Critical Digital Pedagogy:
I feel like this was really relevant to read, especially with this boost in technology. Morris and Stammel emphasize great points such as how teachers put priority over assessment rather than engagement. I feel like this is partially true because I can see in testing grades how this is such a priority, but if done right, there can be an equal balance between assessment and engagement. Even if not in a testing grade, for example, second grade, there is still a lot of assessments to do but I try to make lessons as engaging as possible. We have many reading tests such as DRAs, DIBELS, and Edmentum, which are math assessments that they do as well. These tests are done at the beginning, middle, and end of the school year which can make students feel a lot of pressure that they have to perform them perfectly. Anyway, even within all of these tests, I still try to create engaging lessons that will help them for when it comes time for the test.
Additionally, focusing more on the digital aspect of it, so many different tools and resources are available to students to help them in their learning. Although there are many downsides to giving children access to the World Wide Web, if you monitor their screens and set clear expectations then there really should be no issues. I use digital tools such as “Toy Theater.com” (a math manipulative website that has every manipulative you can possibly think of) in my classroom for when students do independent work. We also use the actual manipulatives in class but only for the whole group. Creating an engaging experience throughout the lessons will help prepare them and set them up for success when it comes to future assessments.
Technology is Not a Pedagogy:
Within this article, Morris highlights how technology should be used to make the connection between students and teachers and going back to the “Critical Digital Pedagogy” reading, making learning engaging. He made good points about how COVID-19 forced everyone to shift to technology as their main source of learning via Zoom, Google Meet, etc. Honestly, I couldn’t imagine how challenging it felt to teach children over the computer during that time and how disengaged those students were during the online sessions. Teachers were also in the middle of a crisis as well as they were not educated much on how to use these platforms and how to teach online with little to no resources.
Now that teachers are more educated on digital resources due to the pandemic, there are many meetings that teachers can attend with boatloads of information helpful for teachers. There are so many websites and tools that other teachers have found that are useful that we never knew about until this problem arose. However, Morris argues this point and I am kind of in the middle. He argues that teachers should ditch the digital platforms and focus more on fostering connections with students just as it used to be before technology came around and actually communicate and build relationships with their students.
Messy & Chaotic Learning:
I really liked how Marta Fay Burtis said that the learning process is unpredictable and I feel like anyone who isn’t a teacher would not understand this. Every day is a different day and you never know what you’re going to walk into in the classroom. I’ve actually seen many TikToks (sorry for reverting to Tik Tok but) where parents complain about the teacher and their children and say “Oh my child does not act like that” like yes, yes they do. Anyway, I’m getting off track because she’s not specifically talking about behaviors but just the learning process itself. Burtis focuses more on how teachers need to let children explore, take risks, and learn how to fail and I agree. I feel like with the curriculum it is hard though to do that and meet all of the criteria. The learning how to fail, or in other words how to lose, is a big thing because the kids I teach right now, they are some SORE losers when we play Kahoot or even in gym. Additionally, when they find concepts hard or things that they are not good at, they give up and get frustrated and complain. Even when I did my student teaching in a Kindergarten classroom, there was no free play or pretend play at all it was just work, work, work. Which it’s sad that these 4/5-year-olds are just forced to sit down and write and not be able to play and be kids. As a teacher, there are so many things that need to be done to meet the needs of the students to help them succeed and although I agree with Burtis and her message, I find it hard to complete those points within my classroom in the real world.
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