Module 1.1: Reflection as a Way of Life: Post 1

Question:

How will innovations in online learning technology aid or hinder the development of students’ social skills?

Reflection:

I know that we will do more work around terms next Module, but I wanted to define my two key terms:

Online learning technology: I will define this broadly as any internet-connected technology that assists in the delivery of online learning, whether that is a platform that is used by educators, such as Zoom or Skype, or a platform that is designed explicitly to deliver online education, such as Moodle or Canvas.

Social skills: the behaviours and abilities to interact with other people in a comfortable and effective way for all parties involved

What prompted me to think about a question related to online technology is that I use online learning technology daily, since I teach in an online program this year. The two most noticeable trends are that most of my students continue to be reluctant to have their cameras on and many prefer to use the chat instead of speaking up in class, or even when they are only partnered with their peers. My initial interest in the topic of online learning technology’s impact on learning is these negative consequences I see on my students’ social skills from the online learning technology.

My deeper interest in technology and social skills is grounded in my personal history. My family’s technological literacy was poor growing up, and I always felt at a bit of a disadvantage as a result. Demographically, I am either a late Millenial or an early Gen-Xer. I constantly felt technologically illiterate compared to my friends. Teaching through technology and about technology can exacerbate or expose socioeconomic divides, yet it can also be quite valuable for students who would otherwise not have anyone to teach them how to operate online technology. I always appreciated having a teacher who was willing to help me learn the technology that my friends were able to learn from their parents.

The second way that my history informs my views about the harms of education technology were my struggles to learn social skills. My university lectures and seminars forced me to learn how to speak up, listen, read social cues, find conversation starters, and generally build the confidence to social interact for school or my personal life. I have noticed my own social skills stagger due to COVID, as I communicate more through text than voice, facial expression, or body language. I am confident that the development of my social skills would have been greatly hindered had I been flooded with the excess of technology that my students have. While technology has made it possible to simulate some elements of in-person interaction, I want to learn more about what, if any, online learning technologies have been found to improve social skills. 

If anyone found the time to comment, I would greatly appreciate feedback on my question and reflection.

Comments

  1. Veronica Huggard19 January 2021 at 18:26

    Hi Jan!

    Great entry post. I like that you provided your Question and your Reflection.

    Your question resonates with my own teaching situation; when COVID hit, our school shut down and students did home learning. We were expecting to have to facilitate online learning as everyone was, but it became apparent that A) a lot of our students don't have access to internet at home, B) the students don't have a device that they can use, C) a lot of our students live with their grandparents or parents, both of whom may not have the most confidence in using technology to assist student learning.

    This resulted in paper work learning.
    Our school has laptops and iPads for the students, and we use them when needed at school. However, I have noticed that their 'Tech Confidence' is overall lower than expected on school equipment.

    As you mentioned, I think the students in my community have a socioeconomic divide compared to other students across the Territory and Canada, but I know our situation isn't unheard of.

    I would agree that I often become nervous speaking to my computer on group calls, even though I want to share my information. I try to push myself to share verbally to the group, but I find the whole process not fluid or comfortable, YET!

    Lastly, I am happy that you are teaching from experience on this topic, and are looking to support your students going through the same struggles you did relating to education technology.

    I look forward to following your BLOG as you try and uncover what, if any, online learning technologies have found relating to improved social skills.

    Veronica

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jan27 January 2021 at 21:24

      Hi Veronica, thanks so much for the thoughtful reply. Your students lower than expected tech literacy is more common than you would think. While socioeconomic background plays a major role in determining a students average level of digital literacy, teachers have generally bought in to the hype that students from generation Z are natural-born tech wizards, which is often far from the case.

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  2. Jen Proce21 January 2021 at 10:31

    Hi Jan,

    It's so interesting how many of us have chosen this topic for our reflection focus, but it only makes sense given the current state of the world. I really liked how you started out with a couple of definitions for us to understand as you mention them throughout your blog. Like you, I constantly wonder about the effects that technology has on our students. Before COVID, it was used as a fun tool to enhance lessons, but now it is more being forced on them as a necessity. I wonder how the screen time and lack of human connection is affecting their cognitive development. I have a feeling that our blogs are going to have a lot of similarity as we explore this, so I look forward to checking back and learning alongside you about this dynamic topic.

    Jen

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Jan27 January 2021 at 21:26

      Hi Jen, thanks for the reply. I look forward to seeing how our exploration of our two questions develops over the course. I did want to give you and Veronica a heads up that I have switched to Weebly for my course website development, so I have ported over my posts for the course there. The link is here: https://janprchal.weebly.com/pme-811.html

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