Activity 8 Legal contexts and digital identities

Identify an ethical dilemma in your own practice linked to digital or online access or activity.

How would you address the potential issue if it occurred in your own practice?

As teachers, we are guided in our practice by our code of ethics.  The overarching principle of the code of ethics is ‘teachers certificated to practice in New Zealand are committed to the attainment of the highest standards of professional service in the promotion of learning by those they teach, mindful of the learner's ability, cultural background, ‘gender, age or stage of development….’  

Although the code of ethics is governed by four fundamental principles, the one I am drawn to is ‘responsible care to do good and minimise harm to others’ (Education Council, nd).

When looking deeper at this document I was drawn in by section one, titled 'Commitment to Learners'.  In this section it outlines how important it is that, as teachers, we nurture learners to ‘think and act with developing independence’ (Teachers Council, nd), and to ‘promote the physical, emotional, social, intellectual and spiritual wellbeing of learners’ (Teachers Council, nd).

These points lend themselves to a perennial dilemma for schools; how to keep your students safe when they have digital online access.  As we are aware, the face of education is changing and students have access to digital devices everywhere, anywhere and at any time.

The rate new technologies are being adopted is accelerating, and these changes mean that the concept of internet safety has changed in a short time.  Internet safety has moved from protecting people and organisations to giving people the skills, knowledge and confidence to be cybersafe.  Cybersafety policies have moved from listing forbidden behaviours to outlining a person’s responsibility and accountability.

To address this dilemma, it is important that we develop a cybersafe learning environment by having robust policies in place to address cyberbullying.

 One problem we face when trying to address cyberbullying is that students often don't tell adults they are being cyberbullied for two reasons. Firstly, they are concerned about the reaction of their peers when they find out they have spoken to an adult.  Secondly, they may be concerned that their family may overreact and make the situation worse.

Therefore, we will need to make sure that all students know how to be a responsible online digital citizen, how to be safe online and manage issues when they arise (Social Media for Kids, 2014).  The values and key competencies students need so they can be digital citizens draws from those described in the New Zealand curriculum document.

We also need to inform students that cyberbullying is a covert form of bullying because it works in secret.  The person who is cyberbullying them is doing it to harm them in some way, and trying to undermine their social standing with their peers.

From here we need to identify with students what cyberbullying can be, but not restricted to, for:

•  writing mean things about a person
•  spreading rumours about a person
•  ignoring a person online
• ostracising a person online
• inviting others to social events online
• developing a secret code/language and using this to talk to others online

(Australian Government, n.d., NetSafe, n.d.).

Once students have identified what cyberbullying is, it then becomes very important to teach them about how to stay safe online. This can be achieved through a mix of formal teaching programmes, teachable moments and modelling the correct behaviours.

Finally, students need to sign a digitrust agreement, outlining their responsibilities as a digital citizen and what the consequences will be when they contravene the agreement.  Parents also need to sign the agreement to show they understand what we are trying to achieve as a school, and to support us if an issue arises which involves their child.

Australian Government (n.d.). Cybersafety for teachers.  Retrieved from https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/cyberbullying/cyberbullying-information-for-teachers

Education Council. (n.d.). The Education Council code of ethics for certificated teachers.  Retrieved from http://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0

Netsafe (n.d.).  The netsafe kit for schools.  Retrieved from https://www.netsafe.org.nz/the-netsafe-kit-for-schools/

Social Media for Kids, (2014, Aug 15). Social media for kids®.  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2rOekhi20E

 Images

https://esafety.gov.au/esafety-information/esafety-issues/cyberbullying

http://educationcouncil.org.nz/content/code-of-ethics-certificated-teachers-0

Activity 7 Social Media in teaching and professional development

Just like technology, social media is progressing at an accelerated rate.  As this image shows, there is now a plethora of social media sites available.

What are some of the key features of social media that you have identified as being beneficial for teaching and learning?

The advantage of using social media in teaching and learning is that it is a tool to allow us is to prepare learners for successful 21st century living.  As outlined in the vision of the New Zealand Curriculum (2007, p8) ‘… every young New Zealander is a confident, connected, lifelong learner …’

 Also, most of our students are already using digital tools at home, so why should we ask them to power off when they come to school (Tvoparents, 2013)?  Social media allows the student to connect, collaborate, communicate and create naturally.

Finally, social media allows a sense of immediacy, that participation and feedback gives.  When students put work up and family comment on it, it strengthens family relationships and connectedness in the social media context, and allows learning to have a purpose (Wenmoth. nd).

What are potential challenges that teachers need to be aware of when integrating social networking platforms into teaching activities?

There are many potential challenges, the first being the issue of equity.  Before a school becomes a BYOD school, there needs to be discussion around how many devices the school will purchase to cover the situation of parents who are unable to afford devices, or for other reasons refuse to purchase one for their child.

The second issue has to do with online safety.  As Social Media for Kids® (2014) mentioned children need to learn how to keep themselves safe and maintain anonymity.  Also, they need to know what to do when confronted with self, community or school cyber bullying.

The final issue is another school issue, and that is the misuse and abuse of any portable devices.  We have a ‘kawa of care’ agreement that outlines to both parents and students what the outcomes will be if they are found breaking any points in agreement.

What social media platform do you feel best supports engagement with your professional development? Why?

For my professional development I use twitter, VLN, The Mindlab google+ community andFacebook.  I use these particular platforms as they are easily accessed and have New Zealand content.  There are groups and people I follow on twitter, as I find many of the tweets cause me to reflect and question my practice as both a leader and a teacher.

The VLN is a place to go to for professional development when I am unable to physically attend courses and workshops.  Once again, the groups I belong to have likeminded people and the discussions are valuable.

How would you use social media to enhance your professional development?

The using of social media is gaining importance in the education sphere; an example of this is an Education Council website devoted to educating teachers about social media.  On this website they say, ‘as a member of the profession you should seek and respond to opportunities to share knowledge and discuss concerns.’

To enhance my professional development I would use twitter.  I can connect with those involved in education to build up my personal learning network.  I can get links to articles, resources and other material about any aspect of education.  I can collaborate, ask questions, seek advice and reply to others' tweets. I can collaborate with people in New Zealand and in other places around the world.

Education Council. (n.d.). Teachers and social media.  Retrieved from http://teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz/

Ministry of Education (20017).  The New Zealand curriculum. Retrieved from http://nzcurriculum.tki.org.nz/The-New-Zealand-Curriculum

Seaman, J. (2013). Social media for teaching and learning. Pearson Learning: Boston. Retrieved from http://www.pearsonlearningsolutions.com/assets/downloads/reports/social-media-for-teaching-and-learning-2013-report.pdf#view=FitH,0

Social Media for Kids, (2014, Aug 15). Social media for kids®.  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c2rOekhi20E

Tevoparents, (2013, May21). Using social media in the classroom.  [Video file].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=riZStaz8Rno

Wenmoth, D. (n.d.) Benefits of social media. [Video file].  Retrieved from https://vimeo.com/49216518

Images

www.slideshare.net

http://teachersandsocialmedia.co.nz/

www.edudemic.com

Activity 6 Contempoarary issues or trends in New Zealand or internationally

After watching the videos, ‘Global trends: the world is changing faster than any other times in human history’ (Pearson, 2013) and ‘Future State 2030 - Global Megatrend’

(KMPG, 2014) the trends that stood out to me that are influencing education at this point in time are, Asian growth and rapidly changing technologies.

Issue 1: Asian Growth

These images (KMPG, 2013) show that Asia is one of the fastest growing regions and will impact on the face of society globally in the 21st century.  Asia will be important to New Zealand economically, politically, and socially, therefore it is important that students in New Zealand have opportunities to learn about Asia to ensure they are equipped to be successful in this changing environment.

 

‘By 2021, almost 15 per cent of New Zealanders will identify with an Asian ethnic group’ (TKI, n.d.).  Also, Asian culture is now an integral part of our culture, for example the food we eat and the festivals we celebrate.

From Asian Knowledge (TKI, n.d.) are some facts in regards to Asian population in New Zealand:

•  By 2021, Asian children will make up 17% of all New Zealand children. 
• One in five people in Auckland now identify with one or more Asian ethnic groups.
• Our population is becoming more multilingual.
• There are more than 32 Asian communities living in New Zealand.

To ensure students have the required 21^st century knowledge and skills so they can become active and positive members of this changing community, our school needs to develop Asian awareness through our teaching and learning programmes.  This can be achieved through the key competencies and in the following learning areas; sciences, learning languages, and the arts where Asian contexts and content can be integrated into a range of topics.

Issue 2: Rapidly Changing Technology

This image shows that the rate new technologies are being adopted is accelerating.  Writers of ‘Global Trends 2030: Alternative Worlds’, consider the impact of new technologies as a ‘game changer’ (pp ii).

Further to this image the following two show the impact that digital technologies are having on our global communities.

The impact of technology is expanding on an increasing number of fronts in this decade, no more so than in the access to the internet, the number of technological devices and the access to these that households have.  

This image illustrates this (Singh n.d.).

As teachers we are aware that digital technologies play an increasing role in shaping 21^st century teaching and learning, and that the educational success a student achieves is linked with their engagement.  Digital technologies can engage students, their whānau and communities in learning.

The issue for our school is that with technology changing rapidly there is constant pressure to keep up with trends, and as our school’s operating grant is limited we cannot change our software or hardware regularly nor provide enough devices for a class, let alone one for every student.

One solution to this is becoming a BYOD school, but even this solution has issues.  Firstly, equity; we will still have to provide a device for those children whose parents cannot or will not provide one.

Secondly, the wide range of device types and brands used by the students.  Our school network needs to be able to cope with, and support, all these devices as well as the existing school-owned equipment.  Also some devices do not have the minimum hardware and software specifications required to run the applications we use, not to mention the android/ios debate

Finally, other costs, for example the updating of desktop computers, power bills, security and storage.

KMPG. (2014, May 22)  ‘Future State 2030 - Global Megatrend’.  [Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=im5SwtapHl8

Ministry of Education, (nd). Asia Knowledge. Retrieved from http://asia-knowledge.tki.org.nz/

National Intelligence Council, (2013).  Global trends 2030: Alternative worlds.  Retrieved from https://info.publicintelligence.net/GlobalTrends2030.pdf

Pearson. (2013, April 6)  ‘Global trends: the world is changing faster than any other times in human history’ [Video file].  Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SdZiTQy3g1g

Singh, S. (nd). The new mega trends.  Retrieved from http://www.gilcommunity.com/docs/new-mega-trends-sarwant-singh-frost-sullivan/

Stevenson, C. (2014). BOYD in the 21^st century [Prezzie slides]. Retrieved from https://prezi.com/hxlvcjbelbea/byod-in-the-21st-century/

Wenmoth, D. (2014). BYOD in schools: Which device.  Retrieved from http://www.vln.school.nz/blog/view/821978/which-device

Images

Cd schools

KMPG

Pearson

Singh, S

Activity 5 Professional connection map

The coogle above shows the professional connections I have made in my teaching career.  According to Mathison and Freeman (1997p.12), ‘an interdisciplinary approach always consciously combines two or more disciplines It has clear objectives that include both critical-thinking skills and in-depth content’.  'Students and teachers' concerns and ideas, transcend the disciplines in search for coherence and meaning, and is built through daily negotiations and interactions’ (p 13).  This statement reflects my relationships with my professional connections and how at times I am teacher, and at others, student.

Choose two professional connections you have in your map.  Evaluate their impact on your practice and professional community.

NAPP PLG Group:

The impact that this group has had on my practice is large.  This group helped me to develop knowledge, insights, and a self-confidence in my strengths as a leader.  They helped me to overcome my preconceived ideas on leadership by challenging my ideas, presenting ideas from a variety of perspectives.

Within this large group four of us set up a ‘study group’ where we would meet to discuss the readings and the assignments we were required to do.  We still meet as a group where we discuss issues that come up in both professional and personal life.  As we have created an environment of trust, these people are in the true sense ‘critical friends’.

The impact the large NAPP group had on the professional community was that I was more aware of the skills of a 21^st century leader and reflected on how I was leading.  This in turn changed my professional practice, as it made me change some of my understandings and behaviours.  This change in my behaviour did not go forward in a straight line, as David Wiley (2001, April 6) spoke about; it was a ‘remix’ and ‘mashup’ of the skills I already had.

The impact of our smaller group has been one of being confident to raise concerns and ask questions knowing that I will be given professional guidance, and when discussing issues they sometimes agree with the solutions I come up with, but at other times they come up with more constructive ideas

MindLab Group:

This is the second professional connection I feel has had a great impact on my teaching practice.  The impact this group has had is that they have turned my teaching and learning pedagogy upside down.  It has made me aware how many educators are still using an industrial model in a time of rapid change, when students face uncertainty on what will confront them in the near future.

My connections with this group on a weekly basis meant we were able to discuss new ideas and provocations.  As there were teachers from different educational environments we were able to collaborate, make connections and have insights, so that we were able to integrate our perspectives into a unified framework.  This provided us with an insight on how to apply our new knowledge, so our teaching was effective in providing the tools to become 21^st learners in our learning community.

The impact this group has had on my practice is that they have made me think more deeply about, and critically reflect on, my practice and thinking.  Their combined knowledge and enthusiasm for eLearning and pedagogical knowledge on 21^st century teaching and learning has made me realise that, in small pockets of schools around Wellington, there are students who will be able to confidently take their place in the connected societies of the 21^st century.

Deneme, S. and Ada, S. (2012).  On applying the interdisciplinary approach in primary schools.  Procedia - Social and Behavioral Sciences Volume 46, 2012Retrieved from http://ac.els-cdn.com/S1877042812013468/1-s2.0-S1877042812013468-main.pdf

Goldsmith, A.H., Hamilton, D., Hornsby, K. & Wells, D. (nd).  Why teach with an interdisciplinary approach?  Retrieved from http://serc.carleton.edu/sp/library/interdisciplinary/why.html

Mtison, S. & Freeman,M., (1997).,  The logic of interdisciplinary studies.  Retrieved from http://www.albany.edu/cela/reports/mathisonlogic12004.pdf

TEDx Talks (2001, April 6). TEDxBYU - David Wiley -An Interdisciplinary Path to Innovation

Images:

Blogs.ibo.org

http://library.gwu.edu/

Activity 4 Your professional community

My community

‘A community of practice is a group of people who share a concern or a passion for something they do and learn how to do it better as they interact regularly’, (Wenger, 2007, as cited in Smith, 2009).).

Within our school there are many communities that I align with;  these are the student body, the community body and the staff body.  Then within the wider education sphere I also belong to communities of practice, such as the local assistant principal / deputy principal group, the Virtual Learning Network, the Mindlab google+ community.  In these communities of practice, I use tools such as wikis and blogs so members can create and share knowledge with each other.  As Wenger has stated, the tools are not a substitute for communities of practice, they allow people to share knowledge with each other (Underhill, 2009).

What is are the current issues in your community?  How would you or your community of practice address them?

The current issue my community is facing at the moment is the introduction of BYOD.  We have a parent group who is very vocal in showing their displeasure at our school going down this path.  We are addressing this issue by constant staff dialogue, dialogue with other schools who have been down the same path and reading articles written by ‘experts’ so that our responses have a theoretical base.  What we are endeavouring to do is to educate this parent group so they become aware that a device is just the tool we are going to use and not replace teaching.  We want our students to leave our school with the skills and knowledge needed for them to confidently take their place in the ever changing landscape of the 21^st century community.  As Bolstead et al (2012) say, without the backing of our parents our teaching and learning approaches will not shift towards 21^st century skills.

What is your specialist area of practice? How does your specialist area of practice relate to the broader professional context?

I have been the assistant principal at my school for a number of years, and curriculum and assessment are part of my responsibilities.  With these responsibilities I have lead groups of teachers to develop our school curriculum document, our school assessment procedures and teacher appraisal programme.  On reading the Wenger-Trayner article and watching the Underhill YouTube clip, I now understand that these were communities of practice, as they were groups of  professionals who came together for the purpose of working on a project.  In these groups there was new learning and knowledge sharing as we came up with new ideas.

What changes are occurring in the context of your profession?  How do you think you or your community of practice should address them?

One of the biggest issues facing teaching and learning at this time is the rapid changes in the educational landscape.  The industrial age structures and practices that are still seen in any schools are not enough to meet the learning needs for all students in the 21st century (Bolstad et al, 2012).  To address these issues we need to have open, honest dialogue with our community to explain current educational thinking and why it is important that we, as a school community, embrace them.  We also need to engage community members by drawing on their expertise as ‘communities of practice innovate and solve problems, they invent new practices, create new knowledge, define new territory and develop a collective new strategies.’ (as cited in Wenger-Trayner & Wenger-Trayner, 2015, p5).

Bolstad, R., Gilbert, G., McDowall, S., Bull, A., Boyd, S., Hipkins, R. (2012) Supporting future-oriented learning and teaching. Ministry of Education: New Zealand

Smith, M. K. (2003, 2009) ‘Jean Lave, Etienne Wenger and communities of practice’. Retrieved from www.infed.org/biblio/communities_of_practice.htm.

Underhill, B. (2009). What is a Community of Practice? Utube

Wenger-Trayner, E. & Wenger-Trayner, B. (2015) Communities of practice a brief introduction. Retrieved from http://wenger-trayner.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/04/07-Brief-introduction-to-communities-of-practice.pdf

Activity 3 Responses to Finlay's (2008) article

What points in the article can I relate to in my practice?

Finlay (2008, p 1) outlines what a general definition of reflective practice is.  As a teacher I was always stopping and thinking about my practice, to enable me to improve the way I taught.  I drew on the ideas of my colleagues, the professional readings I did and any professional development I undertook.  By analysing my existing understandings I was able to refocus my thinking and generate new knowledge and ideas, which changed the way I did things in my class.

Dewey (1933, as cited in Ferguson 2002) believed that if teachers did not reflect, they risked basing their practice on prejudice and uninformed or outdated thinking. However, if they critically reflected on their practice this should improve, provided that they used such skills as observation and reasoning, and an open-mindedness to better ways of teaching.

There are other points in Finlay’s article that caught my attention, these being, ‘over stretched professionals are likely to find reflective practice taxing and difficult’ (p 10) and ‘when required of individuals through learning and assessment exercises, reflections can end up being superficial, strategic and guarded’ (p 14).  I do know that as a teacher in a busy classroom, and now that I am fully released assistant principal, there are times when having to reflect in writing (for example as part of teacher appraisal) is the last thing I have time for, therefore they are written with little thought and are superficial.  I am also very aware of who can see and read my reflections, and at times rewrite my reflections so they do not reflect badly on me, or I choose not to put my thoughts down.

What model would I like to adopt?

When I reflect on my practice I have never used a model but on reading Finlay’s article I note the model closest to how I reflect is the model developed by Rolfe et al.  This model is very simplistic, and after seeing the other models in the Finlay’s article I need to ensure that my reflective practice becomes more critical, as critical reflection encourages the combination of theory and practice while improving student learning and self-confidence in the classroom.

The model that I would like to use is that of Gibbs (Finlay, 2002, pg8) a model developed from David Kolb’s 4 stage learning cycle.  On looking further at Gibb’s model online, I found a slightly adapted model developed by Bulman and Schultz (cited in Lia, nd, p 2).  The adapted model is below:

This model lends itself to both reflection-in-action and reflection-on-action.  It also allows you to challenge your assumptions, explore different/new ideas and approaches towards doing or thinking about your practice, promotes self-improvement by giving you the opportunity to identify your strengths and weaknesses and taking action to address, and finally, it links practice and theory by combining doing or observing with thinking or applying knowledge.

Class Notes: Week 25 - APC - Reflective Practice. (n.d.). Retrieved January 24, 2016, from https://app.themindlab.com/course/release/205-week-25-apc-reflective-practice

Ferguson, P. (2012). Becoming a reflective practitioner. Teaching Development Unit: Hamilton. Retrieved from http://www.waikato.ac.nz/tdu/pdf/booklets/18_ReflectivePractitioner.pdf

Finlay, L. (2008). Reflecting on “Reflective practice.” Retrieved January 24, 2016, from http://www.open.ac.uk/opencetl/files/opencetl/file/ecms/web-content/Finlay-%282008%29-Reflecting-on-reflective-practice-PBPL-paper-52.pdf

Lia, P. (nd): Using Gibbs reflective cycle in coursework. Retrieved from https://www.kcl.ac.uk/campuslife/services/disability/service/Using-Gibbs-Reflective-Cycle-in-Coursework.pdf

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epicinspirationalquotes.com

minlab course notes

https://www.kcl.ac.uk/