After reading the topic 1 readings, the pieces that stood out to me, the most was the article about digital pedagogy and the paper about edtech.

I really enjoyed the article because it was enticing and to the point. I think the point about students getting lost in their work and topics was really eye-opening since I had never heard a teacher’s perspective on this. I think this concept of getting lost in learning is often overlooked by students and teachers since the focus is usually on how to extort research/information from a topic in order to get the highest grade. Learning shouldn’t just be about getting a paper done or an assignment completed, it should be about sparking interest in people. After reading this article I would really like to see how this type of thinking could be integrated into more digital learning and how teachers can foster this “getting lost” concept in their students.

The other reading I found really interesting was the paper about edtech. I appreciated gaining a different perspective about technology being used in the classroom, especially as young as K-12. One concept that I am on the fence about is the personalization of technology to cater to students’ learning styles. Even at the beginning of this course, for our introductions, we were asked about who we are as a learner. There has been a variety of responses to this question which goes to show that people learn in different ways. I think it could be really valuable to customize learning for students to try and optimize their experience and knowledge, but I also do see the pitfalls of making this experience a reality. The privacy of students in K-12 should be respected and not taken advantage of. The article discusses how personal information about students’ behaviour, discipline records, and other private information was all kept in a giant database. If gathering such private information about young students is required to customize a learning experience where do we draw the line between needed information versus wanted information? It’s this intrusion of privacy that keeps me on the fence about whether or not personalized learning experiences are a good idea in today’s society. I do hope that eventually there is a way to achieve a better learning experience for everyone that doesn’t come at a high cost of privacy.

Overall, I really enjoyed the perspectives offered in all three readings. These perspectives help show me the different sides of thinking and opinions others have about topics in education and technology.

References

Regan, P.M., Jesse, J. Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: twenty-first century student sorting and tracking. Ethics Inf Technol 21, 167–179 (2019). https://doi-org.ezproxy.library.uvic.ca/10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2

Stommel, J. (2018, September 12). Learning is Not a Mechanism. Retrieved July 7, 2020, from https://criticaldigitalpedagogy.pressbooks.com/chapter/learning-is-not-a-mechanism/

Vaughan, N. D., Cleveland-Innes, M., & Garrison, D. R. (2013). Teaching in blended learning environments: Creating and sustaining communities of inquiry. Edmonton: AU Press.