In the spirit of imagination and of the assignment, I have presented my design skill and tool use, as superpowers. I still have a long way to go, but perhaps one day these strengths will be super powers. I humbly look forward to any input you may have.
References
Boling, E. (2010). The need for design cases: Disseminating design knowledge. International Journal of Designs for Learning, 1(1).
Boling, E., Alangari, H., Hajdu, I. M., Guo, M., Gyabak, K., Khlaif, Z., … & Bae, H. (2017). Core judgments of instructional designers in practice. Performance Improvement Quarterly, 30(3), 199-219.
December 5, 2021
Hi Sam,
I love how you’ve framed your superpowers. So very creative. Nice touch with with wayfinding signs too.
I would love to hear more about your experience with smartboards! I’m also not sure I know what M-learning is? Do tell.
Great creative effort that illustrates the nuance of ID work.
Sarah
December 6, 2021
Hi Sarah!
Thank you so much for reading my blog. Making these visuals always takes me forever and I am not quick using Canva at all but thank you. Smartboards have been a blessing but can be temperamental. I know we got some SmartTVs recently but I really didn’t like the user interface although the picture quality was better. The greatest thing about the smartboard is how precise you can get your online lessons and when you write or draw or use certain text books, all your fine movements are registered unlike if you use regular computer to teach and a mouse. It really impacts how I create a lesson if I know I have to teach without one. In the day I can access it from my office (even during a lock down) but at night our organization is still closed ( due to the pandemic ) so I teach from home using a laptop and it just isn’t the same.
Sam
December 12, 2021
Hi Sam,
I concur with others in this thread that your original post is fun, creative, informative, and a clever way to demonstrate your superpowers as well! I wanted to chime in here to respond to the comment above regarding how tools may shape our instruction, and also the comment below about mobile learning. In my experience, and in some of the research we have examined so far, there may be tension between technology and learning, yet they are also so complementary (Bates, 2015; Weller, 2020). I appreciate that your super-powers incorporate the priority of people in balance with technology – beautiful!
Regarding mobile learning, this is an area that I would like to explore more, particularly peri- and post-pandemic (written with an optimistic voice!). Many people have been forced online for work and/or learning, and finding boundaries between personal and professional/educational life is a serious and commonly-cited challenge (Charalampous et al., 2019). In my mind, use of mobile devices may exacerbate this, but I value the arguments in favor that you have shared.
~Alisha
Bates, T. (2015). Teaching in the digital age. Contact North https://teachonline.ca/teaching-in-a-digital-age/teaching-in-a-digital-age-second-edition
Charalampous, M., Grant, C. A., Tramontano, C., & Michailidis, E. (2019). Systematically reviewing remote e-workers’ well-being at work: a multidimensional approach. European Journal of Work and Organizational Psychology, 28(1), 51–73. https://doi.org/10.1080/1359432X.2018.1541886
Weller, M. (2020). 25 Years of Ed Tech. Athabasca University Press.
December 12, 2021
Thank you so much for your insights! I am so happy I met you on this MALAT journey. You are quite right about tension between learning and technology. I am very much looking forward to reading what you have suggested. I hope to spread a little positivity at work with the teachers who are struggling the technology.
Sam
December 6, 2021
Oh! I almost forgot, M-learning is mobile learning. When you use a phone to learn. This is not something that I was initially interested in and resisted at first but the reality is that many of my students who are newcomers, refugees or international students do not have money to buy a computer so we have had to be very flexible with how students access lessons. If some students do not attend a certain number of lessons, they can lose their study work visas. Students and their families in many cases have sacrificed much to be here so we do our best to accommodate. Not all instructors are a fan of this and perhaps hold a little resentment but they are trying their best in the current situation.
December 5, 2021
Sam, beautifully presented! As educators or Instructional Designers (IDs), we have an important common goal: impacting individual learners’ unique learning experience. I believe all four of your superpowers do just that! I find myself particularly drawn to your “shape-shifting” superpower, where you take the form of whatever role is needed to get the job done. Teachers and IDs alike perform multi-faceted roles that encompass various tasks and require specific skills that not everyone possesses. Hats off to you, Sam! You wear many hats, and you wear them well.
December 6, 2021
Thank you Ashley!
Before the pandemic my computer skills were abysmal and I had no idea how to teach online or use things like Teamviewer. Then over the pandemic during the first year, it was such a struggle for all of us at our organization. So after that first year and surviving and after many other teachers and colleagues retiring, quitting or or being laid off, I thought,” Wow, this horrible pandemic has taught me so much and I am still here.” I decided to apply for the MALAT program and I have been learning more than I ever thought. Now thanks to the program and our teamwork, I can also use Canva and other applications that I would have never even tried to use. Very grateful.
Sam
December 6, 2021
Sam, super fun post as always. Great integration of this week’s readings.
With regards to magnetism, have you explored any of the below? Or perhaps they are already integrated into your practice?
Levels – awareness of how our height or use of height sub-consciously gives other people in the room “the speaking shell”
Palms up – awareness of how we use our hands during discussion to invite (palms up) the audience into the experience or listen carefully for some helpful advice (palms down).
In other words, reflecting on your favourite and most impactful teachers and mentors, did they ask you questions or tell you what to do? And in what scenario is it best to use each technique?
Thank you
Ben
December 6, 2021
Hi Ben!
Thank you for reading. What interesting questions! Here is my very long response. Maybe grab some tea.
Regarding levels, as you may know, I started my education training with a Japanese company and was schooled right from the beginning during the interview for the job. There were many things such as appearance and what not to say to a class that were culturally unique. We were also made aware of levels in the workplace and socially. For instance, when at a dinner with clients or students we always had to toast with our glasses lower than the guest. Through the years when teaching in-person classes pre Covid I would always place myself at the same level as the student when giving a correction or pull a chair up when opinions were being discussed involving group work. It is hard to explain but if you have social awareness, you pick it up fast but if you do not students are less receptive. I have taken some of the things that I have learned from Japan but also discarded the things I was not comfortable with. Now my students are from all over the world.
The palms up or down, I have not tried. I would have to see it first. It could be an idea. I am reluctant to point and prefer to use an open hand to gesture. Once again pointing and closed hands are frowned upon in Japan so now it is just my style.
All my most impactful mentors have been people who listen to me and ask questions that help me realize what I should be doing. I have rarely had anyone tell me directly what to do except one incredibly special teacher in high school named Victoria. In our school, we only had mentors and not teachers. She changed my life. In my family no one had ever gone to university. I had a full 4-year scholarship, but I was going to pass on it because I had no idea what to do and did not think there was a place for me there. She told me directly that I WAS going to university and called the dean of the dance program at that moment for an interview and the rest was history. I was only 17 and I guess I did not mind because I could feel she cared about my future and all her students’ futures. I wish I could find her and say thank you.
Sam
December 12, 2021
Sam, what an amazing infographic you’ve made! I really resonated with the Agility superpower you shared and agree so many people had to truly endure and push through the numerous challenges amplified by the pandemic. I’m hoping everyone has been able to stabilize the time commitment and changes to a more sustainable practice now. – Zac
December 12, 2021
Thank you, Zac. I am sure you must have you must have had so many challenges and successes over the course of the pandemic! Have you returned to in person services? I have been back for a few months and I feel quite comfortable now. I think that I have learned an incredible amount of new things and although it has been stressful, I have come out a better person. For some of my colleagues who have children or family that are immunocompromised, they have been back in person for only a few months so it is still pretty hard for them. I hope in the future they split our classes into online or in-person not hybrid. It can be hard to split focus.
Sam
December 16, 2021
Hi Sam, first I’m really excited to work with you on assignment 3! I absolutely loved your Canva infographic to present your superpowers. You’re giving me some ideas for the manifesto of assignment 3. Having though through your superpowers, what do you feel are the ones you still what to access in the near future and why?
December 16, 2021
Stephanie,
I am excited to work with you too! Thank you for reading my blog. I have been working at the same company for 15 years and I feel that I am now ready to learn some new things. I am very interested in understanding others’ superpowers and talents. I am looking forward to learning from you and discovering new things.
Sam