Development and Implementation of the Curriculum in Digital Learning Contexts
Overview: Critical Thinking, Problem Solving, and Decision Making
Outline:
What kinds of digital tools promote and encourage critical thinking?
How does critical thinking influence narratives and perspectives?
Tech of the week
What kinds of digital tools promote and encourage critical thinking?
Technology Education focus’ heavily on design and the design process which requires heavy critical thinking
Students must to find problem, research, find solutions, plan, create, test / evaluate, and improve (as needed)
Good design requires a lot of considerations and critical thinking on the part of the designer
There are lots of digital tools out there that can be used to promote critical thinking. It is just a matter of using them creatively and effectively.
e. Digital Storytelling – Using video recording and similar technology to make how to videos to reinforce learning. These tools force students to really think about what they are doing and present it in a coherent manner for others.
Reflection activities – Google docs can be used to journal their work, reflect on their learning, show the progress they make, and document sources. This document can then be shared with the teacher or others for critique.
Discussion forums – Communication programs like Slack or hypothes.is can be used by students to discuss project ideas or other class related information.
Brainstorming – mindmeister, draw.io, etc. can be used to organize ideas and resources in a mind map or brainstorm format online in groups or individually.
How does critical thinking influence narratives and perspectives?
Buchanan demonstrates in Wicked Problems in Design Thinking how when a designer used critical thinking, they were able to solve the problem of shoppers getting lost in a large store by placing identifiable items in prominent locations rather than rely on large signage that shoppers tended to ignore (1992).
By approaching the stores problem with a more critical examination beyond using signage to direct shopper, the designer looked beyond the obvious and employed human psychology to better solve the stores lost shopper conundrum.
Teaching students to think critically and challenge everything can be difficult for parents and teachers who at times may not want their authority questioned, but it is important that students learn to think about things with curious minds and challenge what they don’t understand.
Critical thinking can also destroy poorly constructed “alternative facts” when employed properly in search for the truth online, ie news, science, research, politics, etc.
It can also be used to find truths by thinking through and assessing all the options at hand and following through on the best ones available. For example, Markhal Nolan demonstrates in his TED Talk, How to Separate Fact and Fiction Online, how he used the internet to find a person whose was attached to a video of a weather event that had been claimed to have recently happened. By using online phone registries and google maps he was able to find the original video poster and contact them for questioning (2012).
Tech of the Week:
io
Online app for flowcharts, diagrams, and more
Can save directly to Google Docs, OneDrive, or your hard drive
Outro
Music by Canada by Picture of the Floating World
References & Readings:
Buchanan, R. (1992). Wicked Problems in Design Thinking Design Issues: MIT Press, Vol. 8, No. 2 (Spring, 1992), pp. 5-21
Development and Implementation of the Curriculum in Digital Learning Contexts
Overview: Stories and Perspectives: How to Search for and Find Different Stories and Perspectives.
Outline:
How can our digital bubble as educators filter the stories we hear and believe?
What kinds of digital tools expand filter bubbles in your learning context?
What types of filter bubbles are influencing your digital project?
What are you doing to ensure students are using a wide variety of digital resources?
Tech of the week
How can our digital bubble as educators filter the stories we hear and believe?
Website algorithm
Sites, like Google and Facebook, note links you click on and then edit what you see based on those choices. This in turn creates a filter bubble that only shows you things you have proven interested in and pushes all other things out, including differing opinions (Pariser, 2011).
Eli Pariser suggests we find things that are not only relevant to us but also uncomfortable and challenging to help burst the filter bubble (2011).
Feedback loop – same information repeated, exaggerated, etc.
Rheingold suggest we find people whose intelligence and honesty we respect but disagree with on things (2020).
Search engines and other websites may endorse paying advertises over other options and information.
Avoid paid advertisements at top of search
Search passed the first page of results
Find out who is the author and then research their reliability and their sources (Rheingold, 2012).
What kinds of digital tools expand filter bubbles in your learning context?
Demonstrate research and information literacy as outlined in the BC digital literacy framework (British Columbia Ministry of Education, 2016)
find, organize, analyze, evaluate, synthesize, and use information ethically from a variety of sources and media
Use Rheingold’s (2012) suggestion to “triangulate” sources and information.
Markhal Nolan demonstrates in his TED Talk, How to Separate Fact and Fiction Online, how he used human sources and the internet (using google maps) to find that a video that was posted online of bodies being dumped off a bridge in Hama was not accurate and took place in a different location, possibly at a different time (2012).
What types of filter bubbles are influencing your digital project?
The apps and tech suggested by classmates
The readings provided my prof (one side of the story?)
My own biases and beliefs
Website algorithms
What are you doing to ensure students are using a wide variety of digital resources?
Provide places to start their search:
Instructables website and Other woodworking related websites
Multiple search engines
Rheingold (2012) talks to Googles “search anthropologist” Dan Russell who suggests Wikipedia as a place to start your search.
Students need to provide multiple sources and cite them properly
Have students find counter narratives and compare and contrast
Tech of the Week:
freesound.org
Collection of sound effects
Creative Commons
Outro Music
Music by Canada by Picture of the Floating World
References:
British Columbia. Ministry of Education. (2016). BC’s digital literacy framework. Victoria, B.C.: Ministry of Education.
Nolan, M. (2012). Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/markham_nolan_how_to_separate_fact_and_fiction_online
Pariser, E. (2011). Retrieved March 18, 2020, from https://www.ted.com/talks/eli_pariser_beware_online_filter_bubbles
Rheingold, H. (2012). Chapter 2 Crap Detection 101: How to Find What you Need to Know, and Decide if It’s True. In Net Smart: How to Thrive Online. (pp. 77-111). Cambridge, Mass. MIT Press.
Rheingold, H. (Producer). (2020). Interview about Chapter 2 Crap Detection 101 [Audio podcast]. Retrieved from https://drive.google.com/open?id=1RkfP8XeIxKaRmBMmLzkevv3DMSH1zqyR
Audio:
Musical Intro/outro is Canada by Picture of the Floating World found at freemusicarchive.org
Doppler Horn sounds effect by Mullumbimby found at freesound.org
Development and Implementation of the Curriculum in Digital Learning Contexts
Overview: Conceptualizing BC’s Digital Literacies into Context
Outline:
What is the story behind the BC Digital Literacy Framework?
What research theory, literature, frameworks, and models have guided the BC Literacy Framework?
What is missing from the current Framework?
What other frameworks, theories and models could be considered to expand upon and extend the current BC Digital Literacy Framework?
Contextualizing Your Project
I will choose a curriculum area that I want to explore further. Brainstorm a student project that I wish to redesign or design and discuss how does the BC Digital Literacy Framework integrates into my project?
Tech of the week:
org
What is the story behind the BC Digital Literacy Framework?
What research theory, literature, frameworks and models – have guided the BC Literacy Framework?
Based on International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) NETS-S standards which sets out to:
Empowered Learners
Create Digital citizens
have students create digital artifacts
create innovative designers
develop computational thinking skills
create creative communicators
endorse global collaboration.
a belief that students must have regular opportunities to use technology to develop skills that encourage personal productivity, creativity, critical thinking, and collaboration in the classroom and in daily life.
What is missing from the current BC Digital literacy Framework?
Integration of Indigenous ways of knowing
Self-care and unplugging from the internet at times. (counter-intuitive to goal but important for some students who may be addicted to online life).
What other frameworks, theories and models could be considered to expand upon and extend the current BC Digital Literacy Framework?
Why is coding considered a part of digital literacies? I don’t see it as a fundamental of digital literacy.
Heavy focus on social media use and understanding privacy.
Contextualizing Your Project
Choose a curriculum area that you want to explore further. Brainstorm a student project that you wish to redesign or design. How does the BC Digital Literacy Framework integrate into your project?
Coding: Students are required to code their robots, utilizing advanced skills
Online Communication: Students will need to comment on other groups projects, demonstrating their skills of interacting online in a civil and productive manner, fostering a positive community.
Employ online methods to communicate with their group.
Privacy: Share only pertinent information and withhold personal details about themselves and protect their privacy online.
Credit & Copyright: Respect copyright laws and employ creative commons resources when necessary and appropriate (ie pictures and music).
Sharing Work: Share work with online robotics community for other to share and comment on.
Citations: Properly cite any online works, sites, pictures, or information used.
Tech of the week:
org
Website offers free creative commons licensed music
Guest Speaker: Tim Winklemans – Graduation Lead for Graduation, Skills and Distance Learning (BC Government). He was a part of the committee who designed the BC Digital Literacy Framework.