MAKE Tech Pedagogy

Learning from teaching

In the following section, I describe what our group has done for our teaching session and what I have learned from preparation and implementation processes.

Topic
Safety in Virtual environments. (Safety, equality, network bullying, others, laws…) Consider both from the viewpoint of the student and the teacher.

This week’s topic, safety in virtual environment, is quite broad so we decided the focus areas as cyber hygiene, equality, cyber bullying and copyright. We divided the focus areas and each of us did research. I did my research on copyright and used mainly the website of the Ministry of Education and Culture and major online platforms where we share or search artworks. I also helped equality part. I used google scholar to find relevant articles.

Cyber hygiene

Cyber hygiene is a term which introduce the best practices and actions that a user can undertake to improve cybersecurity while engaging in online activities. Cyber hygiene includes three concepts: ethics, virtual safety and virtual security. Ethics refers to the moral choices which individuals make when using Internet-capable technologies and digital media. For example, it includes copyright, online etiquette, hacking and online addiction(s). Virtual safety indicates the actions individuals take to minimise the dangers they may encounter in virtual environment, such as, online predators, unwanted communications, viruses and spyware. Virtual security means the technical interventions that protect data, identity information, and hardware from unauthorised access or harm, such as antivirus software, internet content filters, firewalls and password protection.

In this digital era, all citizens should be instructed, like crossing the street safely, in order to protect ourselves. As a teacher, we have responsibility to make students understand possible danger in virtual environments and guide them to understand the right actions to encounter.

Equality

About equality, we researched the following three concepts. First concept is equal opportunity to access to the digital tools. The previous study described the factors which affect access to online learning are physical, experiential (digital literacy), social, economic, and institutional influences (Barraket, 2001). In the virtual environments, financial, experiential or institutional differences may broaden the gaps in opportunity to access to the technologies, such as devices or application software which support learning.

Second concept is equal opportunity to choose the digital tools. Educational technology which support learning has been developed but do we, as a student, have the right to choose the tools? When a learning platform is used in a course, do students have right not to use the tool? As a teacher, when the students don't want to provide their personal information to create their account in the platform, what should we do? There is no one clear answer, but we consider that students should not be forced to use digital tools for learning especially when it requires registration of personal info. And as a teacher, we should always have alternative ways for those students to achieve the same learning goals.

Third concept is equal participation in virtual learning environment. Compared to face-to-face settings, in virtual settings, it is easy to lurk (not contribute to discussion but just being a free-rider) as students are not working at the same time in the same place (Klemm, 2000). For example, when we physically facing each other, it is quite difficult to ignore someone’s question, but in virtual environments, one may choose not to reply to someone’s comments pretending that s/he is busy. At the same time, in virtual environments, discussion can be dominated easily by a few people. Some students may be shy, insecure, or not familiar with the topic. We, as a teacher or a student, should attention to every member’s equal participation and equal opportunity to learn.

Cyber bullying

As community in virtual environments grows as big as real environments, cyber bullying is serious problem which cause serious damage for individuals when it happens. For cyber bullying most of information we found was for teenagers. However, cyber bullying is not only for school kids but all for adults. The following tips are the ones we found to encounter cyber bullying. 1) As a teacher, educate yourself. It is important to know what tools/ social media your students use, and what kind of possible cyber bullying happen. 2) Be on the lookout for signs of cyberbullying: you may be the trusted adult a student turns to for help. Take it seriously. 3) Recognize the signs: does a student seem depressed, withdrawn? Are their grades suddenly dropping? 4) Ask students to report it: bullying stops when the bystanders speak up. 5) Respond to an incident: encourage the bullied not to erase the evidence by deleting the hurtful message from their wall or phone. Save screenshots. 6) Find the right response: those who bully need to understand the impact of their actions. Punishment is not the only solution and they can often benefit from counseling. 7) If applicable, get parents involved: their involvement / awareness of childrens’ / youths’ online activities is a must.

Regarding bullying, many Finnish schools have used a successful anti-bullying program named KiVa. It is a research based program which guide students and teachers to prevent and deal with bullying. The program is used not only in Finland but also in foreign countries, such as U.K. or Estonia.

Copyright

Copyright means the right of the creator of an artwork to determine how that work is used and to be credited as the creator of the work. Works of art include compositions, books, magazines, paintings, drawings, dance performances, etc. Copyright is based on national law and international treaties. Copyright in Finland is under the mandate of the Ministry of Education and Culture. In Finland, copyright remains for 70 years after the year of the author’s death. Copyright violations are punishable under Finnish law.
Copyright protects two types of rights. Economic rights concern how the artwork to be used including manufacturing copies of the work and making the work publicly available. Moral rights include the right to be acknowledged as the author to protect the connections of the author with the artwork.

Public copyright license is a license which an author of the artwork (licensor) can grant additional copyright permissions to general public as licensees. By applying a public license to the artwork, the author give permission for others to copy or change their work under the defined condition. One of the major public copyright license is Creative Commons. Creative Commons license is a copyright license which aims to distribute creative work openly. It is common in every license in Creative Commons that the copyright will be retained in an author (licensor) while allowing others to copy, distribute, and derivate their work under chosen conditions. The author is able to define the condition, such as attribution, share-alike, non-derivative and non-commercial. It is possible to search CC artworks online, Google (advance search/ tools> Usage rights), Youtube (filter> features> Creative Commons)

Copyright is important from both teacher and students’ point of views. As a teacher, we should pay attention to the copyright, for example when we make lecture materials. We might want to use videos or images from internet which can be used in the lecture. I found Creative Commons has HTML code that I can embedded in my website to let visitors know the license type. I added my license in the bottom of my website.

I got to know that copyright issues are very complicated and there is no clear border line which determine good or bad use of copyright protected works. One of the reasons of the complication is that copyright laws have been made long time before the current digital age where artworks can be distributed and re-used easily. Another reason is that copyright laws differ in each country and it is hard to see what is good and bad use. But I found that it is always safe to use CC licensed works and I will use them for my teaching in the future.

Preparation for the lesson

We divided our tasks in the early stage, as we knew that we do not have many chances to have meeting. We created google slides and roughly structured. Each member added the pages for the assigned themes. But we needed someone to edit and finalise the slides to keep them coherence. In the process, we needed to remove a lot from individuals’ work because there were too many stuff for 45 minutes teaching session. Removed contents were added as “useful links” at the end of the presentation. Fortunately, all of us were very understanding and we did not have obvious conflicts about the result of editing, still I would like to think about the ways to make the process of creating lesson more effective.

One of the challenges we face is that not all of us are familiar with the topic and it is hard to guess what we are going to talk about before doing some research. As the time for teaching is only a week and we all have some other things to take care of outside of this training, it has been challenging to do some research, think about how to deliver the contents to students and actually create teaching materials. It would be better if we could familiarise ourselves beforehand or would have several options of how to deliver the contents (teaching methods) already, so that we may be more efficient in dividing tasks and bringing individuals’ work together.

See improvement of our group work in my blog post.

Implementation of the lesson

Using agree/ disagree button worked well. First I asked them to show agree or disagree for the two choice questions. Then I asked the students about the reason of their choice. Students were more active in discussion and giving their opinions. I reflect that it is because compared to speaking up through microphone, using button made students feel less challenging to express their opinions in the room. However, there might be possibility that students’ answers were affected by others. In my room, all the students chose the same answer (agree/ disagree) for two questions. This button methods is useful to create safe environments to share opinions in virtual learning environments, but as a teacher it is important to take it into account that the answers may be dominated by others. I would like to try the same methods in a bigger room to see whether the answers turn out to be still one-sided. Also I would like to explore the ways which allow students to choose answers from wider options (multiple-choice questions).

About myself, this time I was more confidence in teaching so that I could pay attention to students comments and make connections with my teaching. I tried to give feedback of students comments and re-use what students said, like “as Student A said, ” or “as we learned in the previous lecture, ”. In this way, students are able to feel that they are heard and their comments are important. For me, it is also good way to keep motivation for the lecture. In addition, by connecting teaching with previous lessons, students can realise the relationships among topics which may deepen their understanding.

Learning from other groups

How can present Virtual Environments be made versatile and activating?

Important notes from the lecture

The group’s lesson was well-structured. They used the video effectively and after watching the video, we reflected and shared our opinions. In the video, I found many useful tips we can use to make the lesson versatile and activating in our future online teaching sessions. I learned that in virtual settings, it is very important to keep attracting students’ attention. Compared to face-to-face classroom settings, in virtual settings students are easily disturbed. I failed keep learning in online courses several times, so I understand the feeling well. It is hard to sit and listen the lecture through the screen for hours alone. Thus we, as a teacher, need to provide activities which interest students and try to interact with them. Although flexibility is limited in some way in virtual settings, we can still use different functions to make lessons interesting.

• Here are some of the tips I found useful.
• Visual is a good way to attract students’ attention. When there are images related to the topic, students pay more attention to the lecture. However, irrelevant visual can cause confuse students.
• Whiteboard function in online platforms is a good way to make interaction between students and teacher happen. We can use it to explain with drawing or highlight some part of the text.
• Chat box is a good way for quick communication. It is also useful to maintain technical issues and to assure individual students that they are heard.
• Synchronised browser is a good way to share the contents in the group.
• Breakout room is a good way to implement small group activity. It can be used for jigsaw method as we do in this course.
• Polling is fun way to interact with students. We can use it to check students’ understanding of the topic (quick quiz) or to let them express opinions. It can be also a useful introduction game.
• Icon can be used for express feelings. The teacher can know how students feel or whether they understand the topic.

Good practice

The group integrated the video effectively. The video explained how learning in face-to-face and virtual settings differs, and how learning in virtual settings can be improved with various functions. I actually used a lot of tips from this video in the later lessons, such as visualising the contents and increasing interactions with students through icons and audio discussion.

What traditional teaching methods work with Virtual Environments? What don’t? What features are better  in Virtual Environment (compared to frontal teaching — and why are they better)?

In the following section, I write my own thoughts of what teaching methods work and do not work in virtual settings. I obtained the teaching methods from Hyppönen and Linden (2009).

Important notes from the lecture

Teaching methods that work in virtual settings

Exercise (depending on the content), Supplementary reading (good for flipped classroom, e.g., read before the session and discuss the reading in the online session), Summaries (work finely in virtual settings), Mnemonics in teaching, Mind map (may be easier in virtual settings to collect information and create mind map flexibly), Learning diary (it may be good to write reflection after the session and share to the other students or teacher), Assembling knowledge base, Group work, Collaborative learning (it might be challenging when students do not know each other well), Cross-over groups (it may be easy in virtual settings because changing the rooms doesn’t require physical movement), Learning cafe (it is possible to implement in virtual settings using the whiteboard function), Cumulative group (snowball), Step-by-step discussion, Inquiry based learning, Teaching discussion, Discussion group, Reading circle, Presentation, Pre-test, Seminar, Debate with argumentation, Fishbowl, Problem-based learning (only when learning is well-structured and given enough instructions), Case study (only when learning is well-structured and given enough instructions), Role playing (as long as it doesn’t require physical interaction between players), Games (such as quiz), Participants teach, Web-based learning (no need to be together as students can watch the video anytime anywhere but it might be better to do with others).

Teaching methods that do not work effectively in virtual settings

Independent (no need to be online), Stimulating writing assignments (no need to be online), Presentation walk (it may be possible in virtual settings, but probably easier and more fun in face-to-face situation), Teaching walk (as students are not physically in the place, it is difficult to implement), Brainstorming (it is hard to make a good atmosphere for brainstorming in virtual settings. Successful brainstorming requires relaxing atmosphere, safe environment, flexible time schedule, off-topic social interaction. In virtual settings which are created for effective communication, it is difficult to make such a space.), Symposium (it may be possible in virtual settings, but it is probably a bit boring to just listening experts speaking through the screen.), Panel discussion (it may be possible in virtual settings, but it is probably a bit boring to just listening experts speaking through the screen.), Project-based learning (depending on the topic, it might be possible in virtual settings, but it is better for project members to be physically in the same place to be creative and collaborative.), Learning by doing (depending on the topic, it might be possible in virtual settings, but most of the cases, it is difficult to show “doing” through screen.), Creative work (depending on the topic, it might be possible in virtual settings, but as long as it is 2D work (e.g., graphic design or creating computer games), it is difficult to show “creative work” through screen.), Drama pedagogy (when it require physical interactions among players, it is difficult to implement in virtual settings.), Dialogue with oneself (no need to be online), Interview (it is possible but no need to implement it as teaching session if students work as pair and interview each other.)

Features of effective learning in virtual settings

I found that in virtual settings, it is better to use teaching methods which require students either to prepare before the session or to reflect after the session. It means that the online session is not only time that students learn but just a part of their learning. For effective learning in virtual settings, teacher can ask students to do some tasks, for example read supplement materials, and in the actual session, teacher and students can discuss about their pre-tasks. Also teacher can ask students to reflect learning through the actual session. As virtual settings are effective ways for “meeting” teacher and other students, a student should fully utilise the moment in the session for their learning.

Good practice

The group arranged the activity where students needed to answer which teaching methods work in virtual settings and which don’t work. It was good activity to organise possibilities and limitations of virtual settings with practical examples. While sharing opinions with others, I got different perspectives on both teaching methods and virtual settings.

Additional task

My view towards the “Future of Virtual Environments”

In 10 years it will be possible to learn in virtual reality (VR). VR makes virtual learning more interactive and flexible. Students can feel teacher’s and other students’ presence even though they are in the different location. It may be possible to physically interact with each other. Thus most of the teaching methods described above are possible even in virtual settings. With VR learning and teaching will change completely. It is possible to “go” to the historical moment or to “see” what are in space. VR have extensive possibility for learning.
Currently there are issues in using VR in learning and teaching, such as 1) market and models are not standardised, 2) network is not strong enough, 3) area of tracking sensors, and 4) limited number of people can be in the same VR environment at the same time. Also there are issues which may not be solved, such has motion sickness while using VR.

References

Barraket, J., & Scott, G. (2001). Virtual equality? Equity and the use of information technology in higher education. Australian Academic & Research Libraries, 32(3), 204-212.
Copyright. (n.d.). Retrieved 14th September 2019 from https://minedu.fi/en/copyright
Cyberbullying: What Teachers and Schools Can Do. (n.d.). Retrieved 15th September 2019 from https://www.scholastic.com/teachers/articles/teaching-content/cyberbullying-what-teachers-and-schools-can-do/
Digital Media Law Project. (n.d.). Retrieved on 14th September 2019 from http://www.dmlp.org/legal-guide/fair-use
House, W. (2009). Cyberspace policy review: Assuring a trusted and resilient information and communications infrastructure. Washington, DC Available at http://www. whitehouse. gov/assets/documents/Cyberspace_Policy_Review_final. pdf.
Hyppönen, O., & Linden, S. (2009). Handbook for teachers: course structures, teaching methods and assessment.
Kilis, S., & Uzun, A. M. (2018). TEACHING INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION TECHNOLOGY ETHICS WITH CASE-BASED INSTRUCTION: EFFECTIVENESS AND PRESERVICE TEACHERS’PERSPECTIVES. MOJES: Malaysian Online Journal of Educational Sciences, 6(4), 32-47.
Klemm, W. R. (2000). What’s Wrong With On-line Discussions-And How to Fix It–. In WebNet World Conference on the WWW and Internet, 335-340. Association for the Advancement of Computing in Education (AACE).
Licensing considerations. (n.d.). Retrieved 14th September 2019 from https://creativecommons.org/share-your-work/licensing-considerations/
Milton, M., & Vozzo, L. (2013). Digital literacy and digital pedagogies for teaching literacy: Pre-service teachers’ experience on teaching rounds. Journal of Literacy and Technology, 14(1), 72-97.
Smith, C. ( 2018). Cyber Security, Safety, & Ethics Education (master’s thesis). Retrieved from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database. (No. 10974125)
What is "Copyright"? - Legal Help. (n.d.). Retrieved 14th September 2019 from https://support.google.com/legal/answer/3463239?sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwikh7KX8NDkAhWLxosKHZK2AkwQlZ0DegQIARAB
Xinghong Liu. Continuous Education and Training Based on Virtual Learning Communities . Energy Procedia 17 ( 2012 ) 733 – 736

(Last update: 23.12.2019)