Table 1
Categories of topics/posts in discussion forums.
| DISCUSSION CATEGORY | NUMBER OF TOPICS | NUMBER OF DISCUSSION POSTS/REPLIES |
|---|---|---|
| Information Sharing | 1 | 5 |
| Questions (course structure/clarification) | 5 | 31 |
| Announcements | 2 | 2 |
| Assigned Discussion Topics (for marks) | 6 | 151 |
| Other (Extra topics) | 4 | 23 |
| Team Presentations (Assigned) | 7 | 81 |
| Total | 25 | 293 |
Table 2
Participant profiles and digital spaces personalization.
| PARTICIPANT | PERSONALIZED (Y/N) | PRIVACY SETTINGS | AVATAR (Y/N) | FRIENDS | SOCIAL MEDIA | PROFILE | TECHNOLOGY COMFORT (SELF-REPORTED) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| P1 | No | Private | No | 1 | No | None | Beginner |
| P2 | Yes – theme, banner, layout, tagging, categories | Public | No | 8 | No | Location, Bio | Advanced |
| P3 | Yes – theme, banner, layout, tagging, categories | Public | Yes – not personalized | 1 | Location, Bio, Interests (brief) | Medium | |
| P4 | Yes – theme, banner, layout, no categories, no tagging | Public | Yes – personal photo | 1 | Twitter, Instagram | location, bio, work, interests (detailed) | Medium |
| P5 | Yes – theme, banner, layout, no categories, no tagging | Public (select posts private) | Yes – personal photo | 2 | No | Location, work (brief), personal information | Medium |
| P6 | No – theme, no banner, no categories, tagging | Private | Yes – personal photo | 5 | Location, work, bio, interests | Medium | |
| P7 | No – theme, no banner, no categories, no tagging | Private | Yes – not personalized | 3 | No (but lists Facebook) | Location, work | Beginner |
Table 3
Themes, Codes and Associated Quotes.
| THEMES | CODES: SECONDARY CODES | EXAMPLES |
|---|---|---|
| Digital and networked practices | Using Technologies (ex. H5P, Google) Creating Artifacts | “Creation Process: The graphic was taken from a free public domain site called SnappyGoat.com. I then inserted it into an H5P plugin and created some hotspots that explain the different areas of a convergent boundary.” |
| Sharing knowledge/resources Embedding Linking (external/internal) | “For my Technology Integration Activity, I would like to create an interactive game that teaches students about the concept of mutation-to-adaptation (something like the image below). There are a number of digital resources that I need for this game to be put together, and ideally all of them will be free and provide universal accessibility (read more about my universal accessibility guidelines for my project).” | |
| Digital identity Sharing Privacy Confidence Perseverance | “I avoid putting any pictures of myself up there and keep it and I certainly keep it private.” “I feel more comfortable and confident in my approach to tech” | |
| Using and citing OER Images (Creative commons) Repositories Resources/Textbooks Articles/Webpages Revising/Remixing | “When you search activities and find one that has been created by another teacher you can either post it to your class as is or you can copy the activity and edit it to meet the particular needs of your class. I most often edited the activities I chose to use that were shared by other teachers. As a French Immersion teacher there are limited activities available in French and so I would often take activities that were created in English and edit them to be presented in French (especially math activities).” “The second practice I look forward to adding to my retinue is finding ways that Open Educational Resources (OER) can support what I am teaching in the classroom.” | |
| Creating connected communities | Collaboration Presentations Supportive comments/sharing | “I have learned so much from reading your blog and discussion posts. I also feel like I have a good starting basis for this learning, and am excited to continue it once the course wraps up.” “Please use the link below to view our presentation on critical pedagogy and equity of access by [students] and myself We welcome your comments and questions, Thank you” |
| Making connections (internal and external) | “Thus, it seemed like a good opportunity to build a PLN for myself that specifically curates resources for my particular work context” “Inspired from this week’s lesson materials, I will also be dipping my toes into the world of Twitter. I feel that there is still so much that I have to learn to truly become comfortable with this platform, but it’s also clear that there is much networking and knowledge to be gained by actively engaging with a Twitter audience.” | |
| Scaffolding Feedback (peer/instructor) Guidance | “I, like [student], didn’t realize you could animate PowerPoint like that, and I can see a lot of different uses for it in my own teaching context. Thanks for introducing me to a new teaching tool!” “This is an interesting set of threads you’ve brought together. I think you have the start of a few promising paper/project research questions. I think the approach to enabling students with disabilities in an LMS is both a technological issue and a design issue.” | |
| Agency/Ownership | Choice Ownership | “In exploration of my topic, I have expanded my ideas to look more in-depth at the barriers that exist for students using an online classroom setting, particularly those with mental health disabilities.”…Response “I am very interested in your research and your question hits the sweet spot!! Love it!!” |
| Reflective practice | Reflection, metacognition | As I come to the end of [course title] I realize my learning journey in educational technology – its uses, issues and considerations – has only just begun…Three new practices…” |