During the summer of 2021, as part of the Integrating Technology into the Classroom: Issues and Activities course I took as a requirement for my Master of Teaching degree at OISE, I had the opportunity to test out several learning workshops that facilitate digital literacy education, and demonstrate diverse ways that technology can be used to enhance learning in the classroom. Below are 5 that I felt were especially strong in their potential to serve students in 21st Century classrooms:
- Web-Generated Comic
- Visual Diary
- AR/QR Code Story
- Coded Game/ Activity
- Digital Mind Map
Web-Generated Comic
Learning goal: Interpret and summarize the everyday impact of digital technology.
Using an online comic generation app, cohort members were instructed to create a comic or cartoon that epitomized a technology term of their choice. I selected the term Planned Obsolescence, a profit-generation strategy used by technology companies through which products are designed to have limited, pre-determined lifespans. Soon after said devices lose either their functionality or popularity, the expectation is that the consumers of these products will feel pressured into purchasing replacements, generating increased income for the companies that made them. As illustrated in the last panel of my comic, it is an environmentally unsustainable practice that generates the additional consequence of negatively affecting the lives and health of the individuals who live near or work with the landfill the discarded products are eventually thrown into. Simultaneously reflecting on the necessity of being able to “critically assess deep, complex issues facing the world” (Hughes, 2021, p. 2) in our age of information and clickbait overload, I chose to focus the plot of my comic around an advertisement that functions in a way not dissimilar to other forms of neoliberal propaganda. It takes critical media literacy and an understanding of how to identify reliable sources to see through the intentions of the seemingly altruistic motivations of the ad I’ve presented.
Visual Diary
Learning Goals: 1) To use art as a means to understand and make sense of uncertainty during times of change, 2) To use Instagram (or another app) to create community through shared narratives.
For this workshop, using Instagram or another similar app, we were instructed to share 10 or more photos or pictures that reflect some of the experiences and thoughts we had manifested over the course of the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. I decided to present my selected images in the form of a slideshow with a template mimicking the Instagram user interface. As I had taken very few photographs over the course of the pandemic, I instead chose to mostly share my art. As a result of quarantining, having suddenly had more time than prior to the pandemic to create personal artwork in addition to the artwork I did as freelance work, I realized I could share those pieces, as they still reflected emotions and experiences I had gone through in relation to the ongoing global health crisis.
I chose to present work I had begun no earlier than April 2021 as it was around this time that I had finally begun to experience what many around me had already been struggling with for nearly a year: pandemic fatigue. Prior to this time, though I shared the same general worry my peers did about the wellness and safety of people less privileged than myself, I had not felt especially miserable at the prospect of being only allowed to leave my house for exercise and essential tasks. If anything, I had enjoyed having more time in my day to refine my art practice and get enough sleep at night, two things that I had not had the opportunity to do consistently for many years. However, during this month that took place in conjunction with the end of my first year as a Master of Teaching student, I suddenly began to feel differently. The realization that a year had passed and that the pandemic was not disappearing but, in fact, both locally and globally, worsening, had me begin to experience a new kind of neuroticism about the future. I also began to feel the weight of the reality that, should the consequences of the pandemic continue to affect my ability to generate income and rent property for more years to come, I may end my twenties never having had the opportunity to live somewhere other than my family’s home, something I had always hoped wouldn’t happen. While the desire to paint and draw never left me, my emotions could no longer be separate from the work I chose to create, even when I made art with all the subjects smiling. It is my hope that those who viewed my Visual Diary were able to relate to these emotions on some level, like the changing interpretations of the work of the photographers interviewed by Libbey and Farago (2020).
AR/QR Code Story
Learning Goal: To understand point of view through writing a short story about the everyday imagined life of one inanimate object.
In this workshop, using the Vocaroo app, participants were required to record their voice recounting an amusing 200-400 word story regarding the imagined life of an inanimate object. Once completed, the app would generate a QR code through which the recording could be easily and quickly accessed in the future. I chose to share the thoughts I believed might be held by my electronic piano keyboard, a device that continues to sit in my bedroom despite barely having been touched since my graduation from high school. The monologue begins with the object expressing its frustration with being under-appreciated by its owner, and ends with the device pleading to be used again.
This workshop presents an accessible and engaging way for students of all ages to enhance and share content they have created. Requiring only access to the internet, with its simple, user-friendly interface with uncomplicated instructions, the recording tool on the Vocaroo site proves to be extremely straightforward to use, and has the potential to be accessible to students of all grades. It is also free, and requires no downloading to be used, which means students can access it from home if they wish, something that is especially beneficial if they find it challenging to work on devices within the context of a school computer lab, or speak in a room with other people around them. All in all, through the experience of this workshop, students are given the opportunity to use their auditory communication skills through accessible, low-pressure means, which, by-extension, helps them become responsible for their learning, and relax into a state of mind through which they can begin to use AR to explore abstract concepts.
This workshop presents an accessible and engaging way for students of all ages to enhance and share content they have created. Requiring only access to the internet, with its simple, user-friendly interface with uncomplicated instructions, the recording tool on the Vocaroo site proves to be extremely straightforward to use, and has the potential to be accessible to students of all grades. It is also free, and requires no downloading to be used, which means students can access it from home if they wish, something that is especially beneficial if they find it challenging to work on devices within the context of a school computer lab, or speak in a room with other people around them. All in all, through the experience of this workshop, students are given the opportunity to use their auditory communication skills through accessible, low-pressure means, which, by-extension, helps them become responsible for their learning, and relax into a state of mind through which they can begin to use AR to explore abstract concepts.
Coded Game/ Activity
Learning Goals: 1) Learn to code a dance/video game using https://studio.code.org, 2) Learn core CS concepts of programming (design, efficiency, debugging, testing)
For this workshop, participants were required to complete one of the coding activities on https://studio.code.org and produce either a game or activity to share with others. I opted to complete the Dance Party activity, the product of which can be accessed by either clicking the image on the right, or here. This workshop explored the potential of the Scratch program, which relies on block-coding methods, to introduce students to coding and teach them the core CS concepts of programming (design, efficiency, debugging, testing). With its user-friendly interface, and the preview of the manifested instructions on one side of the coding page, students as young as those in the second grade can easily identify the functions of each colour-coded, puzzle-shaped instructional block, and, by extension, gradually process how they relate to each other. Furthermore, the activities available are extremely diverse in their themes and content, appealing to the students with all kinds of interests. To sum, by engaging with the lessons available on this site, students can create something they enjoy to share with friends, or collaborate with peers, making the goal of understanding how web algorithms are set by corporations to satisfy their neoliberal economic ambitions, more easy to recognize as they get older. |
Digital Mind Map
Learning Goal: To use digital mind maps to organize, curate, and translate either scientific inquiry or the process of discovery in a theme of your choosing.
Using a digital mind map tool, we were instructed to explore a topic related either to science, health and wellness, anti-racism resources in the classroom, online learning strategies, or a topic related to our teachable. I selected the topic of “The Artistic/Creative Voice”, something, as explained in the description of my Visual Diary, I had been thinking about greatly this past year having had more time than usual to work on personal art. The image presented on the left is a low-resolution screenshot of what was created as MindMeister.com, the site I used to create the map, did not offer a download option, but the original can be accessed by clicking it or here.
This workshop expertly demonstrated the capacity for technology to enhance, in this instance, ideation, and research. In lieu of writing out ideas and connections to a concept on a piece of paper where one might continuously need to erase mistakes or add on sheets when they run out of space to write, one can instead indulge a flow of ideas without interruption easily. Furthermore, one can quickly rearrange their content to organize their map in a way that is easy for themselves and others to read, something that can be especially beneficial for students who may have special needs or learning disabilities. In lieu of being an application that requires students to have unprecedented access to technology, it is instead a program that requires students to take action, as described by Fullan and Langworthy (2014), and generate research and ideas through interaction with resources, peers, and their own minds. Technology is used to complement the learning that would happen without the technology rather than replace the need to use one’s research and brainstorming skills altogether.
This workshop expertly demonstrated the capacity for technology to enhance, in this instance, ideation, and research. In lieu of writing out ideas and connections to a concept on a piece of paper where one might continuously need to erase mistakes or add on sheets when they run out of space to write, one can instead indulge a flow of ideas without interruption easily. Furthermore, one can quickly rearrange their content to organize their map in a way that is easy for themselves and others to read, something that can be especially beneficial for students who may have special needs or learning disabilities. In lieu of being an application that requires students to have unprecedented access to technology, it is instead a program that requires students to take action, as described by Fullan and Langworthy (2014), and generate research and ideas through interaction with resources, peers, and their own minds. Technology is used to complement the learning that would happen without the technology rather than replace the need to use one’s research and brainstorming skills altogether.
References
Fullan, M., & Langworthy, M. (2014). A rich seam: How new technologies find deep learning. London: Pearson (Chapter 4). Retrieved from https://ctl7016.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/0/7/55075753/fullan_langworthy.pdf
Hughes, R. (2021a/in review). Fake news, fear, and prejudice in the post-truth era. In The Encyclopedia of Critical Media Literacy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://ctl7016.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/0/7/55075753/2_hughes_fakenews.pdf
Kafai, Y. B., & Burke, Q. (2014). Mindstorms 2: Children, programming, and computational participation. Retrieved from https://ctl7016.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/0/7/55075753/7_kafai_mindstorms.pdf
Kramer, K. (2012). Sustainability, User Experience, and Design. In Kramer, K. (Eds.), User Experience in the Age of Sustainability: A Practitioner's Blueprint (pp. 1-30). Elsevier. https://www-sciencedirect-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/science/article/pii/B9780123877956000019?via%3Dihub
Libbey, P. & Farago, J. (2020). The world’s great photographers, many stuck inside, have snapped. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://ctl7016.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/0/7/55075753/the_world%E2%80%99s_great_photographers_many_stuck_inside_have_snapped_-_the_new_york_times.pdf
Malinauskaite, J., & Erdem, F. B. (2021). Planned Obsolescence in the Context of a Holistic Legal Sphere and the Circular Economy. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. doi:10.1093/ojls/gqaa061
Radu, I., Zheng, R., & Golubski, G., & Guzdial, M. (2010). Augmented reality in the future of education. CHI 2010. Boston, USA.
Hughes, R. (2021a/in review). Fake news, fear, and prejudice in the post-truth era. In The Encyclopedia of Critical Media Literacy. Oxford, UK: Oxford University Press. Retrieved from https://ctl7016.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/0/7/55075753/2_hughes_fakenews.pdf
Kafai, Y. B., & Burke, Q. (2014). Mindstorms 2: Children, programming, and computational participation. Retrieved from https://ctl7016.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/0/7/55075753/7_kafai_mindstorms.pdf
Kramer, K. (2012). Sustainability, User Experience, and Design. In Kramer, K. (Eds.), User Experience in the Age of Sustainability: A Practitioner's Blueprint (pp. 1-30). Elsevier. https://www-sciencedirect-com.myaccess.library.utoronto.ca/science/article/pii/B9780123877956000019?via%3Dihub
Libbey, P. & Farago, J. (2020). The world’s great photographers, many stuck inside, have snapped. The New York Times. Retrieved from https://ctl7016.weebly.com/uploads/5/5/0/7/55075753/the_world%E2%80%99s_great_photographers_many_stuck_inside_have_snapped_-_the_new_york_times.pdf
Malinauskaite, J., & Erdem, F. B. (2021). Planned Obsolescence in the Context of a Holistic Legal Sphere and the Circular Economy. Oxford Journal of Legal Studies. doi:10.1093/ojls/gqaa061
Radu, I., Zheng, R., & Golubski, G., & Guzdial, M. (2010). Augmented reality in the future of education. CHI 2010. Boston, USA.