Over the past four months in EDTC 300 I’ve contributed to several platforms to build my personal learning network. In contributing to these platforms I’ve gained valuable connections and resources. I’ve also been able to share what I consider to be valuable resources and perspectives of my own to these platforms. I believe the key to both personal and career success is communication. Thus, I tried to contribute as often and as much as I could the platforms used in EDTC 300 via a course blog, twitter, and a slack community.

Course Blog

On my course blog I was able to receive as well as give feedback to my classmates. I followed as many of my classmates journeys through the course blog as I could. I commented words of motivation and encouragement on learning project posts, shared my perspectives on blog posts, and gave honest feedback if I saw an area that could be improved. I replied to comments left on my own blog as well, answering any questions they had or simply thanking them for their feedback. I also ensured to add pingbacks from my other classmates posts if I particularly liked their post, as well as share them to twitter to get more notoriety outside the EDTC 300 course blog. Check out the slide show below to see some examples of my contributions to the learning of others via my blog.

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Twitter

I was new to twitter at the beginning of the semester, but was quick to catch on. Twitter to me, was the most helpful platform in growing my professional learning project. I typically tweeted 3-5 times a day about topics on class content, education in general, or anything else I found interesting that I thought others could benefit from. I explored the use of different hashtags such as, our course hashtag #EDTC300, DigLN, DitchBook, EDChat and many others in hopes of reaching a lager networking platform. I also used the platform to ask questions, take polls, and gain new perspectives to course and some non-course related material . I was sure to contribute to these areas in others tweets as well whether they were classmates, or other professionals I followed.  I was able to share my own blog posts to twitter for those not in our course to see, and my other classmates as well. My favourite part about twitter was the twitter chats. I completed several throughout the semester and made valuable connections from them.Check out the slide show below to see some examples of my contributions to the learning of others via my twitter.

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Slack Community

I used slack often to ask and answer other classmates  course related questions. I also  shared relevant articles to the course that I didn’t feel targeted my twitter audience as much as the slack community. These were often scholarly articles on topics relating to the course. I also had private messages with people in the course such as Danica, where I shared some inspiration I found for her learning project. Check out the slide show below to see my contributions to the learning of others via the slack community.

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Thank you to everyone that participated in helping me grow my Professional learning network! I hope I was able to contribute something valuable to yours as well!

 

Its finally here. The end of semester has come upon us, and with that my EDTC 300 learning summary. Thanks to my instructor Katia, and my fellow classmates for making this such a valuable course! Check out my summary below:

This Week in my EDTC300 class we discussed coding! I previously had no experience with coding, or even knew what it was. For those of you like me “coding is basically the computer language used to develop apps, websites and software. To put it very simply, coding is what tells your computer what to do.” (Computer Science).

To explore the world of coding we were tasked with spending  some time on Code.org and participate in an Hour Of Code. Code.org is a great website that describes itself as “a non-profit dedicated to expanding participation in computer science by making it available in more schools, and increasing participation by women and underrepresented students of color.” (Code.org). It’s also really fun! The Hour of Code featured on the site is “a one-hour introduction to computer science, designed to demystify “code”, to show that anybody can learn the basics, and to broaden participation in the field of computer science.” (Code.org).

I had previously thought coding was just reading and typing java script…BORING! Code.org made me realize that coding is so much more than that. Its using creativity and logic at the same time to create whatever you want. Check out my screencast below to see me code the Moana: Wayfinding With Code guided tutorial.

This was defiantly the most fun homework I’ve ever had! I’ve never been someone who’s enjoyed computer games but I defiantly spent a large amount of my day on the website. I also did an Hour of Code on the Code with Anna and Elsa guided tutorial. It was also really fun and a bit more challenging than the  Moana: Wayfinding With Code tutorial. Below are some screen shots of the different images I was able to create with code.

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During my coding experience I found that I actually had a tougher time with the more beginner levels than the higher level ones. It took me a while to adjust to the logical yet creative way of thinking needed to code, but once I caught on I was off! I can see how coding would be a great tool in the classroom to use in developing problem solving skills for students.

Coding In The Classroom

Speaking of the classroom I feel very strongly that all students should get an education in at least the basics of coding. In this day and age our digitally based society depends on coding. We need to ensure students have the skillset to not only participate in this world but help to create it. There is also a very large gender gap within the tech industry that can be corrected or at least helped by implementing coding opportunities in the classroom for all students. Linked here is a great article that I’ve previously tweeted about that highlights this problem  and how to solve it.  A lot of my fellow pre-service teachers feel the same way about the importance of coding in the classroom. Below is a twitter poll I recently tweeted regarding the topic.

Here’s a list of some other benefits of classroom coding:

1. Establishes problem solving skills.
2. Practices logical thinking.
3. Promotes perseverance.
4. Familiarizes students with technology, something they’ll be using for the rest of their lives!
5. Prepares students for possible future employment opportunities.
6. Helps creative development.
7. Creates good analyzing skills.
8. Its really fun!

If your looking to learn more about coding check out some of my other classmates posts! There all excellent reads and good beginner coding resources.

• Exploring Scratch & The Coding World
• Classrooms & Coding
• Contemplating, Constructing, and coding

 

Today’s students are growing up in and being fully submersed in a digital world. There’s a lot of benefits to this such as, the enhancement of communication and millions of resources at the touch of a button. One MAJOR disadvantage of a digital world is the “fake news” epidemic that has rather recently become a major issue in society. From reading “Developing Critical Literacies: What We Need To Know in a “Fake News” world” I learned that the “fake news” explosion, along with the internets is no coincidence. The internet has allowed for anyone, anywhere to create and post realistic but false media to any digital platform. In our consumer hungry world this has turned dangerous. The same article points out that in the 2016 U.S. elections the top 20 fake news stories outperformed the top 20 legitimate news stories on Facebook.

This is a particularly concerning topic for students, as we need future generations to be able to disconcert real from fake online! Research done by the Stanford History Education Group concluded that students from elementary school to college “ability to reason about information on the internet can be summed up in one word: bleak” (Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone Of Civic Reasoning). What can we do to change this however? I think the obvious answer is students need to develop skills early on in their education to detect fake news, and false information in general. I believe this important issue can easily be tied into the curriculum in almost every grade level and subject area, while also including the goals of the NCTE’s framework for 21st century curriculum and assessment.

The article “How do we teach students to identify fake news?” has some great ideas for just that, and ones I defiantly plan on using in my future classroom! My favourites were prioritize helping students develop investigative techniques and bring real world examples of fake news into the classroom. These also both meet the NCTE framework in regards to developing proficiency and fluency with technology in regarding  research and finding reliable sources. To help students prioritize investigative techniques the article recommends information verification websites such as Hoax Slayer, Verification Handbook, and Snopes. I did not know most of these websites existed myself and immediately bookmarked them for future use.

By bringing fake news examples into the classroom students can see the forms in which fake news often takes (think political!). Its also a good way for students to check their own fake news identifying skills by comparing a fake news source to a real news source. We did a similar exercise to this in our EDTC300 class, and I found my own skills needed some sharpening. Below is a video I previously tweeted (@Glascockennedy) that shows some good examples of fake news and tips on how to detect it.

In regards to teaching students in my future science classes I have some ideas on how I could incorporate combatting fake news. Research papers are an important part of the secondary curriculum and a great way to get students to focus on finding valid sources. Finding good research sources requires lots of cross referencing to ensure validity, much the same as finding the validity of any other real news versus fake news sources. The assignment description could run along the lines of “find an article that make claims that climate change is fake. Search for valid resources that disprove this and write about it in a APA format paper.”

The assignment focuses on being able to identify fake news or research and showing the ability to find valid research as well. It also follows NCTE’s framework in regards to students locating and synthesizing information from a variety of sources, publishing writing in a way that meets a specific audience (science community), critically analyzing a variety of information form a variety of sources, using technology for research and many others.

In todays world its critical students are able to identify fake news. Its not enough anymore to trust what we simply read and hear from the digital world around us. Gaining investigative skills to detect this in the world is more essential than ever. Epistemology is under risk and we need are future generations to be able to challenge this.

Sources:

•  Developing Critical Literacies: What We Need To Know in a “Fake News” world http://journal.canadianschoollibraries.ca/developing-critical-literacies-what-we-need-to-know-in-a-fake-news-world/
• Evaluating Information: The Cornerstone Of Civic Reasoning https://stacks.stanford.edu/file/druid:fv751yt5934/SHEG%20Evaluating%20Information%20Online.pdf
• How do we teach students to identify fake news?https://www.edcan.ca/articles/teach-students-identify-fake-news/
• NCTE’s framework for 21st century curriculum and assessment http://www.ncte.org/digital-literacy

 

 

 

During the last few weeks in my EDTC300 class we have been focusing on the topic of digital identity. There’s many different ways one can explain digital identity. One I think reflects it best though is “Your digital identity is a permanent collection of data about you that is online” (BinaryTattoo). Digital identity can be contradictive to ones True identity. The definition of identity being “The distinguishing character or personality of an individual” (Merriam-Webster). In other words, the way many people live their lives offline is different to the way they portray their lives online.

A sad example of the false or seemingly different identities one can have online is Madison Holleran. In the article “Split Image” by Kate Fagan I learned Madison was a young, pretty girl who ran track at Pennsylvania University.  Her digital identity  displayed a very positive, happy person. She had many pictures of her smiling and laughing with friends and enjoying time with family on her Instagram. Her online persona, unfortunately was not an accurate display of her life as on January 17th, 2014 she committed suicide.

The above example is an extreme, but not an uncommon theme of the differing identities one can have online vs. their real life identity. The article “Having multiple online identities is more normal than you think”  by Nicole Lee (Twitter: @nicole) goes beyond just having one identity online into several identities or personas. She mentions the idea of a “finstagram”: a fake Instagram separate from your real, and tailored to perfection real Instagram to take the pressure off having a perfect feed to present to the world as “you”. Nicole did a poll on her twitter regarding how many of her follower’s had more than one twitter account , and to my surprise the results were fairly even.

I was curious to see what the results of this same type of poll would be among my own age demographic and peers. I tweeted out my own poll, via my  twitter account(@GlascockKennedy). My results yielded an even greater number of multiple accounts among the same platform, not surprising due to our digital obsessed generation.

I asked the voters to respond with their reasoning for having more than one of the same social media platforms, there was defiantly a trend in their responses. All the voters that responded mentioned having a professional account, besides having a personal account. Defiantly understandable in this day and age, when a google search of someone’s name goes hand in hand with a resume when applying for jobs.  There was also some accounts used for different interests, such as pets!

To go along with our discussion on digital identity this week in EDTC300 we got a fun assignment to Cyber Sleuth (creep) our classmates! Me and Justine Garret partnered up for this. This happens to be a speciality of most of me and Justine’s generation so I’m excited to see what she can dig up!

I started cyber sleuthing Justine the same way any rational millennial would, A Facebook search. It took me a loooong time to find Justine’s Facebook, and a fair amount of hardcore creeping. When I Finally found it though I realized she had her privacy settings locked up tight, the only way her account was identifiable was her profile picture.. She even subbed her last name for her middle name. not a bad idea for a teacher.  I’m embarrassed to admit that I took this assignment so far as to make a fake Facebook to find this out, as I don’t have a profile at all…talk about a false online identity. Next step, Instagram.

I was shocked to fin out Justine wasn’t on  Instagram. How does she stay up to date on her friends selfies, food pics, and nights out?! I wouldn’t be surprised though, after the lengths she went to make her Facebook private if she did have a very private account under a different name. Either way, a bust on that account. Next I tried a place I knew I could not fail, her twitter.

Justine’s twitter is very professional. Her tweets and likes are almost entirely connected to education. From her twitter feed it seems she passionate about Agriculture, anti-bullying, being a life long learner and educational technology. I was able to read some great post regarding “The Power of Life Long Learning” and “Chrome Tips For Teachers” and a few others. If your not following Justine already I Suggest you do (@msjgarrett).

Justine had her blog address linked to her twitter bio, so I headed their next. She has a really great professional blog. I loved her blog design! I headed to her “About Me” page and found out a lot about her!

I read that she grew up on a ranch in Cabri Saskatchewan, which I already had an idea about. She has a passion for sports, dance, her family, and owns a Clydesdale horse named Diesel…COOL! I also read her reasons for becoming a teacher and found that there very similar to my own. She wants to inspire students and provide as many opportunities as possible to them.

Lastly I finished up with the ultimate test of an online sleuth, a Google search. I found little else that I already had about Justine. A few results came up showing her involvement in her high schools SRC as Prime Minister, and some sporting events she participated in including track, and volleyball. 

Justine’s overall Digital Identity is a very clean one. Though her identity is minuscule, when she does have accounts made public their very professional and positive. Her passion for agriculture, education, and sport is evident in almost all her online foot prints. She comes of as very put together, compassionate, and kind!