Meaghan's edci337 Blog

PROMPT: Describe differences between TPACK, SAMR and SECTIONS

TPACK stands for Technological, Pedagogical, and Content Knowledge. I believe this means they are all about knowledge. Whereas SAMR is Substitution, Augmentation, Modification, and Redefinition, which involves the focus on educational technology. Finally, SECTIONS, stands for Students, Ease of Use, Costs, Teaching Design, Interaction, Organizational Issues, Networking, and Security and Privacy. I believe that SECTIONS is about the overall usage for students and the opportunity it allows educators to provide to their students. The main difference I found between the three is TPACK if focussed on the knowledge and content of what the students are learning, SAMR is focused on the technology used for the student, and SECTIONS is focused on the impact all of this will have on both the student and the educator.

As stated in Bate’s video, SECTIONS and SAMR work very well together for students and educators. This could be because as stated in my paragraph above, SAMR focusses on technology education and SECTION focusses on the impact the resources have on the students. Therefore, if we carefully review the technology we choose to use, then use SECTIONS to finalize our analyzation and to consider how it will impact our students and if it will be beneficial, we can then decide whether the technology is worth keeping.

Resources

7. choosing media. YouTube. (2020, April 23). Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://youtu.be/-W79hGvukTs

The Importance of Accessibility, Inclusion, and Adaptation

Inclusion of all students is extremely important, especially when it comes to learning. When it comes to learning, resources should be accessible and beneficial for ALL students, including those with extra needs or disabilities. This means that often schools and teachers must adapt their typical style of education for preparation of these students with alternative needs, to ensure they will be successful as well. British Columbia’s A guide to adaptations and modifications (2009) states examples of adaptations such as “alternatives to written assignments to demonstrate knowledge and understanding”. By providing options for the student to choose from, the student will then be able to demonstrate their understanding of a topic in the best way they know how to. For example, if you give options for assignments such as a writing assignment, a creative assignment, or a verbal assignment, students now have 3 options which they could use to demonstrate what they have learned to you. By creating these options, it also allows students to choose their assignment based on the resources that they have accessibility to at home. This is important because not all students have access to a computer at home. Therefore, if schools were to assign an online assignment it would be extremely important for them to provide access to school computers; this way all students have the resources required to complete the assignment.

Backward Design

In this video “What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL), they breakdown that not everyone learns the same and gives the example that it is like asking everyone to fit into one size of clothing. This is clearly not how life works. Then they describe UDL as an “education framework that guides the design of learning goals, materials, methods, and assessments”. By allowing options for learners, we can help to increase the success of all students. Similarly to the video “Backward Design“, they state the three main steps: identification, evidence, and planning. As a camp leader, I can vouch that these steps are incredibly helpful to guiding my campers to success. For example, in camp, if we are having behavioural issues with a child, we will use this backward design method to teach what is considered “good behaviour” and prevent the “bad behaviour” from happening in the first place. As a camp leader, I recognize that just saying “no” does not work for everyone. This is due to the fact that everyone learns and adjusts to situations differently. Therefore, I use a Positive Behaviour Support System (PBS) to model what I want to see. The backward design method is actually inherited into the PBS system that I follow. First, I will identify the goal I have for the child/the behaviour I want to change. Second, I will use evidence (such as encouraging what I want to see) to ensure the camper has understood what I want ; I know this when they continue to model the behaviour that I am encouraging. Third, I will plan ahead to prevent the behaviour from happening in the first place. For example, by using gentle reminders such as “before we go inside, remember to use walking feet” or such, therefore the camper knows my expectations of them. Another option I often use is providing visuals. Many people, especially children, do not respond well to verbal cues or direction and require visuals. Therefore, by having images with my rules and expectations, campers can see exactly what they are supposed to do. By providing these visuals, it demonstrates the utilization of UDL because it gives all my campers who learn differently different ways to try to understand the expectations. For those who are verbal learners, they will get verbal reminders and also for those who are visual learners they can see exactly what is meant by my verbal direction with the images provided.

Resources

Adaptations and modifications guide – burnaby schools. (n.d.). Retrieved June 19, 2022, from https://burnabyschools.ca/wp-content/uploads/2014/09/adaptations_and_modifications.pdf

BC Ministry of Education http://udlresource.ca/2017/12/backward-design/

Promoting accessible classroom – ascension wheelchair lifts. Ascension Wheelchair Lifts – ADA Compliant Wheelchair Lifts. (2021, June 4). Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://www.ascension-lift.com/blog/schools/3-steps-accessible-classroom/

What is Universal Design for Learning (UDL)? YouTube. (2017, November 2). Retrieved June 18, 2022, from https://youtu.be/AGQ_7K35ysA

This week I discovered Canva and created a poster using it. While creating this poster on my hometown, Victoria BC, I found Canva very easy to use. Once I made an account, I could choose from templates for my poster and edit/design it as I liked. Although I did not design an informative educational poster, I still followed the 8 basic principles of design: alignment, hierarchy, contrast, repetition, proximity, balance, colour, and space. I particularly found colour and spacing extremely important while creating my poster. As my “customer segment” would be adventurous people who live in Victoria or tourists who are visiting, I ensured to include photos as well as “bright and happy” colours to catch the viewers eye. I feel by using the template that I did, it was easy to read and follow. By choosing a white background with blue as my main pop of colour on the poster, I feel the blue could make people feel “calm or trusting” (Adobe, 2020). Overall, I found by using Canva, my graphic design abilities have improved and my understanding of the basic design principles. As Adobe (2020) states “developing an eye for visuals starts with identifying these basic design principles.” For more information, visit the adobe website at https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/8-basic-design-principles-to-help-you-create-better-graphics.

References

8 basic design principles to help you make Awesome Graphics. (n.d.). Retrieved June 6, 2022, from https://www.adobe.com/express/learn/blog/8-basic-design-principles-to-help-you-create-better-graphics

Prompt:

1. Examples you have been a part of in your classes of Game Based Learning
2. Examples you have been a part of in your classes of Gamification

In this week’s blog post, I am going to talk about my experience of game based learning and also my experience in creating gamification in the workplace.

First, I will talk about an example I have been a part of in my classes of Game Based Learning. In my grade 8 science class, my teacher encouraged Game Based Learning in her classroom. For this assignment, we were required to either write a song on the topic, or create a game to do with the topic. I clearly remember creating a board game for my class and having to be able to explain the game clearly for all my fellow classmates. I found this difficult because it allowed me to realize that just because something made sense to me, it did not necessarily mean it made sense to my classmates. Therefore, I ensured that my game was accessible for all, as well as that it helped everyone retain and understand the content needed for our test. In our board game, we were required to incorporate certain definitions and gain or lose points based on the learners understanding/answer. For my board game, I created a game similar to monopoly where each property was a definition and each chance card required answering questions about the definition. I found this interactive learning style of Game Based Learning extremely helpful in understanding and retaining information!

Secondly, I am going to talk about my experience in creating Gamification in my workplace. As a summer camp leader, although we are not educating all the campers in an academic way, we still used Gamification to encourage and motivate our campers. As most of our campers varied in age but fell in the younger ages, we used teams and point systems to encourage and help teach good behaviour. For example, each week we would separate our campers into groups of 5-6 people. This would be their team for the week. Every time the campers played games, or went on out-trips, or helped with cleaning, etc., we would offer points. For example, if a child was positively encouraging their teammate in a game, we would acknowledge their positivity and reward them with a point for their team. We would also take away points for negative behaviours. I found this form of gamification extremely helpful in my work environment as it helped my campers to realize that if they did participate in negative or positive behaviours, the points would not just benefit or consequent them, but their team as well. At the end of the week, the team could choose a prize together using their points. Overall, I found this gamification in my work environment very beneficial to both myself and my campers!