Learning Activity (Prompt 2): While we were sleeping

Institutions need to closely observe how the new technology that they are considering to adopt functions and ask for clarifying questions if in doubt. They need to consider the cybersecurity to protect the members of the institution and the students’ privacy. It is also important to evaluate whether the use of this new technology do not cause any unethical concerns.

Instructors should consider the following: if the new technology is better than the existing methods of teaching and learning? Can it help to fulfill the educational goals? How efficient is the technology? Does this technology breach the privacy policy of the institution? Are there any ethical issues to consider? Are there any accessibility issues; does everyone have an equal opportunity to access and use the technology? Are the students able to access the content autonomously?

There are several hidden motivation that can influence our choice to adopt new technological tools. For example, it enhances students’ interaction and engagement, it boost productivity and creativity, it encourages collaboration and decreases paperwork for the teacher.  However, it is important to have a critical approach to embracing new technologies for use in the teaching practice. Sometimes, we may not realise that we are at risk of adopting new technologies that are having a harmful effect; for example, it can affect the curriculum design and it can have implication regarding our conduct and ethics. We should also consider whether it is more of a distraction is it isolating, is it accessible, is it affecting the development of students’ skills like problem solving, etc. We also have to reflect on the impact of high use of digital technology and assess the environmental footprint on our planet, considering it is already in a crisis. I thought this activity would be very helpful as it raises many important questions about the use of new technology. I have been able to reflect on the advantages of employing new technologies in the teaching practice. I have also been able to analyze the points that we need to consider before adopting new technologies in the educational institutions and the classroom. This task helped me to analyse my own practice and consider what type of approach I will have concerning the adoption of new technology.

Learning Activity (Prompt 1): What is happening with open learning?

In the session on the Open Education Resource (OER) movement with David Wiley several key information was shared. Wiley talked about the fact that the aim is to keep OERs free of cost, which helps learners; for example if they are coming from a low-income background, it can help them to progress in their studies. He also talked about the difference between GPT 4 (base model) which is more of a one shot interaction as opposed to Chat GPT, which has been fine-tuned; the search can be more tailored to the needs of the user; depending on the request that the user makes, the results could be more specific to their needs. He talked about the primary benefit of using OER; you have the possibility to engage in continuous improvement, cycle after cycle based on the data that students and faculties generate in the course of the journey. He also referred to OER as the emergent form; it helps to learn new things and deepen curiosity and awareness.  

 OER-enabled Education is the teaching and learning practices that are done in the context of the 5R permissions that are characteristic of OER.  The 5R permissions (i.e. retain, reuse, revise, remix, and redistribute) associated with OER offer new and stimulating way to promote student-centred instructional design.

Open pedagogy refers to a set of new teaching approaches and practices; it is possible following the use of OER in the classroom.

Open pedagogy encourages the adoptions of new types of assignments that prompt and empower students to make a meaningful contribution to public discussion and knowledge outside of the class. For example, students can collaboratively develop their course syllabus; becoming co-creators of knowledge.

 Two interesting points for discussion would be:

-While OER’s may be free or low cost, how helpful is it if some students face barriers to accessing OER’s due to the digital divide?

– Does OER have a positive impact on students’ learning or is it harming students’ learning?

I chose this activity, as I wanted to find out more about OER and open pedagogy and to reflect on how I can implement this in my teaching practice. I have learnt about the possibilities that OER can offer as well as the limitations. I am also aware of some of the barriers to adoption of OER by educational institutions.

Learning Activity: Privacy in Education

I believe that students should be able to choose how much information they want to share. For example, when using a learning tool, if by default the information will be displayed publicly, students should be given the opportunity to opt out from displaying their work online. In addition, they should be given the option to use pseudonym instead of their real names. Institutions and instructors can challenge student privacy if law enforces them to do so.

Student privacy policy at UVIC

It was quite simple to find the policy on student privacy. I googled ‘UVIC student privacy policy’. No login was required as the information was accessible to public. The language of the policy was not complicated and there was a link to FIPPA (Freedom of Information and Protection of Privacy Act) where you can read more on the act.

I had a vague idea that institution can challenge student privacy if required by law but I did not know much detail about it. The information on the UVIC website is more explicit and it provides examples of some situation when they can disclose students’ information. For example, as authorized by FIPPA, information should be disclose if it is in the public interest. This may occur when there are compelling circumstances about the imminent health and safety of the student or others at the university. This includes emergencies, extreme emotional distress, injury, interpersonal conflicts and other circumstances of this nature.

I chose this activity, as I wanted to find out more about how privacy works in some educational institutions. It is an opportunity for me to increase my awareness about the importance of my learners’ privacy in my practice. Now, I have a better understanding of the circumstances under which institutions can disclose students’ information.

Module 2 Learning Activity: Mapping your Learning Network

This is my network map during a week. The relationship with all individuals are professional. All my courses are online, hence; my interactions are digital only. I have recorded the frequency that each activity occur on the sheet itself; for example x4 = this activity occurs four times. I have also specified if the connection is one way or two way.

My observations and reflections of my network map:

-Every course has some use of technology, especially because these are online courses. I have discovered many new learning environment and tools such as Mattermost, Discord, Padlet in these courses. At the beginning, they seemed quite tricky to use but with the help of my peers, I have been able to use those successfully.

-I was quite surprised to see how varied the networking of the courses were from one another. Some courses were more connected than others; requiring two way connection.

– One of the things that is in common is that in every single course I have to interact with my peers, either to have discussions or complete group projects. I really enjoy this part, especially because the courses are online. Often in online courses, you tend to feel isolated but luckily, this is not the case with these courses.  I like learning with peers as we connect with classmates, collaborate and work collectively.

– The courses are asynchronous but some of the group work we have to complete synchronously.

I chose this activity as it helps me analyse the way the courses I am taking run, how often we are connected with teachers and peers and what are the different ways in which we are connected. This task helped me to analyse my own practice and consider the changes I would consider making so that my learners can have a variety of ways in which they can interact with their peers and me.

In chapter 16, Twitter and Social media, Weller talks about the benefits and the challenges of using Twitter and Social Media. Twitter is great for creating global connections and discussions but you can also be subject to toxic behaviours from trolls. He also talks about how social media can be of valuable significance when individuals receive helpful suggestions from other people in the same fields. On the other hand, it can be a threat as some users may be subject to online abuse. Weller also mentions how educational institutions can benefit from social media. For example, it can be a great marketing tool and it also increases student’s engagement in teaching and learning as it “ helps blur boundaries between study and other aspects of life and provides an element that can be fitted in-between other activities in a way that more concentrated study activities cannot” (Weller, 2009).

Social media has great benefits on networked learning as it helps learners to enhance their PLN (Personal Learning Network), they can also access and share scholarly materials, helping one another to broaden their knowledge. However, learners have to check for reliability of information by checking the sources and be wary of fake news and misinformation. Users of social media should also be aware of the fact that although they plan to post certain information for an intended audience, the information might be made available to new audiences and they could be pestered by “trolls searching for terms to harass people” (Weller).

I chose this activity, as I wanted to find out more about Ed Tech and the impact that it has on learning. It aligns well with my learning goals as I wanted to learn more about the various forms of distributed and open learning and in this case about Twitter and social media. I have learnt about the advantages of using social media in learning but also the dangers that it can entail.