If it has to do with technology, collaboration, and
education, I more than likely support testing it. Even some of those quirky
tools that never really worked quite right, yep, I probably said something
along the lines of, “But what a great experience that was!” when reflecting on
it with faculty. It’s impossible to know all of the learning tools out there,
but I still like to check them out. Just this afternoon as I was looking for
new people to follow, I came upon one of my classmate’s blogs about how she still
doesn’t see much value in Twitter, and I respect her position. I even laughed
at her statement that it’s like an “org chart gone crazy” because I’ve thought
the same thing before. I’ll probably still think about how to work Twitter into
a faculty enrichment course I’m teaching, but her words will stick with me as I
think about how much emphasis to put on it.
This class has changed the way I look at online learning. As
I mentioned in last week’s reflection, this is the first time I’ve thought that
online communication could rival the authentic interactions that take place in
face-to-face classes. I’ve seen that through choices – not everyone will love
every tool – students will find their niches and the platforms with which they
feel the most comfortable. Since I work entirely with faculty now, I already have
an idea of which technologies they want to use and which ones they typically
shy away from. But today as I was reading through everyone’s blogs, I began to
worry that maybe I’ve been out of the classroom for too long to feel genuinely connected
to the student experience. And for someone who still sees herself as an
educator, that’s a tough pill to swallow.
All of this got me thinking about the experiences I had as
an instructor. My time in the classroom was spent pretty evenly divided between
traditional college students at a state school and non-traditional students at
a private career school. As an instructor, my expectations never changed. I
recognized that students were coming in with different knowledge bases, and although
my methods changed, the rigor of my classes never did. I knew that at-risk
populations had different needs, so I got more creative and arguably more
effective at what I did because of that. So I’ve tried to remember the faces
and backgrounds of all of those students as I’ve worked my way through this
course.
Earlier today I tweeted an infographic from EduCause on
technology and students. I didn’t find that by accident. I was curious about
what today’s student technology profile looks like, and I think that’s what’s
been on my mind throughout this course. As I think about sharing this with
faculty, I try to foresee the complications they might encounter in their
classes. All of these tools have been working so well for our class, but would
a version of this work for undergrads in a typical online class? And that’s the
thing, I don’t know. A few years ago I feel like I would have been able to
answer that question, but now I’m not so sure. Luckily, I am surrounded by
faculty who openly talk about what’s working and what’s not, and for that I am
grateful.
College students, no matter what their career goals, should
have some level of online literacy, and I know that I will always work with faculty
who are early adopters and who, like myself, will openly embrace technologies. But
I worry a lot about the “gap,” that space where technology and education fail
to create equality and begin to lose students (or institutions) who don’t have
the means, financial or otherwise. While technology closes the gap in some ways,
it expands it in others. As instructors, if we aren’t using some of the digital
literacy methods, are we leaving our students at a disadvantage? This is a
complicated discussion, but I really like one of the suggestions from our readings.
Start small, or as Lowenthal, Dunalp, and Stitson (2016) would put it, go back
to base camp.
This idea of a base camp, a controlled environment where
students can build an on online portfolio, seems to be beneficial in so many
ways for both the students and the professors. Once everyone feels more
comfortable with working as a person in the sometimes isolating experience of
being in an online class, the opportunities will present themselves. I tend to
jump right in, but it’s important for me to remember that not everyone feels that
way, so we need to look for a common ground that can be lightly treaded on by
nervous students and apprehensive professors. We're cautious, but we are making wonderful
strides in online education, and my experience so far, especially in this class, has
been one of hearing everyone’s voices. And
when we really step back and think about it, isn’t that what equality is all
about?
References
Lowenthal, P. R., Dunlap, J. C., & Stitson, P. (2016). Creating an Intentional Web Presence: Strategies for Every Educational Technology Professional. TechTrends, 60(4), 320-329.
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