Starting out this semester, I was intimidated by all the things we were going to be expected to do online.  I definitely think it’s important to get to know what some of these platforms are.  I can honestly say that I had not heard of the majority of them.  I graduated 1997, so that’s the first clue why I’m a bit lost haha.  I think that commenting on other peoples posts is encouraging and gives a lot of insight when people have ideas to share to make things better.  The suggestion at the beginning to keep track and to be thinking about the expectation for the end was very valid advice.  I apparently thought this was a good thing to do but then didn’t do it.  Hmmm.  I made comments on my classmates posts and shared with a classmate about her blog issue.  I used light shot to screen shot these posts so not sure why their blurry. (storey of my life with technology) I unfortunately don’t have a lot of other platforms I assisted on.  This is an area I can add to my needs improvement pile!  None the less, I enjoyed reading my classmates posts about their learning journeys throughout EdTec300.

The first thing I checked into was Helping Students Identify Fake News. John Spencer shares how we have so many digital tools and are more able than ever to create and publish our work but that it also leaves that door open to access of fake new and things that aren’t true being published also. Stanford University did a study that was kind of disturbing because 25% of high school students used in the study, could not identify real stories/fake news, real/fake photographs or authentic/staged video content. He goes on to say how this is a real problem and it’s not going away any time soon.

The Five C’s of Critical Consuming is the system he likes to use with his students in being discerning when it comes to digital literacy. Its a five step process of context, credibility, construction, corroboration and comparing.  Giving students many questions to ask themselves like when articles were written, how credible is the source, is it speculation? Fact or opinion? Suggests comparing with other sources for nuance and what is actually going on.  These suggestions are going to be key for my classroom discussions around digital literacy. Even with younger grades these discussion are important.  Although they won’t be reading articles, depending what age they are of course, the majority of kids in younger grades are already spending a lot of time on line.  The discussion could even be around pictures, videos specifically as that is also a big problem area already.  I am in the middle years program presently but hope to switch to the K-5.  The lessons are relevant even at Kindergarten considering the freedom a lot of kids seem to have online. A Stanford study was done to assess where a chosen group of kids were at, when it came to discerning fact from fiction.  The word they use for the outcome is bleak. There were surprising things discovered after they became aware of the extent of the problem, they just assumed because young people are fluent in social media, they are equally savvy about what they find there.  This is not the case.   Going forward in our classrooms it’s going to be more important than ever to incorporate different lessons when it comes to digital literacy.  The National Council of Teachers for English shares many ways to our students thinking about what they are reading or watching. In the article’s section on Consume, Curate and Create, some of the suggested questions will get students thinking deeper as well as ourselves and the impact we are also making.

• Do learners review a variety of sources to evaluate information as they consider bias and perspective in sources?
• Do learners evaluate content they find online before sharing with others?
• Do learners evaluate multimedia sources for the effects of visuals, sounds, hyperlinks, and other features on the text’s meaning or emotional impact?

As we all discover how this new way of doing things is changing and affecting our youth, there are new ways we have to learn to teach and meet them where they are at.

I personally find these questions about technology in my classroom, difficult to answer.  We literally had the big box screens plugged into the wall. Practiced typing and had green robotic letters appear on the screen.  There were math games on there but it was nothing like the technology is today.  The first I remember technology in my classroom was grade 4, so I was already 9 or 10.  It was 1988 when I was 10 so I will let you do the math haha.  I do remember how exciting it was once our school got computers.  At first each classroom had a station with one computer or two if we were lucky.  We all rotated but eventually the elementary schools opened computer labs so classes could use them all at the same time. Which was essentially just a designated classroom. A  favorite time during the school day.

I was the era of  the VHS being rolled into the classroom on a utility cart for movie day.  If I am being honest, I don’t remember many things about safety rules except for stating within your typing/practice time. There wasn’t the dangers then without constant internet access to the rest of the world.

This picture could be my childhood computer lab.   

I think that the way things have grown and evolved with our internet usage, it has left a lot of people in the dust. Certain groups of people that are older, that work in jobs that don’t require the continual learning that constant new technology requires. There is basic things of course like watching YouTube, scrolling Facebook or internet banking.  Without it being required daily, I think people are behind including myself.  I just think of my mom who still refuses to use internet banking and drives to the bank to do things.  Future classrooms are going to need to fully engulf in what technologies are being used to achieve certain things.  Teachers have some tools to use and incorporate into the classroom but it takes time to learn and to practice.  Teachers will use basic things like the Smart board for example, but often as a note tool or lunch time entertainment.  I found this to be true in the different classrooms I worked in. I know that there are teachers that are using these tools to their full advantage but from different discussions, I think there are a few struggles as well!

I think that technologies available are amazing and growing by the minute.  The more digital interaction, the less personal interaction that is required. This is a challenge with so many virtual options available but something that needs to be considered moving forward in our classrooms.  Teachers have their hands full and I think they need a lot of time for their own learning, to really have things become part of the regular day, to be comfortable with each new tech tool that becomes available for the classroom.

My name is Julie Hiebert and I am working on my Ed degree, middle years program.  I am originally from Saskatoon but reside at Buffalo Pound Lake.  I am loving lake life and the serenity I get residing here.  I have three grown children and have become an empty nester a couple years ago, which was my cue to get busy and do what I have always wanted to do.  Be a teacher. I am not very good with technology but I am happy to be taking Edtech300 as there are many things I need to learn.  I enjoy writing and I’m realizing, that blogging is just a collection of written articles, videos, photos, opinions or otherwise, and artistic expression.  Making a blog appears to be more simple than expected with the exception of continually second guessing tasks I complete.  I have worked with numerous students on different projects on computers in a classroom setting, but it’s not the same as having to navigate technology in the classroom.  I have observed some of the teachers and their resources they had available like different communication platforms, smart boards etc.  Learning how to navigate will be an important skill one day when I’m in the classroom in a leadership role.