Pedagogy
In the process of thinking through this unit, I struggled with how to change the
way in which I taught my students about digital reputations. I truly believe that my students really need to understand how simple things said, posted, videotaped and commented on could harm their futures. As educators, we do not talk enough about the gravity of this topic. I have only been teaching a section on digital reputation for the past two years, but have noted that my instruction does not seem to have the kind of impact that I want. I do not feel like the information affected them on a personal “I” level what-so-ever. Therefore, I thought long and hard about different pedagogical approaches that I could take that would have the greatest impact on my students. I decided on an approach commonly used in teaching foreign languages called immersion.
Dictionary.com defines immersion as “state of being deeply engaged or involved.” This is the pedagogical change that I feel will have the greatest impact on my students. This approach guided my decisions in choosing the primary technology for this unit, the Ning social network. I believe that by having my students actively engaged in the type of activity that we are evaluating will allow them to connect more deeply to the concept of digital reputation. Immersion will allow my students to see me model for them the positive impact that social networking can have as well as help them see the educational value of social networking. In other words, social
networking will be seen not only as a place to post things and gossip but also a tool for collaborating with others, talking about issues, posting information and communicating to the world the great things they have to offer. Using immersion for studying this unit may be the critical piece in developing student understanding about digital reputations and not just learning about it.
In the past, my teaching style for this topic has always been teacher-centered. I would lecture, lead discussions and give projects based on what I wanted them to learn. In this unit, the control group will receive this same type of instruction. However, the experimental group will be taken through the unit using a more student-centered approach that specifically focuses on indirect
instructional strategies, like inquiry, problem solving, reflective discussion, reflective writing and concept mapping. I will still prompt them with question that are posted in the social networking page but will give greater flexibility to students to control the direction of learning and discovery. Using this approach, I hope to be able to allow my students to focus on the issues that are most meaningful to them while guiding them indirectly through the material. Again, Daniel Pink reminds us that autonomy is a great motivator that offers intrinsic rewards. (p. 88) If the goal of this unit is to foster understanding of digital reputations, then Wiggins and McTighe remind
us in Understanding by Design when they quote John Dewey, “Understanding is the result of facts acquiring meaning for the learner:
To grasp the meaning of a thing, an event, or a situation is to see it in its relations to other things: to see how it operates or functions, what consequences follow from it, what causes it, what uses it can be put to.” (pp. 3-4)
way in which I taught my students about digital reputations. I truly believe that my students really need to understand how simple things said, posted, videotaped and commented on could harm their futures. As educators, we do not talk enough about the gravity of this topic. I have only been teaching a section on digital reputation for the past two years, but have noted that my instruction does not seem to have the kind of impact that I want. I do not feel like the information affected them on a personal “I” level what-so-ever. Therefore, I thought long and hard about different pedagogical approaches that I could take that would have the greatest impact on my students. I decided on an approach commonly used in teaching foreign languages called immersion.
Dictionary.com defines immersion as “state of being deeply engaged or involved.” This is the pedagogical change that I feel will have the greatest impact on my students. This approach guided my decisions in choosing the primary technology for this unit, the Ning social network. I believe that by having my students actively engaged in the type of activity that we are evaluating will allow them to connect more deeply to the concept of digital reputation. Immersion will allow my students to see me model for them the positive impact that social networking can have as well as help them see the educational value of social networking. In other words, social
networking will be seen not only as a place to post things and gossip but also a tool for collaborating with others, talking about issues, posting information and communicating to the world the great things they have to offer. Using immersion for studying this unit may be the critical piece in developing student understanding about digital reputations and not just learning about it.
In the past, my teaching style for this topic has always been teacher-centered. I would lecture, lead discussions and give projects based on what I wanted them to learn. In this unit, the control group will receive this same type of instruction. However, the experimental group will be taken through the unit using a more student-centered approach that specifically focuses on indirect
instructional strategies, like inquiry, problem solving, reflective discussion, reflective writing and concept mapping. I will still prompt them with question that are posted in the social networking page but will give greater flexibility to students to control the direction of learning and discovery. Using this approach, I hope to be able to allow my students to focus on the issues that are most meaningful to them while guiding them indirectly through the material. Again, Daniel Pink reminds us that autonomy is a great motivator that offers intrinsic rewards. (p. 88) If the goal of this unit is to foster understanding of digital reputations, then Wiggins and McTighe remind
us in Understanding by Design when they quote John Dewey, “Understanding is the result of facts acquiring meaning for the learner:
To grasp the meaning of a thing, an event, or a situation is to see it in its relations to other things: to see how it operates or functions, what consequences follow from it, what causes it, what uses it can be put to.” (pp. 3-4)