Abstract
The research is grounded by theories of socio-constructivism, connectivism and pragmatism. Through a post-intentional phemonenological methodology research, I describe and differentiate between transcendental, interpretive, and post-intentional phenomenology. I explore conceptual frameworks for teacher education, open education, and an understanding of literacies. Through this dissertation, I work to untangle conceptions surrounding skills, fluencies, competencies, and literacies in the field of media and digital education as these apply to teacher educators.
Through a crystallization approach in this research I generate materials from the data collected for this study, focusing on teacher educators' open educational practices, and media and digital literacies. Facets in the open educational practices of the teacher educators I interviewed include access, choice, and connections. Facets in the lived experiences of the teacher educators relevant to media and digital literacies include communication, creativity, and criticality.
In the findings I outline components of media and digital literacies with explicit connections to established research frameworks that shape the open educational practices of the fourteen participants in this research. Dimension one identifies elements of communication, with a focus on communication as a human right for a common good and on human beings as storytellers by nature. Dimension two focuses on creativity with remix and problem solving as creative acts. Dimension three examines connecting with communities with a focus on equity, care, and social justice. Dimension four explores criticality within the selection of tools, technologies, spaces, and places, as well as a critical examination of boundaries and criticality in datafication.
From this research I offer insights into the lived experiences of teacher educators infusing media and digital skills, fluencies, competencies, and literacies into their open educational practices through communication, creativity, connectedness, and criticality, shifting beyond the physical and temporal constraints imposed by faculty of education processes. I consider implications and recommendations for further research, and conclude with summary thoughts about media and digital literacies in the open educational practices of teacher educators in Canada