Topic #1: How can teachers effectively build relationships by encouraging safe communication and interactions in K-12 online & open learning spaces? What did you already know, what do you know now based on the course readings and activities, what do you hope to learn?
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As a new educator with minimal experience, the thought of facilitating safe online interactions is overwhelming. COVID-19 forced teachers to rapidly move their classroom online, which presented a new learning curve for many of them. Educators are taught to be flexible and ready to pivot when providing instruction to students with varying needs. It is imperative that teachers understand and actively promote healthy online interactions with the increase of online learning in 2020.
Retrieved from Youtube: "How to Make Connections With Your Students" by Mr. Cook's Corner
I believe that blogging is one of the most beneficial online tools. This communication method easily promotes online interactions, through individual, paired, or team posts and feedback. An effective method to facilitate this learning technique is to have one blog forum where students respond to posted topics. To ensure successful interactions, the teacher needs to follow online safety regulations and FIPPA. The class will need to use a certified safe platform for education purposes, and students will need to demonstrate kind interactions with one another and provide positive constructive criticism. If there are students that struggle with positive interactions, the teacher can turn on privacy restrictions to allow approval for any posts before they are public. The teacher can further model appropriate interactions, provide resources, and have individual conversations with students. Online communication platforms, including blog platforms allow for feedback, frequent communication with students, and progress tracking. Communication is vital with e-learning because "the distance learner may be suffering from a sense of isolation as [they] [make] a return to study after a gap of time or while working. It is there that the distance educator makes a positive, ethical and interventionist role by helping the student to learn beyond the stereotypical classroom situation and can act effectively as the friend, philosopher and guide of the learner" (Demiray and Sharma, 2009, p. 1).
Sketchnote Created by Sylvia Duckworth
Virtual learning encourages the use of applications that enhance relationship building. Communication is a major component of relationships, the ability to communicate frequently and
in real-time is key with online learning. Google applications, such as Google Docs, Google Slides, and Google Classroom allow for students and teachers to collaborate on assignments, add comments, feedback, and communicate through safe platforms. Kral and Schwab (2020) identify eight design principles, which encourage student voice and ownership over their learning; online applications can be used to enhance these principles.
Retrieved from: eChalk.com
“The 8 Design Principles” Retrieved from: http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p197731/pdf/ch041.pdf
I want to learn about various safety regulations, and I am eager to become familiar with new applications, such as Slack and PLN’s. Slack is a communication tool that encourages collaboration, content sharing, and healthy online interactions. Understanding healthy online interactions is also beneficial outside of the classroom. Social Media is a prevalent part of student culture. These platforms present many pros, "social media, especially social networking, holds much promise for creating a space where emotional engagement between the instructor and students can be facilitated beyond the virtual classroom" (Bender and Dickenson, 2016, p. 84). However, the downfalls allow these applications to be easily misused. It is pivotal to teach students about privacy settings, what information is permanently stored on servers, and how to respectfully interact online. This reveals the importance of proper scaffolding of PLN’s.
Retrieved from: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1p8zUN01hPa9zJwfBwCtXs3du8-JYB2hDIEdO1UWa6D8/edit#slide=id.g35f391192_00
Retrieved from: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1p8zUN01hPa9zJwfBwCtXs3du8-JYB2hDIEdO1UWa6D8/edit#slide=id.g35f391192_00
The importance of collaboration is reaffirmed in Dikkers’ statement "construction of knowledge is social, with individuals who learn from reflecting on their own thoughts and experiences and sharing them with others" (Dikkers, 2017, p. 509). Collaboration is vital to understanding various perspectives, different experiences, and developing a deeper meaning. Dikkers (2017), describes three types of online interactions: learner-content, learner-instructor, and learner-learner. These interactions are crucial during both in-person instruction and online learning. This trio further illustrates the need to use online platforms that allow for real-time communication, multi-person access, and the ability to share resources, embed videos, and images. Dikkers, reveals the need for collaborative activities to be an interaction that is "purposeful, meaningful, and explained to students" (Dikkers, 2017, p. 516), this will allow for meaningful and relevant understanding of knowledge, engagement in content, and positive interactions.
Regan and Jesse, raise an awareness to the ethical concerns of various educational applications, including "personalized learning" tools. The authors reveal six ethical concerns: information privacy, anonymity, surveillance, autonomy, non-discrimination, and ownership of information. They stress the importance of not oversimplifying and paint brushing them all as "privacy" concerns. Instead, they encourage opening up the discussion, evaluating all educational applications and the concerns they present.
It is vital to evaluate online platforms with a critical lens and be aware of any privacy, information storage, and user interaction concerns. I am keen to familiarize myself with British Columbia’s guidelines, as well as specific school district policies.
Retrieved from: Greater Victoria School District
References:
Bender, S., & Dickenson, P. (2016). Utilizing Social Media to Engage Students in Online Learning: Building Relationships Outside of the Learning Management System. In Dickenson, P., & Jaurez, J. J. (Ed.), Increasing Productivity and Efficiency in Online Teaching (pp. 84-105). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-5225-0347-7.ch005
Demiray, U., & Sharma, R. C. (2009). Ethical Practices and Implications in Distance Education: An Introduction. In Demiray, U., & Sharma, R. (Ed.), Ethical Practices and Implications in Distance Learning (pp. 1-9). IGI Global. http://doi:10.4018/978-1-59904-867-3.ch001
Garrett Dickers, A. (2018) Social Interaction in K-12 Online Learning. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 509-522). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.
Kral, I. & Schwab, R.G. (2012). Chapter 4: Design Principles for Indigenous Learning Spaces. Safe Learning Spaces. Youth, Literacy and New Media in Remote Indigenous Australia. ANU Press. http://doi.org/10.22459/LS.08.2012 Retrieved from: http://press-files.anu.edu.au/downloads/press/p197731/pdf/ch041.pdf
Regan, P., & Jesse, J. (2019). Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: Twenty-first-century student sorting and tracking. Ethics and Information Technology, 21(3), 167-179. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2
Roberts, V. (2020). Topic 2: History and Context of Distributed and Open Learning. [Google Slides]. Retrieved from: https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1p8zUN01hPa9zJwfBwCtXs3du8-JYB2hDIEdO1UWa6D8/edit#slide=id.g35f391192_00