Digital Story

This Digital Story is a brief overview of the inquiry topic that I research this semester surrounding the question, "Can technology be used to support student creativity in primary education?". Please take a few moments to watch my digital story and provide me with feedback.

My Take-Away from Current and Emerging Technologies - EDUC 2325

What did you learn or “take-away” from this course and how has your perspective about integrating technology into K to 6 education changed/grown throughout the course?

            The Current and Emerging Technologies course taught me the ways in which digital technologies can be integrated into classrooms by challenging me to ask critical questions about the affects of technology on learning, and by asking me to work with these different technologies myself.

            At the beginning of the course I was unsure about the use of technology in primary education. However, I have decided that I support the use of technology in K to 6 education. My perspective has grown with the help of my field placement observations, the exposure I’ve had to use technologies in my courses (i.e. blogs, YouTube videos, Google Applications, Microsoft Office, and other online resources), the survey I conducted in relation to my research topic, the interview help between myself and an expert in the field, collaboration with my professional learning community, as well as the actual research I conducted through the Library Database.

How did this course help you answer your “burning” question about the use of digital technologies in K to 6 education?

            This course offered me the time and resources that I needed in order to answer my burning question, “Can technology support student creativity in primary education?”. Over the course of 10 weeks I was able to conduct research while at the same time experiment with different technologies for a variety of assignments. For example, the digital story assignment challenged teacher candidates to work with a technology to create an animated story. This assignment allowed me to work with whatever application I desired, allowing me to learn the different ways that I can be creative to express my knowledge. This, along with other assignments completed in this course, taught me how to use different technologies while also challenging my creative abilities.

How did you contribute to the learning of others? What did you learn from others?

            I contributed to the learning of others by collaborating with my professional learning community weekly. During these interactions with my peers, I shared new information that I gathered on my research topic, I allowed them to share their new knowledge, and we shared our assignments and work. When we shared our assignments, using Google Docs, Sites, and Slides, I provided my peers with comments and peer assessments. This was valuable because it got myself and the other teacher candidates into the habit of providing consistent and constructive feedback.

            Others contributed to my learning in the same ways. By providing me with constructive feedback and peer assessments I was challenged to see different perspectives, improve my work, and dig deeper into my questions surrounding technology in primary education.  

Professional Responsibilities and Relationships Using Digital Technologies

Professional Responsibilities and Relationships Using Digital Technologies 

"How do you think digital technologies can be used  to engage parents and the community in K to 6 elementary schools? How do you think digital technologies can be used  to create and enhance partnerships between the community, teachers, parents, and students?"

This video address the above questions in an informal conversation about the ways in which digital technologies can build teacher-parent, teacher-student, and parent-student relationships. In addition, we discussed how it will build and improve school community.

Classroom Environment with Digital Technologies

Classroom Environment with Digital Technologies

"How do you think digital technologies can be used to create a safe, respectful, and trusting learning environment for students (e.g. digital citizenship)?"

This video addresses the above question with a short conversation that my colleague, Catherine Vessey, and I engaged in. Within this discussion we touched base on important factors of digital citizenship such as "safe surfing" and cyberbullying.

Assessing Learning with Digital Technologies

Assessing Learning with Digital Technologies

"How do you think digital technologies can be used to assess student learning, peer learning, and self learning (e.g. audio, video, digital text assessment)?"

This video describes the various ways in which teachers can use technology when assessing children as well as ways it can help students complete peer-assessments and self-assessments.

Facilitating Learning with Digital Technologies

Facilitating Learning with Digital Technologies

"How do you think digital technologies can be used to engage students (e.g. SMART Boards and iPads in the classroom)?"

This video addresses the above question with a short discussion on student engagement in relation to the use of technology. I discuss my research topic in this video as well, as it relates to facilitating learning and levels of engagement.

Planning for Learning with Digital Technologies

Planning for Learning with Digital Technologies

"How do you think digital technologies can be used to support or assist teachers in lesson planning?"

   This video answers the questions above. This is a very important question because technology allows teachers to communicate and research lessons efficiently. I have shown an example in this video that shows how easy it is as well as provided sources that I find very helpful.

My First Step into the World of Technology

Personal learning goals for Current and Emerging Pedagogical Technologies:

I believe that setting goals is an important part of learning. Below I have listed several learning goals for myself that I hope to achieve by the end of this course.

• Understanding all of the components of conducting research and establishing enough time for myself to complete all of these components properly.
• Learn how to use 5 different types of technology (apps, programs, devices) that can support my future teaching practices and students learning.
• Compare traditional classrooms that used no technology to modern classrooms that use technology daily or weekly and learn what ways I can tap into both kinds of atmospheres.
• Create a Professional Learning Community with a group of my peers and learn from each others research manuscripts and Professional Learning Plans.

Previous educational technology experience: 

I do not have very much experience working with technology, however, I have been exposed to many different devices. These devices include: PC’s, Macs, tablets, Interactive Whiteboards, iPads, and cellphones. Although I do not have professional training and experience working with these types of devices, I have grown up in a society that is very technologically equipped. In other words, I speak somewhat of the same language as these devices. My previous experience includes:

•          Multimedia throughout junior high school. This class taught students about making PowerPoints, using other Office features, and how to navigate around a PC and a Mac.
•          Typing class that focussed on teaching students to type quickly without errors. This class broke down keyboards into sections, such as home row, function keys, and control keys, and taught the function of each key both PC and Mac.
•       Microsoft Excel tutorial at Mount Royal University.

What burning question do you have about the use digital technologies in K to 6 education?

https://lborukedtech.wordpress.com/2013/02/16/tech-play-3/ 

Does technology support students creativity in primary education? What kinds of technology can be used to support their creative thinking?

Why this question is important to me:
This question is important to me because I believe that creative thinking can take students just as far, and maybe even farther, than analytical thinking can. There are many ways to encourage students to think and work creatively, however, technology is becoming very prevalent in today's society. This makes me think - why not take advantage of these resources and use them for more than games and social media? I hope to learn all the different technologies, apps, programs, and devices that I can use in my teaching practices that will encourage students to take risks and challenge themselves to think outside of the box and outside of the traditional ways of thinking. With the use of technology, students have the opportunity to work with hundreds of different apps and programs that can be used as a creative outlet. They have endless possibility at their fingertips and endless chances to start over.  
Below I have linked a TedTalk video that I felt was very relevant to what I am talking about. Raj discusses "blended learning" and the use of technology in classrooms. Click the link to learn more. 
Can Technology Change Education? Yes!
- By Raj Dhingra 


Why education important to me:

Education is important to me because I believe that pedagogy is a lifelong experience. I do not believe that we stop learning when we graduate from high school or from university, nor do I believe that we learn differently in every grade. Education contributes to every aspect of society and is essentially what keeps the world turning. Without education global issues would not be addressed, technology would not advance, healthcare would not continue to grow, cultural groups would be divided, history would be lost, English would not be the universal language today, and individuals would not challenge themselves to reach their fullest potential.

I truly believe that education played a significant role in the person that I am today. It shaped my beliefs about the world and myself, it taught me about my country’s history, it pushed me to learning about things that were abstract (and sometimes scary), it socialized me and brought me my closest friends, and lastly it was a place where I could always question new things. My hope is that I can carry on my beliefs on the importance of education to my future students and share with them the wonders of education.