Creativity is necessary to accomplish this goal” (p. 59).
Creativity is so important especially in higher education. As a student in the education program and talking with all my friends outside of the major, they are always so interested in the ways that we learn and wish that they had the same opportunities that we had to learn other than from a textbook, and have fun while learning.
AI is becoming more accessible to students, as mobile devices contain a voice assistant, and many devices found in technology-filled homes are programmed with similar functionality
This is super important!! The development of accessible technology is crucial to helping students with accessibility needs both inside and outside the classroom. The use of AI can help create a more equitable learning environment for all students
Audacity
I used to use audacity in high school for tech theater stuff, and it was honestly very confusing. My director had audacity on her laptop so I didn't have to worry about downloading it. I just wish there were more clear directions on how to use it.
We derive our competence from forming connections
This sentence stood out to me the most in this reading, because we rely on the support of others to fuel our knowledge and learning. These connections come from our networks of peers, such as our Personal Leaning Networks. Without the technology we have today, PLNs would be very different. Our ways of connecting with others and forming connections would be very different, and often way harder. But at the same time, we have come to rely on that technology, and as stated can no longer experiencing personally acquiring the learning we need, instead rely on others to help provide us with that information via technology.
By selecting and following other educators on a social networking site like Google+, for instance, you can quickly construct a Professional Learning Network (PLN) of colleagues that can be of use to you when you have a question or concern
I find this to be extremely important, especially within the teaching profession. Teaching is one of the toughest professions, and from the outside, many people don’t view it as such. Having a PLN built to connect with other educators to find support within the community is crucial, as getting support from those who understand your job from the inside, is the best support system.
She analyzed the comparisons of students participating in game-based curricula as opposed to those who were not and found that the students in game-based learning exceeded the performance of those in the original format.
This conclusion caught my eye, espeically after spending a few months in a 6th grade elementary school classroom last year. Because we have seen the ways technology is used in the classroom change expontentially over the last two years due to the covid19 pandemic, every student in the classroom was supplied with a chromebook. this allowed for many full class interactive games. The students were much more engaged in these activities for learning than traditional learning. even lessons that had random brain break games scattered throughout the lesson kept students more engaged. I fully believe that the more engaged a student is in their learning, the more they will learn. Because of this, I have to agree with this conclusion analyzed by Papastergiou.
Designing and cohosting these events with student groups across the institution meant spending time listening to their concerns, sharing examples of privacy issues they face, and co-designing how events could serve students wel
THIS!! I find this part to be so crucial. Just like we talked about in class how when trying a new app we should try boht the student and teacher side, before deciding to use a tool or not. I think this ties perfectly into it. These student groups are sharing their concerns and privacy issues in apps that should be avoiding when designing new apps. I really found this to be a great idea.
Minecraft players have to learn how to create and assemble the building blocks — like digital Legos. Players can learn creative skills, too. For example, they can design how characters look by creating custom “skins.”
While I find it so interesting that kids can explore on apps such as minecraft, and benefit from a learning perspective, I sometimes worry about this. I find that to make a skin, requires internet searching and usuage, which I worry with all the ads and such online now, this could be dangerous, depending on the age. And while, children can play alone, they can also join online servers just as easily and people all over the place play on those, and it can get a bit risky. I find that as helpful as some apps are, that there has to be some sort of balance, and guidance/better protection on apps like this for the younger ages.
learning experiences that are not possible without the technology.
I think this specific part of this sentnece is crucial. Children spend HOURS a day looking at a computer screen, many for things that aren't benefiting the students learning at all, or, can be done with a more hands on, manipulative approach. I think it is important to find that balance of tech and hands on in classrooms, to determine what can and should be taught hands on, and what should be taught with technology instead... or the combination of both.
we might tell ourselves we are being fair, but in fact, single pathways are exclusionary.
This is extremely important. This concept shows ip in all of my coursework here at the college of ed. This comes up as the equality vs equity debate too. If we have all our students using an app that we designed, but do not provide an option for alt text for example, all the students are given the same tool, but maybe one student can't see the photo, and relies on text to speech. This is super important and I am now realizing how much this applies to everything in life.
hen designed a lesson entirely around the digital tool only to discover, after doing the exit tickets for the day, students learned more about the tool than the content? This can happen to the best of us.
I've never thought about it this way, but it makes me think back to high school when I would spend more time learning how to use a tool and all about the tool, then the content.
When selecting digital tools and apps, look for ones that support multiple types of social learning (beyond just reading text written by others)
I think this is super important. I am a student that needs more than just reading text to learn, so I really appreciate this note. I think it is important to try and cater to all learning styles
The inclusion of assistive technologies is one method for diversifying instruction and creating personalized learning environments; however, these tools cannot function in isolation and depend on teacher support (Bulger, 2016).
If I had read this sentence 2.5 years ago I wouldn't think much of it. Students are always around their teachers while doing work in the classroom, whether thats a para, an assistant, a special educator or a classroom teacher. Looking at life as it is now, with remote instruction being a thing of the norm at this point when there are covid exposures, as these tools cannot function in isolation and depend on teacher support, they don't seem to be as diverse and accessible as one might note, like Bulger, in 2016.
“If something seems too good to be true, it probably is.”
This is really important to note when looking at apps, just like canva mentioned below. Many apps and tools that I have come across advertise as free, but as you begin to use the tool, you begin to realize how much you have to pay for to get the full experience of the app, and not just a very limited experience. Many of these so called free tools involve a plethora of adds, or something that would take a students data. This is why it is extremely important to do extensive research on apps before providing students with the tool.
Operability refers to whether the tool supports all users’ interactions with its elements and features
This is super helpful. I reflected on this in my SPIRE user experience work, with the buttons on spire. The buttons are so little and some of the buttons were unclear in what they even do
User Instruction User Interface Access Across Devices and Platforms Diversity and Language Support Cost and Required Devices
I've never really thought about this as something to evaluate a digital tool or app so quickly. I frequently just click on whatever pops up when I do a google search for "app that lets me..." I now plan to do some research on those apps that come up, prior to using them, as many of those apps and tools have hidden features that require payment for more than just basic features.
Scale. Postsecondary classrooms vary in format and size, ranging from small seminars to large-enrollment courses. In larger courses, creating small groups increases contact among students, fosters cooperative learning, and enhances social presence among learners.4 An e-learning tool should therefore not only be flexible in accommodating various class sizes but also be capable of supporting small-group work. Hence, scale focuses on the tool's affordances to accommodate the size and nature of the classroom environment.
I've never actually though of scale being important in terms of a priority in a rubric category. I always use google suites for everything, and don't even think about things I could use for bigger vs smaller group sizes.
The first time you participate in a live Twitter chat, plan to just watch it go by. Use a tool like tchat.io to pause the chat, as needed, or reduce the retweets to make it more manageable to follow. Once you are comfortable with the pace and the topic, begin interacting by liking and commenting on posts. Once you begin to post your own answers to questions, you will find yourself connecting to others with similar ideas who will also like and comment on your posts. Next thing you know, you are helping others as much as they are helping you—a sign of a valuable PLN.
This is super cool! I will definitely be using this in the future, even for this class!
When you attend a workshop or conference or visit a social media space, which of the following actions do you typically do?
when i visit a social media soace i usually just read the post and all the comments, and don't do a whole lot else, though now after reading this, I wish i did more!
The following websites and blogs are a great place to find reviews and curated lists of tools:
very glad to have this list of tools!
accurate, reliable, and valuable
this is important! i tend to just click on whatever pops up first, and don't do a whole look of looking into how reliable it is for a source.
There is also the risk of finding yourself deep down the rabbit hole of interesting results and forgetting what you initially set out to find. To reduce this risk and narrow your Internet searches, here are some tips:
This will be good to know for the furture, as I tend to be someone who goes down a rabbit hole!