{"id":180,"date":"2018-05-02T04:49:03","date_gmt":"2018-05-02T11:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/?p=180"},"modified":"2018-06-14T08:19:06","modified_gmt":"2018-06-14T15:19:06","slug":"the-plan","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/the-plan\/","title":{"rendered":"The Plan"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"\"

Image: Chad Flinn<\/p><\/div>\n

As I sat down to work on my digital map, I thought that I had a pretty good handle on what my digital identity was. \u00a0I began to move my icons around my digital visitor and resident map I realized that while I had a strong digital presence, I was not at all intentional with it. \u00a0As new mediums and platforms appear, I would adopt them, try them out and if I could find a way to add them to my digital toolbox I would integrate them into my philosophy. \u00a0If I couldn\u2019t find a way to incorporate them I wouldn\u2019t necessarily discard them; I would try to make them fit.\u00a0 I was attempting to push square pegs into round holes. I would use technology for technology’s sake, not for the sake of enhancing the educational experience.<\/p>\n

As I was going through the readings I found many examples of how I was using digital tools and how I could be using digital tools. Schryver\u2019s article resonated with me the most:<\/p>\n

\n

\u201cIn general, I tend to use Facebook in a few circumscribed ways: to promote myself\u00a0 (\u201ccheck out my latest blog post!\u201d), and to inform or entertain, preferably in a self- aggrandizing way that establishes myself as an Intelligent\/Witty\/Irreverent Person.\u00a0 And so amusing Web videos get posted, as do perceptive articles and infographics, not to mention pop-culture ephemera that solidifies my reputation as a playful (but\u00a0 with edge!) raconteur\u201d (Schryver, n.d.)<\/span><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

I could have written that myself and it does not only apply to Facebook. \u00a0Any platform that I would come across and try to use in my teaching practice gets used without much thought or intention. I am coming to the realization that I had no real plan for my digital presence. \u00a0I was in an unintentional reactionary mode.<\/p>\n

Plan<\/strong><\/h2>\n

My overall goal has now become to become more intentional with my use of digital technology. \u00a0I know that this can sound like a very vague goal.\u00a0 When I first came up with the idea, it seemed unclear to me as well. \u00a0I sat down and reflected on the readings and my practice and tried to put a foundation in my plan.<\/p>\n

My plan of intentionality has two parts:<\/p>\n

When I teach, I still gravitate towards the sage on the stage type of model. I have the knowledge and I am sharing it with my students. I think that for me this has been because it is the way that I learned and it is a model with which that I am very comfortable. \u00a0This may resonate with some students but it also leaves some students behind.\u00a0 There is a power in becoming actively involved in the lessons.\u00a0 I have always said that the best way to learn something is to teach.\u00a0 Why not translate this to my students as well? \u201cWhen you participate, you become an active citizen rather than simply a passive consumer of what is sold to you, what is taught to you, and what the government wants you to believe.\u201d (Rheingold, 2010). \u00a0There is power in becoming a participant in your own education.\u00a0 I want to explore this idea further and how to incorporate it into my practice.<\/p>\n

My second area of intentionality derives from the idea of the visitor\/resident typology. \u00a0I have been very comfortable being a resident in my private life.\u00a0 I am a user of social media. \u00a0I share and engage on a few different platforms.\u00a0 When it comes to my professional life, I find myself more of a resident. \u00a0When it comes to teaching, I use digital tools to enhance my lessons.\u00a0 Youtube, Google, and our LMS all get used.\u00a0 I use them in the same way I use a textbook. \u00a0They are not there to propel discussion or create a place to form ideas.\u00a0 Much like David White points out in his paper on Visitors and residents.\u00a0 \u201cUltimately to visitors the web is simply one of the many tools they can use to achieve certain goals; it is categorized alongside the telephone, book, pen and paper and off-line software. \u00a0It is not a \u2018place\u2019 to think or to develop ideas and to put it crudely, and its most extreme, Visitors do their thinking off-line\u201d (White & Le Cornu, 2009)<\/p>\n

\u00a0Process<\/strong><\/h2>\n

My approach to working towards these goals are not as daunting as I would have thought before I started writing out this plan. \u00a0I have the tools at my disposal and use them daily in my personal life.\u00a0 As the old saying goes, you don\u2019t know what you don\u2019t know. \u00a0There is a lot about using digital technology in education that I don\u2019t know.\u00a0 I plan to join and participate in online forums on the topic of education. \u00a0There are many other educators out there that are doing some exciting things.\u00a0 There is no need to reinvent the wheel.\u00a0 By using Facebook groups, Linked In, Twitter, and Reddit I can begin to explore what others are doing. \u00a0Not only can I get the information I am looking for but I can participate in the discussion.\u00a0 Becoming participatory is not just something that I will expect from my students but will be something that I hope of myself as well.<\/p>\n

We use a learning management system called Desire 2 Learn where I work. \u00a0This platform has a lot of different tools that you can use to interact with your students. \u00a0Right now I use it as a repository for worksheets and the odd video.\u00a0 I will work towards making it a more dynamic tool. \u00a0I will use it as a tool to have the students participate rather than just a place to go to for information.\u00a0 As Hargittai and Walejko state \u201cthe participation gage may be overcome by a \u2018new media literacy\u2019 highlighting the importance of focusing on enhancing people\u2019s creative pursuits and abilities beyond providing technological access\u201d (Hargittai & Walejko, n.d.)<\/p>\n

When it comes to technology and the web, I am very comfortable using and learning new tools and platforms. \u00a0An area of growth for me will be reaching out to a community to see how they may be able to help me.\u00a0 I am more comfortable sitting in the background watching and learning what I can. I am what Danah Boyd would call a \u201clurker.\u201d \u201c Lurkers who share the same space but are not visible are one potential audience\u201d (Boyd, n.d.). \u00a0I plan to join groups, engage in discussion and ask questions.\u00a0 I am also an avid listener of podcasts.\u00a0 I know that there must be some significant resources in the podcast world for educators who are using digital tools.<\/p>\n

\u00a0Measures of success<\/strong><\/h2>\n

It is difficult to say precisely how I will know that I have hit my mark, succeeded in what I set out to do. \u00a0One of the ways that I can see this happening is through accountability.\u00a0 I already meet with a fellow member of our cohort once a week to discuss issues, challenges, and successes. \u00a0I plan on sharing with her my journey.\u00a0 Also as we progress through this course, I hope to share and learn from other members of the cohort in our mission.<\/p>\n

I fully understand that throughout the next two years my plan will most likely change. \u00a0That is one of the joys of having a plan that is a non-binary model.\u00a0 These types of plans are meant to be iterated and changed. \u00a0I look forward to what my digital identity will look like on the other side of the MALAT.<\/p>\n

References<\/strong><\/p>\n

Boyd, D. (n.d.). Social Network Sites as Networked Publics: Affordances, Dynamics, and Implications. Retrieved from https:\/\/www.danah.org\/papers\/2010\/SNSasNetworkedPublics.pdf<\/p>\n

Hargittai, E., & Walejko, G. (n.d.). THE PARTICIPATION DIVIDE:Content creation and sharing in the digital age. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.1080\/13691180801946150<\/p>\n

Rheingold, B. H. (2010). Attention ,. Retrieved from https:\/\/er.educause.edu\/~\/media\/files\/article-downloads\/erm1050.pdf<\/p>\n

Schryver, K. (n.d.). Who Are You Online? Considering Issues of Web Identity – The New York Times. Retrieved April 24, 2018, from https:\/\/learning.blogs.nytimes.com\/2013\/02\/05\/guest-post-who-are-you-online-considering-issues-of-web-identity\/?_r=0<\/p>\n

White, D. S., & Le Cornu, A. (2009). Visitors and Residents\u202f: A new typology for online engagement | White | First Monday. Barcelona<\/em>, pp. 1\u201310. https:\/\/doi.org\/10.5210\/fm.v16i9.3171<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

As I sat down to work on my digital map, I thought that I had a pretty good handle on what my digital identity was.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":96,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[30,27,19,21,22,24],"class_list":["post-180","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-lrnt521","tag-edutech","tag-groups","tag-network","tag-oer","tag-open-education","tag-open-educational-resources"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/96"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=180"}],"version-history":[{"count":5,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":244,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/180\/revisions\/244"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=180"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=180"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/malat-webspace.royalroads.ca\/rru0054\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=180"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}