Week 6: An Introvert's Perspective on Class

This week, Lorayne has asked us to focus our learning log on what we are doing during class time. Specifically, what am I doing in class time? How much is passive learning? And how much is active learning?

What I'm Doing During Class

Let's start with what I am doing during class time. I have to admit that most of the time I am listening to the conversation and discussion that is happening in class, especially when we are in a larger group. As an introvert, I really find class overwhelming in terms of stimulus because I'm trying to take everything in, including the discussion, chat window etc. I need time to process information... it's just the way that my brain works! I do participate much more frequently during breakout discussions. I appreciate it when we do breakouts as it gives me a break from feeling overwhelmed and allows me a bit more time to process and contribute to the discussion.

Passive vs. Active Learning

In regards to passive versus active learning, I see how Lorayne has set up the course to minimize passive learning. I learn much more when I am actively engaged in the material and I find that my attention span is very limited when learning is more passive. There is a vast array of literature that supports this notion, and I've witnessed this in my teaching practice as well, especially this year. Students in my SL chemistry class learned about electrochemistry through project-based learning; they were deeply engaged in learning all about batteries in order to construct their own. At the end of the unit, I gave them a test and the average was far higher than I've ever seen in past practice, where instruction has been typically more teacher-directed. What's interesting about this class is that they have been frustrated about this approach; they are so used to a teacher-directed classroom and it's been a challenge to get them to buy-in! Change is never easy but, knowing the huge benefits, I will continue along this path as I know it is best for students.

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Week 2: The Innovation-Policy Gap

This week's readings were focused on digital privacy. It is clear from from both Davis (2014) and Leatham & Robertson (2017 ) that there exists some major discrepancies between innovation, the use of technology in education, and policy. In particular, as I was reading the Leatham & Robertson (2017) article, I began to question my own practices and choices of digital tools in the classroom... do they protect student digital privacy or am I unknowingly putting my students at risk here? I will certainly be examining the digital tools that I choose much more closely to ensure that this is not the case. I found the following quote from Leatham & Robertson (2017) particularly interesting: "Teachers, and in particular, early adopters appear to be caught in the cross-currents of multiple and contradictory technology imperatives" (p. 3). This quote really caught my eye because it is linked to the leadership theory that I am working on with my group for Assi...

Week 12: Blue Sky Thinking

I have seen a general theme running through both this course and my practice in my leadership role. Technology leadership, or really any leadership, always comes back to RELATIONSHIPS. Fostering good relationships with staff and students creates a positive environment which is key to gaining trust and buy-in. This, in turn, allows for risk-taking and innovation. As I look back on the course, relationships were seen interwoven throughout the course content. For example, relationships were central to many of the leadership theories that I examined early on in the course. As a leader, using and modelling the use of technology can influence attitudes, as seen in social learning behaviour, which can then influence behaviours. This is linked to the theory of reasoned action, which describes how attitudes as well as norms can influence behaviour. Both attitudes and beliefs about the usefulness of introducing and adopting a new technology will influence the adoption. Communities o...

Week 11: Looking Back

This week in class, we took a look back at the learning goals that was provided at the beginning of the course. I think that I have met most, if not all, of these goals but I think that it is an important exercise for me to critically analyze and measure how I am doing for each one individually: Goal 1: Theory to practice. Apply new understandings of tech leadership theory to practice and in the course. This is perhaps one of the goals that I dedicated the most time and effort towards. The course was really designed around not only learning about tech leadership theories, but also applying these theories in practice. In the course, this was evident during the theory presentation assignment, the case study assignment, and the blue sky metaphor assignment (at least that's the plan since it's not until next week!). It's pretty interesting how much the theory from this course has also crossed over to my professional practice as well. I find that I'm even q...

EDUC5205G Learning Log

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