Monthly Archives: October 2016

Distance education: bringing the Mr. Petlak Classroom Experience Worldwide?

28 Friday Oct 2016

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I have been travelling the #edtech world for several years, and here’s what I’ve seen:

However.

All the tools presented and proposed in this class are actually a bit overwhelming! There are so many options and yet what feels like so little time to experience all of them. The clock is ticking as I consider how to deliver content in my AP Biology course synchronously as soon as next school year for Prairie South Schools (and SunWest doesn’t offer this, yet! I’ll be a hot commodity). In our meeting October 25th, Jade Ballek mentioned that SunWest even offer classes to international locations such as China… how do they receive funding for this? Do they receive a tuition from Chinese students (what is listed is $500 on the website)? Do they charge more to international students?

Can I use this?

A colleague/friend of mine, Jeff Boulton, mentioned the potential of offering distance education privately. At $500/student, could I offer a Biology course to 10 students for $5000? And could I even have this class programmed asynchronously so it basically funds me once I complete my initial prep work? And if it’s asynchronous, with automated marking programs, couldn’t I manage well over 10 students?

Money? Interesting.It is here that we reach our quandary. Do we sell our educating soul?

chappelle cash gif.gif

Chappelle Swag via Giphy

I possess the ability to offer education to individuals worldwide and potentially receive money to do so. Should I? Would you? Based on my principles and beliefs related to open education and how learning should unfold, I should make my content and work free, which I have, but if I were to actively record instruction and create lessons to educate students worldwide, do I take a “small handout or reward”? Is it okay to?

It’s important to note that I believe that every individual deserves an education… so perhaps the solution lies in equity, with affordability to those who can’t and collection from those who can to promote my use and production values?

All these questions aside… can I even replicate the Logan Petlak Classroom Experience online? Is the educator I am on a screen the same as that face-to-face? I would argue probably no. Not without active discussion and interaction with students. That’s my favourite part of teaching, getting to work and talk with as well as read and respond to students… is that gone in the distance classroom – even with synchronous sessions (perhaps offered via Zoom)? And does this lend itself to more direct instruction? What about the socialization of being on campus and engaging with other students in the classroom? Many sources will tell you that a cons to distance education is a lack of “student to teacher face time” and “no social interaction”.

Solution?

Digital citizenship: fostering a digital presence and creating a networked learning community. And from that networked learning community, perhaps presents opportunities to collaborate with professionals from around the world to invite to contribute to class sessions (Adam reminded me of this idea with Skype).

This stuff you’re teaching Alec is starting to take shape more and more, day by day!

What are your thoughts? Does distance education present an opportunity for us as educators to earn beyond our negotiated salary? Do we as educators have a moral obligation to simply provide instruction to all and do this in the most cost-effective way possible?

– Logan Petlak

Stop villainizing the internet.

25 Tuesday Oct 2016

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productivity

Productivity by Sean MacEntee via Flickr

“Is the Internet really a productivity tool or merely an endless series of distractions?  Has the Internet created a world of ‘multitaskers’ who don’t accomplish as much as they could have without it?”

Internet enhances productivity and connectivity.

Pound for pound, we are exposed to more information and ideas than any point in human history. The internet and wireless connectivity is to thank for this. Can it be overwhelming? Undoubtedly. Does it pose the potential of distraction? Certainly. But this glass half-empty nonsense fails to appreciate the depth of opportunity that the internet provides us with. Ultimately, it has the power to increase productivity. It makes us capable of accumulating a greater knowledge-base, organizing that content, requiring us to think critically about said knowledge-base, and network with others on the topic, be it independently (through MOOCs) or in the school setting.

How we as educators utilize this?

I love PowerPoint. While some evidence may dictate that PowerPoint in excess isn’t successful, I would question the parameters of the testing. I use PowerPoint as a organizational visual for a wide variety of instructional strategies. It can describe to students how to do a reading strategy for an article, it can incorporate pictures into content, build foundations for Screencasting or flipped classrooms as well as provide steps for group or lab work. I can ask meaningful questions to the class but cater to the learner who might understand it better by reading the question… or collect and organize information from students and provide copies to those that have missed. The program, and others like it, all serve this purpose and, when used appropriately and alongside YouTube and search engines, enhance instruction and outcome achievement in students.

In a Science 9 classroom, I have the opportunity to feed inquiry and answer the questions of my students right before their eyes. I don’t simply provide an answer, but also show them how learning can grow and extend into new learning as I ask new questions to allow the pursuit of knowledge to grow. And I keep the tabs open to show how we went from one idea to the next. Ex. Mitosis -important parts of what’s copied?-> Nucleus -contains information, as what?-> DNA – there’s something similar to DNA?-> RNA – what has RNA in it?-> Viruses -Example of virus?-> E. Bola –> can E. Bola affect us in SK?

That is what students learn in a classroom with PowerPoint and a visual of how their instructor utilizes the internet and wireless connectivity to learn… and it models proper use of devices that extend this learning to anywhere they are… or communication with experts, opinions and facts from around the world.

A friend shared this video on Facebook the other day (Holly shared a post about the School System by the same individual, Prince Ea), and the pro-tech and social media-using individual in me actually got rattled by the assumptions in this video. Prince Ea is very poetic and engaging individual but I feel his take on this is very much the negative side of the range of connectedness we have today. Literacy rates have increased substantially since the advent of increased global connectedness in the past fifty years, and while I believe he may feel we are more distracted, I would be inclined to disagree.

Reminded me of our discussion regarding how we commonly villainize changes, presentation media, the internet and we may fail to appreciate the “new normal” or “changing humanity”. Any thoughts? Are we really more disconnected now than ever or do our devices help us connect even better now than ever before?

– Logan Petlak

Educational software is changing for us, and us for it.

18 Tuesday Oct 2016

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Snapchat-Based Reflection

Educational Software & Media
Snapchat – Not a conventional educational app – but in terms of responsible use of media and digital citizenship.

Perception vs reality and impacts on education:
Perception – it is a distraction in school OR it is an amazing way to connect with friends and others. Life is more disconnected than ever: Prince Ea: Can we auto-correct humanity
Reality – it IS a distraction BUT it is an incredible opportunity to enhance connectedness between students. I would argue students are better connected now than ever – we can share and observe others lives together. (Connect to Distance Ed) later.

Proponents, opponents, and adopters of these technologies:
If you’re against it, you do not enjoy the distraction of it in classes.
If you adopt it, you’re using it to connect with students.

Effects positive and negative on teaching and learning:
Positive – warm and energetic atmosphere.
Negative – can decrease engagement if not patrolled.

Pedagogical advantages and disadvantages:
Advantage – it keeps us fresh on what is a large part of many of our children’s development.

Disadvantage – it can be a vehicle for abuse, harassment, and as previously mentioned a distraction.

Conclusion
Education is always key – rather than fear and taking things away because we aren’t familiar or can’t control them… educate yourself and others on its use so that you can help them use it responsibly. I’ve observed the use of Kahoot and it seems positive, while the energy that is created as a result may have some short-term management implications a distraction, like Snapchat… and it may not meet the needs of ALL learners – it engages many of them.

Tell me you aren’t feeling more connected to me because of the adorable kittens.

Reflecting on educational software and media in general

Educational software is constantly evolving so as assessment and teaching practices change and become more inclusive of all learners, so too will the educational media to accommodate the demands of educators.

However.

Snapchat is NOT a conventional educational media/software. But it is a form of media that requires education. And the learning inherent within the roots of Snapchat (connecting with others over distances) has positive implications. When we look at the opportunities presented by distance education, the term “disruptive change” rears its head, almost as terrifying as “transformational change”. While sounding negative, disruptive change can be an encouraging as it may disrupt the normal constraints of the four-walled classroom. Personally, I get an opportunity to offer a course through distance education in our division next school year and this presents a lot of challenges and potential. This extends to many educational technologies, but most importantly, in my eyes, is that it poses opportunities for learning that are not limited to classroom walls.

That being said, there are inherent values imposed by new apps that are created, like Snapchat: “why do you need to take pictures of everything you do”? Once again: opportunity. Chance at critical thinking when engaging in online media. A favourite sarcastic quote in my classroom is: “the internet said so, so it must be true”. Which is an encouraging comment… but we see the two-headed dragon of this being that fact (peer-reviewed articles) can be misinterpreted as potentially inaccurate and that only your interpretation and beliefs of the content are much more plausible. It’s okay to synthesize an opinion from various forms of content, but what happens when what is most likely right is taken with too much doubt or discounted as not credible because other sources aren’t?

Educational software and will continue to evolve to meet our needs. As professionals it is paramount we stay up to speed on new means to meet the needs of new learners: changing ourselves to better utilize programs which continue to evolve alongside our evolving educational selves.

Agree or disagree?

Comment.

Logan Petlak


The digital life of a teacher-entertainer.

11 Tuesday Oct 2016

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In this ever-evolving  understanding of teaching and learning, educators are constantly on the run from “traditional schooling”, constantly bombarded with news mean to fight the factory education model they are still enclosed within. Teachers, forever exposed to new means of instruction, the new rights, the new wrongs, the new device, and in the case of Sesame Street: the new songs.

Sesame Street Songs (Then and now)

Songs?

In a classroom?

Not allowed.

Unless your students are part of a generation with higher cases of ADD needing various forms of engagement to aid in learning (In this writer’s opinion, higher cases of ADD are strictly due to larger and more accurate amounts of testing).

Oh!

Wait!

Our students are a part of this generation. They need interesting and engaging delivery of content to enhance learning. Not to say it hasn’t been present before, I just think the world is far more engaging than it ever was. Which is why we, as educa-entertain-tors have to compete with the shows we were raised on and then some. New types of entertainment change comes with our handheld devices and while individual perception of change varies, some welcome it, some resist it, the fact is media, television, and devices are always changing. Therefore, to stay competitive, we have to stay on top of our game. Sift through the resistance to BYOD, get your hands on some additional devices for those who don’t have them, and get on the same level as every other source of entertainment your student is exposed to. I don’t mean to discount evidence that indicates BYOD can be bad for learning , but much like shows of the past, learning can still be had from devices and programming, because we watched these shows.

pinky__the_brain_wallpaper

A personal favourite of mine from youth. “Pinky and the Brain” via Looney Tunes Wikia

Even if standard achievement scores went down, there is learning that occurs beyond the ways we measure it. Natalie’s take  on the work of Neil Postman reminded us that: “He indicates that Sesame Street is a series of short commercials meant to entertain that uses puppets, celebrities and catchy tunes.  This is true.”

But why isn’t entertainment considered learning?

Kids don’t always learn the way we want them to, but there still are provided with ways to learn through the apps, social media, and games they play. Apps allow our students to connect with each other, face to face. Apps are reinventing the depth of relationships we may have had before with increased exposure to socialization and different experiences and cultures. Many games are problem-based, objective-completing activities that provide descriptors and feedback on their work. Consistent with that of the classroom but not with the content we would prefer. But can it go wrong? We can observe the history of the learning channel and see the defamation of the “educational program” over the years, and Krista Gates mentions that the shows are not as educational as they once were. But they are just as entertaining, and when I enjoyed the learning that I was exposed to on television, I enjoyed learning.

Sounds like a connection.

 

Television, apps, and devices are fun.

Television, apps, and devices are entertaining.

Television, apps, and devices are engaging.

Engagement leads to learning.

Learning should be engaging.

Learning should be entertaining.

Learning is fun.

 

Thoughts? Disagree? Am I simply brainwashed by the collection of television I’ve been exposed to over the years? Is my naive optimism the product of every show I’ve ever seen where a cartoon character made a joke or managed to smile in a bad situation? I’d like to this so.

Logan Petlak

Learning as a chaotic, evolving mosaic.

04 Tuesday Oct 2016

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Which learning theory is right?

learning

“learning” via BlueDiamondGallery

Ashley Murray nailed it: “As teachers I think that it’s important that we avoid getting caught up in which theory is the BEST theory to use.”

Taking a page out of John Dewey‘s playbook, I feel the need to ‘link sciences’. What is my take on learning theory?  Learning as a chaotic, evolving mosaic. I use mosaic in the biological sense, when separate genetics are present together. Substitute genetics for learning theories, and away we go.

Much like evolution as a “theory”, they don’t become theory without reputable and verifiable strategies, experiments, and support. Since so many streams of learning theory hold weight, combining them and treating learning as an evolving and changing process. Let’s allow learning to proceed as a complex science including constructivism, behaviourism, cognitivism, and every other learning theory.

Ultimately, as educators, when we consider our philosophies it comes down to the first two questions Schunk (Learning theories: an educational perspective, 1991) asked:

  1. How does learning occur?
  2. What factors influence learning?

Learning occurs through connecting with others who may have different ideas and perspectives than us, through the chaos of diversity. We associate and establish similarities and differences between what we know and seek to learn. We conceptualize and translate texts, tones, and visuals. Everything we learn, builds to the next lesson. Every experience we’ve had, problems we solve, memories we retain, every innate ability and predisposition we have influences how we learn. Reinforcement and punishment influence our perception of how we view it, but even that knowledge and learning is organic and evolves as we reflect. We independently yet dependently learn holistically (physically, socio-emotionally, mentally) and it manifests itself in our society as a mosaic. This particular quote resonated with me and diversity and complexity of learning: “Which theory [or theories] is the most effective in fostering mastery of specific tasks by specific learners?” Adjust and adapt. To lock yourself into one belief of learning theory and deny others seems counter-intuitive, or think it is something clean and linear (like a pyramid). Humanity learns.

Ideally, that’s what my classroom would look like. Does it look like that every day? Maybe not upon initial viewing, but it’s rooted in what I do. And it’s constantly changing.

you-gone-learn-today

via Giphy

Do you agree that learning is hard to classify? It’s worth looking at all the different beliefs on learning. Some may have more evidence than others, but as a connectivist would tell you, even the opinions we don’t agree with have relevance and meaning to learning.

– Logan Petlak, lifelong learner.