week 6 reflections

 Digital Technologies

We have commenced the digital technologies component of the course this week. The first section is exploring coding. In terms of computer programming, my experience is nil. As a computer user, I understand the very basics of keys and buttons representing instructions to the software. I have never actually created a programme and I view software programs as highly complex systems. So I am dubious about how to incorporate 'coding'  into pedagogy because of my lack of understanding. To teach effectively, one needs to understand the content and ideally, have a passion for it. I enjoy maths and have a good grasp on mathematical concepts so hopefully this will translate to  a good understanding of coding principles and processes.

We visited binary code this week. I vaguely remembered it from school. The concept is easy to understand and games would be a great way to teach it. I still struggle with relating it to computer language' though.

How do I answer the question, "Why are we learning this?"

I hope to answer this over the next couple of weeks.

I found the following article posted on the moodle site a good place to start.
Article : www.districtadministration.com/article/coding
 The article discusses computer coding in the curriculums of American schools. Computer science instruction is vital "to give students critical job skills". Computer coding teaches logical reasoning, algorithmic thinking and structured problem solving skills. The cross curricula potential for these skills is obvious and a link is made between improved algebra results and increased computer science lessons.

I explored  this website that offers activities to introduce coding to students:

http://studio.code.org/

http://studio.code.org/flappy/1

Whilst the activities are very engaging for students, I am unsure of their genuine learning quality. I felt it involved reading instructions then clicking and dragging to correct positions, kind of like a multiple choice exercise. I'm not sure that students would necessarily make connections between coding and what they are doing. I will explore the site further as there were some paper based activities that looked interesting and could be easily implemented in classrooms without one-to-one devices.

Design and Technologies - Assessment Task 1 Part A

Reflections on Practical and Pedagogical Issues with the Technology Design Cycle

The design and technologies curriculum rationale identifies a type of thinking required of students during their learning - 'design thinking', as opposed to the 'computational thinking 'of the digital technologies curriculum. For me, this is the essence of the design and technologies curriculum aims and rationale. So I have approached the technology design cycle as a resource to scaffold the thinking habits of students in this direction.
 
The following quote is a standout one for me from the technologies curriculum overview: 

"Australia needs enterprising individuals who can make discerning decisions about the development and use of technologies and who can independently and collaboratively develop solutions to complex challenges and contribute to sustainable patterns of living." (ACARA, 2015). 

 

The futures thinking emphasis is obvious and I, personally am excited about the opportunity to be able to participate and witness this part of  the curriculum as it grows and develops. Throughout the first half of EDCU12039 I have experienced an introduction to the teaching-learning process of design and technologies by employing the technology design cycle (http://mypdesign.weebly.com/). Initially I found the templates disjointed (http://designchallengesolution.wikispaces.com/Allison%27s+Page) in that I was looking for a logical flow of events that was obvious to learners. I felt that the thinking flow was somewhat interrupted and bogged down in red tape, especially for younger learners. The templates provided to us involved 'needs analysis', 'design specifications' and  'risk assessment'. And they were just the 'investigate' phase of the design process. In hindsight, I see that I needed to view the templates as completely adaptable tools for promoting the concepts that need to be considered. 
My initial misgivings were influenced by the fact that my final year practicuum placement is with a year 1 cohort where I am negotiating the fine line between mandated curriculum and prescribed lessons,  and futures thinking adaptability. I see so much potential for the technologies curriculum to be applied across the board, rather than as a separate subject, given the resources. This would solve the problem of negative connotations that technology earns as an extra subject in an already overcrowded curriculum (Jones, Bunting, de Vries, 2011). The design challenge I adopted for the purpose of introduction to the technology design cycle was a website format for recipes that use local seasonal produce. This context offers students authenticity and opportunity for genuine participation. Local produce abounds in this area and seasonal surplus in the form of over ripe offerings at markets (or at home in the fruit bowl) is a likely shared experience for students. A dedicated teacher could model this fact with a photographic journal of local market trips shown to the class for learners without such exposure at home. From this perspective, I really engaged with the Mawson article, Beyond the design Process: An Alternative Pedagogy for Technology Education (2003). Mawson highlighted the importance of immersion in context prior to consideration of a problem or issue. This seems an obvious thing to do yet we fail to find the time for such luxuries in learning. How can students fully understand a concept as a problem or issue and be able to consider possible solutions without knowledge of its origins and impacts? Immersion is entirely possible and easy when the subject is utilised as a cross curricular one. This situation holds potential links to science (cooking processes), SOSE (sustainability and local environments/economics), english (recipe writing, procedures, digital literacies).
The recipe website offers opportunities for immersion, or context building with excursions, research, school garden potential. Following this, the design cycle can be utilised:

Image retrieved from  http://mypdesign.weebly.com/

 

The context building allows for problem identification, planning, creation and evaluation in a more authentic way because learners understand the objective and goal properly.

As I explored the design cycle, peer feedback played an important role just as it would for students in the classroom as they collaborate in a design process. Peers offered valuable suggestions through our group wiki space ( http://designchallengesolution.wikispaces.com/) acknowledging the value of this learning experience and the directions it could take on cross-curricular paths (e.g. Indigenous perspectives). In turn, this feedback process offered me insight into others' interpretations for implementation of the process. The potential for online peer collaboration in a safe, secure forum offered by wikispaces needs to be acknowledged here also. I did consider individual contributions of recipes through wikispaces for the design challenge. The website option was chosen for ease of access and protection of content integrity.

 

References

Jones, A., Buntting, c. and de Vries, M.J. (2011). The developing field of technology education: a review to look forward. Int J Technol Des Educ 2013) 23:191-212.

Mawson, B. (2003). Beyond 'The Design Process': An Alternative Pedagogy for Technology Education. International Journal of Technology and Design Education 13. 117-128, 2003. Kluwer Academic Publishers.

Week 3 - Design Challenge Reflection

Image retrieved from www.careerpsychology.com.au

 

The technology design cycle - seems a thoughtful way to implement the design and technologies curriculum and encourage "design thinking". The steps are logical and the wording easily adapted for age appropriateness. I am envisaging role play with my year 1 cohort where we pretend to be 'designers', think like them and plan like them..."This is how designers plan. What kind of designer are you?" We  could begin with a plan on paper where students imagine themselves as fashion designers, race car designers etc., to illustrate the design cycle before presenting the problem of excess seasonal local produce.