Professional Development Reflection

  

 

1)       The name of the event: 

The event that I went to was “Meaningful Media Literacy”, presented by Liz Schulze.

 

2)       The date and time of the event

The event took place on February 16th, 2024, at 12:30pm. The event was hosted at Gladstone Secondary School in Vancouver, BC.

 

3)        A paragraph describing the event (what it was about, who it was targeted to, and etc.)

The professional development workshop I went to was geared towards secondary school educators. Currently, we live in world where our devices (i.e., phones, tablets, laptops) and technology captivate everything. Liz, the presenter of this workshop, shared an example of how technology has taken over.  Her story went like this: Twenty-ish so years ago, before you left your home, you would usually double check for your wallet, phone, house/car keys, cash, purse, handhelds and etc. However, now a days, many people just leave with their phone and keys. Let’s dive into this. As someone who lives in a condo, my phone is my fob to get into the building. In order to get into my suite, instead of using a key to open the door, I have a numerical passcode lock. Of course, this not everyone in this situation. In addition, ever since the Covid-19 Pandemic, the use of cash has minimized. Many folks have their credit cards saved to their phones, so everyday purchases are paid by a simple tap. Need to take notes? No problem, just open up the notepad on your phone and you can be as studious as you want. In short, this example exemplifies how we rely on technology every single day. As much as technology makes our lives easier, it can also be detrimental to us if we don’t use it appropriately. In Liz’s professional opinion, she believes that the use of technology for educational purposes has been overridden by addictive social media platforms like TikTok, Instagram, Snap Chat and more. As a result of these apps, students are being plagued with misinformation, unsubordinated content, and uneducated opinions/perspectives from unscholarly sources. The goal of this workshop was to educate high school teachers about potential strategies and modalities to enhance critical thinking in our students, how to bring a critical lens to new media, and to teach our students media literacy skills that will benefit their life and education.

 

4)       Your personal reaction to the event (was it valuable).

As an educator that has noticed the chronic problem with technology and media literacy in today’s world of education, this workshop was extremely valuable to me. As a result of this workshop, I am equipped with supports and strategies in helping my students become educated with media literacy and overuse and negative effects of technology in the classroom. The most valuable lesson I learned from this workshop is how to initiate/organize/lead a talk on media literacy. In regard to initiating/organizing/leading a discussion on media literacy, the most important lesson we must teach our students is to think critically, and to get them to acknowledge/recognize other opinions and point of views. When teaching students how to think critically, we have to teach them how to be open minded. Just because Instagram or TikTok reported something, doesn’t make it automatically valid. Instead of thinking that the news is real, we need to promote courageous conversation to our students that involves engagement, experiencing discomfort, speaking the truth, and excepting and accepting non-closure. Through these conversations and self-reflection, it is our hope that students become informed, and understand the process of detecting bogus claims and misinformation. To note, this process can be done both individually and collaboratively.  In addition, one other valuable lesson I learned from this workshop is the emergence of Artificial Intelligence (AI). AI has become very prominent in education today. The emergence of CHATGPT has made the process of gathering information exceptionally easy. Instead of researching something on your own, individuals can simply type out a question to CHATGPT,  and get somewhat of an educated response in a couple of seconds. In my opinion, CHATGPT is a double-edged sword – it can both ruin and excel education. As educators, it is our job to use AI as a means of excelling education. During this workshop, we had a pretty lengthy discussion on how to positively use AI in the classroom. In short, the educators in this workshop noted that it is okay to use AI to generate statistics and facts of a particular topic. However, students should always double check and confirm that these findings are accurate and come from scholarly sources. After retrieving this information, educators need to come up with creative strategies to get their students to share authentic/genuine opinions. This is where CHATGPT is restricted. Students need to learn how to think critically and express their feelings and thoughts when the facts are presented to them. All in all, as I continue to reflect from this workshop and further my learning with AI, I am hoping to be innovative and creative when using AI in my teaching.

 

5)       What did you observe there that ties into the professional practice?

For the most part, I observed how to use technology and media to reach our curricular competencies. For example, as a Physical and Health Education teacher, it is my job to teach components of mental health which include stress and anxiety. Instead of lecturing about topics that I am “somewhat” educated on, I can resort to applications like YouTube, CHATGPT, specialized podcasts and etc. to help deliver my lesson. That being said, I need to confirm that the information is valid and reliable, while the source is scholarly. By being digitally literate, these applications can help me deliver some of the content that I may be uneducated on. Once this content is delivered, I can use my teaching pedagogies and strategies to deliver a meaningful lesson. By promoting collaboration, discussion, reflection, and storytelling, I hope to hit all of the required curricular competencies while teaching life skills like teamwork, respect, communication and more.  In my opinion, some of the older teachers may think that technology is a burden to education. However, I believe that with the appropriate training, technology can be the most efficient and effective tool in education today. It is definitely debatable, though!


6)     Provide two artifacts that demonstrate the impact of this professional development opportunity on your professional practice. These artifacts, created by you (i.e., a revised lesson plan), should demonstrate key takeaways and their relevant application to your personal practice.

Artifacts include a lesson plan and a fitness assignment. Screen shots will be posted at the end of this assignment. For some reasons, the screenshots are very clear. If you would like an actual doc of the artifacts, comment, or send me an e-mail!

 

7)      Who would you recommend this activity to and why?

I would recommend this activity to every single secondary educator in North America. As technology becomes more and more advanced, it will continue to impact the way we teach. By being informed and educated, educators will be equipped with scholarly evidence, recommendations, and strategies to best utilize technology in our classes. In my opinion, although technology can be an asset in the classroom, I believe that many students have a device addiction that is negatively affecting their learning. As a result, educators need to be equipped with a toolbox that can manage device usage, teach media literacy, and use technology for the betterment of student learning. This workshop provides great information on media literacy and usage of technology. That being said, educators will need to attend more of these workshops to become more equipped. This workshop was a great stepping stone!

 


















 





 

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