Teya's Teachings

Photo by Anya Akbari on Unsplash

I was intrigued by the concepts in the film Most Likely to Succeed discussed in class today. I agree with the film’s main criticism of traditional education being outdated and limiting, and that we should be supporting opportunities for students to apply knowledge through hands-on learning. However, as someone who enjoys structure in an educational setting, I found myself questioning how one could create a balance between the two types of learning environments.

I historically have found this style of open-ended learning somewhat challenging because of decision paralysis and perfectionism, which had me wondering how I would have responded in this type of educational environment. If I had the opportunity to attend a school like High-Tech High in my early education, would I be more comfortable in a less structured environment? 

The discussions encouraged my thinking towards incorporating project-based and inquiry-based learning into my teaching practice while still maintaining a healthy amount of structure. I love the idea of closed choice as it can provide enough structure that students like me can feel supported, but still enough freedom that they maintain autonomy over their learning.

I have attached an OER from the Smithsonian Learning Lab that supports my free inquiry project below. It is a lesson plan around photography and image manipulation that inquires about why might someone alter, change, or edit a photograph? I have chosen to re-explore a topic I had been interested in previously but had only scratched the surface in exploring: abstraction in photography.

OER Resource: Wilding, Allie. “Smithsonian Learning Lab Collection: Photography and Image Manipulation.” Smithsonian Learning Lab, Smithsonian Office of Educational Technology, 9 Aug. 2017, https://learninglab.si.edu/q/ll-c/zEYkG2xDFCRRm5c3

I am excited to explore the topics in this course this semester. Technology is something I integrate heavily into my own learning as a student, so I am eager to learn how that can translate into my teaching practice. I am particularly interested in exploring the topics of using technology as an accessibility tool through UDL frameworks, as well as gamification to increase student engagement, as that is something I vividly remember doing in the computer lab in my early education.

Something I am excited to dive deeper into is multimedia learning and video editing as I have some basic experience in that through my previous degree and employment. Additionally, I am extremely intrigued by the topic of using AI as a tool for teaching, lesson planning, and incorporating adaptations. 

I am feeling some slight challenges with fluctuating between ideas for the free-inquiry project. I typically struggle with decision paralysis initially when given free range of topic choice. There are so many topics I would love to explore but am trying to find balance between exploring an ambitious project and being realistic about time-management. 

Overall, I hope to become more comfortable experimenting and interacting with technology in an educational setting. As well as how to apply my own techniques for learning accessibility with technology into the classroom through an educators mindset.