What is my relationship with social media? Well, if I am about to define my relationship with it, I should probably solidify my personal definition of it first. When I think about social media, the first thoughts that come to mind are Instagram and Facebook. TikTok pops into my mind shortly after, alongside platforms I use less frequently, such as Twitter. For some reason, I put Snapchat and Pinterest in a separate side-category, since I equate Snapchat more closely with…
I can’t believe this class is already over – that flew by! I particularly enjoyed this style of class in its debate format. It was engaging and exciting in the ways that other classes haven’t always been. A big thank you to our professor and classmates for a great overall learning experience. The final debate topic: Online education is detrimental to the social and academic development of children. Both sides of the debate did a phenomenal job defending their respective…
Debate 7 – Educators and schools have a responsibility to help their students develop a digital footprint. (Just a quick heads up – I went a bit off the rails with this one into some borderline philosophical territory. Happy reading if you wish to continue (: ) [Quick nod to the debaters for topic 7. You did a masterful job!] It’s no question that technology and the internet have become central and integral to our lives. As stated in the…
Debate #6 – Cell phones should be banned in the classroom. This topic is an especially difficult one for me. In the pre-vote, I easily chose “disagree”, but upon reflection, there have been a number of times in my teaching career so far where I have said “OKAY CELL PHONES AWAY EVERYONE I DON’T WANT TO SEE THEM AT ALL FOR ANY REASON ANYMORE” or something along those lines. Granted, this usually happens in moments of erupting frustration around some…
This week’s debate (1 of 2): Social media is RUINING childhood. As pointed out during the debate a couple of times, ruining is certainly a strong word. It is also interesting thinking about childhood and the biases each new generation holds regarding what makes a “great childhood”; each age group seems to have had it better than the one that succeeded them for various reasons, one being the digitalization of society. A common outlook is viewing today’s children as missing…
The topic for a fourth juicy debate: Educators have a responsibility to use technology and social media to promote social justice Educational settings can be somewhat obsessed with preserving a neutral environment. Granted, neutrality has educational value in the classroom, evident in this blog post. However, maintaining neutrality should not extend the boundaries of learning potential in inquiry settings. When it comes to issues of social nature, neutrality needs to be scrutinized as responsible for perpetuating social injustice. Kristen Parker…
“I am not asking for the complete removal of all these strategies, but merely a re-balance, a refocus, a re-emphasis on the importance of acquiring and mastering basic math skills.” The above quote is from Nhung Tran-Davies, a parent concerned about the lack of basic math skill teaching in his daughter’s Alberta school (full article here). Granted, this article is from 2014, and aptly stated by our professor, anything published related to education and/or technology beyond 7 years or so…
As part of this debate’s team on the disagree side, I felt very certain of my position from the get-go. I chose this topic because I feel strongly about the lack of equity that technology provides and the ways in which it actually perpetuates inequity among students in the classroom. However, reflecting more deeply and thoughtfully on this topic post-debate, taking into consideration what the agree side had to say (excellent job, btw!), I once again find myself questioning the…
The pre-vote for this topic took me about 1.5 seconds. I was 100% team agree. After listening to Nicole and Daryl defend their argument from the disagree viewpoint, however, I definitely questioned my rigid beliefs on this topic. I thought more about what the word “enhances” means. Naturally (at least to me), this led me to a few dictionary definitions of the word. Merriam-Webster defines it as to increase or improve in value, quality, desirability, or attractiveness. Dictionary.com defines it…