Month: June 2020

ETL523 -Critical Reflection – Part B

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The concept of Digital Citizenship is one I have interest in. I was intrigued what it meant to be a “Digital Citizen” and most importantly how do you become one?  A digital citizen is defined as using appropriate and responsible behaviour in relation to technology within an online environment and presents many challenges not evident offline (Bearden, 2016, p. 2). A digital citizen has a moral and ethical responsibility to act responsibly regarding technology to promote inclusivity and equity for all participants of a digital community.world globe

When engaging as a digital citizen within a professional context, it is important to curate a strong digital identity. Digital identity extends beyond a profile image and includes online interactions, comments, posts and communication should be of a high standard and portray the image and identity that shapes your professional identity. It is largely known, recruitment agencies conduct  Google searches on candidates as part of a digital refencing process (Linder, 2018, p. 32). What you do online today will impact tomorrow, therefore, it is imperative the digital footprint you leave behind is positive, informative and demonstrates a responsible digital citizen.

In preparing the environmental scan for a school environment in subject ETL523 the emphasis of the report was a focus on creating a Digital Learning Environments (DLE) to deliver online learning. Due to COVID-19 my current teaching environment swiftly moved from face-to-face delivery to online learning. As a result, I was interested in exploring the viability of continuing online delivery post-COVID-19 and reviewing new opportunities available for teaching and learning within a digital environment.

The environmental scan highlighted the challenges of institutional culture as a major barrier to the adoption of digital literacy and the introduction of technology into the learning environment. Many educators will resist change if they do not see a need or value in the adoption of new initiatives or technology and as a result, hold onto outdated and didactic teaching practices (Reynolds, 2017, p. 46). As a strategy to shift traditional cultural values the environmental scan recommended the establishment of a Community of Practice (COP) to provide a support network for collaboration and sharing of ideas in the creation of new knowledge networks.

A COP within a digital context is likely to be established through social media platforms, for example, Facebook, Instagram and Twitter to build online networks to promote innovative thinking, sharing and curating of content and development of digital citizenship participatory skills (Yarris et al., 2019, p. 2).  In the development of the environmental scan to achieve educational objectives the recommendation is to establish a COP, titled “Digital Leadership Team”. This will provide academic support to aid the transition from face-to-face delivery to online. The structure of the COP requires a framework of academic leadership supported by the college infrastructure of Library Services, E-Learning and Information Technology departments. It is imperative a wide network of expertise work together to provide knowledge and technical support as students and staff navigated a new world of online learning and delivery. Strong support networks are likely to improve user experience and a willingness to implement new strategies.

Social Constructivist theorist, Vygotsky holds the view learning is a social practice and through actively engaging in peer learning and social activities a higher level of critical thinking is achieved with new perspectives and opinions that may not have been previously conceived (Pillay, 2019, p. 29). The act of social learning is achievable through the adoption of a COP to promote positive digital citizenship that now extends beyond a local network of colleagues to reach a global network to create world innovators and global digital citizens.

In summary, actively engaging in unit ETL523 I now have a higher level of understanding on the social and ethical issues surrounding digital citizenship. Through active participation in discussion forums, Twitter posts and Facebook this has now become my “new normal” as a form of communication and lifelong learning for continual growth as I navigate a changing world.

Bearden, S. (2016). Digital Citizenship: A Community-Based Approach. Corwin.

Linder, K. E. (2018). Managing your professional identity online : A guide for faculty, staff, and administrators. Retrieved from https://ebookcentral.proquest.com

Pillay, P. (2019). Teaching and learning theories in higher education and its impacts on Africa’s development: A personal reflection. Journal of Gender, Information and Development in Africa (JGIDA), 8, 27-27–43. Retrieved from https://ezproxy.csu.edu.au/login?url=https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/2328296149?accountid=10344

Reynolds, M. (2017). A digital divide from faculty’s perspective: The millennial BSN student meets the baby boomer nursing faculty (Order No. 10635819). Available from ProQuest Dissertations & Theses Global. https://search-proquest-com.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/docview/1986249827?accountid=10344

Yarris, L, M,. Chan, T, M., Gottlieb, M, Juve, A, M,. (2019). Finding your people in a digital age. Virtual Communities of Practice to Promote Education Scholarship. Journal of medical education. Vol.11(1), pp.1-5. https://doi.org/10.4300/JGME-D-18-01093.1

INF530-Critical Reflection

leannecrawshaw on
Critical reflection

INF530 – Critical Reflection – Part B

“Provide a critical synthesis of your reflection on how your views, knowledge and understanding of the work of an education professional in digital environments has changed and/or developed.”

Web 2.0 is a driving force behind the development of creating Communities of Practice (COP’s), a term described by Jean Lave and Etienne Wenger as a system that enables a learner to create new knowledge, build relationships and share information. A COP assists the learner to reach a broader context outside an individual social network through connected learning (Hass et al., 2020, p. 1).

FirmBee / Pixabay

During my studies in unit INF530, ‘Concepts and Practices for a Digital Age’ I have benefitted from connected learning through participating in group discussion boards, Twitter, Zoom and Adobe Connect tutorials to create a COP. The ability to share information that is relevant to the subject matter is a brilliant academic resource to assist with information overload (IO).  IO is a current phenomenon as individuals have a limited amount of cognitive capacity to process and retain information, using multiple platforms at once, such as Facebook, Twitter, and other social demands diminish the capacity to retain information (Matthes et al., 2019, p. 2).  To mitigate IO, in this course I have adopted and appreciated the shared knowledge of my peers. Participating in social media platforms and discussion boards provides valuable and relevant content to the course and has assist in developing my professional knowledge and promoted inquiry-based learning.

An example of this occurred in a discussion thread in Module 5.1 Creativity and Education, my peer, Mr Wendell NeSmith is inherently interested in Gamification and as a result, I started to follow his posts, Twitter and Diigo links to gain a critical insight into his area of expertise.  The sharing of a TED talk on Twitter by Wendell “The Power of Gamification in Education” Scott Hebert opened my mind  to gamification as a pedagogy to enhance creativity to develop 21st Century skills. My interest in gamification via the Twitter post sparked an interest and I decided to research this further by writing a blog post Creative Technologies – Model 5.1 Reflect & Share.

Continuing the path of creativity, I discovered Katherine Attree’s Scholarly book review on Thinkspace extremely interesting and relevant to the current research I was delving deep into. Katherine’s Thinkspace blog discussed global connectedness and introduced  the works of Sir Ken Robinson highlighting a TED talk “Do schools kill creativity.” I commented on the post and shared a book written by Sir Ken Robinson on Twitter and Diigo as a result of Kath’s ThinkSpace blog, as shown in Image 1.

Twitter
Image 1 – Twitter – Sharing knowledge

I have found the participatory nature of digital learning an invaluable resource of creating and forming new knowledge to promote collaboration and critical thinking, all skills required for the 21st Century. On reflection, connected learning  has enabled me to research broadly and appreciated a variety of academic views and ideas. Previously, I have not experienced this level of peer learning and as a result, the information shared in INF530 has afforded a new perspective and a higher level of interest in diverse areas. Through active involvement and sharing of informaiton this is how the basis of my digital essay evolved as my knowledge expanded and shifted throught various discussion forums and Twitter posts. I firmly belive through active participation in a digital network of learning, I have moved outside of my academic comfort zone to explore learning theories I would not have previously conceived.

My knowledge in digital learning environments has evolved beyond the surface of “What are 21st Century skills” to “How can we teach 21st Century skills?” and further into “Can you teach 21st Century skills, especially creativity?” Research indicates creativity can be enhanced, however, not taught as it comes down to the old argument of “nature v’s nurture” (Chatzidaki et al., 2019).  My academic goal is to explore this topic further to research both sides of the creativity debate. Through participating in INF530 the more I read and research the more I realise how little I know. My journey as an educational professional in a digital world is just beginning and requires further development.

The last three years studying online at Charles Sturt University has provided an invaluable learning opportunity to assit in developing 21st Century digital skills. I was not aware I was developing the skills of critical thinking, creativity, communication and collaboration through studying online until I had to question what these skills are and how to teach them. I am grateful that as I transition my students from face-to-face delivery to online learning due to COVID-19, I have the expereince of being an online student to know how to actively engage as a digital citizen. Participating in a COP through digital technology and active involvement is the key to master new skills and knowledge, as quoted below:

References

Chatzidaki, N., & Kechagias, C. (2019). Can We Teach Creativity? Extending Socrates’s Criteria to Modern Education. The Journal of Aesthetic Education 53(4), 86-98. https://www.muse.jhu.edu/article/738240.

Hass, M., Haley, K., Nagappan, B., Ankel, F (2020). The connected educator: personal learning networks. The Clinical Teachers’ Toolbox.  17: 1-5 https://doi-org.ezproxy.csu.edu.au/10.1111/tct.13146

Matthes, J., Karsay, K., Schmuck, D., Stevic, A., (2019). Too much to handle impact of mobile social networking sites on information overload, depressive symptoms, and well-being. Computers in Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2019.106217