The teacher becomes the student

 

In my other course this semester, we're studying Everett Rogers's Diffusion of Innovation. One of the most amazing things about his work is how well it's stood the test of time. Despite being 60 years old, Rogers's theories are still as valid today as they were when John F. Kennedy was still President of the United States. In his seminal study, Rogers wrote that one of the primary drivers of students' comfort with technology is their teachers' comfort with it. Antonia Joia corroborated this view: "The (study's) results show that the teacher’s digital competence on the technological platform and the metacognitive support available in the digital environment are significant factors for a course to attain its pedagogical objectives successfully."

At the risk of committing confirmation bias, I agree. I've long been an advocate for using technology in the classroom and integrating it as seamlessly as possible. For example, many years ago, I read an article (link long gone) that suggested a way that teachers could incorporate Facebook more effectively into their curriculum. Essentially, the idea is to create a private Facebook group and invite one or more students to monitor the page and administer the content. This gives them more of a sense of ownership and agency, and makes it a peer-led rather than a teacher-led activity. The efficacy of this model has started to decline in the last few years because - as this research shows - the average age of Facebook users in Canada is increasing, meaning fewer students are using it than ever before.

I also began offering final exams synchronously online about 10 years ago. My thinking, then as now, is that:

1. Most of today's students are more comfortable with computers than with pen and paper. Computers are how they learn, how they interact, how they live most of their lives. For those who would prefer the more traditional approach, it's still available as an option.
2. If we are genuinely interested in preparing them for the workplace, then their digital competencies are as important as anything else they could learn.
3. Yes, of course they can cheat. They could also cheat on a standard exam. The same rules of academic integrity apply, and by the time they get to their exams, they know that I read everything exceptionally carefully. I will be able to tell if they've copied someone else's work.

The pandemic has given me an even greater opportunity to employ technology in my virtual classroom. My experience at Ontario Tech - and specifically in this class - has really helped me to see how well-curated technology can really enhance the educational experience. Beyond the readings we've done and the tools we've explored, I've also been incredibly fortunate in having classmates who have been generous in sharing their own experiences to help me strengthen my approach. 

I'm also fortunate that when my own technical skills hit their limit during a class that I'm teaching, there's almost always at least one student who's willing to step in and provide IT support. 

As a mature learner, I very clearly remember a time before computers were so deeply embedded in every aspect of our lives, including education. When I did my undergrad, researching an essay meant going to the library, borrowing books, photocopying the relevant sections and then organizing little bits of paper into something approximating a coherent story. Today, the copy-and-paste function in virtually every bit of software has relegated this horse-and-buggy approach to the archives, where it belongs. 

Technology, of course, is not the panacea. There are problems - access problems, stability problems, and - as we've seen on a couple of occasions in this class - compatibility problems. Streaming shows like Black Mirror and filmmakers like David Cronenberg have long explored our sometimes-uneasy relationship with technology. Their dystopian view isn't new, of course; humans have struggled to understand and control their tools probably since the discovery of fire. As the first generation raised on the internet becomes teachers and parents themselves, it will be interesting to see how this perspective on our relationship reshapes their destiny.