Okay
so for those who don’t know, I am doing my PGCE (Post Graduate Certificate of
Education) with the aim of becoming the most awesomest art teacher. I can go on and on about how this decision came to existence and how I ended up
on this path and how magical I think creative expression is and how I think all
kids should have a space where they can express themselves and so on it is just
unbelievably good for them (young and old!)(maybe in another post!) if you’ve
read my blog before, or my bio, you know! But this post is for my subject Digital Pedagogy, we were tasked with reading THIS article and write a blog post on it. SO
here goes (and expect more to come, as we are receiving one once a week!)
In
Digital Pedagogy Unplugged, Fyfe
argues for a ‘digital pedagogy’ on a whole new level and it really makes you
think.
 |
| From here. |
Now,
I don’t know about you, but I completely agree with Fyfe that we will be (severely)
limited if we keep “digital pedagogy synonymous with tools to utilize”, there
is no going around the facts that there will not and cannot always be the technological tools
available to every school and every child, at least in the foreseeable future,
agreed? But, on the other hand, there is also this:
 |
| From here. |
Yes, we can definitely not just ignore technology/social media/the existence of digital devices, either! SO what do we do? What are our roles as the next generation of teachers
(Oh, yeah!). Not
only is there a definite inequality in digital/technological resources in
schools but our dearest Eskom ensures that we can NEVER ([fading
gradually]…Never…never…) truly trust that our technology will actually be able to come through for us. So as
teachers, we SHOULD be prepared and we SHOULD be equipped to practice digital
pedagogy, unplugged. I love this concept.
In
class last Thursday Mr. Knoetze demonstrated this concept (without us even
fully grasping the concept yet), when he had us compose short messages on
posted notes, AKA tweets, and stuck them up all over the walls or wherever, in
a public space where anyone could read them. It got us active and buzzing and
out of our seats and engaged in the
learning process. Fyfe also touches on some examples, like the text mining and
the ‘No-Reading Fridays’. What
else can we do to practice a digital pedagogy without technology, and what does
it mean?
 |
| From here. |
I understand it to some extent as the concept of using the same
strategies or processes as you would with some technological devices, just, without those devices,
to engage learners with a subject matter in a manner where they can touch base
with it and perhaps in some way find it relatable and perhaps also more understandable. Especially if it is the start of a difficult or complex new
concept it could be a good way to introduce it in an easier manner or
kick-start a curiosity about it within the kids. I think this forms part of the
idea of what Fyfe calls ‘edu-hacking’? I have only ever mostly heard of
the word ‘hacking’ in a negative context. The idea of ‘hacking education’ is
just brilliant.
I
think we will be better teachers and better human beings, for that matter, if
we work on acquiring the skills (current skills, future skills, always working
on acquiring new skills) of ALWAYS
preparing/being prepared for the expected unexpected. I also think that
sometimes this might seem impossible, or unattainable. I also think we should
keep trying. We might fail sometimes. (Life happens!) But we definitely need to
keep thinking of new ways we can achieve this (sometimes seemingly unachievable)
aspiration. Would it not be our duty as teachers?
I
really like the idea we were given in Curriculum
Studies: Life Orientation (Psychology) of always having a little booky with
you and jotting down whenever you get some inspiration for an awesome activity
that will help your learners grasp the concepts you are trying to teach them in
class. Now just like that maybe we could try keep a book of interesting,
innovative and new ways we can be unplugged ‘digital humanists’. Always keep it on-hand so when inspiration hits, when you see, hear or think of something you can quickly make a note of it and explore your ideas. Maybe work out
lesson plan ideas for using technology and digital devices and media (with digital
pedagogy!) and alongside it an unplugged version (or two or three) (am I being
too optimistic?)
 |
| From here. |
Oh,
oh, and and, let’s not forget you can have a COMPLETELY boring and unengaging
class with technology and what Fyfe
says about it being “irresponsible to teach with technology without a digital
pedagogy” just makes it so clear you can have technology without actually
having a pedagogy, so you aren’t even teaching really. (JUST reading from a PowerPoint,
anybody?) And how true is it that if we pull the plug we can go back to basics
of engaging learners in the act of learning? And blessed are we in an age of
technology and strategies teachers to generations before us could only ever have
dreamed of. The buzz about creativity is growing stronger and stronger and I
think teachers of ALL subject fields
will have to tap (nurture and grow) their own creative banks for ways to engage
learners with a pedagogy that speaks to them in this age we live in today.
Whilst always keeping in mind, tomorrow will,
inevitably, be different.
 |
| From here. |
What
do you think?
Love
and sparkles,
San-Marí
xOXo
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