Welcome to Week Three, Tech & Tools! We are halfway through the month which means we’re halfway through this module. In today’s dispatch I want to recommend some things to focus on this week and provide some advice if you feel like you’ve fallen “behind.”
First, if you haven’t yet, I recommend reviewing the “Choosing Technology with Intention” topic. Intentionality is one of the values I think is most important to our work with digital pedagogy. I encourage you to think about how you make choices about using (or not using) technology.
- From there, you might want to check out the Technology’s Hidden Curriculum activity and reflect upon a technology or tool you’re already using.
- The Group Reading Learning Environments: Where Space, Technology, and Culture Converge is a good follow-up. (NOTE: If you have trouble with Hypothesis with this EDUCAUSE reading, check out my post in Teams from last week explaining a work-around). It’s an older piece and long — so feel free to skim it, and it also talks about approaching our use of technology with careful intentionality.
- I also love Howard Rheingold’s Technology 101: What Do We Need To Know About The Future We’re Creating? for a critical consideration of the technology that has infiltrated our lives (NOTE: This reading is also included in the book you received in May, Critical Digital Pedagogy, if you prefer to read it in print!)
- And, to round things out, here’s a discussion question to help us unpack our considerations when we choose a technology for our classes.
Now, if you’re feeling like you’ve fallen “behind” and are a bit overwhelmed about what to do next, here’s some advice:
- First push the fear of “falling behind” out of your mind; just pick up from where you are and get done what you can in the next two weeks. It’s worth noting that when we’ve run DF modules in the past, we’ve completed them in two weeks — so you still have plenty of time to learn, explore, and participate!
- Make a reasonable goal for yourself given whatever else you have going on in your life: work on one reading or activity a day or respond to 1-2 discussion questions. Don’t try and to it all at once — tackle it in small pieces.
- Focus on participation in our module. Remember that our module home page will show you the most recent annotations and comments, so you can see what others are reading and talking about. Jump in where there’s activity. Or take a look at the portfolio pieces completed by others in the module (at the bottom of the home page) and comment on their work.
- Reach out if you need to talk with me one-on-one about the module or any difficulties you’re having! I’m always happy to chat.
In the meantime, I hope you’re enjoying the great weather we’re finally having and getting an opportunity to rest and recharge this month.