The Quest to Decipher Digital Pedagogy Returns.

“Digital pedagogy is not a dancing monkey. It won’t do tricks on command. It won’t come obediently when called. Nobody can show us how to do it or make it happen like magic on our computer screens. There isn’t a 90-minute how-to webinar, and we can’t outsource it.”

Jesse Stommel

For me this quote out of Jesse Stommel’s article is a perfect example of what digital pedagogy is not and what it should be and therefore it is a great starting point for this blog. Now before I continue I would just like to inform my readers (that is not part of the PGCE group) on the two articles which this blogpost is based on. I would also like to encourage you to go read it, it is definitely worth it. The two articles are as follow:

1. “Decoding Digital Pedagogy, Pt. 1: Beyond the LMS” by Sean Michael Morris
2. “Decoding Digital Pedagogy, Pt. 2: (Un)Mapping the Terrain.” By Jesse Stommel

In the article by Morris he mentions that not everyone can be classified as a digital pedagogue and I totally agree with him. Just because you use technology as a tool for teaching doesn’t mean you are a digital pedagogue. Instead digital pedagogy is like a growing organism, it grows and develops as it is used. It changes as the environment in which it is used changes. The most important thing to remember when it comes to digital pedagogy is that it is not only a way of teaching, but it’s a platform for interactive communication and critical thinking. Digital pedagogy is something innovative, it’s there to inspire us to find new and creative ways to teach and communicate with others. Digital pedagogy isn’t there to dictate how we teach people. This is something that both Stommel and Morris points out throughout their articles. Therefore, digital pedagogy is something that develops with our teaching methods. It is different for everyone; it forms part of our unique teaching identity.

Another aspect I want to slightly touch on is the Learning Management System (LMS) that Morris mentions in his article. LMS is a software application developed for electronic educational courses or training programs that focuses on administration, documentation, tracking, reporting and delivery. With other words it’s a structure for online teaching. Morris makes the argument that LMS was a mistake, because it was prematurely released to the world who was just getting to know the Internet. I have to agree with his argument, it was something we had to introduce to the world gradually, but it happened and now we should focus on how we can improve this structure to include the full extent of the internet and use it to create innovative and unique learning environments.  The whole point of digital pedagogy is to improve and make new application like the LMS that supports the changing environment of teaching and communication.     

Digital Pedagogy Everywhere

When you first hear the term Digital Pedagogy, your first reaction is like should I have brought a dictionary along… But in actual fact it is not that hard to understand it’s something we all engage with every day.

The article Digital Pedagogy Unplugged really gives you a different perspective of what digital pedagogy can entail (the use of technology or other tools as a method of teaching). The most important aspect of this article for me is the fact that digital pedagogy is not limited to electronic devices. This article reviews different methods in which non-digital pedagogy can be used as a method of learning and that it can be just as effective as digital pedagogy. The use of non-digital pedagogy can help learners attain skills previously lost through digital pedagogy. Since we live in a world overrun by technology we tend to get numb from all the information or the way in which we receive the information. The use of non-digital pedagogy as a method of learning brings back the aspect of enforcing attention to a text or lesson.  This does not necessarily mean that you must only rely on either digital or non-digital technologies, instead the best method is to use a combination of the two. The use of both enhances the learning process of the learner. This article opens up the perspective of how you can use all types of technology effectively in a teaching environment, no matter where you are.

Ps. It’s not only about the technology, it’s how you implement it that will make the difference.