BLOG #5

We as teachers need to put more effort into our lessons, we need to be more creative. We also always need to have our learners in mind, we need to start thinking like them, what would get their interest right away. I really like the way the teacher went about a practical manner to get her point across to her class. The way she let them draw their own conclusion about a peaceful class. As a teacher we could use this idea the next time we see that the learners are not grasping a certain concept, and ask them how they would approach the problem and then take it from there. Another way to involve your learners in class is perhaps to have them give an input in the class rules and what they would like out of you as a teacher, this way you can ensure that the will obey the rules as they came up with it as well.  

It is our duty as teacher to start making learning fun for our learners. And in today’s time we have a lot of resources at our disposal to achieve this. One way is to start incorporating technology in our class rooms. We also need to teach learners to be independent and to think on their own, we only need to act as facilitators to steer them in the right direction. In doing this we need to be friendly and approachable, we need to provide a safe learning environment, we also need to remember that they are learners and this means that they will always need to be motivated. We need to make the learners feel that they are important by remembering small things that are important to them like birthdays. We also have to treat their opinions with respect, because if they feel that they are respected the will return that respect back to you as a teacher and their fellow pupils.

Digital pedagogy continues

Critical Pedagogy is limited by the standards of education yet it can not exits without these standards. Educational standards need to be used as the foundation on which critical pedagogy is build and not just seen as a limitation. Paulo Freire writes that “ education must begin with the solution of the teacher-student contradiction”.I think this means that teachers can learn from their students, especially when it come to the digital stuff, and that the student can no longer be seen as an empty vessel that needs to be filled, but rather a new way to look at things. Students always see things in different ways than their teachers and we as teacher are under this incorrect impression that we know everything. Yet we can learn a lot from our students. 

The standards that is give to the teacher as guideline can be seen as ‘n puppet leader that the controls what knowledge the teacher can dispose to the learner, this mean that the teacher is unable to dispose knowledge that they feel might be essential to the learner for growth. Knowledge should be seen as a process to engage.

 

I think peoples fear of the unknown is what is holding digital pedagogy behind, they are afraid to see all the obstacles that digital pedagogy can over come in the education system. It is our job as teachers to strive for an inclusion of digital pedagogy. Digital pedagogy needs to be seen as a “dynamic process to learn through” and not just a device that assist with learning.                        

I like the idea of student-directed learning because the is so much more that we technology can teach us and i think that student is the best way to unlock these possibilities. Students are always looking to better thing and are always looking for new and easy ways to do stuff and with the help of digital tools they can achieve this. Its our duty as digital pedagogues to change the educational standards so that they are more open to the world of technology.

 

We need to strive for a world where educational standard and digital pedagogy can go hand in had.

 

Social media and the classroom

Social media has taken the world by storm and as much as we would hate to admit it, but Social media has pulled us all in, in some way or the other and there is no shame in that, it just mean you chose to move with the times. So why would you want to keep your classrooms in social media darkness???

I mean that learners are already familiar with all the different platforms of social media out there, but we as teacher can help show them a more positive or productive way to use it, instead of just uploading selfies whole day.

I am going to go a step further and say it is our duty as 21^st Century teacher to makes use of the tools that social media is providing, to enhance the education of our learners even further. I mean just think how easier our lives as learners would have been if there was a way to communicate with your teacher outside of the classroom. Example using twitter as a way to see if the children understood a certain subject that dealt with in class and, then also being able to communicate with classmates regarding what they understood or not. I also like the remind app that was mentioned, it would have come in really handy when I was in school, to be able to get a reminder from your teacher about homework or if you need to bring something to school the next day, sounds awesome.

Thus I don’t think there is a way anymore that you can think of social media and the classroom as two separate entities. We need to start thinking of them as connected, in all subject fields. I also feel with the use of social media in the classroom we can bridge the gap between student and teacher, thus making learning more easily. I am not saying that we should throw out all the old ways of teaching, but we need to learn to move with the times.  And yes there are various factors to consider when bringing social media into your classroom, but those is just small obstacles, to overcome and I think that you and your learners will be able to overcome them together, because you will be teaching a language that they understand and want to be part of.

This just means that we as teacher are going to have to more creative with our lessons. And who know we might also learn a thing or two from our learners.

So my vote is, yes to social media in the classroom, just think of all the possibilities……

(Un)mapping the terrain

 

Many people still think of digital pedagogy as the use of electronics in the classroom, but this is in actual fact not the true. The word Digital in digital pedagogy actually refers to any and all material and resources used in education to forward teaching. I like the definition for digital pedagogy by Croxall and Koh, which states that  “digital pedagogy is the use of electronic elements to enhance or to change the experience of education”. Digital pedagogy needs to be seen as the simplest way that can be made use of to influence teaching and learning. Digital pedagogy need to be seen as a way to enhance learning and not as an obstruction. It involves both the learner and the teacher and in sum cases the learner can represent the teacher.

Then there is the highly incorrect notion that some people think that online teaching and Digital pedagogy is the same thing, wrong!!!!
 When you consider online teaching than you think about a webcam and a teacher on the other side, or you just receive assessment online and interact with a teacher via email, Digital Pedagogy is much more than this, as I said previously, its is all resources that can be utilized, whether it is paper or electronics and or books, this is al ways of digital Pedagogy, because it can be used to enhance the learning experience, those resource that makes learning happen.

Another myth is that because I using electronics this makes me a digital pedagogue. This incorrect because just because you use fancy tools to get the attention of the learners, it does not mean that any learning is actually taking place. As Michael Morris put it “ Pedagogy concerns itself with the instantaneous, momentary, vital exchange that takes place on order for learning to happen”.  

I think that people need to be educated about what Digital pedagogy really entail in all its facets.

Digital Pedagogy unplugged

So I am sitting with two problems, this is my first time blogging so I am not sure if  I am doing this write and secondly I not sure what I just understood from the paper Digital Pedagogy Unplugged by Paul Fyfe that I just read.

So here is my thoughts on what I think I understood  from the paper (#confusedfordays)…???

I fully agree with the part about teaching naked and the term flip class. This year is my first encounter with the term flipped class room and I totally agree with the concept, why wasn’t I told about this earlier?? I mean this would have my life as an undergrad so much easier, I would have been a much better critical thinker by now. I would have meant an end to boring power point slides that seemed like it never stopped.

And I personally enjoy it much more when the lecturer still uses the old black board, and I also came to realise that I remember much better this ways and it was always funny to see the drawing of the lecturers compared to the fancy pictures that they put on the slide. So maybe Digital Pedagogy needs to be unplugged from time to time??

But don’t get me wrong I love technology as much as the next guy/girl, and think its wonderful how it has opened our world to so many possibilities, but all I am saying is to not forget that there where great ways of teaching before the invasion of technology.

Just think how awesome it would be to fuse, what was great before with what is great now.

So not sure if what I had to say, had anything to do with Digital pedagogy, but that’s what I had to say about that…….