Unfinsished education

What should institutions consider before adopting new technologies?

I think the first thing the institution should consider before adopting new technologies is how it will affect the students, the professors, and the institution. Will the new technology steal data without the students and professor’s being aware. The institutions should also consider the privacy settings as well, I know in my previous learning activity in module 3 the ed-tech tool I was reviewing, did not collect any data on people younger than 13, and the data could only be accessed by their parents. I think that especially in institutions with minors, they should investigate the privacy policies to ensure that the data is secure. Additionally further investigating should be done with other institutions that either have adopted the new technology or have not adopted the new technology and what they like about the product or what they are concerned about.

After this process the new technologies should have adequate feedback from their students and their instructor’s before allowing all classes to use the new technology. Say for example you are introducing a new calculator, maybe you start by giving the professor’s and the teaching assistants, the calculator to use for a couple of weeks, and then see what their review of the product is. If the feedback is all mainly positive then the institution should implement it in a class, and then take feedback from the class after a couple of weeks. Once this has been done the technology can be implemented if the feedback received was ok.

After a year of the technology being adapted the university should conduct a review of professor’s and students review of the technology to ensure that it is suitable for all classes and all students. Additionally, the review should also collaborate with the institutions they contacted before adopting the product to see if they have had issues with the product or if their concerns are still present.

What should instructors consider before implementing new tools or approaches to teaching in their own practices?

I think that before implementing new tools or approaches instructors should at first feel comfortable and confident in the switch. For example, say they are switching their method of the course from being on Brightspace to being on a different website, they should be comfortable with how to alter the website, and feel more comfortable than the previous website. Additionally, The instructor when considering new tools or approaches should also consider if the switch is better for the students as well as the instructors, and if it is then they should definitely consider switching their own practices. Furthermore, I think it is important for the instructor to consider if the new changes or new tools they are using will be part of the constant changes in education settings, and it will be something that the students should learn how to use earlier on so that they can understand the new tools and approaches better. For example, during the pandemic I had a couple of instructors switch their platform from zoom and Brightspace to using Microsoft Teams for their announcements and meetings. I did not mind either of these platforms however I do like that I had some experience with Microsoft Teams because I know that it is what a lot of different business use as their main communication with other co-workers. Additionally, I have used it for a couple of my other classes, so by having familiarity with this new tool helped me understand how to use it better, as well as which scenarios Microsoft Teams is best used for.

What hidden motivations may impact the adoption of new technological tools? How could these motivations impact the future of education long term

I think a lot of hidden motivations that may impact the adoption of new technological tools is the cost of the technological tools, as an instructor you may not want to make the switch if you have to pay a fee to join something. Additionally, if the student’s having to pay it might deter the instructor from using this tool. For example, many of my instructors will use iclicker which is an app that you need to pay to use. I have had some instructors choose not to use this because of the fee, however I have had other instructors use it as well. From a student perspective I don’t mind paying for the device because I paid for a 9-month plan which covered both of my semesters and had two classes each semester who used iclicker. So, for me it was a no brainer to by this, however I could see students who only pay for the 9-month trial and then only use it for one class feel like it was a waste of money.  This could impact the future of education in the long term because it seems to be that a lot of education resources are costing money for both students and instructors. I think that this will slowly get rid of the less well-known companies and make the more successful companies more well known.  The long-term affect this would have on education would be that the technology companies would become a monopoly, of they are the only company they can control the prices they charge and make them much higher limiting people from receiving a proper education unless you have the money.

Another hidden motivation would be the awareness of the company who realised the new technological tool. For example, if I was an instructor, I would be more likely to use new tools put out by google or Microsoft teams or other well known technology companies, rather than choose to use a new company that I don’t know much information about. However, the downside is that this leads to a monopoly unless the less known technologies offer more than the well-known companies, and spread awareness about their products, then they will be weeded out and only the well known companies will be used.  This impacts the future of education in the long term in similar ways that were mentioned above. However, the future of education is also impacted because since you are only getting educational resources from one company, your education can slowly get more condensed in learning how to use specific tools instead of learning how to use a variety of different tools for different scenarios.

Reflection:

I choose this activity because as someone who wants to help educate others one day reflecting on how we should decide which tools we use to instruct others and what their impact is on both the instructor, the students, and the future of education is important. Additionally, I think that it is important for me to realize how many different technology tools I use and the different scenario’s I use these tools for, along with the companies that own these tools. This applied to one of my learning goals in that it helped me learn more about the future of education and how it is progressing through technology, through this learning activity, reflecting on which tools to use and how they might affect the future of education helps me learn more towards my learning goal. Through this learning activity I learned how much we don’t actually know about the technology tools that we use everyday, I realized that I have never looked into how my data or privacy is stored on Brightspace, or which company produces it. Additionally it has made me realize how many education tools are owned by only a couple companies, for example google and Microsoft for technology tools, and Pearson, and McGraw Hill for textbook companies, just to name a few.  This helped me realize how the future of education could slowly become only accessible to those who are willing to pay.  

1.Provide a short description of the MOOC – what was the topic? how was it organized? what interactions were available? how were you assessed?

The MOOC that I joined was on edX and was a course put out by the University of Queensland in Australia and is about The Psychology of Criminal Justice. The course is set up that you go through one episode a week until July 30^th, each episode has a quiz as a form of assessment, with paying peers having more assessments to determine their knowledge.  The quizzes available for everyone have you rate how confident you are in your answer to eliminate people from guessing. The quizzes are all automated, so you have instant feedback once the quiz has been submitted. The paying peers also have the ability to earn marks by completing activities along with participating in discussion topics.

2. How did this learning experience compare to ‘traditional’ courses? Consider any of the following factors:

The course seems relatively traditional with it being based both off of formative and summative grading. It is similar to the traditional class because you have access to your peers, and you are encouraged to engage with them about the topics being learned. You however do not have much connection with your instructors since you cannot direct message or email them. However, they are involved in the discussion chats but mainly just to monitor the content. This class is traditional as well in the way that you have some autonomy over the different activities you do, however it is very content specific and there is no possibility to do different types of assignments for grades. However, since the content is specific you end the class with other knowledge that you may not have learned before. Additionally, the way the assessments are designed, the instructors found that people reflect back that they learned more effectively

3. Do you think this MOOC would be considered an xMOOC or a cMOOC?

I think that this would be considered a xMOOC because the class is more content specific, and the content does define the course. As well it is still based off of a traditional classroom with the only difference is that it is online with many people instead of in person with only a select view. Additionally, the interaction in this class is very similar to a xMOOC with the only form of peer connection is through a discussion, and through feedback. Furthermore, the assessment method is the same as xMOOC as it is all automated graded, providing you with instant feedback on your assessment.

4. Based on your experiences, would you consider the MOOC that you completed to be “Open”? If so, in what sense of the word? If not, why not?

I would consider the class to “Open” because the MOOC was available to anyone who wanted to access it. It didn’t require you to put that you where in University or that you completed High School, and it had an easy sign up that was accessible to everyone. Additionally, you could pay for the class to achieve credit, however, you did not have to if you wanted to take it just for interest as well. Additionally, I would say that it is Open because even if you are paying for the course which would cost about $270 dollars, it is considerably cheaper than most University classes as many of them cost about $600.  So, in the sense of the word open I would say this MOOC was open to everyone.

Reflection

I choose this learning activity because I thought it would help me understand the different ways MOOC can be structured. I found that thus learning activity helped give me insight on how these courses work, and how they are accessible and open for everyone to use. I learned how you can have a massive open online class and make it still possible to interact with all of your peers in your class, and to have the class be collaborative. Additionally, the way the class is designed you have to really reflect back on what you have learned which helps you realize what you have learned so far. This aligned with my learning goal because it helped me learn more about the different ways technology can be accessible to all learners, with courses like this being free to use. Additionally it helped me learn more about the future of education because I could see MOOC being a way to in the future make some of your more general first year classes, switch to this format so that it can be more accessible to everyone.  

Who owns the tool? What is the name of the company, the CEO? What are their politics? What does the tool say it does? What does it actually do?

An Education Technology Tool that I am familiar with is Kahoot! this was founded in 2012 by Morten Versvik, Johan Brand and Jamie Brooker, who all teamed up with the Norwegian University of Science and Technology (Kahoot!, n.d.). The current CEO of Kahoot! Is Eilert Giertsen Hanoa who was appointed in 2019. Their goal is to become the leading learning platform in the world and have made great progress by having 9 billion participants in more than 200 countries and regions. According to their website the headquarters is located in Oslo, Norway and has offices in the US, UK, France, Finland, Estonia, Denmark, Spain, and Poland. In terms of politics Kahoot! has not run into any issues that causes any of the governments to be concerned about their privacy or any other matters. Kahoot! is a online learning platform used to help students test their knowledge by quizzing them while trying to have the highest score against your other classmates. Kahoot! fulfills what they say the website is used for and does not lie about it not being able to do anything. Additionally, Kahoot can be done online or in person and allows people to create, share and host different learning sessions.

What data are we required to provide in order to use the tool (login, e-mail, birthdate, etc.)? What flexibility do we have to be anonymous, or to protect our data? Where is data housed; who owns the data? What are the implications for in-class use? Will others be able to use/copy/own our work there?

Kahoot will collect personally identifiable information from individuals who are creating content on the website, along with other automatically collected information (Common Sense Privacy Program, 2022) . This information includes a login, your email, your geographical location, your payment information if you pay for the service, and in some cases your organization or school (Kahoot!, 2023).  Kahoot! also reports collecting “personal information form other sources likes public databases, joint marketing partners and other third parties” (Kahoot!, 2023). Additionally, Kahoot! may share your information with other third-party sources and if the person agrees their information might also be shared for concerts and marketing promotions (Common Sense Privacy Program, 2022). However, if the person is only using the website to play the quiz, then no information is required. However, according to Common Sense if someone creates an account under the age of 13 then their name and email address are collected but no other information is collected, after collecting the email address Kahoot permanently alters the child’s email so that they cannot be contacted. Kahoot! also allows the parents to request that no further collection of information be collected and that they delete any prior information. In Canada data is housed in OVH Hosting GmbH, and they process personal data, as well Kahoot! owns all of the data and is responsible if any of the data is breeched or misused (Kahoot!, 2023). In terms of in-class use the only other way people will be able to access any information is if you make your quizzes publicly available, and even then, it is hard for them to access your data. People can most definitely use your work on Kahoot if you make the quizzes public, however if they are private then they cannot.

How does this tool act or not act as a mediator for our pedagogies? Does the tool attempt to dictate our pedagogies? How is its design pedagogical? Or exactly not pedagogical? Does the tool offer a way that “learning can most deeply and intimately begin”?

This tool acts as a mediator for our pedagogies because it allows for many different types of learning to occur, it can be done in large groups, or by themselves. Additionally, Kahoot! provides students with a way of learning that is fun and interactive. The tool does dictate our pedagogies since it would be hard to do this in a constructivism way since there is not much room for collaboration while the students are trying to answer the question since it is timed. This is design is pedagogical because it allows for connectivism. This occurs because not only are students given the opportunity to display what they know and learn what they don’t know you are also working together as a class to achieve and understand the content. In between questions it allows for other students to help explain to those who got the question wrong why this occurred. This allows the teacher to see if the students have the proper tools to learn the topics and which topics students did not understand to reteach them. This tool does offer a way when learning can most deeply and intimately begin, because it allows students to have fun with learning, while being competitive providing some motivation for the task. Additionally, the student will learn what they do and do not know, allowing them to realize what they should focus more on before an assessment.

Reflection

I choose this activity because I think it was beneficial for me to reflect on not only what different education technology tools there are, but also if they are problematic in their data collection. This learning portfolio made me realize that a lot of companies do not make their data bases and their privacy information super available so using common sense helped me realize and understand parts of what their privacy policies are actually saying. I also choose this activity because as technology is advancing the goal seems to be that companies want as much information about you as possible, so this helps me realize how to avoid them from accessing some of my information. This also achieved one of my learning goals of learning more about the future of education as well as how it is progressing through technology. Through this exercise I was also able to reflect on how Kahoot! has changed as technology has progressed and how now it is not only used in classrooms but also in corporate settings.

References

Kahoot! About us. (n.d.). Kahoot! retrieved June 1, 2023, from

https://kahoot.com/company/

Kahoot! Privacy Policy. (January 9, 2023). Kahoot! retrieved June 1, 2023, from                https://trust.kahoot.com/privacy-policy/

Standard Privacy Report for Kahoot! (January 10, 2022). Common Sense

Privacy Program. Retrieved June 1, 2023 from                                                                               https://privacy.commonsense.org/privacy-report/kahoot

Reflection

I noticed that while going through my learning network a lot of my nodes have to do with my connections with others. As much as I think I am an independent learner and I just need to review the content and readings, I realized after this activity that this is not the case. After reflecting on my map the best way for me to study is though discussions about the content with others and engaging in the content.  I think that the reason why this is the case is because they happen more frequently than the other learning networks occur. For example, In this class I will read the readings, which take me about a day or two, but I engage on mattermost everyday, and check in on the different chats, with my group, the general chat, as well as any announcements we have. Additionally, I noticed that many of my interactions occur digitally, I think that this is because it is easier to contact others online outside of a school setting. For example, peer feedback and talking with classmates occur in person but also can occur digitally, which is sometimes works better and accommodate other people’s schedules. Another concept which occurs digitally is social media content along with discussions on social media, this showcases how we can reach people outside of the traditional classroom setting, but still have learning occur. I also found that many of my classes are connected in terms of learning networks, many of them have a platform you use to connect with one another, as well as a way to access content, classmates and the instructors.

I choose this as my learning activity because I felt that it was important for me to recognize the multiple different ways that I learn content inside and outside of a classroom setting. I also picked this because it helps me reflect how my learning occurs either physically, digitally or both, in this case it highlighted the importance of digital learning since it occurs a lot in my learning network. I think that this would reflect similarly with others as well, which to me highlights the importance of technology and how it can be beneficial in technology. This aligned with my learning goals of hoping to learn more about the future of education and it’s use of technology, since I am revaluating how I learn and the future of learning networks.

Behaviourism

I believe that behaviorism can be a beneficial theory for teaching others, however personally for me it is not my preference since it is heavily reliant on observation, and trial and error. For example, behaviorism is associated with many rewards and punishments and in turn how your behavior changes depending on stimuli and response. An example of behaviorism in my previous education experiences is my grades. I pride myself in receiving good grades, because I dedicate a lot of time and effort into my schoolwork. However, when I receive a bad grade, I feel upset about my grade and disappointed in myself. Therefore, in order to avoid feeling bad about my marks I dedicate more time towards that subject or topic to ensure that I understand the topic. Additionally, my grades can dictate which subjects and topics that I need to focus more on to avoid feeling bad about my grades.

Cognitivism

I personally believe that cognitivism is the most beneficial learning theory for me to use. I like applying content I am learning into previous related information. An example of when this has occurred in a learning experience is for some of my in-class discussions, my professor would have us think of different examples that related to the topic we were learning about. I found that this way on tests when I had forgotten about a topic, I would think back to my in-class discussion topics to help me remember previous topics. Additionally, it helped me to apply the content we are learning to real life situations, this way you can understand them in different contexts. Additionally, by doing these tasks it allows me to interpret what we are learning, and have it make sense in my environment. All of this helps me understand the new information I have learned and organize it and process it accordingly

Constructivism

I find most of my examples that fit the constructivism theory is when my teachers help give scenarios of the topics we are learning about, and when I am brainstorming with other students. I think a good example is when my teachers give examples in class but also when they say something like think of a situation where this has occurred. I find that it helps frame my thoughts and to also think of different scenarios when this topic has occurred.

Connectivism

Connectivism is finding the links between what you are learning and your past experiences. A good example of this would be my previous EDCI 388 class, we were given content to read and watch however it was left up to us to interpret the information, to ask questions about what does not seem to connect, and which topics do connect. I found that in our discussions online there was a couple of different ways people would interpret the content. These different interpretations where reasonable and made sense but it showcased how differently  people think and how we all have different connections to the content. I found that this helped me understand the content because I would relate it to previous knowledge, but also read my classmates work and understand their viewpoints and see their connections.

Reflection

I choose this activity because it helped me reflect which ways, I prefer learning the most, but also opens my mind up to the different theories that others might prefer as well. This way in the future if I happen to be teaching anyone, I can understand the different ways I can explain the content so that if they don’t understand one way, I can use another way to help them learn better. This a lines with my first learning goal which is that I hope to be able to apply what I am learning to my future career, which I think no matter what future career I choose I will still be helping educate others. Throughout doing my research and reflecting on the different learning theories I noticed that a lot of the theories are similar in that they all connect to the individual’s experiences and thoughts, those who have a connection with the content seem to understand the content the best. So, assignments like this where you have to reflect and connect the assignment back to personal experiences are exactly what you should try to encourage when you are teaching someone content