Week 7 Communication and Collaboration Reflection

Course Reading:

Rothwell, D. (2017). Social Media in K-12 Schools. BOLT Multi-authored Blog. [Weblog]. Retrieved from http://bolt.athabascau.ca/index.php/2017/09/01/social-media-in-k-12-schools/

• should school policies be framed in safety (to monitor and block student access to new technologies) or should policies be framed in media literacy (to integrate and teach students how to utilize new technologies within the classroom)?
• the use of social network sites have been cited as having potential to support collaborative knowledge construction, timely access to information, academic help – seeking, development of communication competencies, and blurring the lines between learning, social, and leisure spaces
• research uncovered five common themes in the studies of SNS integration in K-12 classrooms:
  • students informal learning outside of school
    • spaces to organize group activities , seek social support, and validate created work
    • platform of self-expression
    • can be easily distracting to students (research encourage use of ‘technology breaks’ to improve focus and stamina)
  • students formal learning in schools and classrooms
    • students are keen to use the social networking platforms to connect , interact, and develop new literacy competencies
    • teachers need more help recognizing how to utilize SNS as a learning and teaching tool
  • connections between in-and out-of-school learning
    • “the more time students spent informally with social network sites and similar technology, the more they craved the use of those tools in their learning environment – especially for visualizing difficult material”
    • students feel that current use is limited and mainly used for assignment submission and grade management
  • pre-service teachers perceptions and practices
    • although they are often willing to try new things, they lacked experience and expertise in integrating these technologies into learning
    • intend to use SNS to increase student-to-teacher and student-to -student interactions, foster collaboration, and share content knowledge – HOWEVER – there is a need for teacher education programs to simulate these experiences for these beginning teachers to improve their effectiveness at employing these technologies
  • in-service teachers perceptions and practices
    • teachers’ positive shifts in their teaching practices by gradually ceding control over the use of technology to students, and the positive impact of this on students ICT skills and science learning
• studies showed that SNS MAY enhance motivation, higher-order thinking and digital literacy development – HOWEVER – it lacked a review of studies that monitored the social impact of SNS
• nothing to show best practices
• people looking for evidence based data to support the use of technology in education

Couros, A., & Hildebrandt, K. (2016). Designing for open and social learning. In G. Veletsianos (Ed.), Emergence and innovation in digital learning: Foundations and applications. Edmonton, Canada: AU Press. Retrieved from: http://www.aupress.ca/index.php/books/120258

• theoretical foundations
  • the open movement
  • complementary learning theories (social cognitive theory, social constructivism, and adult learning theory)
  • connectivism
• concept of ‘open teaching’
  • the facilitation of learning experiences that are open, transparent, collaborative, and social
• important to develop a PLN and promote the continued development within your context

Expansion of Couros’ research is the Open Learning Continuum

My Experiences:

My experience as a teacher using digital tools to support communication and collaboration is limited as I have been primarily teaching grade 2/3 these past 5 years. There are very few digital tools that have been approved by my district for use and are easily accessible for the age group of my students.

However, as classroom education evolves during the time of this pandemic – we are looking at exploring some different options. Right now I am using FreshGrade as my primary communication platform. It is a great way to communicate information out to families and engage with students online, however, there is no way for students to engage with each other.

One of the platforms that one of our grade one teachers is using right now is Padlet as a way for kids to share ideas and photos of what they are doing throughout the week.

As school administrators we are using Twitter and Instagram to connect and share information with families. We seem to have increased our following by quite a bit over the last few weeks!

I have really enjoyed my experience in this M.Ed Technology cohort as it has exposed me to this firsthand – in the world of post secondary education. I have not been able to connect with any of my classmates face to face as I live in Vancouver, however, there have been many opportunities provided inside and outside of our learning environment to connect and collaborate.

We have:

• a class website
• we each have a blog and our feeds are aggregated on our class website
• used BlueJeans and Zoom to connect with each other virtually each week to discuss course readings (led by the course instructor)
• have been able to have small group conversations using BlueJeans and Zoom (monitored by the course instructor)
• Whatsapp group (which didn’t have everyone included on it – so it is not being used as much anymore)
• Slack channels for coursework, random, and a locked student chat
• Twitter hashtag to follow (#TIEgrad) discussions and thoughtful posts related to our learning

My Perspective:

What are some examples of digital tools that support communication and collaboration?

• Google Classroom
• Google Meet
• Zoom
• Padlet
• Blogs
• Social Media (Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, Snapchat, TikTok, etc.)

How can digital tools expand learning beyond classroom walls?

• helps to develop class community (sharing and hearing from others)
• allows students to communicate and connect with classmates (brainstorm, ideate, etc.) that are not in the same place
• allows students to develop different forms of digital literacies
• allows students to make connections to things they are seeing outside of the classroom – news, current events, etc.
• an opportunity to share their thoughts (especially if they are socially isolated)

How does your project promote communication and collaboration between students in your class and with others outside your learning context?

• students share their poem with others digitally (Google Classroom, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc.) for review and feedback