setting, especially during recess or after-school programs. I think it is important to give students this time and incorporate as much socialization into our school day as well.
Backward design (or backward planning/mapping) is about designing with the end in mind. Where do you want students to end up after a lesson? What knowledge and skills do they need to showcase? What are the desired results of the lesson?
I am learning about backward design and understanding by design in my curriculum development class, I love when my classes overlap! I think this is really important, we have to make sure we are using the technology tools with the end goal in mind and how it can effectively aid us in achieving it.
“When you don’t pay for the product, you are the product.”
This phrase is very interesting and reminds me that nothing is ever free, there is always a hidden cost or ulterior motive with some sort of agenda.
Teachers can work with machine learning technology to solve problems and challenges, and when used correctly, it can help their students become better learners and members of society
It is important that we work with AI as teachers because they do bring an aspect that we lack in certain ways but at the same time you can never get rid of the human teacher. AI will make our lives easier when used correctly and can never replace human interaction and experience.
Do you currently have a GPS, a smartphone or tablet, or apps that track your location? Do you have an artificial intelligence (AI) device, like SIRI, Alexa, or Cortana, that records what you say? Have you ever had your password stolen or your personal information hacked from a site that you joined? Have you ever signed up for a tool or downloaded an app without reading the terms of service or privacy policy? Have you ever signed up for an online course (e.g., Coursera, WGU, Udacity) without realizing they are tracking and sharing your data, including recording your mouse and keystrokes?
I would say for most people, myself included, the answer to all of these questions is yes. Most people choose convenience over privacy, which is done on purpose by these sites making it harder to avoid being tracked so that they can sell your data. I think we all should start taking the extra steps necessary to ensure our privacy.
When usability is infused into the experience, cognitive efforts are focused on learning the instructional content, not the course system or structure.
This is very important! Everyone should be able to put all of their time and energy into the content of the tool they are using/learning from and not be wasting their time and energy just trying to figure out how to use and understand it. We need to be preemptive when designing the structure based on the needs of all human beings.
Yet, we firmly believe that instructors should be the ultimate decision-makers in selecting the tools that will work for their courses and their learners.
It is important that every person who is planning on being a teacher receives the knowledge and ability to critically evaluate a digital tool and know how to be digitally accessible so that all of their students can learn.
However, this feature is also great for people sitting in a bus who do not want to disturb other passengers.
This is an example of how modifications and adjustments help not only the person who has a disability but it makes everyone's life a little easier too. I sometimes prefer reading transcripts even though I do not have any hearing impairments I am glad that I have that option.
As educators, we must strive to create fully accessible learning environments for our students.
I think every teacher needs to be qualified to teach diverse students and should be able to create an inclusive environment for all. We should all learn about disabilities and how to adapt our teaching strategies so that all students have easy access to learning and performing to their fullest potential.
The students were frustrated and stressed and too much class time was wasted on figuring out the tool rather than using the tool for learning.
This used to happen to me, I struggled to keep up with my classmates and teacher when navigating technology when I was much younger and just first introduced to it. Sometimes the teacher would go through it too fast and I felt incapable and behind which was too overwhelming for me to focus on and understand the assignment.
Personally this moment occurred for me while participating in a Twitter chat
I agree, when I was doing the homework last week and participating in my first Twitter chat I felt immediately welcomed into the space. The host of the chat liked one of my comments and so did other teachers as well. I loved sharing my ideas with other teachers who valued everyone's opinions and encouraged active participation.
Educators must also manage the risks associated with social media use, such as context collapse where their PLN social media activities may be taken out of context and scrutinized by unintended audiences (boyd, 2014).
I am worried about this, as a future educator I am very cautious of what I post on social media for fear of not getting a job or having something getting taken out of context.
Which tools have been the most beneficial for you in finding new digital tools and apps for teaching and learning?
Tik tok is an app that has helped me find a lot of new tools for learning, I saw a video before my freshmen year of college that taught me how to use google sheets as a way of organizing my assignments by their due date which was very cool and I still use this technique to stay on top of everything.