Safe Online Technology Education Review (Jeremy)

Technology education’s general focus is to get students to design, fabricate, and/or repair and maintain technologies and tools to develop skills to make changes for human need in the physical world (BCMOE, 2018). But what happens when the ability to create and fabricate is suddenly severely restricted? This is the exact problem technology education teachers found themselves in when the Covid-19 virus shut down schools and sent teachers and students into the online realm. It quickly dawned on technology education teachers around the province that teaching online would be seriously crippled by problems of equity and safety (Code, Ralph, & Forde, 2020). It was not guaranteed that students had any tools at home, and it opened the door for a lopsided education for the tool haves to the tool have-nots. Further, safety was not easy to address. In the classroom, it is expected that a teacher will be present to supervise tool and machine use and that they will have demonstrated and instilled proper safety techniques to students (BCTEA, 2019). Now being separated from their students, most teachers were forced to focus on written book work. The resources created, collected, and curated were chosen to aid technology teachers in addressing the safety issues that arose when their courses were forced into a strictly online scenario. 

In the long term, many technology education teachers are concerned that, if forced to move their courses online, students will miss out on important hands-on education and practical safety skills that can’t be learned effectively virtually (Code, Ralph, & Forde, 2020). Without physically seeing and doing the safety rules outlined, many students could not fully grasp what is required when using various machines and tools. Although many technology education teachers are concerned about the effectiveness of strictly online teaching with hands-on courses, many see the value of a blended, partly online, model (Code, Ralph, & Forde, 2020). This approach would allow students to do design work and safety preparation at home and focus on hands-on work at school. Currently, the chances of a blended model are up to the Province of BC and local districts and schools based on the Covid-19 pandemic (BCMOE, 2020). This pandemic has flipped the education system upside down and many see it as an opportunity for change. As a technology education teacher, I do not see full time online teaching for my courses. However, the move to a blended method could open doors to a new approach to teaching unlike what we have seen to date.   

Learner-to-Learner Online Communication Review (Trevor)

Moore stated there are three types of learning in online environments: learner-to-learner, learner-to-teacher, and content-to-learner (1989). Since spring break, teachers have made adaptations for delivering content to students, and have used alternative methods for communicating such as e-mail, phone calls home, creation of websites, the use of centralized online learning spaces, and the use of video conferencing. However, I feel one of the foundational pillars Moore stated has been left out, and that is learner-to-learner interactions.

Learner-to-learner communication is a part of the British Columbia curriculum. It is outlined by the B.C. Ministry of Education as one of the three core competencies that is fundamental for students to acquire (“Communication | Building Student Success,” n.d.). Informally, my online students described to me the challenges of not being able to talk with their peers freely, feeling disconnected, and not having the opportunity to have small group conversations with their peers. In order to meet the education guidelines set by the government, we need to change our online teaching practices.

Lev Vgotsky stated, “Human learning presupposes a specific social nature and a process by which children grow into the intellectual life of those around them” (1978, p.88). Vgotsky’s social development theory describes how social development is imperative for cognitive development. If we are limiting student social interactions, we are limiting cognitive development. 

Additionally, Ted Aoki’s ideas on the polarization of the lived curriculum and planned curriculum (1993). The planned curriculum being the core competencies mandated by a governing body such as the B.C. Ministry of Education, and the lived curriculum, the stories, metaphors, personal aspirations, and the phenomenological expression of the students themselves. It is an embodiment of celebrating the uniqueness of individuals, and how those shared experiences with others enriches the learning experience. 

In an online learning setting, you can’t replicate the same experiences in a classroom. However, you can be more proactive by giving the opportunity for learners to communicate with their classroom peers online by establishing clear expectations and guidelines for parents, educators, and high school students.

References:

Aoki, T. T. (1993). Legitimating lived curriculum: Towards a curricular landscape of  multiplicity. Journal of Curriculum and Supervision, 8(3), 255-268.

BCTEA. (2019, October 25). Heads Up for Safety. Retrieved July 23, 2020, from https://www.bctea.org/heads-up-for-safety/

British Columbia Ministry of Education (BCMOE)(2018), “Applied design, skills and technology K-12 curriculum: goals and rationale”, BC Ministry of Education official website, available at: https:// curriculum.gov.bc.ca/curriculum/adst/core/goals-and-rationale (accessed 18 July 2020).

British Columbia Ministry of Education (BCMOE) (2020), “Frequently asked questions (FAQs) on continuity of learning”, Government of British Columbia official website, available at: https:// www2.gov.bc.ca/assets/gov/education/administration/kindergarten-to-grade-12/safe-caringorderly/bc-ministry-of-education-questions-and-answers-continuity-of-learning-k-12-education_system.pdf (accessed10May2020).

Communication | Building Student Success. (n.d.). Retrieved from https://curriculum.gov.bc.ca/competencies/communication/

Code, J., Ralph, R., & Forde, K. (2020). Pandemic designs for the future: Perspectives of technology education teachers during COVID-19. Information and Learning Sciences, Ahead-of-print(Ahead-of-print). doi:10.1108/ils-04-2020-0112

Moore, M. G. (1989). Three types of interaction. The American Journal of Distance Education, 3(2), 1-6.

Vygotsky, L., & Cole, M. (1978). Mind in society. Harvard University Press.