Today we had our first round of Ed Tech Inquiry Presentations.

First off was Keiro, who was very brave to present her inquiry on stop motion animation solo. The pros of teaching or creating stop-motion animation in the classroom are many, but include: it touches on all core competencies and on any subject, it’s engaging for students, can be very simple but made to be as difficult as you want it to be, and most importantly is FUN! Some of the cons are that creating stop-motion animation can be very frustrating, as well as very time-consuming. One cool class activity Keiro showed a video of involved kids moving post-it notes around on the floor of their classroom to create a stop-motion video, which made it look as though the paper was “snaking” around on the floor. This activity is great because it involves every student , while allowing the kids to get up and move around a bit! As a tool to create stop-motion videos, Keiro suggested the free, easy to use stop-motion app available for Apple products. As for resources, Keiro suggested (among other resources): tutorials on Youtube, makespaceforeducation.com, and sites.google.com/site/waldportfolio. Thanks Keiro!

See below for a Youtube tutorial:

 

Second up was my group, who presented on Google Mapping products. I won’t elaborate here because my group has written several blogs on the various topics we touched on, so check those out if you’re interested!

Third up were Brie, Taylor, and Katrina, who did a great job presenting on Digital Literacy. First off, they defined the various characteristics of Digital Literacy, which include:

  1. Information literacy (i.e.being aware of what is fake/authentic online, and asking questions surrounding the quality of resources, potential bias, all which involve thinking critically)
  2. Ethical use of digital resources (i.e. what is plagiarism, how do you cite resources, what resources are legal to use)
  3. Understanding ones digital footprint (i.e. thinking “What are you sharing and where does that go? What are you leaving behind?”)
  4. Protecting yourself (i.e. onus is on the individual to be careful, as you are your worst enemy – things put on the net are on there forever!)
  5. Handling digital communication (#1 rule: don’t be a dick, and don’t let screen dehumanize your online interactions)
  6. cyber bullying

Next, the group discussed the pros of using digital tools in the classroom (for example, users adapt to modern tech tools and learn how to use them, they boost student engagement, people use less paper, and it gives teachers the opportunity to teach kids about sex in safe way online, rather than having them learn about the subject online or from peers – thereby avoiding the danger of a single story), as well as cons (for example, the tools can be distracting, can lessen face to face interactions, and can break or be glitch-y). Further, they identified risks (for example, kids might face exposure to inappropriate content, stranger danger, and extortion and exploitation) and discussed best practices (i.e. include student voice and choice, teach more creation then consumption, include multi-modalities, center collaboration, and ensure accessibility for all learners. The group also discussed the importance of talking to parents, and not assuming all families understand or are aware of issues surrounding digital literacy (we should also be aware that different families will have different rules). Communication with parents is key, and the group touched on the great idea of planning a digital literacy night, either class or school wide, where parents and students are invited to discuss concerns with teachers, and hopefully have some of their questions answered. Lastly, teaching digital literacy is a key component of BC’s curriculum, so teachers must get used to the idea of teaching digital literacy in an effective, engaging, authentic, and responsible way! Suggested resources include: Youtube videos (i.e. crash course navigating digital media series, crash course media literacy series, amaze channel), mediasmarts.ca (great because it has Canadian specific content), FIPPA, and Scarleteen. Thanks to this group for their very informative presentation.

See below for one crash course video on navigating digital media: