Module 1 – York

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  Posted by Sara Vogel, PhD. (she/her) on May 9, 2023 at 1:54 pm

  Reply to this post with a response to the prompts below by the module due date.

  • Introduce yourself with your name, college, role(s)
  • Share the rationale cards you kept in your hand all the way to the end of the game. Why did you keep these to the end? Why did you discard particular cards?
  • What connections can you make between the values you reviewed and the examples from people’s digital lives?
  • How did you interact with the game? What worked / didn’t work about our game prototype? Did you follow the rules as written? Did you “tinker” with the algorithm (rules) of the game? If so, how?

• Casandra Silva Sibilin (she/her/hers)

  Member

  June 2, 2023 at 8:11 am

  Hello Colleagues!

  The rationale cards I had at the end were the following:

  • [17] collaboration… leads to meaningful relationships…
  • [11] youth shouldn’t just be consumers but also producers…
  • [3] more innovations and new knowledge…
  • [16] wonder, discovery and enjoyment…
  • [1] key no matter what career…

  There were so many I wanted to keep but these made it to the end probably because they were focused on students’ competencies and preparation for the future. I had also taken the quiz from CS Visions for all and there I got the following as my core values:

  • Competencies & Literacies
  • Personal Agency, Joy & Fulfillment
  • Citizenship & Civic Engagement

  I was amazed at the examples from the “CS for What” paper and the padlet on people’s digital lives. Many of the posts under the “children & youth” section (e.g. emoti-con NYC”) align well in particular with “youth shouldn’t just be consumers but also producers of technology.” I also see a connection between the “others” section, “NYC Tech Talent Pipeline” and the card “computational thinking and digital literacies will be key no matter what career…”.

  However, one thing I am much more aware of through reading the “CS for What” white paper is that career preparation tends to be assumed as the number one goal or just taken for granted and that this, like everything, should be questioned. I was conflicted about keeping the “no matter what career” card as one of my five because I believe in not only the economic/professional but also the democratic, personal, creative, and community-oriented values and rationales for CS education. With all that being said, I also believe now, thanks to the examples, that many of these values and rationales can work together rather than against each other.

  I enjoyed the cards game, though I had already played the online version… so playing the cards game actually felt hard by comparison, as was looking at six cards at a time and trying to eliminate one, rather than picking one out of two… now I’m curious if having the exact same cards but going 2 at a time vs. 6 at a time would lead to very different results. 🙂

  -Casandra, York College, Lecturer
  Regina Misir (She/Her)

  Member

  June 2, 2023 at 9:11 pm

  My name is Regina Misir from York College. My role on CITE is as an adjunct lecturer. After much debate, I kept cards # 5, 12, 14, 28 & 29. I kept these 5 cards but the one that I focused primarily on is #5 because in reality the digital divide is high and must be addressed so including digital literacies in the classroom is one way to do that. This gap is evident in lower-resourced schools where students may not have the same access to computers, internet connectivity, or digital resources in comparison to their counterparts in more affluent schools. Therefore, integrating computing and digital literacies in teacher education will definitely bridge this divide because educators will be equipped with the knowledge and skills to effectively utilize technology and at the same time empower their students. Teachers will be able to model and guide students to develop the essential digital skills to apply in and out of the classroom. While addressing the digital divide technological literacy skill is been developed leading to digital citizenship where educators and students will develop the ethical use of technology such as online etiquette, respect for intellectual property, digital safety, and overall digital responsible digital behavior.

  Teachers equipped with computing and digital literacy skills can create engaging and inclusive learning environments that will leverage technology to enhance learning regardless of the available resources in their schools. This will lead to educational equity and informed citizens because the students can then share their knowledge with parents and other committee members. Overall, I kept these cards because they cover the importance for teachers to be able to use technology effectively in order to model to guide students’ effectiveness while will lead to leveling the playing field where this knowledge can be transformed outside of the classroom s well. The rationale for not selecting the other cards is that I truly believe that my 5 cards take into consideration what is needed for the effective use of digital technologies in the classroom that will not only benefit students but the committee as a whole.

  The connection I made is that having access to information and resources is important for personal and professional growth. The number 5 card states “we need to level the playing field and help close the “digital divide” which means ensuring that individuals from all backgrounds have equal access to online information, educational materials, and opportunities. Reflecting on this and the examples from people’s digital lives shows that efforts are definitely been made to remove this division. Digital literacies positively impact digital lives by fostering responsible and ethical behavior online where individuals can engage in civic activities such as the expression of opinions and participation in democratic processes.

  I played the game according to the rules with the exception of putting the cards that I rejected in two piles. I simply placed it in one pile of “nopes”.
  Leslie Keiler (she/her)

  Member

  June 8, 2023 at 3:55 pm

  I’m Leslie Keiler, Chair of York’s Department of Teacher Education. The cards I chose were

  -students will need to be literate in new ways, and be able to communicate in multiple modalities, contexts, and through many different expressive forms;

  -computational thinking can support problem-solving for teacher and students in STEM disciplines;

  -data practices like collection, analysis, and visualization can help teachers and students understand phenomena, conduct inquiries, share findings;

  -it will help teachers to meet the needs of all learners, and build on learners’ diverse experiences, resources, abilities

  -it is important for teachers and students to be media literate, differentiate between accurate and inaccurate information and conduct effective online research.

  Reflecting on my decision-making, I realize that I identified themes in the cards and felt compelled to represent as many themes as possible. Thus, I would replace a card in the same theme with another that I liked better, but I would not keep two in the same theme, even if I prioritize that theme in my thinking. I am not sure if that we the right way to go…

  I appreciate what Cassandra said about pondering the importance of career preparation. I think this is a social justice issue in multiple ways. One way is that if BPOC students do not have early exposure to technology and computational thinking, then career avenues may be closed off to them. A York we definitely see that students who attended high schools with minimal STEM programs struggle in gateway STEM courses at the college level and are then ineligible for competitive programs such as nursing. However, a focus on technology integration in the service of career preparation could contribute to the phenomena that Jean Anyon described of schools recreating social class through the types of learning environments and expectations that exists at schools in different communities. Would it be socially just for students at affluent schools to get to use technology for self-expression and citizenship while students at under-resourced schools only learn technology to get a job?
  Danielle Krawec (She/Her)

  Member

  June 13, 2023 at 8:50 pm

  Hello! I’m Danielle Krawec, and I’m an adjunct lecturer at York College. I fell behind with the modules because of lots of end-of-year craziness at the high school where I also work, but I’m eager to get started.

  The cards I kept were:

  2 – it will help diversify the tech industry pipeline: I thought this one was straightforward, but relevant. I think that teaching computing and digital literacies to teacher candidates could help young people to get more involved in the tech industry. I have a high school student who just joined our Robotics club in her junior year, which is a bit later than most students who join when they’re freshmen. She’s learned how to code and has become so passionate about it so quickly. I think that if more students had access, or even just some experience with digital literacy, we’d open a door to a much larger population and promote more diversity in the tech world.

  7 – teachers need to be able to interrogate education technologies for their potentially harmful impacts or assumptions about especially marginalized students and communities: The amount of technology that’s available today is overwhelming, and I think that teachers need to be aware of and prepared to address issues that might come up because of it. I read an article recently about the effect of being on a cell phone all the time on adolescents’ mental health. This is just the tip of the iceberg – there are so many different ways that technology can affect the developing mind. If, as teachers, we can assess and evaluate technology, we will be more able to prepare students for the realities of the world they’re facing today. Teachers also have a responsibility to get to know their students’ strengths and weaknesses and make accommodations to promote equity for all learners. We do it in our lessons all the time, so if we are equipped to do it when we evaluate technological platforms, we’ll be able to create opportunities for all students.

  18 – teachers and their students should be able to use computing as a creative outlet and a tool for digital storytelling, expression, identity development, art: I really enjoyed seeing the Scratch project during our most recent meeting. I was teaching a unit on The House on Mango Street and I would have loved to be able to do a project like that with my classes. If we can teach teacher candidates to use programs like that, we’ll open up a new world of creative opportunities.

  21 – it can help teacher candidates help their students learn to program computers rather than just use them: This made me think of the “why” behind a lesson – people use computers all the time, but most don’t know how they actually work. As I sit on my computer now, I’m thinking about how I don’t know how it operates. As a teacher, I should be more literate about how something that I use everyday works, and I think that teacher candidates should be able to share that understanding with their future students.

  27 – it is important for teachers to be able to vet tools given their students abilities, language practices, cultural backgrounds, representation, interests and needs: I realize now that my reason for choosing this card is similar to the reason why I picked #7, but this one made me think specifically of the immigrant students in classrooms today. While some have had extensive training in digital literacy in their home countries, others come from places where they’ve never been on a computer in school, or had to attend school regularly at all. I think it’s very important that teacher candidates be able to take the backgrounds of their students into consideration when planning lessons in digital literacy, because the students in front of them might need entirely different instruction and support.

  I loved the idea of the Emoti-con NYC Festival, and many of the other youth programs listed. I imagine computing to be similar to learning a new language, and although it’s not at all impossible to learn at an older age, getting young people educated and involved early can only lead to greater proficiency in the tech world.

  I chose my 5 cards before I got through the entire deck, so I’m sure there were many reasons that I would have agreed with after I put the deck down. I was actually impressed by the number of cards (and number of reasons) that were included. I will take the time to read each one after I catch up on some of the modules. I think it would have been difficult to go through each card and only choose 5!

   
  Danielle Krawec (She/Her)

  Member

  June 13, 2023 at 8:55 pm

  I was also amazed by the youth programs!
  Danielle Krawec (She/Her)

  Member

  June 13, 2023 at 8:59 pm

  Woops, I think I accidentally commented on Regina’s post instead of Cassandra’s, but I also really agreed with Regina’s point about the importance of making teacher candidates well-versed in computing and equipped with digital literacy skills. I see it as rather cyclical, and we have the opportunity to get the cycle started.
  Dr. Natasha Cox-Magno (She/Her)

  Member

  June 17, 2023 at 8:47 pm

   

  My name is Dr. Natasha Cox-Magno.  I am an adjunct professor at York College.

  • Share the rationale cards you kept in your hand all the way to the end of the game. Why did you keep these to the end?
  • I kept the cards below because it provides a way for educators to provide educational knowledge access for diverse learning needs.
    • It would help teachers to meet the needs of all learners, and build on learns’ diverse experience, resources, and abilities.
    • It is important for teachers to learn to use the tools that will help them effectively meet the needs of students with disabilities ( e.g assistive technologies).
    • Data practices like collection, analysis and visualization supports teachers with learning about learners and communities, assessment, planning, and reflection.
    • Thinking about the aspect of instruction and lesson planning through the lens of computational thinking might help teacher learn these skills more efficiently.
    • Integrating computational and design thinking into teacher education might help teachers develop a curious, debugging mindset that learns from and iterates on failure
  • Why did you discard the other cards.
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    • I felt the other cards were less about student centered teaching.
  • What connections can you make between the values you reviewed and the examples from people’s digital lives
    • Both  Good Readers and Book Recommendation Algorithms in ELA  and  the value  ” it will help teachers to meet the needs of all learners and build on learners’ diverse experiences, resources, abilities” by  looking  towards learners’  to develop a learning  tool to support students diverse level of performance needs.
    • How did you interact with the game?
      • The game worked but , I tinkered with the algorithm. First I choose five cards. When I began to choose additional cards and discard one card from the original 5. I noticed that many of the cards had concepts that were in between the concept I choose and the concept I discard.  Also, I found my self placing the cards that feii between my preferred card concepts and my non preferred card concepts, in the middle of the pile of cards.