Module 7 — York College

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  Posted by Ifeoma Nwoke (she/her) on June 13, 2023 at 6:30 pm

  After reviewing the visual resource, “Powering Connections: Teacher candidate perspectives on Computer Integrated Technology”, please respond to the following questions in this thread:

  What are your thoughts on the teacher candidate visual resource? What surprised you? What resonated with you? What other perspectives do you wish had been included?

• Dr. Natasha Cox-Magno (She/Her)

  Member

  June 17, 2023 at 2:20 pm

  What are your thoughts on the teacher candidate visual resource?

  I think that teacher candidate visual resources provided an instrumental lens to how using technology aligns with the Zone of Proximal development.  In other words,  technology is available, but there is still a need for support to navigate the system.

  What surprised you? What resonated with you?

  Providing navigation support, allowed people to develop a wider autonomy navigation approach.

  What other perspectives do you wish had been included?

  I would have like to see a perspective based on

  • Ask students to share about their prior experiences with technology and how they learn best in tech mediated environments – including their communication styles, language practices, and strengths – without making assumptions
  Casandra Silva Sibilin (she/her/hers)

  Member

  June 20, 2023 at 6:33 am

  My thoughts on the resource overall — Whew, this module was so much shorter than the other ones in the amount of content to go over! That was a relief. Also, it’s nice to get material in this visual story format. It is easy to understand and access. But most importantly, I really liked that it was based on the experiences of teacher candidates themselves. I feel like this is a resource that could be shared with other students and they could really relate to it and could then be used to generate further discussion.

  What surprised me — Although the stories were pretty short, each one packed in a lot to think about. I liked in particular the one about orientation where the disempowerment was turned into empowerment by asking for help.

  What resonated with me — Students getting frustrated by login issues and feeling like giving up. Last semester I took one of my classes to a computer lab so we could practice an assignment involving a new technology platform. I was taken aback by how many students did not know/could not log into the college network and also seemed very discouraged by the whole process. Fortunately, we had the computer lab technician right there to help. However, if it hadn’t been for this experience, I would not have known how many students were in that position. This also ties into their lack of wifi on campus, since that is with the same network and password.

  What other perspectives do you wish had been included — more about how teacher candidates use social media in their daily life, along with empowering and disempowering experiences.
  Leslie Keiler (she/her)

  Member

  June 25, 2023 at 4:27 pm

  What are your thoughts on the teacher candidate visual resource?

  I was most touched by the poem about algorithms targeting the students and her family creating financial disadvantage. The artistic expression and the dual language presentation were powerful ways to express the experience.

  What surprised you? What resonated with you?

  What most surprised me was the number of examples of students really struggling with technology. I am surprised that the CITE team has this data because it has felt as though the assumption is that this is all very easy for students. Although one of the guiding principle is supposed to be “working with fear and discomfort,” it has felt as though that fear is not founded in a reality of incredibly frustrating lived experience. It feels as though this quote applies to new and objectively challenging experiences, whereas Cassandra’s example shows that students experience frustration with just logging into campus resources.  (Faulty experience the same frustrations and risk not being paid this summer because logins are not working.) Sometimes we need to accept discomfort that comes with new experiences and sometimes technology is broken and makes life harder.

  What other perspectives do you wish had been included?

  I would have liked to hear from students with diverse learning needs who have used assistive technology.
  Danielle Krawec (She/Her)

  Member

  June 25, 2023 at 5:20 pm

  Wow, I loved this resource! I thought that the images and dialogue boxes were so creative and made reading the discussions very engaging. I always think some graphics make a difference, and I loved how I was able to put a face to a name for each of the teacher candidates (even if it was fictional – still effective!)

  I wonder how this resource was created – did you have to create the images completely on your own? Is there a program to convert photos into graphics like the ones that represented the speakers?

  On a deeper level, I completely identified with some of the frustrations that were shared. Like Leslie mentioned, some of York’s systems are not the easiest to navigate. I struggled constantly with the mere fact that there are 3 different logins depending on what site you are trying to access, and am only becoming more comfortable with it now because my phone and computer have each of the logins saved (until I have to change a password one of these days). That also brings me to the concerns that were brought up about privacy. I think the Internet can be a very scary place for young people, parents of young people, and teachers. I really liked how Warrick created a game to help his students explore digital privacy, because unfortunately it is impossible to protect them from everything. If they’re able to protect themselves and truly understand the world they’re entering on the Internet, that feels like a step in the right direction.

  One perspective that I also wanted to address is the assumption that young people are digitally literate. I’ve found that plenty of students know how to use social media like experts, but have never learned how to spellcheck a Word document or type a proper e-mail. I worry that some of the most basic academic resources that are available are often overlooked because it is assumed that everyone already knows how to use them.