Tag Archives: media

All About Virtual Labs – Summary Blog Post

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Science! by Andrew Huff. CC BY-NC 2.0.

Science! by Andrew Huff. CC BY-NC 2.0.

Virtual labs were a hard sell for me. I’ve always been a hands-on person – from my technical position to my fiber art hobbies – I like manipulating the world around me and seeing what it does. High school labs were the reason I was originally drawn to Science, and a big reason I chose to do my B.Sc. If it hadn’t been for the move to Nanaimo, I would have kept my job as a laboratory technician and continued to work in research Science.

When starting this seminar my idea of a virtual lab was limited in scope. Although I have trolled through the internet looking for some virtual labs, I hadn’t been able to find anything really good (I realize now that was probably in part due to poor choice of key words in searches). A lot of the virtual labs confirmed my worst fears – “virtual lab” either meant a lot of reading and some quizzes, or it meant a series of clicks while watching pre-set animations play. There was nothing inspiring about virtual labs – it would be better to film an instructor doing a demo.

After this seminar I realize there really is some good stuff out there, and more of it is available without a major capital investment then I appreciated. I really saw the power some of the simulations had to allow student to manipulate the virtual world, and to think, questions and “do” outside of the pre-set animation box.

Before this seminar I knew that virtual labs would be able to accomplish teaching the “what” of Science education – the content. Now, I see that the right virtual lab can also accomplish the “how” of Science education – thinking and acting as a scientist. I know, and can clearly see from our wiki review, that not all virtual labs are created equally. There are some virtual labs that knocked my socks off, but there were a few that I really didn’t like.

The final piece about virtual labs that I’m still not sure about is the lack of interaction between students in the virtual space. Charlene Stewart discussed this point in her blog post, Teaching Science the Virtual Way. Throughout the OLTD program I have really realized the importance of having a course community, and right now I see virtual labs as being very isolated. Given that there is more emphasis on collaborative learning, there needs to be some attention paid to how to build collaborative virtual experiments in the online environment.

This seminar really helped me “turn a corner” on virtual labs. Although they are still more individual activities, and care must be taken when selecting them, some virtual labs allow students to behave as if they are in a real laboratory space and drive their own learning, which is very powerful.

Reflection 1.3 – OLTD 506

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Whomever coined the phrase “ignorance is bliss” has not yet read Hengstler (2014) where the author lays out a continuum of FIPPA compliance BC educators can fall under. Ignorance can be very damaging, especially when the privacy of students is in question.

Ignorance is a choice

“Ignorance is a choice Tony…no really it is…” by Jonathan Kellenberg. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/AVD1. CC BY 2.0. Adapted by Stephanie Boychuk.

The readings for this topic widened my view of what “damaging” could mean in relation to student privacy as well. For example, although I had considered risks associated with identifiability and data storage, I had not really considered the students’ copyright to their work being breached through online posting (Hengstler, 2013). When I post my own work, I usually take the time to add a creative commons license (if appropriate) but am now considering what would be the best course of action for students. In my context, working with faculty who teach adult learners, it would be the students’ choice to apply a licence or not – but they would need to be educated on what their intellectual property rights were and what it would mean to apply a different license to their work.

I also feel the having a specific, drawn out plan to handle potential incidents that occur is necessary, but is also something I had not thought of before (Hengstler, 2013). Even relatively isolated uses of social media – a faculty member using a Google Doc for a formative wiki project for instance – it would be prudent to lay out solutions to potential issues. I believe this is something that could be useful for the entire campus community, and perhaps increase the awareness of and comfort in using these tools.

References

Hengstler, J. (2013). A K-12 primer for British Columbia teachers posting students’ work online. Retrieved from http://jhengstler.wordpress.com/2013/05/17/a-k-12-primer-for-british-columbia-teachers-posting-students-work-online/

Hengstler, J. (2014). The compliance continuum: FIPPA & BC educators. Retrieved from http://jhengstler.wordpress.com/2014/04/24/the-compliance-continuum-fippa-bc-public-educators/

Reflection 1.2 – OLTD 506

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During my teacher training I was exposed to many social media “horror stories” including one where vacation photos of a teacher holding alcohol and another of her sipping where the cause of a forced resignation (Daily Mail Reporter, 2011). In fact, I vividly remember an assignment where my classmates and I were to search each other’s public Facebook pages and report to each other what we could see.

Before taking this course I was aware of my digital footprint because I had tried to lock it down – ostrich behaviour (Hengstler, 2011). During my last placement term of teacher training, students had found the Facebook page of someone with my name, who wasn’t me, and I had been put in an awkward position. This issue was eventually resolved; but provides a clear example of “no presence” online not being an option for teachers.

Ostrich by James Preston

Ostrich by James Preston. CC BY 2.0.
Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/7XGJgW.

Hengstler (2012) talks about 3 types of digital footprints – passive, active and second-hand. I think the most important type of digital footprint for teachers is the second-hand digital footprint where others can curate your presence, with or without your knowledge. The best way to manage your digital footprint is actively, so the presence you have online is one of your own design – and one you can easily direct others to explore if there are questions about it.

I have taken more steps toward actively managing my digital presence in the last few years– including creating a professional account on Twitter and being more active on work and personal blogs. I am not sure I am an Eagle just yet, but I do feel I am at least an Ostrich that has taken their head out the sand.

References

Daily Mail Reporter. (2011, February 7). Teacher sacked for posting picture of herself holding glass of wine and mug of beer on Facebook. The Daily Mail Online. Retrieved from http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1354515/Teacher-sacked-posting-picture-holding-glass-wine-mug-beer-Facebook.html

Hengstler, J. (2011). Managing your digital footprint: Ostriches v. Eagles. In S. Hirtz & K. Kelly (Eds.), Education for a Digital World 2.0 (2nd ed.) (Vol. 1, Part One: Emerging technologies and practices). Open School/Crown Publications: Queen’s Printer for British Columbia, Canada. Retreived from http://www.viu.ca/education/faculty_publications/hengstler/EducationforDigitalWorld2.0_1_jh89.pdf

Hengstler, J. (April 2012). “Digital professionalism and digital footprints”. Document prepared for training session with Vancouver Island University’s Administrative Assistants, April 2012.Retrieved from https://d2l.viu.ca/content/enforced/56545-EDUC_OLTD506_W70_F2014/foundations_boundaries/Social%20Media%20Digital%20Footprints%202013_v3.pdf?_&d2lSessionVal=C1D6uwH0jYfN3u2OJmmAp9NBQ&ou=56545

 

Reflection 1.1 – OLTD 506

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For the prior learning survey, I defined social media from the context of my previous OLTD course on open educational resources. I spoke about social media as media created or shared in social contexts, but left out the big piece of social networking software and applications in relation to social media (“Social Media”, n.d.).

Throughout the readings on social networking services, there were references to the creation or development of trust systems within social networks, which was something I had not thought about previously (“Social Networking Systems”, n.d.). Social media and networking rely heavily on trust between those who are interacting online. In the context of educational use of these systems, there is an additional layer of trust as well – trust that the educator is protecting the interests of the students interacting online.

Trust in the social network itself and how it collects and uses personal data is another layer educators must be consider. As Hengstler (2013) explains, social media services are not free – you are trading your data (or your students’ data) for the service they provide. At this point in the course, I would have a difficult time deciding to what extent I would be willing to trade students’ data for services, but I hope to explore that further as the course continues.

References

J Hengstler. (2013, May 24). What Parents Should Know Part 1: Basic Understanding of Social Media & Digital Communications. [Blog Post]. Retrieved from http://jhengstler.wordpress.com/2013/05/27/what-parents-should-know-part-1-basic-understanding-of-social-media-digital-communications/

Social Media. (n.d.). Retrieved September 06, 2014 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_media

Social Networking Service. (n.d.). Retrieved September 07, 2014 from Wikipedia: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Social_networking_service