I would like to share how my philosophy of practice is developing and changing as a result of what I am learning in EDPB 530/531.
As an educator and as a human being, I find my soul rooted in Principle 14 of the Earth Charter, "to integrate into formal education and life-long learning the knowledge, values and skills needed for a sustainable way of life" (earthcharter.org). I am also influenced by the work of Richard Louv, David Sobel and other eco-pedagogues, who call upon educators to address the impacts of nature deficit disorder on our young. If eco-pedagogies are the roots of my philosophy, then technology is the budding new growth. It has taken a full turn of the seasons for me to see the new growth that technology has to offer. In terms of technology, I am interested in any technological tool that facilitates, enhances or deepens ecological learning. A quick google search of the terms 'eco tech', 'enviro tech' and 'green tech' reveals a variety of emerging and connected fields within sustainable engineering and applied science. I appreciate the fundamental premise that environmental technologies include methods of designing future societies within ecological frames (EcoTechnics '95 - International Symposium on Ecological Engineering). This suggests that, within an 'ecotech' framework, biodiversity and conservation are primary concerns of human development. In other words, any use of technology that threatens biodiversity and conservation of natural systems is not 'ecotech'. For example, a tool such as a drone may be used to learn about and conserve biodiversity (sustainability), or it may be used to survey a piece of rainforest to map out a new palm plantation (destruction of earth's resources). While I believe that it is of utmost importance that our young learners are provided with the opportunity to learn how to use and perhaps even design the technological tools of the future, we must guide them to do so within a context of sustainability. An essential question to guide this learning could be, "How can this technology be used to sustain the earth?" or for younger learners, "How can we use this tool to help the earth?" Given the importance of engaging young learners in stewarding our precious earth for future generations, I choose to embrace the use of technologies in my nature-based, place-based teaching practice. It is my belief that the use of technologies in the classroom should support the fundamental tenets of the Earth Charter. One of the challenges that teachers face in integrating new technologies into their practice is access (cost) and training on how to use the technologies. I would like to continue exploring and discussing emerging technologies in education as I move forward as an educator. Image Attribution, CCO on Pixabay
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When I reflect on my first experience of EDPB 530, I see myself as a little black fly that came buzzing into class, then became suddenly entangled up in the spider's web with no way out! I was dazed and confused as I struggled with the new material. I did everything I could to get away from the web, but it did not work. The web and I were brought together for a purpose.
I don't quite remember what happened next because it was all quite traumatic, but I think I got eaten alive by the Mother Spider and my DNA was reorganized so I could start fresh as one of a new generation of baby spiders. (notice I did not make Avi the mean, trap-setting spider in this metaphor - extra XP?). So now here I am... ...a new baby spider, ready to learn, and equipped with the ability to maneuver around on the web, with a goal to one day create it. As I begin anew, my goal is to become a 'techno Mother Spider', a being capable of utilizing and creating the ever-emerging web of digital technologies to nourish the growth of the learners in my care. Thank You for reading this reflection, Heather (baby techno spider) As a nature-lover with 'technology avoidance disorder' (the kind that means I would rather be in the garden than in front of a device), I have chosen to bridge the techno gap within myself by exploring technologies that could be applied to nature-based learning. As we jump into EDPB531, I find myself shopping around on the web for new ideas that may inspire my direction for the Ed Expo. One new technology that has really grabbed my attention are UAV's (unmanned aerial vehicles), AKA 'drones'. The learning possibilities they present are endless! As I searched for information, I wondered...
I discovered that drones are here to stay and will become a multi-billion dollar industry by 2025. For that reason alone, they must be integrated into education as a new technology. However, there are a multitude of applications for using drones across the curriculum, as outlined below in my Top 10 Uses of Drones in Education; 1) Drones for Photography
10) Drones for Social Studies and Social and Emotional Learning
The challenges associated with the use of drones in education appear to be related to safety, privacy and cost. As drone technology becomes more integrated into industry, drones and drone-building kits will become more cost-effective. It is my opinion that drone technology will continue to develop as an important educational tool in our classrooms. A small high school in New Brunswick is the first school in Canada to teach a class in 'dronography' as shown by CTV in this video: To prepare this blog post, I watched the 5 SET-BC videos on the use of drones in education, selected 7 blogs and articles online to review, and read reviews of the book,
Drones in Education. References Set BC. Drones in Education [website]. Retrieved from https://www.setbc.org/2017/05/drones-in-education/#1447961452046-df7cf0f2-b4ed Cenejac, Jovana (May 3, 2017) 5 Ways to Use Drones in the Classroom: Cherishing Students' Passion for Technology [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/drones-in-the-classroom-5-ways-cherishing-students-passion-technology. Lafuente Lopez, Leticia (March 9, 2016) Technology, Programing and Robotics for Kids in Spain [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://elearningindustry.com/teaching-technology-programming-and-robotics-for-kids-in-spain Wolpert-Gawron, Heather (November 12, 2015) Drones Can Be Fun - and Educational [Blog Post]. Retrieved from https://www.edutopia.org/blog/7-ways-use-drones-classroom-heather-wolpert-gawron Nix, Naomi (Aug 18, 2017) The Value of Bringing Drones to the Classroom [Online Article from the Atlantic]. Retrieved from https://www.theatlantic.com/education/archive/2017/08/the-value-of-bringing-drones-to-the-classroom/537150/ Edventures (Jan 10, 2018) The Positive Effects of Elementary Drone Racing [website]. Retrieved from https://edventures.com/blogs/stempower/the-positive-effects-of-elementary-drone-racing Levy, Leah (October 27, 2015) . What Drones Can Teach Students [website]. Retrieved from http://www.edudemic.com/drones-classroom-can-happen/ |
Video by Sephelonor on Pixabay, CCO
Heather Fisher
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