LIBE 477B: Vision of the Future - Final Course Reflection

For my final project, I was inspired by the multimedia technology use by both our instructor as well as some of my classmates. Rather than do a video, I thought I would try my hand at producing a podcast instead. Podcasting is a very versatile medium, easily shared, and a bit of a challenge; that is, getting my point across with only sound! It has been really great to be able to try this out while tackling my topic, which is something partly made possible by the inquiry-based learning we engaged in as part of this course. It's also a great chance to share something - just like Will Richardson discusses in our course reading "Why School?" (2012). Creating content to share with the wider education community is something completely new for me, so consider this a first!

I had a lot of fun producing this podcast. I have done one or two on other topics years in the past, so it was quite interesting giving it another try. I personally listen to quite a few podcasts, one of my favourites being the "Stuff You Should Know Podcast", which served as part of my inspiration for this one.

My episode ended up being just under 15 minutes, which was longer than I was expecting, but rather short compared to contemporaries of the medium. I think podcasting lends itself well to educational topics and longer-form discussions because it's something you can listen to while doing something else, such as while commuting or while out for a walk. I intentionally wrote it as if it was the start of a bigger production, hence the "episode zero" title, and I may add on more episodes some time in the future. For now, though, it stands as a piece for teacher-librarians, teachers, and even students to enjoy.



Works Cited:

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Conferences Publishing.

LIBE 477B: Developing World Libraries / Mobile devices

One of the takeaways from my exploration of mobile devices for education being implemented in economically developing nations is to not take the technology lightly. It seems there are careful ways to get technology into the hands of students in these nations without resorting to a universal approach. Keengwe notes that “technology tools and applications that are familiar in developed nations may pose unique challenges in developing countries, so ‘one size fits all’ or ‘one technology for all contexts’ does not practically work.” (2014). Keengwe also discusses the different context for these mobile technologies depending on where you look, with schools in Africa and schools in Finland showing very different contexts (2014).

Creative Commons licensed image courtesy of Justin Parmelee

I think much if this relates directly to potentially transforming the library. Depending on the school, I imagine a library may be limited, mixed-us, or potentially non-existent. Richardson’s suggestion to “rethink assessment” comes into play here once again: “Stop asking questions that can be answered by a Google search” (2014) - this is a sentiment that I believe may be amplified by a developing nation school receiving access to mobile technologies for the first time; their teachers will want to address this head on.

It also opens up a host of challenges that we increasingly face as Teacher-Librarians in the modern school system. Discussions surrounding digital literacy, information literacy, fair use, plagiarism, and internet safety are all suddenly on the table with new access to these technologies, perhaps even amplified by the unfamiliarity and novelty of the mobile technology.



Works Cited

Keengwe, J. (12/01/2014). Mobile learning and integration of mobile technologies in education Springer.

Richardson, W. (2012). Why School?: How Education Must Change When Learning and Information Are Everywhere. TED Conferences Publishing.

Parmelee, J. (Photographer). (2010). Glowing Keyboard [Digital Image]. Retrieved from https://flic.kr/p/7GucS3

LIBE 477B: Broadening Horizons Part B

Here are some useful resources I used to better understand my topic of copyright, understanding plagiarism, and citation techniques:

1. Why do foreign students plagiarize? A cultural perspective. (2018, February 05). Retrieved from https://elearnmagazine.com/why-do-students-plagiarize/

This article by Priscila Zigunovas on e-learn magazine is a summary breakdown of possible reasons for why international students may consider plagiarizing their work, either accidentally or on purpose.

To be quite frank, I think a lot of the reasons listed here appear to me like something of a poor excuse, whether it's observed behaviour or statements offered up by those who have plagiarized. Take these for example: the focus on collaboration, seeing it as a form of flattery, respect for authority, etc. - all of these things are preserved in a citation, you are only making sure to note where the information is coming from. Also, depending on the extent of the plagiarism, some of the reasons listed here come off as rather hollow (facetiously; "I copied this other work in it's entirety because I respect the author too much to properly criticize and convey my own opinion.") I am hopeful that students plagiarizing for these reasons could be easily convinced to just add a citation to the end to avoid (potentially unintentional) academic dishonesty.

The more sinister side of it - such as being focused on the exams and not seeing homework as important, or straight up intentionally plagiarizing because the consequences are lenient - these are the tough ones because these students basically know they are doing something they shouldn't. I like to think that much of the plagiarism that I'd be discussing with my students errs on the unintentional side because they haven't really been exposed to this kind of thinking just yet (Elementary/Intermediate level). When you're knowingly engaging in this behaviour, that's a whole other conversation (still an important one though!).

2. Vicinus, Martha & Eisner, Caroline. Originality, Imitation, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2008. Project MUSE, p 195-207

Academic Plagiarism and the Limits of Theft

https://muse-jhu-edu.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/chapter/145068 (requires a UBC CWL)

This essay was a discussion about what exactly plagiarism means to all parties involved in an academic institution. "Was plagiarism to be viewed primarily as a theft, as a breach of community norms, as a betrayal of the ethical foundation of the teacher-student relationship, or perhaps as a disciplinary misunderstanding?" (2008)

This may be a little above the heads of a grade 7 student, but the contrast of the viewed "seriousness" of the offense versus the amount of work saved (or reward weighed against risk) is something that I could see easily tempting a younger student, despite not knowing exactly what kind of behaviour they might be engaging in.

3. Zhang, Y. (2016). Against plagiarism a guide for editors and authors. Cham: Springer. p 3-10

Chapter 1 What Is Plagiarism?

https://link-springer-com.ezproxy.library.ubc.ca/content/pdf/10.1007%2F978-3-319-24160-9.pdf

While I did not get a chance to read through the entire work, Zhang has a good breakdown of specific types of plagiarisms such as cut and paste and paraphrasing (the "put in your own words" truism which sometimes seems to persist in the minds of students without the accompanying "and cite your source") as well as some other useful defintions. 

LIBE 477B: Broadening Horizons.

picture by gob-scure: https://flic.kr/p/ZJHHyU

Here is a list of topics I am considering for broadening my understanding in these areas. Any feedback is greatly appreciated!

Information Literacy:

This is one topic that has come up in a few other classes as well, the idea of cultivating skills to navigate and effectively use the massive amount of information that is at our fingertips (both for ourselves and especially for students). There is always the temptation to grab the easiest and quickest search result to support our arguments or positions, but is this the best option? Many school districts have access to catalogues and web magazines from vetted sources, but having the perseverance to properly sift through, sort, and curate a citation list is often not an immediately obvious skillset. Some questions: How “deep” should information literacy skills go, and how early in on in a student’s learning journey should it occur? 

Citing; Crediting:

This is another topic that often goes unnoticed by younger students, even before they are expected to write longer form essays or have an acceptable level of research to back up their assignments. I think proper citation attitudes and skills are an important competency to start considering even in elementary school. Even an idea as simple as “Hey, I grabbed this picture from the internet for my writing assignment, I through the author’s credit below it” would go a long way; and for older students, knowing about creative commons licenses, knowing what they mean and how to search through them. In our internet age for nearly infinite sharing, remembering to give credit where it is due allows proper recognition (for the original creator) and accountability (for the student synthesizing their content) to remain intact. Some questions: What level of accreditation is acceptable for students just starting out (eg. A grade 3 students learning how to capture an image online for a polar bear webquest)?

What is the EXIF data stored with the photos we take?

A teacher recently asked me about location data that is stored on pictures taken with a smartphone. This information is stored alongside the photo as EXIF data (which stands for Exchangeable Image File Format), in addition to other things such as when the photo was taken, and information about the device that took it.

There is a great article on How-to geek about what EXIF data is and how to remove it if you don't want that information to be embedded in your photos.

This is another aspect of photo sharing that students may not be immediately aware of; students might not know that information such as time and place is often bundled along with the actual photo that is shared online, and could be worth discussing!