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For Further Reading:

Cino, D., & Vandini, C. D. (2020). “Why Does a Teacher Feel the Need to Post My Kid?”: Parents and Teachers Constructing Morally Acceptable Boundaries of Children’s Social Media Presence. International Journal of Communication, 14, 1153–1172.

World Economic Forum. (2020). Ethical Principles for Digital Media and Technology Design in the New Normal. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Ethical_Principles_2020.pdf

eSafety Commissioner. (2021). Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education: Implementation guide. https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-07/BPF%20-%20Implementation%20guide.pdf

[theprovocationsblog]

[theprovocationsblog]

[theprovocationsblog]

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[theprovocationsblog]

About Me <3

You’ve reached the blog of Laraine!

Hi! My name is Laraine, a first-year student at ACU studying for a bachelor’s degree in Education, specialising in Primary and Secondary. As a future teacher, I want to create an environment that will become a safe space for students and offer all the support and guidance they require. EDES104 is a subject that covers the digital culture and capability of society and how this can help shape our teaching perspectives and philosophy, not only on technology but on our students and attitudes to Education as well. This blog was designed to introduce these forming philosophies and help aspiring teachers form their perspectives in teaching.

!!!EACH BLOG POST IS AT THE SIDE WITH THE FOLDER ICONS!!!

[theprovocationsblog]

Blog Four

Provocations; Ethical issues that arise in the digital environment

As teachers, issues that typically arise when it comes to anything digital are how to use specific applications, updates, or not knowing how to use the sound system of the projector. We must be aware of the ethical issues when using the digital environment. Ethical issues are situations or predicaments that need to be decided on how to solve them using one's morals. 

In this blog, my research disclosed fascinating articles. One, written by Cino and Vandini (2020), explored the topic of morally acceptable boundaries in children's social media presence. It is now a common practice for teachers, parents and even children themselves to post children on social media. As a teacher, it is essential to respect the wishes of parents. By exposing students to social media, whether their face is exposed or not, we are becoming immoral teachers, thus the rise of ethical issues. We must act as "children's personal information gatekeepers" from the outside world to keep our students safe and distinguish a professional boundary within the teacher-student relationship, "Uphold[ing] children's rights to... protection in digital environments" (eSafety Commissioner, 2021, p. 3)

On the other hand, in The World Economic Forum's (2020) community paper, they outlined a set of principles that ensures safety. Despite the principles directed to a particular application, they link perfectly with our use of technology. One of their principles was "User empowerment and autonomy" (The World Economic Forum, 2020, p. 4), and to link it to teaching, as an educator, to stay ethical, we must encourage process rather than results as it will help us empower our students.

Teaching is a world of wonders, but it's essential that, as teachers, we respect boundaries and approach issues in morally correct ways to ensure that we act ethically. 

For Further Reading:

Cino, D., & Vandini, C. D. (2020). “Why Does a Teacher Feel the Need to Post My Kid?”: Parents and Teachers Constructing Morally Acceptable Boundaries of Children’s Social Media Presence. International Journal of Communication, 14, 1153–1172.

World Economic Forum. (2020). Ethical Principles for Digital Media and Technology Design in the New Normal. https://www3.weforum.org/docs/WEF_Ethical_Principles_2020.pdf

eSafety Commissioner. (2021). Best Practice Framework for Online Safety Education: Implementation guide. https://www.esafety.gov.au/sites/default/files/2021-07/BPF%20-%20Implementation%20guide.pdf

[theprovocationsblog]

Blog Three

Provocation; Risks to self and others in the digital environment

The world is dangerous, filled with scary strangers and the weirdest things. However, do you know what is more dangerous than the outside world? The Digital World. Consider the digital world as your little stalker. It has every single move, word, picture and preference of yours pinned and studied to please you, to assist you, to preserve for you and to bait you. Tech has reshaped our society, especially the way education is structured. Despite technology's help in immersing students in a more prosperous education, there are many risks to consider when it comes to our venture into the digital environment. 

Unlike the other entries, this blog will focus more on the risks of students using media. Hayes et al. (2022) studied the increasing number of students using social media; they looked at the benefits and risks of these experiences. Hayes et al. (2022) claim that students are presumably "more likely [to] experience cyberbullying" (p. 341). As technology like the internet and our gadgets increased, social interactions and collaborative learning experiences have also increased. However, many students do not use this innovative gift wisely but rather use these "electronic communication devices to bully others" (Li, 2005, p. 1778). Moreover, unfortunately, numerous schools have failed to address the safety of their students. 

In Li's (2005) study, he found that "one out of four youngsters aging 11–19 has been cyber-bullied" (p. 1779). Schools and guardians need to be aware of these risks. Teachers' role is usually associated "with a curriculum" (Berger, 2022, p.48). However, as teachers, we are responsible for becoming educators and mediators in guiding the young and informing them of the risks of social media. 

The importance of being aware of digital risks and the need to be able to educate our students is an essential skill for teachers. As a future teacher, I'll integrate risk assessment of the digital world into my teaching, showing students the safe use of technology. 

For Further Reading:

Berger, P. (2020). Teachers’ mediation practice: Opportunities and risks for Youth Media Behavior. Comunicar, 28(64), 49–59. https://doi.org/10.3916/c64-2020-05

Hayes, B., James, A., Barn, R., & Watling, D. (2021). “The world we live in now”: A qualitative investigation into parents’, teachers’, and children’s perceptions of social networking site use. British Journal of Educational Psychology, 92(1), 340–363. https://doi.org/10.1111/bjep.12452

Li, Q. (2005). New bottle but old wine: A research of cyberbullying in schools. Computers in Human Behavior, 23(4), 1777–1791. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chb.2005.10.005

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Blog Two

Provocation; Sustainability of technological development

From the title alone, everyone knows that the concept we'll discuss is sustainable technological development and its impact on the educational field. Sustainability refers to fulfilling the needs of our present generation without compromising the future generations. Technology majorly sped up to meet economic demands. With technological advances, such as AI, it's not a surprise when progressive technology becomes a household name within man-labour industries—supporting my assumption that the world of education might look very different from now and into the future.

I will say tech would be considered one of my—and I'm sure everyone will agree—holy grails. However, many have talked about the idea of Artificial Intelligence assisting teachers in classrooms (Krumsvik, 2023, p. 6), and some go as far as assuming that AIs might take over the whole educational industry.

Facer (2011) explores the talks of "new technologies" renovating our world (pg 6) and whether they offer new opportunities or "resources… for us as citizens… over the coming years" (pg 9). Technology has aided many during COVID-19, the main reason education remained triumphant during the pandemic, as students and teachers could continue with lessons. However, not everyone is as tech-savvy as the newer generation, which complicated technology implementation in the curriculum during COVID and now.

Digital Natives, as Prensky (2001) describes, are well-versed in the use of technology, while those who are adjusting to technology are called Digital Immigrants. As most students in our society fall within the sector of digital natives, they are quickly adapting to new technology, which leaves many educators to "grapple" with these advances to understand students' modern learning (Facer, 2011, p. 18), thus showing that teachers will slowly lose touch with technology and continue to struggle to reach the impending gap between them and their students.

Therefore, introducing and re-educating educators about the importance and function of technology is essential as this will help create a place for growth and assist teachers in addressing modern learning and using technology as an educational tool.

For Further Reading:

Facer, K. (2011). Introduction: Education, technology and the future . In Learning futures: Education, technology, and Social Change (pp. 6–9). introduction, Routledge.

Krumsvik, R. J. (2023). Adaptive learning tools and artificial intelligence in schools – some trends. Nordic Journal of Digital Literacy, 18(1), 4–7. https://doi.org/10.18261/njdl.18.1.1

Prensky, M. (2001). Digital Natives, digital immigrants part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. https://doi.org/10.1108/10748120110424816

[theprovocationsblog]

Blog One

Provocations One; The impact of technology on communication

This blog will discuss how technology became one of the most essential aspects of human life, specifically our connections with others. With technological advances, our way of living progressed, conveniently changing our everyday practices. We saw these changes during the pandemic, where education and relationships stood admirably despite the physical constraints of connecting. This goes to show that technology has positively impacted our ability to communicate. 

Communication is key. It’s a saying ruled in as law in all aspects of life: relationships, workplace, entertainment and education. Education and communication go hand in hand; we see that in how it supported the world during the pandemic crisis, “remote learning [is] a way to meet diverse needs” (George et al., 2021, p. 5). 

It’s a simple fact that our lives cannot function efficiently without the help of technology. The Industrial Revolution and the pandemic crisis that overtook our society proved that. Rind et al. (2021) see communication technologies as a “convenient source of communication” (p. 2). To put this in the educational setting, technology has successfully provided students access to the world’s knowledge, thus supplying them with a “better learning environment” and decreasing the “learning gap.” (Rind et al., 2021, p. 2). 

However, despite the positive technological impacts on communication, there were issues regarding online learning that caused a stir in these positive impacts. Desk (2020) explores the concept of education during the pandemic and names numerous apps that have assisted in creating convenience in intercommunicating. One of them is Zoom. Despite the praising tone Desk had for the application, they mention the issues of “uninvited participants” joining class calls and “shar[ing] objectionable content” (p. 3). Technology is a marvellous innovation and has created opportunities; however, like the physical world, the digital world also encourages the exercise of Freedom of Speech. 

To conclude, despite its positive impact, technology is still something all educators and guardians should be wary of as the dangers of technological communication are ever-present.

For Further Reading: 

Desk, T. (2020, April 8). Education amid covid-19 lockdown: Technology to the rescue with online classes. The Indian Express. https://indianexpress.com/article/technology/tech-news-technology/online-education-covid-19-lockdown-online-classes-6351798/

George, D. St., Strauss, V., Meckler, L., Heim, J., & Natanson, H. (2021, March 15). How the pandemic is reshaping education. The Washington Post. https://www.washingtonpost.com/education/2021/03/15/pandemic-school-year-changes/

Rind, A. A., Asad, M. M., Marri, S. A., Sherwani, F., & Rehman, F. U. (2021). How integration of information and communication technologies impact academic achievement? an empirical study on Sindh Education Foundation. Journal of Applied Research in Higher Education, 14(4), 1761–1772. https://doi.org/10.1108/jarhe-05-2021-0177