Ying's EDCI339 Journey

Blog post #2: Explorations into drama-based pedagogy and constructivism

The combination of the power of drama based pedagogy and networked learning is emphasized in this post to create dynamic educational experiences. Drama helps incorporate students right into the subject, making some obscure things like math and science a bit more relatable for kids. An indication of how the arts can lend itself to every type of learning.

This focus on collaboration in networked pedagogy is critical. This experience in online courses shows that technology can bring us together, through community, and support for peers rather than isolation in the form of sharing of learning experiences. For deepening understanding and building connections that spirit of collaboration is essential.

In addition, your own discussion of constructivism and project based learning really speaks to me. This is not only development of critical skills, like teamwork and problem solving, but it also allows for exploration with long term projects such as capstones. Educators can prepare students for future success by designing learning experiences that mirror real life challenge. Your overall outcomes nicely echo that commitment to developing an environment that is engaging, interactive, and developing both teachers and students.

What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)?

Universal Design for Learning (UDL) is a way of teaching that provides for flexible environments for learning for all students. This concept is built on three key principles: Creating multiple ways of engagement, presentation, and expression. UDL is an inclusive learning experience, allowing students to have the learning experience in their way, based on their own ways of accessing, understanding and expressing learning. To use an example, in a science class, rather than having everyone have to write a traditional research paper, students might be allowed to make a poster, record a podcast, or design a slideshow of their findings. One of my high school teachers let us choose how we presented our final history project; video documentaries, essays, and even diorams. With this type of flexibility, not only did it make learning more enjoyable, it actually forced students to use their strengths. In a digital classroom, having all types of learners supported under UDL can include using different types of media—video tutorials, audio recordings, interactive quizzes—to name a few. For instance, some learn best from video explanations, while others are more comfortable reading through detailed notes, or listening to podcasts on the subject.

Satisfying the need for accessibility in online settings.

Today, particularly with more courses moving to the digital, it’s important for education to make online learning available to all students. Accessibility isn’t just about providing tools but also about providing ways for it to be easy to use, even for people who have disabilities or technological limitations. For example, an accessible interface with intuitive navigation and alt text for images and closed captions on videos can pull a significant amount for Visual Impairment or Hard Of Hearing students. Something I’ve used as a specific strategy in my learning experience, is using zoom programs with integrated captioned service. This is a great feature for students who may not be able to process auditory activity. For example, another offering is providing text alternatives for multimedia presentations so that students who cannot access the video can grasp what they’re missing. Furthermore, professors who provide early drafts of course materials to be reviewed by students who identify accessibility needs – that they may not have thought about – have been contributing to making learning accessible for everyone. Anonymized surveys about accessibility have let me vocalize my accessibility frustration around digital resources, which have, in turn, helped instructors tailor their tools to meet the needs of their class.

Ethical Challenges of EdTech

There are many benefits afforded to the classroom from Educational technology (EdTech) including interactive learning tools and more accessible resources. It however raises ethical issues not the least being privacy, equity and data security. The problem is that there isn’t equal access to technology for all students. To that point, in rural areas or low-income households, a student may be hampered by an unstable internet connection or a outdated device, leaving them in the back of an online class. This disparity needs to be looked at in schools and educators need to think about ways to manage it, like loaning devices or making offline versions of learning materials. A second potential ethical element is what happens if there is a data breach. Educational platforms that collect massive amounts of data about students through can be a lucrative target to cybercriminals if the data isn’t well protected. With use of secure platforms, educators can minimize this risk by limiting the amount of personal data they’re collecting. There are examples of educators in my own field who can’t be trusted with platforms that do collect sensitive information, like Google Classroom with limited information or password protected class websites. Yet, without harming students’ privacy that the benefits of digital learning tools may be obtained.

Digital Interactions with Ethical Considerations

Likely in educational and social spaces, it’s important to acknowledge that digital spaces engender ethics when you are inside of them. The most important relates to dealing fairly, respectfully, and empathically in online interactions. Communicating through a screen is easy. But it’s easy to forget there’s a real person on the other end, and this can be bad, even harmful, behavior. For example I have seen groups working on online projects where some people write off the contribution of someone else because they aren’t physically present, creating an uncomfortable or hostile learning environment. However, healthy digital spaces require that respectful communication — similar to the way you’d communicate face to face — happens. Personal privacy is the other ethical aspect. When we see others sharing personal information without consent, it’s something we should ask ourselves as users, to the extent that we should refrain from sharing what they provide us with. This might mean in an online learning environment not putting classmates’ names or comments out publicly without their permission. Our last tip is to be mindful of our digital footprint, because every single thing we post on-line can be traced back to us. One time I saw a student post part of a group project they had made onto the internet and they didn’t ask other students if they could. The result of that was tension in the group that made us think of the importance of consent and privacy in the digital spaces.

UDL and Accessibility Principles applied

And I get to see firsthand in my university courses just how heavily the UDL and accessibility principles can impact students’ learning experiences. In one of my literature classes my instructor enabled us to choose various methods from which to deliver our final project. Students also produced detailed essays, podcasts, video summaries or digital art interpretation of the texts. The flexibility in this allowed each student to participate in a manner that built upon their strengths while taking up their areas of interest. I have also seen the importance of making the classroom accessible to all types of needs in terms of accessibility. For example, one professor was so sure that all the lecture was available as a video AND audio, with transcriptions for anyone who didn’t want to watch. They gave students who might not have been able to attend the live sessions or learn best by interacting with the material in different ways options to learn as enjoyed without having to come back to it within a set period of time. But we could have probably improved accessibility to external readings. However, some of these assigned materials were not in a format that would make accessing them for students using screen readers easy, and could have been improved by using better formatting or offering alternative reading.

What Pedagogy Means to Me:

In the context of this paper, the term pedagogy may is understood as the use of methods and approaches by teachers to facilitate the learning process. For that reason, I believe that the conventional learning environment is steadily being replaced by online learning environment. In the course of time technology will offer more tools to support the processes taking place in teaching and education. As for me, the most significant strategy used in class interactions may probably be when the instructor directly communicates with the learners. This makes me understand that, when the teachers call us to help her answer several questions or when she answers several students’ questions, I am able to retain the information well.

Networked Pedagogy in Action:

What makes networked pedagogy useful is due to the increased number of people that you are able to engage with that you would normally not be able to. With its help, one can maintain working relationships with people regardless of the proximity to one another. Personally, I only have good things to say regarding students’ interaction, where I connect with my fellow students for group studies or to share assistance. Technology especially social media supports these relationship making it easy to maintain and use to gathered information to support academics.

Learning Theories in Practice:

Social Learning Theory:

According to the ALTEC, social learning theory focuses on the learning process resulting from other people’s activities and observation of the learners. Of these, copying is particularly common due to the simple availability and diffuse sharing of multimedia in an online context. This allows people to exhibit patterned behaviours about the topic that others can follow or emulate by sharing videos, images and other content. I find this theory directly related to my learning as I often use YouTube to learn. When other people are explaining and teaching or even solving their own problems, I can emulate them and understand too well complex ideas.

The Role of the Instructor:

Online education is an area of thinking and practice where an instructor has many roles to play apart from teaching. In addition, they should forward content and open the channel for students to build relationships, cooperate, and interact instrumentally with the help of digital resources. Of course, instructors must have a vast amount of information concerning the online resources in order to be able to teach it appropriately. Looking at my several course that I have been taking online at UVic, I have always had good feelings. This was so since educators were conversant with the required online tools to use and could easily guide students in the right way whenever they had issues or bottlenecks on the system.

Exploring Digital Spaces:

Digital spaces are areas in which people learn and communicate electronically. These spaces are also effective in that they provide the students with a chance to work in groups with other students from their different background. Nevertheless, one disadvantage of using unfamiliar digital platforms is that they may become bewildering at the beginning. There is also no reason to become rude and cycle negativity in these spaces to make any positive changes desired. Moreover, it make it possible to encounter these platforms without having many glitches, while respecting others is helpful in creating healthy communicational discourse.