Category: EDCI570/1

(…ish)

I’ve been having a ridiculously difficult time coming up with a subject for this last post (of the first course of my first semester of the M.Ed. program). In fact, as I write this, I feel very much as though I’ve warped backwards in time to my university-student-self, who often wrote essays the day before (*cough* ok, in the wee hours of the night of the day) they were due. When lamenting to my sister-in-law, she suggested that I write about my day — and I realized that she was on to something.

You see, I ended my morning of work (in which I had a one-hour online Google Meet with one of my classes) with a trek from my upstairs desk in Central Office, to the main floor where our school has an outreach centre. Normally, I don’t have a chance to actually see many of my students; today, I’d been made aware that three of my students were in. It turns out that they had come in for an “engagement day” organized by the family wellness worker who works for our school, which would run in the afternoon.

[Insert jaw-drop]

I just checked — and I am truly flabbergasted to realize that the very first time that Kylie and I connected to explore the potential of working together on our research literature project was TWO! MONTHS! AGO! (yesterday). My brain might be melting a little.

So, what exactly have I accomplished in the past two months (and a day)? While there are times I’m tempted to say sweet *blankety-blank* nothin’, I guess the more pragmatic side of me would hold that thought and say, actually, quite a lot.

In order to address this idea ~ what is the reality of education technology, in my context? ~ I find that I must first go back in time to explore how I even got here to begin with.

Based on my lived experience, “education technology” is essentially synonymous with “online education” — but I’m finding, as we begin reading and discussing, and as I am drawn into thinking about this with more depth and breadth of view — that this is really a very limiting perspective.