Category: edci339

Part I

The session with Professor Neil Selwyn talks about the relationship between digital education and climate change. He first started with the question on whether we really need digital education. He brings the up the question that prompts thoughts on the role digital education plays in our current situation. He points out that Ed-Tech is excess both in education and environment. Digital education does not make education fair or just. He brings up with three possible attitudes to address the problems brought by Ed-tech: doing business as usual, developing and using green Ed-Tech, and “burning Ed-Tech to the ground.” However, he also tries to negotiate within these attitudes to find feasible solutions to address the environmental impacts caused by Ed-Tech. Without a set solution, he suggests that we ask what we want out of digital technology and education, and think from the perspective of fostering sustainability and social equity globally. He also calls for attention on the climate change caused by Ed-Tech and digital technology in the future conversations in the field for more ideas on addressing these issues.

Part II

It is also astonishing to know that the energy it takes to run digital technology is massive and people tend to not notice, not to mention the water consumption, land use, etc. that are used in such activities that are not eco friendly or benefiting the majority. Professor Selwyn used bitcoin as an example, and stressed that the energy consumption with such technologies is excessive, but also mentions that it is not to say that Ed-Tech is energy-wasteful like bitcoin, or that it should not be used. He points out that the technologies that we do use on a daily basis, such as the Cloud technology, have environmental impacts that we do not tend to associate with. However, digital education does have the responsibility in impacting the climate as well as other environmental changes. While individuals do have the responsibility to limit, alter, and change the use of technology, both for education and other purposes, I think organizations, institutions, and possibly governmental departments should be responsible for assessing the environmental footprint of the digital activities enabled by technology. It is because organized activities, as Professor Selwyn suggests, have more impactful and massive environmental influence than any individuals do. The scale of impacts should be assessed, monitored, and regulated to foster sustainability and social equity.

Apart from the regulations and more attention that are asserted to institutions regarding their environmental footprint, I think that individuals should also be educated with the awareness of such issue, as well as the responsibility that we all have to make a difference. As Professor Selwyn mentions at the end of the session, he would encourage people to turn off the video during an online meeting when it does not affect the meeting, and that the little differences that everyone make could become a great impact collectively.

Reflection

I chose this activity because the session given by Professor Sian Bayne and Professor Neil Selwyn is so inspirational and novel that I have never thought of anything related to this topic before. I had trouble associating digtial education with climate change upon seeing the topic, but it made a lot of sense as Professor Selwyn ellaborate the idea. I have always been asked to think about the benefits and convenience digital education, as well as digital technology brought to life, but associating the technology with environmental impact, as well as knowing the seriousness of the situation is shocking and makes me reflect on things that I was only told to be good in general.

By watching the session and thinking critically about the impact of digital education allowed me to take a different approach to seeing the digital education that we are using and find convenient. It also makes me think about sustainability by applying it to the daily activities where digital technology is involved.

Part I

EdPuzzle is an Education Technology Tool privately held by EdPuzzle General Information. With Quim Sabria being its Co-Founder, CEO, and President, it aims to provide a platform that helps teachers engage with their students in course materials by using interactive video lessons. The tool empowers the teachers to make videos for their lessons with easy-to-use video editing tools and hassle-free analytics showing the students’s results, enabling the users to make compelling infographics simply by copying and pasting data into a template. The platform does well in what it says, and from my personal use of the platform, I found it very convenient in inserting videos from platforms such as YouTube, and create different types of questions about the videos as a teacher, and then observe the analytical results of the answers from the students. (pitchbook.com)

Part II

When logging in to the website and use the functions EdPuzzle provides, one has to enter the e-mail address, the institutions associated, as well as the role as a teacher or a student. One does not have to provide a real name in order to log in and use the platform, but e-mail address could be linked to individuals using the platform, which suggests that the platform is not completely anonymous.

While third-parties with access to information are required to provide the same security protections as the EdPuzzle company does, it is unclear whether multi-factor account protection is available. The platform claims that the users retain ownership of their own data created, and the data are stored in an encrypted format to add safety to the privacy of the users’ IP.

The security of the data and the ownership of the data suggest that EdPuzzle is fairly safe for in-class use with teachers setting up questions in the videos for the students to engage in the materials with more interactive and effective approaches. It also means that the creators of the contents on EdPuzzle platform own the data, and other people, even the Co-founders of the platform cannot access, use, copy, or own these contents without the consent of the creators. (commonsense. org)

Part III

EdPuzzle is designed for learners to interact with educational contents with skill-based questions, the visual contents empowers the comprehension of the students, and the auto-generated evaluations help the teachers design more personalized approaches to meet the students’ needs with regard to the students various backgrounds and learning habits.

EdPuzzle meets the needs of UDL by helping the teachers understand the students various needs and problems upon providing analytic assessments generated from the interactions students have with the educational video contents. The bite-sized lessons could also make the teaching more flexible from the teachers’ sides, giving the students more choice on their own learning pace. With the function of open-ended questions, as well as other types of questions that test the students levels of understanding of the contents, the teachers could receive individualized information about the students understanding, and then provide individualized aids to help with the students’ learning process.

However, EdPuzzle is designed mainly for video contents, and the question settings and contents provided are all visual, which may exclude learners with visual disabilities or sometimes hearing disabilities. It may also exclude learners who have problems accessing fast-speed internet, or accessing internet at all, since the platform is internet-based. Besides, learners could only access to limited information of the topic introduced, because the video contents are chosen/created by the teachers. Learners cannot access to other types of contents from the platform, which means that they do not have a choice on the educational contents that would meet their special needs or learning habits. It may cause the gap in learning and understanding the course contents between students who are suited for the teachers’ teaching style, and the students who may not fit well with the teachers’ way of conducting the course.

Overall, I do think that EdPuzzle offer the teachers and students a way that learning could most deeply and intimately begin, because the platform enables the teachers and students to interact and communicate through the contents created that evaluations the students various learning results and understanding of the materials, and helps the teachers engage in the students learning by providing individualized help and guide. The students could also use the platform with more flexibility by deciding their own paces. (edpuzzle.com)

Reflection

I chose this activity because I think evaluating Education Technology Tools using the prompt questions presented by Stommel and Morris could really help me understand these platforms better from an educational perspective, as well as data privacy and safety perspective. By reflectively thinking the pros and cons of the platform, I had to look up the information related to the ownership of the website, the contents created by the users, as well as the data safety issues, which tells us what organizations and what parties may have threatens to the data created by the users of the platform. This insight can be valuable to educators-to-be, and is necessary for students and teachers who are using education technolgy tools on a daily basis in school learning.

Sources Cited:

https://pitchbook.com/profiles/company/88450-30#funding

https://privacy.commonsense.org/privacy-report/edpuzzle

https://edpuzzle.com/

Part I

Don’t ever make the mistake of thinking that you can design something better than what you get from massively parallel trial and error with a feedback loop that’s getting your intelligence way to much credit.

I would start this post by quoting Dr. David Wiley, chief academic officer of Lumen Learning for this session’s lecturer. I interpret the line from two aspects. From the educators’ perspective, don’t try to use your own way to teach learners thinking it is the best way of learning. And from the students’ perspective, don’t try to learn and achieve without making mistakes and learn from them.

The session talks about the current situation with OER and open learning. It points out some problems that exists in the incorporation of OER in the students learning, and provides insights to the use of OER from the designers’ perspective. It also points out that most of the OER created are still in the forms of words and pictures in PDF files or HTML pages, which means that they may not serve good functions in aiding the learners’ learning without the engagement of qualified educators.

Questions that draws attention and thinking are:

• When open has become the majority status of education resources and when might we anticipate that to occur if possible?
• Is it possible for AI to be implemented in the OER to improve the quality of free education compared to what we have now that are 99% PDF or HTML resources?

Part II

Dr. Wiley points out that OER-enabled Education is sometimes used in learning by the educators for the sake of using it, rather than considering whether it is more beneficial to the learners than other types of resources or not. On the other hand, Open Pedagogy engages the students and make them part of the creator rather than simply consuming it. It uses OER as a means to an end. Dr. Wiley also suggests that the difference between now and before when the idea of OER was first introduced, is that more educators are aware of OER and try to incorporate it in their teaching, while not everyone is able to use it well. The solution could partly be answered by Open Pedagogy because it sees how students interact with the OER in their learning, rather than simply receiving it as part of the information provided by the course.

SMAR Model

The incorporation of OER in education reminds me of the SMAR model where SMAR stands for substitution, argumentation, modification, and redefinition. While the superficial way of incorporating OER in education is to substitute traditional course materials with OER, the ultimate and high-level goal of open pedagogy is to create tasks and learning opportunities that were previously not available without OER.

Part III

An interesting discussion point in the session was on how do educators improve the performance of the underperforming students and close the gap between these students and the high-performing students, instead of improving the overall performance of all students by “shifting the gap upward,” or “raising the field.”

To some degrees the OER becomes the end rather than the means to an end. Sometimes educators use OER as a tool regardless whether it is good for the students learning or not. However, educators should realize that the function that OER plays in the students learning paths is not simply to save money, but to better engaging the students in the learning contents while the existing online contents may not work while considering the individual needs and diversity of the learners’ backgrounds, learning habits, etc.

Another point to consider is the effectiveness of the OER. When students are given OER as a part of learning materials from a class, how students receive the information from it, as well as how students learn from it compared to how the educators expect the students to learn is important because it suggests whether the OER provided is effective. If not, it is the educators’ responsibility to use or design more effective rather than the students’ to engage with the materials better. It is also important to notice the primary and secondary benefits of the OER and incorporate them well in the courses of education.

Reflection

I chose this activity because I think the discussion on OER -enabled Education and Open Pedagogy is really important for the future educators to consider. The incorporation of OER in education should be carefully thought about and designed, so that it helps the learners with their learning path rather than serving only as a substitution. It also links back to the SMAR model and demonstrates it well because of the discussion and reflection of technology used in education. OER, being a type of technological advancement in education, should be used carefully and thoughtfully by applying the rules of SMAR.

The blue arrows represent frequent information flow, while the green ones suggest less frequency.

I am surprised how I spend so much time doing online activities for educational purposes in general, as well as how much time I spend on communicating with others rather than doing my own assignments or study. By creating this map, I really start to see how connectivism has played its part in my learning. The use of Google docs and online group chats have taken a considerable amount of my time when I spend time working on online works. And Google doc is really helpful for group assignments with its incredible function in real-time editing by multiple users.

I am also surprised when finding out that online lecture recordings are completely different from other forms of online activities, such as meetings, chats, discussions, and group assignments. Even though the finding sounds simple, but I did not realize that online lecture recordings are basically a one way node, as the viewers rarely communicate or give feedback to the lecturers.

Reflection:

For me, finding out that online lecture recordings are the least effective way of presenting knowledge is the most useful discovery. I think from a learner’s perspective, learning with timely feedback can be important in the learner’s engagement and efficiency in learning, as well as making the educator’s content more adjustable according to the various needs of the learners’.

Seeing and understanding how my learning life consists of (online and offline learning) is also helpful for me to understand my learning patterns, as well as which way may be more effective or me.

Behaviorism

Behaviorism focuses on observable behaviors as the primary subject of study. It emerged as a dominant approach in the early 20th century, and was pioneered by theorists such as John B. Watson and B.F. Skinner. It believes that human behavior is shaped by external stimuli and that individuals respond to their environment through learned associations. “Pavlov’s dogs” and operant conditioning are some of the essential concepts in behaviorism. This theory largely disregards internal mental processes and consciousness and emphasizes the significance of the environment in influencing behavior.

Bates (2014) mentions that behaviorism is implemented in corporations, military training, and some areas of science, engineering, and medical training. In my study experience, I think the pattern where I study, do exercises, and then take tests and feedback, as well as the scores that either makes to proud or shameful, incorporates behaviorism. The feedback and score serves as the stimuli that shapes my behavior in studying and getting the correct answers for the tests, which makes me learn.

Cognitivism

Cognitivism centers on understanding the internal mental processes involved in learning, memory, problem-solving, and information processing. Unlike behaviorism, cognitivists consider mental processes such as perception, attention, memory, and problem-solving as crucial aspects of understanding human behavior. The theory posits that learning is an active process of acquiring, organizing, and integrating knowledge. Cognitive theorists have significantly contributed to this approach. Cognitivism has had a profound impact on education and instructional design, by emphasizing the importance of learners’ thought processes and cognitive structures.

As Bates (2014) suggests, Cognitive approaches “focus on comprehension, abstraction, analysis, synthesis, generalization, evaluation, decision-making and creative thinking”, and is better in higher education than k-12 education. This because the emphasis on “how to learn” is more applicable for learners with of higher education with more advanced skills and mental capabilities. I think the reflectional essays after reading or listening to lectures are good examples of this type of theory in our study for the college courses.

Constructivism

Constructivism posits learning as an active process that constructs knowledge and understanding based on prior experiences and interactions with the environment. It suggests that learners build their understanding and meaning through a process of assimilating new information into their existing knowledge and experience. The theory bases the work on Swiss psychologist Jean Piaget and Russian psychologist Lev Vygotsky. In constructivist learning environments, learners are encouraged to engage in hands-on experiences, collaborate with others, and reflect on their own thinking. The teacher’s role is to facilitate learning rather than just impart knowledge, allowing learners to construct their own understanding of the world.

It is common for this approach to be used in humanities, social sciences, education, and other less quantitative subject areas (Bates, 2014), and in my study of education classes, I was asked to participate in groups and work on topics that would incorporate the knowledge learned with previous one that had made sense to me. In group work, everyone would also contribute their own knowledge for others to learn, which leads to the next concept.

Connectivism

Connectivism is developed in the digital age, which acknowledges the important role of technology and the internet in shaping how people access, process, and share information. It suggests that learning is not just an individual process but also a collective and networked one. According to the theory, knowledge is distributed across networks of people, technologies, and information sources. Learners are encouraged to create and maintain connections with diverse resources and individuals, leveraging the collective intelligence of the network. Connectivism highlights the importance of critical thinking, pattern recognition, and staying current with rapidly changing information landscapes in the digital era. It is very good for online learning and social media-driven knowledge sharing.

The WordPress blog posting and sharing is a great example of connectivism, as bloggers are sharing through digital methods. While everyone posts and contributes their bits of knowledge to the community, everyone is also learning from each other by reading, commenting, and discussing online.

Reflection:

I think this activity is helpful for me to understand the commonly addressed theories in learning. The incorporation of real-life experiences have really helped me to think about the implications of these theories, as well as reflecting my own learning experience, which is helpful for me personally to understand how some of my learning experiences went really well, while some turned out to be not as pleasant or fruitful.

Hi everyone!

This is Wanyue Mo (Krystal). I’m currently in my third year here in UVic majoring in biology. I am taking this class both as a means to fulfill my credits and out of my interest in knowing more about online learning forms. I have taken some EDCI courses and found that there are a lot to know about online learning and the new trends of learning with the use of social media. I am interested in the area of potential problems that exists in online learning forms, as well as how to avoid them to improve the learning experience and results. I am also interested in incorporating my major biology into online learning, making it accessible to anyone who have access to the internet. I want to share the knowledge in biology both because of my passion for this subject, and because it can be an important tool for development for some countries or areas that lack development.

To me, education is not only a way to understand more useful knowledge and information about the world, or a tool to get a better life, but also a means to get a better idea of who we are as people, as well as who we are as a group or species. I think it is a way of self-reflection because knowledge we obtain through education gives us more perspectives to see ourselves and reflect on our practices. Therefore, as students, we should not only acquire knowledge to pass tests and get good grades, but also constantly reflect. I think for instructors, the role they play is a leader and a guide rather than teaching or infusing information. Based on these thoughts, I hope to know:

How online education would work science subjects;

How social media could be used to aid science subjects learning online;

What can we do to minimize the negative impacts of the use of internet and social media, while making use of it to aid learning.

I also would like to get to know more people and their amazing ideas that I am sure would inspire me for the future learning.

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