[Sara Vogel, PhD. (she/her)]

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?

[Jean Marc Cadet (He/Him)]

Hi everyone,

My name is Jean Marc Cadet and i work at Medgar Evers College Mathematics department as a Lecturer for the past 5 years…

In regards of the game, i keep the following cards 1, 13, 20,21 and 28 for the following reasons:

Computational thinking and digital literacies will open up lines of communication and use of the internet to explore every career. Nowadays, we live in a world where things are changing at a fast speed especially how we teach students at every level so therefore it is imperative to adapt our teaching with new tools to enhance our teaching. It is important for teachers to have knowledge and skills to equip students in class. We cannot give what we do not have. Teachers are the engine of change in our schooling system, consequently, they need to know hot to navigate and manage new technologies tools. Another reason is that technology provides teachers with an opportunity to connect with their students in a new way, it allows teachers to explain curriculum material in a new dimension.

I’ve always known  i wanted to teach, but my former teachers absolutely became part of my why. I want to be the teacher that they all were for me and hopefully make them proud. In fact, my why is to share the power of digital tools with students who intend embrace any career; it is also a privilege to help students to connect to be more connected to their life and their business and above all it is a way to push students to be the best version of themselves so that the society will be proud of their accomplishments.

I start the game by flipping over some cards and then i lost the order in my cards after dividing the cards in half and create two piles….In fact, i could not follow the directions properly and i end up breaking the rules ….above all it iwas an amazing and interesting play to organize my thoughts.

 

[Juanita Crafton (she/her)]

My name is Juanita Crafton and I am the director of the childcare center at MEC. I have been an educator for over 30 years in various capacities (teacher; education director; adjunct professor; director).

As an educator, I believe that education and how students are educated frequently evolves to reflect the social, cultural and economic changes in our society. Keeping this in mind, the cards I kept cards reflected my values. As an educator, it is my job to ensure I keep up or become familiar with the technology students are exposed to.  If I don’ understand it, how can I teach them the importance of privacy and security in digital environments? How can I find, use or even create suitable educational resources that would be accessible to all my students? or How can I prevent my students for becoming so immersed in their “technology world” that they forget how to collaborate and create meaningful relationships with each other? It was difficult for me to completely discard any cards as I believe each one was important and needs to be explored.

Technology is here to stay and there is nothing we can do about it. Therefore, the onus is on us as educators to not only prepare our students but also to prepare ourselves and our colleagues on how to navigate and utilize teaching resources in our classrooms. COVID-19 was a wake-up call for many teachers and students as we scrambled to use digital platforms we were not familiar with to teach and learn. This put a lot of students at a disadvantage and further created/widen the educational disparities in our communities. One of the things that resonated with me during this time was the fact that many individuals didn’t understand the dynamics around privacy and security while using technology.

It took me a minute or two to understand the game, but when I did, it was interesting. At first, I followed the rules as written, but then I changed it. I read each card and created 3 piles for myself – my values; overflow; discard. I then mixed the cards from the “my values” and “overflow” piles to play the game using the algorithm. This was exciting.

[Keshia James]

Hi, my name is Keshia James and I am a 3k lead teacher at the childcare center at MEC.

Over the years, as our society evolve, as educators we have seen the growing need to integrate technology in our classrooms in some way. However, the pandemic has exasperated the need for technology education and exposed many new ways that technology can be used in the classroom (some not so accepting in the past not). My experience teaching and being a student remotely during the pandemic  influenced the way I played the card game. I must say that it was very had to settle on just 5 and I created much more than the “value” and “overflow’ piles.

As an educator it is important that I not only know of different technologies but also know how to navigate it and understand it’s capabilities to be able to teach it to my students. As I looked through the deck, I chose cards that I believed focused on the benefits of digital literacy for the teacher and their teaching, addressed how students will directly benefit from the integrated use of technology (student centered) and  highlighted the benefits  of digital literacy for our diverse communities.

At the end of the game, I was left with cards 5, 11,16, 24 and 34

[Gelonia Dent]

I am Gelonia Dent, assistant professor of mathematics. In applied mathematics, technology integration is directly in research. I approach teaching using the scientific method, reflected in the final selection of the computing values game.

I followed the game’s directions and ended up with card numbers 26 (data literacy), 27 (selecting appropriate tools), 33 (scientific method), 38 (learning design), and 43(inquiry-based learning). These topics build a complete overview of computational thinking. Students cannot accomplish inquiry-based learning if they are not literate in the subject matter, and teachers who are not confident in their fundamental knowledge of a subject will not successfully implement inquiry-based learning.

The term ‘using technology’ is very broad. Using a phone to read an ebook but programming an app that searches for content is on the other end of the spectrum. The first is passive use of technology, and the latter is active use.

[Zulema Blair]

Hi,

My name is Dr. Zulema Blair and I am Professor and Department Chair of Public Administration at MEC.

At the end of the game, I was left with cards # 4, 8, 10, 19, and 33. I decided to keep these cards because I fundamentally think that if students are given the tools to solve problems in their own communities, they start to develop an interest in the subject matter that we are trying to engage them in. Whether it is access to wifi, or any social issue that they feel directly, they will dive in to try to solve it. Hence, teachers should use this form engagement so that students would become more interested in the subject matter that they are trying to convey.

Also, as someone who focuses on public policy, being a good citizen, having the tools to become a good citizen, and remaining current with these tools are essential to help students thrive. More importantly, teachers should have this perspective when trying to teach what some may perceive as difficult subjects.

I followed the instructions and used two piles; it then turned into three piles – the third pile being a “maybe”. I reviewed again and eliminated based upon my teaching philosophy.

I teach from a student-centered perspective by using the theories and tools/applications that are necessary for delivering the student learning objectives and achieving the desired learning outcomes. Each class is different and I have found that each year a different methodology is required to deliver the information. Therefore, I am always open to innovative ways of teaching the material. Either way, it always comes from a social justice perspective.

[Author]

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