*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina The role of teachers and schools has been redefined by the role of educational technology and this evolution has only been fast-tracked by the Covid-19 pandemic that has seen the use of technology in education increase at an accelerated rate (Nantais, M. et al., 2021, p. 34)(Sheninger, 2014, p. xv). Divisional programming in the field of educational technology is one that requires flexibility and an acceptance that there cannot be, “any permanent standards by which truth can be universally known” (Lincoln, Lynham,… Read More
EC&I 833 – Introduction Post
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. Welcome to all of my peers joining as part of our journey in EC&I 833. My name is Kirsten Thompson and I serve as the divisional Coordinator of ICT for the Mountain View School Division; overseeing technology programming and purchasing for approximately 3000 stakeholders. I am a Microsoft Education Trainer as well as a Level 1 Google Certified Educator with over 200 hours of combined professional development on how to assist educators in the use of these tools. Prior to this, I… Read More
Blogging in the Classroom: A Timeline
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. Students will undertake a major digital project that involves a) the integration of social media in their teaching practice or b) the integration/development of open educational resources related to their practice. Possible examples might include: the design, implementation, and assessment of an open (or semi-open) student blogging project in the classroom Red Grid Minimalist Monotone Project Progress Timeline Infographic by Kirsten Cali
Critical Reviews of Selected Technology Integration Models
Introduction Educators are ill-equipped to analyze educational technology to determine suitability for their programming. The Covid-19 pandemic, and its resulting influence on educational programming, has accelerated the rate at which educators integrate digital tools into their programming (Nantais, M. et al., 2021, p. 34) but Latchem (2013, p. 384) warns that, “educators need to resist the urge to jump at new ideas without thinking of how its implementation can be maximized, what problems may arise, and how sustainable the tool will be for students down the road”. Johnson, Riel, and Froese-Germain (2016, p. 43.) found that 45% of surveyed Canadian… Read More
EC&I Week 11 – Crash Course
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. Week 11 Blog Prompt Dive into one particular resource [OER] of reasonable size (e.g., a course, video series, other learning resource) and evaluate the course as a learning resource. Would this be something useful to other educators? What is the overall quality of materials? Is this something that can be easily adopted into others’ educational practice? One of my all time favourite OER has to be the Crash Course channel on YouTube. Founded in December of 2011, Crash Course first appeared here… Read More
EC&I 831 Week 10 – Open Education
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. Week 9 of this course did not include blog prompts. Week 10 Blog Prompt Using content/topics discussed in class this week, write a post around the topic of open education and the culture of sharing. The following videos represent a selection of resources shared in class to help introduce the concept of open education resources (OER) and sharing within the field of education. I feel fortunate to have been introduced to the concept of OER as part of my B.Ed degree via… Read More
EC&I 831 Week 8 – Social Media Activism
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. Weeks 5-7 of this course did not include blog prompts. Week 8 Blog Prompt Can online social media activism be meaningful and worthwhile? Is it possible to have productive conversations about social justice online? What is our responsibility as educators to model active citizenship online? Meaningful & Worthwhile Activism One of my favourite things about social media is that it reduces barriers in the sense that it can expand our connections. For those with access to connectivity, social media can increase their… Read More
EC&I 831 Week 4 – TikTok
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. Week 4 Blog Prompt Choose a social media tool that you would like to know more about. Create an account (if you haven’t already), spend some time learning about it (from resources or via conversations) and experimenting. Report some of your observations related to the tool (e.g., features, function, positives/negatives) and its impact on users (especially kids). Contemplate whether or not there are educational opportunities for the tool and/or what teachers or parents should know. When I saw this post I knew… Read More
EC&I 831 Week 3
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. Week 3 Blog Prompt Write an introductory blog post that outlines your initial ideas for your major project (i.e., the “major” integration project, or the learning project). Be as detailed as possible. At the end of the public school year Dr. Couros and I were able to sit down and discuss what this course could potentially look like given my specific job title and the independent study schedule. Part of this conversation included what the major project might look like since I… Read More
Welcome to EC&I 831
*This post has been written as part of my journey as a Ph.D student through University of Regina. As discussed previously, one of my professional development goals for the summer includes the completion of two classes as part of my Ph.D journey. While I purposefully choose to document all university courses through the blog this specific class, Social Media & Open Education: EC&I 831, actively calls for blog posts and online participation as one of the class requirements. As such, the vast majority of posts within the next few days/weeks will be tagged with #EC&I831 for easy curation. These posts… Read More