'Socialising' in the Classroom

In today's society it would be virtually impossible to ignore the effects of social media. It should be used as a tool to transport learners into different worlds and different information resources while still in the classroom. Social media should be used to expand the learning environment, not be a distraction from the teacher and classroom. It was interesting to see how Davis named some sites, like Fakebook and Edublogs, that can be used in class to simulate popular social media sites.

I think social media is a very important aspect of teaching today and will only increase in importance in the future. In my curriculum studies subjects: Life Orientation and Physical Education I will definitely use different social media sites as teaching resources. For example, Life Orientation is a subject that deals with the holistic development of the learner in their society, and so social media is definitely a huge part of their society that needs to be addressed in class. This is seen with cyber-bullying, threatening messages and peer pressure over social media. In relation to this I would use social media resources to teach learners how to safely use the internet and the different websites available. YouTube is a good source of educational videos for different topics in Life Orientation and students can even create their own videos on topics and post them for their class to evaluate and comment on. Blogging is also a way for learners to express themselves. In my classroom I would use blogging as a way for students to reflect on the topics discussed and they can use it to ask questions. As we do in our PGCE class, learners could post the links to their blogs for each other to read. Also, as blogging can be anonymous students may feel more comfortable asking difficult questions via a blog rather than in class.

In Physical Education I think it would be fun to use Instagram as a method for students to create a collection of pictures over their year. They can post pictures as ‘evidence’ of completing certain tasks, for example, they could go to a different physical activity or play a different sport every weekend and document it. It can also be a platform for them to show their progress with certain aspects of physical education. They could do before and after pictures of certain skills and performances. Twitter is a good way for sharing ideas and relevant information in any classroom. It can also allow us as teachers to keep a record of everything that is written, thanks to the hashtag! Twitter and Instagram, as Provenzano states can be used to share information learners see outside of school that they wish to share with the class. I think in both my curriculum subjects learners would love to see pictures and posts on Instagram and Twitter about their class kept by the teacher – this would be a fun way to look back on the year.    

I think social media is a way to get learners more involved in their school work because they see the information when they are already on social media and are more likely to take the time to read it than when they have to put their devices down. Social media is a tool we must utilize in schools to make use of its positive and globally relevant aspects.

Decoding Digital Pedagogy

This article cleared up some of confusion I had about digital pedagogy and opened my eyes to its’ potential and the difference between a teacher and a pedagogue. A point that I found interesting is how whatever pedagogy any teacher employed in their classroom became digitized. This meant that just because they were working online they did not automatically become a pedagogue and that if they were not a good teacher being online would not change that.

Another idea I enjoyed is how pedagogy should be used as a way of instilling passion in learners and that this passion will resonate beyond only the classroom. A teacher teaches the curriculum and a pedagogue teaches passion and meaningful learning, this allows the possibilities to be endless. The Learning Management System, in my opinion, is only beneficial when posting necessary information, for example SunLearn. I do not consider SunLearn an interactive learning platform as it is only a site for posting the information we need and no discussions are had, until we enter the classroom. This links to how Morris describes the LMS as “settling for the least innovative classroom practice and repositioning that digitally.” I think this added to the confusion of what digital pedagogy is. It was believed that it was a matter of relocating the content to a digital source, this is not the case. It is stated that very few teachers actually used the move towards digital as a way to innovate more. This is unsettling for me as there are so many possibilities as to what can be done with the use of technology and teachers should not become complaisant and shut off by merely relocating their work onto a digital platform. Digital pedagogues keep searching and discovering new possibilities and uses of online learning – this is the difference between and digital pedagogue and a teacher.

Pedagogy seems like it is a difficult concept to define but I realized that it has many definitions for each individual. We can make our own definitions of it depending on how we use it and how much time we put into it. Digital pedagogy is something we make our own. This is important when considering the point made by Stommel where he states that “the digital pedagogue teaches her tools, doesn’t let them teach her.” The effectiveness of digital pedagogy is only as good as the way we utilize the tools we have available. Teachers should not become slaves to the tools available they should think of all the possible uses of that tool and should include the learners in all of these processes. Learners should be central in this. I learnt a lot from reading this article and I feel as though I have a broader perspective on digital pedagogy now.     

Digital Pedagogy Unplugged

"'Hacking' these days means to adapt, manipulate, and make productive use out of a given technology or technological context or platform". By this definition I think we can all agree that every teenager in the world can be considered a hacker. Adolescents today are so wrapped up in technology that classroom settings of pen and paper and PowerPoint presentations seem boring. Fyfe brings up the argument of 'teaching naked' by excluding devices from the classroom. Most people would say this is impossible but they have not looked at the bigger picture. It is stated that the idea of 'teaching naked' is limited by only thinking of digital pedagogy as tools, and devices, however an interactive classroom can be created by means of separating digital pedagogy and human teaching. This means that the strengths of both methods are used effectively. Learners are comfortable using technology outside of the classroom and teachers are then able to actually engage with them during an ‘unplugged’ class. 

I like the idea of ‘cultural studies and digital technologies’ allowing learners the opportunity to learn and make their own interpretations of technology in relation to their culture. This is important in any country because what is considered technology in a third world country would be completely different to that of a first world country. Technology is not limited to a certain definition and each person is able to use their definition of technology to learn. This is true in the case of my home country, Zimbabwe, when I was in school we hardly used laptops in class or typed out assignments. Everything was hand written on multiple sheets of paper with teachers dictating notes to us - this was our technology. Now there are schools that only do typed and emailed assignments and have an iPad in every class.

I think it is important to remind learners about the labour that digital resources dissolve. I feel that learners are at the risk of becoming lazy and non-critical. They can google anything and copy and paste an answer they may not even agree with if they actual thought critically about it. Unplugging from the internet can allow learners to become more analytical and active in their education. I like the statement Fyfe makes: “This is ‘teaching naked’ as it is meant to be understood: using technology effectively, subordinating it to the pedagogical goals of the class”. Teachers do not have to see technology as a hindrance in the classroom, rather they need to see it as an effective method for 21^st Century teaching.