Reading the second section of Weller\u2019s (2020) \u201c25 Years of Ed Tech\u201d was entertaining for me, as this was when I was finishing high school and doing the bulk of my post-secondary education. This was a time frame during which I spent the most time online for fun and was starting to use the Internet and computers properly to further my learning. <\/p>\n
I remember my first experience using the Blackboard learning LMS while completing my undergraduate studies at UBC. However, the goal was to make things more accessible and connected; it was far too complicated for its good. While in post-secondary, Blackboard and similar LMS options were trialed at the different schools I attended, but they each had some sort of flaw or problem that made them harder to use. Although the goal of most LMS options in the early stages was likely to supplement in-person learning and not replace it, they were often clunky and challenging to maneuver around. <\/p>\n
It may be that I was a teenager at the time, but blogging was something I never would have connected to academic or professional communication. The blogs I heard about in the 2000s were digital diaries written by people my age to share what happened that day or their opinions of some music video. The idea that blogging created a new academic platform that paralleled traditional publication shows how significant this change was and how it provided opportunities for many others to get their ideas and opinions out there. Similarly to the growth of blogs, another major game changer was the widespread access to platforms such as YouTube. This allowed people not only to create and upload their content but also people worldwide access to this information. Now, yes, I think it\u2019s fair to say we all may have spent a bit more time than we would care to admit watching cute animal videos, but it also provides us with news, tours of far-off places, instructions on how to fix or build something, and so much more. <\/p>\n
The introduction and widespread adoption of social media really changed the game. I remember signing up for Facebook back when you needed to be invited by someone who already had a profile, and now there are millions of accounts world wide. Although social media sites and apps are constantly changing, this level of connection isn\u2019t going anywhere. Working with kids, I aim to share these sites with them and teach them to use them safely and appropriately. It will be interesting to see how things change and if people move away from being as open and connected as they are now. <\/p>\n
The biggest lessons from 2002 – 2011 concern Social Media and Research. Since people are so connected via social media, it makes it easy to base research on it. Thanks to the algorithms already in place within many social media platforms, creating content to target a specific group or demographic would be easy. The reason I feel that this lesson is so important is that these practices are still being used now on current platforms, so clearly, they work.<\/p>\n
References:
\nWeller, M. (2020). 25 Years of Ed Tech. Athabasca University Press.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
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