It has been three years since my discovery of the power of Web 2.0 and the possibilities collaborative digital tools present for learning. Recently, however, I have begun to question some of the practices that have evolved. There have been moments - happening more and more frequently - that are causing me to take a step back and view what I am doing with a more critical eye. The first came when a student looked at me in horror this year and said, "I don't want to blog about my work." Another came when I viewed an action research video uploaded to You Tube that was receiving enormous praise. At a certain point in the film, which was demonstrating how the school works to develop the social and emotional well-being of its students, a kindergarten aged child was clearly demonstrating through her body language that she had no desire to be filmed.
I applied for the Apple Distinguished Teacher certification this year and found myself relieved to be rejected. A nagging voice inside was saying, "Do you really want to add a corporate connection to your work?" It's not that I don't use Apple products. One of the first items I purchased for our class with some award money last year were iPads because I see their value in learning. It was just that it felt I was crossing a point of no return and I wasn't comfortable.
I am coming to realize that in the rapid explosion of social media in education, there has been by and large an uncritical adoption of new technologies and I think it's time for a deeper conversation. How do we enjoy the benefits that this world of online collaborative learning provide while safeguarding the privacy of our students?
Below are slides from my presentation for the Association for Media Literacy about a Student's Right to Privacy.
I applied for the Apple Distinguished Teacher certification this year and found myself relieved to be rejected. A nagging voice inside was saying, "Do you really want to add a corporate connection to your work?" It's not that I don't use Apple products. One of the first items I purchased for our class with some award money last year were iPads because I see their value in learning. It was just that it felt I was crossing a point of no return and I wasn't comfortable.
I am coming to realize that in the rapid explosion of social media in education, there has been by and large an uncritical adoption of new technologies and I think it's time for a deeper conversation. How do we enjoy the benefits that this world of online collaborative learning provide while safeguarding the privacy of our students?
Below are slides from my presentation for the Association for Media Literacy about a Student's Right to Privacy.
The "uncritical adoption of new technologies" is one of the many points from your post that has allowed me to reflect (again) on some of my activities in the classroom.
ReplyDeleteThroughout the last year and a half, I've been so excited about transforming my students' learning experiences that, I'm sure there have been times their comfort level has taken a back seat. To be fair, despite the attempts of many teachers who introduce a variety of activities to their students, not all needs/interests/weaknesses can be accounted for on a regular basis. We do try our best to meet the needs of each student, but assignments (and teaching techniques) sometimes teach the teacher a bit more than the student.
This semester all of my classes began using digital portfolios (last semester only one of my classes used them). Since I teach art, I found that this was a great method to collect, assess and share student work. Many students enjoy having a 'global audience', and get quite excited when they receive comments from other people (rather than just their teacher).
The thing is, not all of the students have the comfort level I've hoped for. Some of my students are downright hesitant to share their work, and I honestly can't believe it's taken me this long to figure it out.
The digital portfolios are a great tool, but I have come to realize that maybe it's not best to require every student to post each of their assignments online. In reality, artists use portfolios to show their best works as well as a variety of strengths and styles. Rarely do they want to share their weaknesses (who does?).
You're right -- although it's so exciting to use technology and web 2.0 tools, we need to maintain a healthy balance for our students to prosper at a comfortable pace. They can still share some things, but they need space to learn, explore and make mistakes without having an audience all the time.
(a few thoughts are here: http://northernartteacher.wordpress.com/2013/03/30/learning-at-otrk12/ )
Thank you for your willingness to address these issues. It's a bit tricky, isn't it? There are so many teachers who are unwilling to consider using technology, so it's hard to talk about anything that might be seen as negative.
Great work, Heidi.
Colleen Rose
www.northernartteacher.wordpress.com
www.mrsroseart.blogspot.ca
@ColleenKR
Colleen,
DeleteThank you for your comments. I would say that that has been my experience as well. The initial excitement about the possibilities these tools provide has been the driver for. Given how rapid the change has been, I would not want to be the policy maker for this! I do think the Ontario Privacy Commissioner's project, Privacy By Design, which has now become the global standard for privacy is something we should be looking to and demanding from the architects of the tools we ask our students to use.
I hadn't heard of Privacy by Design, but it is now up in a new tab & I'll take a look. Thanks!
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