Social Media and the classroom

I have wrestled with the use of social media since my early days as a student-teacher on my first practicum. One of the kids in my class asked me my first name. I didn’t think too much of it, and, in fact, I thought that he was just trying to be disrespectful, so I told him to get back to work, and didn’t think too much about it after that. However, my full name was on the school website, and in due course, I had my own link on ratemyteacher.com and was getting friend requests from my students on my Facebook account.
Why did they want to know me? What did they think they were going to find? My Facebook account is full of pictures of my bees, and my dog, and my wife, and my truck, and a million other banal details that make up a life. There are no pictures of me getting wasted, or shirtless, or groping others, so who cares?
I still do not allow students to have access to my Facebook page, being a younger male teacher; it just does not seem worth it to me. However, I have softened on the first name thing. I still require my students to call me Mr. Cooper as a sign of respect, but I tell them my full name and try to share my beekeeping hobby as well as other small details about my life to show them that I am a still a person despite being a teacher. My students seem to be happy about this détente. I explain to them that, yes, I have Facebook and twitter accounts, but no, I don’t add, or follow, students. I tell them that it is a personal choice, and they seem to be happy to accept that answer.

I recently read a book Michael Harris entitled, “The End of Absence”, which may sum up my feelings about social media in my life both personal and professional. In his book, Harris writes about his generation, of which I am a part, being the last to know what it is like to grow up without the internet, and, by extension, social media.
I am on the cusp of this generation. I am a digital immigrant. When I was around ten years old I had my first experience with dial-up internet, which means that most of my foundational years was spent without YouTube, vine, snapchat, Instagram, ask.fm, Facebook, and twitter. I had periods of boredom. I occasionally gazed at my navel. I don’t do that anymore, nor does anyone else it would seem. The pith of Harris’ argument is that absence no longer exists. Social media is everywhere, and always on, always ready to fill any blank space with its particular brand of noisy entertainment. Students, and their teachers, do not have empty time anymore. Bored? Better check the phone.
I think the reason I don’t want to fully embrace social media in the classroom, is that I don’t really want my class to slip into my pocket and follow me home. I have a hard enough time separating my work time from my down time. Case in point, I am writing this blog post on a Sunday morning for an instructional course on distance education.
Maybe that why students so readily accept my refusal to accept them as Facebook friends. Perhaps they don’t really want to know about my every comings and goings, it’s just the only way they know how to say “I like and respect you”. Perhaps it’s better to have a little absence.

Interview questions, answers, analysis, and more questions

Curiosity questions:

What was the biggest hurdle in transitioning from a Traditional model to a Distributed Learning model?

The biggest hurdles in transitioning from a Traditional classroom environment are the organizational challenges that are created with the flexibility that SIDES provides. Most SIDES programs have students working at different places in different courses and at different rates. Keeping track of everyone and addressing concerns when they arise is one of the most challenging aspects of the DL model.

What changes / challenges have you faced in respect to your pedagogical practice in the last few years with the implementation of Bill 36 and BC’s new learning plan?

Despite my initial reaction to be skeptical the current government's policies in regards to education, I do believe that more flexibility in the education field is positive. This bill includes many sections, but the idea that students and families can create educational plans that work best for them is difficult to argue with.

What advice would you give to someone who wants to teach Distributed Learning?

The physical disconnect between teachers and students can sometimes be a difficult barrier to overcome - connect with students often, and use whichever medium you can: phone, email, text, vclass, grandparents!

Big ideas questions:

Could you see SIDES teachers becoming re-integrated into more traditional school settings, like another type of integrated support teacher?

Instead of the DL model of education being 're-integrated' into the traditional approach, I already see evidence of the traditional model evolving to look more like DL.

How do you think DL instruction could work for a Middle School student? For an elementary student?

DL programs for younger students require a responsible home-facilitator to be most effective.

Do you think BC’s current funding model, allowing students to pick and choose which courses to take online, is helpful or hurtful to DL practice?

I think the most important factor to consider when evaluating BC's current funding model is whether is is helpful or hurtful to students and their learning. I have witnessed students flourish in the DL environment and believe that it can be an ideal way to learn for some students. Traditional models of education provide ideal ways to learn for some students. It seems reasonable to have a funding system that allows for students to customize their learning path and create a flexible plan that works for them.

Initially, I thought that the biggest challenge in moving from a traditional model to a Dl model would be the lack of presence within a physical classroom, or, to put it another way, not being “in touch” with your students. I relish hearing students laugh at my jokes, or seeing them really “get it”, or not, in which case, I know instantly that I need to explain it another way.
However, I also understand the point of view of Salman Khan, who said that [people], “prefer the digital version of me to the real me”. His students can fast forward, or re-watch his video if they need to without having to feel embarrassed, self-conscious, or feel like they are slowing the rest of the class down.
It is within this mindset that I approach David Evans’ responses to my DL questionnaire. When asked what the biggest hurdle in moving from a traditional to a DL approach, I was quite surprised that David didn’t mention a lack of presence at all, rather, he felt that it was the organizational challenge of helping students that are each at a different spot to the other.
I must admit that this challenge had not even crossed my mind. How would I be able to help one student with, for example, Algebra, and the next with fractions, and the next with Canadian Government, and the next with…. It would be challenging indeed!

I suppose the other surprising answer that I receive was how often Dl instructors have mentioned the phone as a method of communication. To be honest, when I have to phone a parent about a student I usually break into a cold sweat. Well, not really, but it is not exactly one of my favorite things.
It is curious, once again, that both David Evans, and Jennifer, our instructor, have mentioned that the phone is a preferred mention of communication. I actually thought of it as a bit too antiquated for or so called digital age.

I get the impression that David really believes in what he does, as a method of providing choice in a student’s educational path, which is refreshing. I wonder if it is the future though, I wonder how many would actually choose Dl over brick and mortar. What is lost in this method of education? What is gained?

Skills and challenges of an online instructor

What Skills and qualities do I have that I believe will be transferable to me being an online teacher?

One of the things that I pride myself on as a teacher, is my organizational skills, and my calm nature. I am not the teacher that you might see in the photocopy room five minutes before the bell frantically pawing away at the machine because it isn’t working and their class is starting, and their car wouldn’t start, etc etc. While I am occasionally caught out by a smart board that isn’t too smart, I make sure to get in to work early so that I am ready to go when the kids come in.
I suppose in a DL course, that would mean having all the assignments, and criteria made ready well in advance just in case I had a student who works at blazing speed. Given the “day in the life” of a DL instructor write up, it looks like there may be a lot of meeting times, so I would probably be early for those too.

The ability to take risks on new technology is something that I always enjoy. As an example, our school was given 10 iPads to use in the library, and I was the first teacher through the door to get the tutorial with my class. They loved working with what they would consider current technology, and I got to learn how to use the newest iMovie app.

I feel that I am a life-long learner, and that that would benefit me as an online instructor. I try to push my comfort zones in terms of both what I teach (Drama and Foods anyone? How about Dance?) and also how I teach (Taking this course, for a start)

What challenges can I see for myself as an online teacher?

Looking back over the lesson, I can see that the kind of student may be quite different than those that I am used to in my brick and mortar school. I don’t have any personal experience with DL classes, but it seems that there might be less of an “average” student population than in a non-DL classroom. I think that would pose a challenge to generating discussion forums, and other instructional strategies.

I also really value my face to face interactions with students. I try to make my lessons funny and engaging, and I am not sure how to translate that into an online format.

Possible questions for a DL instructor:

Curiosity questions:

What was the biggest hurdle in transitioning from a Traditional model to a Distributed Learning model?

What changes / challenges have you faced in respect to your pedagogical practice in the last few years with the implementation of Bill 36 and BC’s new learning plan?

What advice would you give to someone who wants to teach Distributed Learning?

Big ideas questions:

Could you see SIDES teachers becoming re-integrated into more traditional school settings, like another type of integrated support teacher?

How do you think DL instruction could work for a Middle School student? For an elementary student?

Do you think BC’s current funding model, allowing students to pick and choose which courses to take online, is helpful or hurtful to DL practice?

Impact of Bill 36 on Middle School Teaching and Funding

First let me start by saying that I am not a policy expert, nor do I have all the ins and outs of Bill 36; however, if I understand it correctly, as part of the current government policy of individualized learning, which is something that, theoretically, I very much agree with, the government would like to offer any student, of any age, the ability to enroll in their coursework from any institution. Do I understand that correctly?

I can’t imagine the administrative headache that that would create. I work in a middle school. I am still tying up shoe laces and making sure that zippers come un-stuck. How are these students supposed to manage organizing their own learning plan. As Karen Flello mentioned, any implementation of K-7 Distance Ed would need a lot of study.

Ultimately, Bill 36 begs one big philosophical question. Am I obsolete? What will happen to the brick and mortar school in the next ten years, or twenty? I am thirty-two years old, where will students be taught when I retire?

Ian Cooper: the return of the blog

What do I believe in?

I am a firm believer in the “See it, do it, teach it” philosophy of learning. With all due respect to Aristotelian questioning, I have seen how meaningful learning can be when we are able to transfer that knowledge to another individual.
I am fortunate enough to teach the same students two years in a row through the “looping” model at North Saanich and I have seen how empowered my grade 7 students seem to feel when they pass on what they have learned to the younger students. While I won’t bore you by naming names, it is something that always fills me with joy when I can watch a student teaching others what I have taught them. That’s when I know they have really “got it”.

Who am I in my work?

In the article, Megan Laverty suggests, “that we think of teaching in the same way as life: namely as something that can be practiced and spoken about either authentically or in-authentically”. I don’t believe that it has to be such a dichotomy. I can’t imagine speaking to my wife in the way that I speak to the students in my class; and, in fact, she has told me on a few occasions not to use my “teacher voice”. However, I love my job, I work Hard, and I try my best with whatever it is that I am doing. I think, while that doesn’t make me unique in the teaching profession, the students see that, and respect it.

What inspires me?

As I mentioned above, I am not unique in my passion for my chosen vocation. I see my fellow educators’ passion for their jobs every day, whether it’s an outrageous Halloween costume, a killer lesson, or simply having time at lunch to talk to their students; it is inspiring to watch.
By logical extension, I am also humbled on a daily basis by the passions of my students. I have learned a new way to multiply, bought a paper dragon that contained three hundred pieces of paper, become a better basketball player, all because of the passions of my students.