Joseph's Blog

Part 1: Evidence and Reflection

This portfolio will be structured by activity.

Topic 1 post: https://joseph.opened.ca/topic-1-discussion-post-edtech-challenges/

During the course, I completed the Topic 1 blog post where I explored privacy and human-centered learning. The focus of my blog post was the paper by Regan and Jesse which looked into some of the ethical challenges of Ed tech. I briefly summarized the article by describing the proposition made by the authors in the paper and briefly going over some of the points they made to substantiate their assertion. I then reflected on the paper and began to question the proposition made by the authors and the assumptions they made based on my own personal experiences with apps and privacy. I then proposed a potential solution that could remedy the concerns I raised, which involved having a committee of stakeholders to assess the platform instead of relying on third-party software alone. From this activity, I gained an appreciation for how nuanced and complex of a topic Ed tech really is, and that simply looking through a privacy lens when evaluating platforms is a gross oversimplification. This learning contributed to my development of learning outcomes #2 and #3, because I engaged with current literature on distributed education and reflected on and articulated concepts around modality, access, privacy laws etc. This learning matters to me because even though I’m not going into teaching, it gave me a great appreciation for how complicated it can be to evaluate apps and platforms, and how easy it is to overlook some of their potentially insidious effects.

Topic 2 post : https://joseph.opened.ca/edci-339-topic-2-discussion-post-edtech-history/

I completed the Topic 2 blog post where I had to chance to learn about the history of distributed and open learning through Martin Weller’s book on the history of Ed tech. In this reading, the author challenges the widespread notion that education is outdated and incapable of adopting new technologies, and supports this assertion through the rest of the book by listing examples and discussing them in great depth. This was a very enlightening read that challenged some of my own assumptions about Ed tech. One counterpoint that I raised was that even though technology has been adopted in education, at least more so than it’s been credited for, outcomes in education have not had the kind of transformational effect that technology has had in many other fields. Through this reading activity, I learned about the rich history of Ed tech and how education has embraced technology a lot more than I realized. By having to reflect on online and open learning history and reflect upon emerging and future educational technologies, this learning contributed to my development of learning outcomes #3 and #5. This learning matters to me because understanding the history of Ed tech has given me an appreciation for the field and the tools to be able to potentially contribute to the field one day, given that I’m a Computer Science major.

Topic 3 post: https://joseph.opened.ca/edci-339-topic-2-discussion-post-equity-and-access/

I completed the Topic 3 blog post where I had a chance to learn about some of the challenges to access and equity in education as a result of Ed tech. The reading on digital redlining by Gilliard and Culik was very eye-opening for me. It illustrated how something seemingly harmless and behind the scenes such as internet filters on college campuses can be so insidious. But the reading was very US-centric. I’ve had the chance to attend both university and colleges here in Canada before transferring to UVic. So my reflection consisted of a comparison between my own anecdotal experience of digital access in colleges and universities here to whether digital redlining is prevalent in Canada as much as it is in the US. Based on my personal experiences, I came to the conclusion that it wasn’t but proposed that this is definitely a topic worthy of serious investigation. From this activity, I learned and truly gained an appreciation for digital access and equity, and just how much of a big impact it can have on society, and when gone wrong, how dangerous it is in its potential to exacerbate social inequalities. This learning contributed to my development of learning outcomes #2 and #4 because I explored and engaged with current literature on distributed and open education, and examined and reflected upon the potential for equitable access for all learners in online and open learning contexts. This learning matters to me because, in my future career as a software developer, I might be in a position to create the tools and influence how the rules are written when it comes to digital access, and I will now be much more cognizant of the far-reaching impact that my decisions can have.

Topic 4 post: https://joseph.opened.ca/edci-339-topic-4-discussion-post-sharing-resources-and-practicing-open/

I completed the Topic 4 blog post where I read the paper on Open Educational Resources (OER)-enabled pedagogy as a set of teaching and learning practices that are only possible or practical in the context of the 5R permissions that are characteristic of OER. The authors propose criteria to evaluate whether a form of teaching qualifies as OER-enabled pedagogy. The 5R activities are retain, reuse, revise, remix and redistribute. Having a clear and consistent definition and an associated set of guidelines like this to act as a qualifier will bring a lot of clarity and consistency to the subject of OER. In the post, I discussed some examples from my own educational experiences that pass the test for OER-pedagogy. I also discussed one of the research questions at the end of the paper that caught my attention. From doing all of this I learned what OER is and what OER-enabled pedagogy entails. This learning contributed to my development of learning outcomes #2, and #3 because I engaged with current literature on distributed and open education and reflected on and articulated concepts around pedagogy and others. This learning matters because it gave me a clear framework to evaluate what open learning is and isn’t, and that will help me make any educational resources that I make in the future much more accessible.

I also did the Pod project, where I did the pitch for my group:

This activity contributed to my development of learning outcome #4 because I was able to examine and reflect upon the potential for equitable access for the learner that was our persona, in online and open learning contexts. This learning matters to me because it allowed me to apply some of the principles I was exposed to through previous activities.

Part 2: “Showcase” blog post

Updated blog post: https://joseph.opened.ca/updated-edci-339-topic-2-discussion-post-edtech-history/

Original blog post: https://joseph.opened.ca/edci-339-topic-2-discussion-post-edtech-history/

After reflecting on this blog post, I felt that I spent too much time summarizing the work of the author. I still feel the same way with regards to my reflection and the points I raised, so I have not made any changes there. So to not over-emphasize the summary too much and to make it more balanced, I decided to cut out some of that excessive summary in the earlier half.

“25 Years of Ed Tech” by Martin Weller was a very intriguing read. The notion that the education system is fundamentally outdated and ripe for disruption is one that is widespread, particularly in the tech industry where I hope to begin my career. In this reading, Weller challenges this notion by claiming that there has already been a breadth of change and innovation that has been occurring under the radar in higher education over the past couple of decades. This book is Weller’s answer to address such concerns that he had about the field, to provide a truly comprehensive repository that documents the innovations that have occurred in Ed tech in the past couple of decades and to provide relevant and meaningful reflection on them. Being a Computer Science student, I personally found this to be very fascinating, as this resource also provides a glimpse into how technology itself has evolved over time and the rate at which it has been utilized in education, and how it compares relative to other fields that have adopted technology for better outcomes like e-commerce, healthcare and so on. I agree with much of what Weller has to say about the history of Ed tech. The education system has not been shy to embrace technology. But based on my personal experiences, I still believe that Ed tech still has not reached its potential in terms of its impact. For example, the advent of streaming services such as Netflix has made physical media such as DVD’s completely obsolete, allowing consumers to watch an endless amount of content for a flat monthly subscription fee. I’m not aware of any instances in Ed tech where technology has fundamentally transformed education to the point of producing vastly improved outcomes than before, bringing about big irreversible changes. Any improvements that have been made with Ed tech seems to be more or less marginal. Although, that is not to say that it’s not possible for this to occur in the years to come. 

Link to post: https://emilytrelford.opened.ca/topic-4-discussion/

Hey Emily,

Thanks for another great post. I definitely agree with you on the merits of the 5R test. It provides a very useful framework for OER. It’s wonderful to see that you’re planning on being a teacher, and this knowledge will definitely help you in your career. Now more than ever, it’s important for teachers to be more informed and sophisticated as educators to better help prepare students for where the world is headed with the pervasiveness of technology in more of their lives.

Thanks,

Joseph

Link to post: https://lifeasmatayo.opened.ca/topic-4-post/

Hey Matt,

Thanks for this insightful post. I’m also in Computer Science myself, and it never occurred to me that the coding assignments we do could be considered as OER. You raise some very valid points regarding this, especially when it comes to Github. This definitely gave me something to think about. I also agree with your answer at the end to the question posed by the paper, that students making their work public produces better outcomes. I echo this sentiment because when I have to make my work public, I feel more pressure to do a good job! This makes me put more effort into the project, which ultimately makes it more rewarding for me in the end.

Thanks,
Joseph

Link to post: https://emilytrelford.opened.ca/topic-3-discussion/

Hey Emily,

This was another great post. I was also surprised to learn about the importance of access and how easy it is for us to take it for granted. You mentioned a very important point about the prohibitively high cost of textbooks, which I’m sure nearly every university student has encountered at some point throughout their academic journey. I have seen certain professors write their own textbooks and make them freely available, and this is definitely an encouraging trend. Hopefully, this becomes more widespread over time.

Thanks,

Joseph

Link to post: https://lifeasmatayo.opened.ca/topic-post-3/

Hey Matt,

This was another great post. This was a topic that I also found to be enjoyable and enlightening, to my surprise. It was fascinating to see how access is something we take for granted, and the profound impact that it can have when students are restricted from having equal access, and how that can eventually deny students from accessing opportunities which ultimately exacerbates the socioeconomic inequalities that we see in our society.

Thanks,

Joseph

Link to post: https://emilytrelford.opened.ca/topic-2-discussion/

Hey Emily,

I was also a bit surprised to learn about how long open educational resources have been around. And I would definitely suggest that you try out some MOOC’s if you can make the time. Due to the lack of deadlines and academic pressure, I’ve heard that 90% of people don’t actually complete the MOOC’s that they started taking. So I should warn you that they take serious commitment if you want to finish them and have a truly rewarding experience. But this pandemic surely has blurred a lot of these lines between MOOC’s and traditional learning for sure.

Thanks,

Joseph

Link to post: https://lifeasmatayo.opened.ca/topic-2-post/

Hey Matt,

I also found it surprising that Ed tech happens to have a very rich history that dates back decades. Really challenges the widespread notion that education is incapable of embracing change and adopting new technologies. You’re definitely right about social media being useful for education. I’ve been able to learn this firsthand, by using various apps like Slack and even Mattermost and our WordPress blogs in this class to see how social media can be an effective tool for academic collaboration.

Thanks,

Joseph

Link to Emily’s post: https://emilytrelford.opened.ca/topic-1-discussion/

Hi Emily,

This was a great post. I must admit that in the past, I’ve also been slightly aloof with regards to my privacy settings sometimes. But have since learned better. This is an especially pertinent topic, especially when it comes to your social media usage, or even lack thereof. In fact, social media companies have a profile of your personal information even if you do not have an account with them and directly use their product! They’re still able to gather information about you through your internet usage, which I personally found to be pretty haunting. So it’s all the more reason to be cautious about your privacy when you do use those sites. And I definitely echo your point about education needing to keep pace with modern changes in technology.

Thanks,

Joseph

Link to Matt’s post: https://lifeasmatayo.opened.ca/topic-1-discussion/

Hey Matt,

This was a great post. You share some valuable insights regarding privacy in Ed tech. There is definitely a trade-off between needing to collect personal information to create a more tailored experience and limiting data collection to respect user privacy. In the real world, we see this balance gone wrong with all of the social media apps that we use, since the business model of these companies incentivizes them to harvest as much data as possible to benefit their bottom line. So in Ed tech, it is crucial that the incentives are set up in a way that tries to maintain a fair balance in this regard. And I agree with your tip on the password manager, been using one myself for years, and I can’t live without it now.

Thanks,

Joseph