This page is referenced by:

• 1 2020-01-12T03:46:21+00:00 Alternate Dissertation Format 12 plain 2020-04-29T20:18:31+00:00

  "What is the reading of a text, in fact, except the recording of certain thematic recurrences, certain inconsistencies of forms and meanings?" (Calvino, 1981).

       To honour the topic of media and digital literacies, while authentically sharing and revealing the OEPr under investigation, the results of my research, as modelled in this comprehensive portfolio, will be presented in an openly accessible, alternative, digital format, while using and applying a variety of media and digital strategies and techniques. This “open-ended, problematic, critical, polyphonic” text (Denzin & Lincoln, 2005, p. 1124) will break open the boundaries imposed by traditional alpha/numeric representations. This reflects the non-linear, hyper-textually linked, dialogic, conceptually and topically interconnected and networked nature of my subject matter, and the nature of this qualitative research.
       Idhe and Malafouris (2019) posit the notion of Homo faber, suggesting that humanity is evolutionarily constituted and shaped by the technologies we use. In today's world new materialities and digital ecospheres encompass all aspects of living and learning, thus we are constructed by the tools that we've constructed and by which we engage in relationships and construct our learning (Idhe & Malafouris, 2019). This echoes McLuhan's position that the medium is the message. This comprehensive portfolio, and the future dissertation process and product, will “look beyond the obvious and seek the non-obvious changes or effects that are enabled, enhanced, accelerated or extended by the new thing” (Federman, 2004) and will ”suit the style as much as possible to the matter” (McLuhan & McLuhan, 1992, xi). In this way, my dissertation will critically analyze the privilege of representation, voice, and academy.
       Deciding to shift my research process and product into a fully interactive and digital environment fits with the ontological and epistemological frameworks within which I study. Pockley, the creator of the first electronic dissertation in 1995, describes texts as “mutable streams of thought, open to annotation, revision, re-presentation and part of the very fabric of their community of interest” (Jacobs, 2008, p. 245). By preparing and presenting my comprehensive portfolio, and future research, in an alternative dissertation (#AltDiss) format, I contribute to the breaking open of “calcified conventions” sustaining the linear privilege of print text (Covey, 2013) that is traditionally found in electronic dissertation and theses formats relying on static PDF documents. With my experiences in producing and sharing media texts, I recognize the “cultural agoraphobia, the cognitive bias that leads us to underestimate the potential of openness” and will push open the structure, media, notions of authorship, and methods of assessment in the process and products of my research and dissertation (Covey, 2013, p. 550).
       I will design paths through the research information, as any research author would, but the reader will control the serendipitous navigation through the content. Reader control in determining the research reading experience, through strategic use of hyperlinks, embedded media, graphic organizers, and taxonomic features, will reflect the media filled, rich, thick descriptions, and the open nature of this dissertation.  For ease of access, the references and citations will be included within individual page displays, but will also link backwards/forwards to the curated reference list. Software such as Scalar will be utilized to present the research results within a fluid, editable, elastic format that is “open to annotation and responsive to change” (Jacobs, 2008). One example of a dissertation presented using Scalar (Dixon, 2014 - Endless Questions)  is linked here to provide an opportunity to understand the digital mechanisms available in taxonomic visualizations.
       Since my research and dissertation is not without its political dimensions, and to meet institutional requirements for a ‘frozen in time’ document as a representation of my research capabilities (Barrett, 2014; Jacobs, 2008), a hyper-textually linked linear PDF version will be also produced. Dissemination of research results will be pursued through traditional, peer reviewed Canadian and international journals, (e.g. the Canadian Journal of Education, Open Praxis), conference presentations, (e.g. OTESSA, OER21, OEGlobal) and through open social media and web publications (blog posts, FoE newsletters). In this way, I heed Denzin's (2017) call to "unsettle traditional concepts of what counts as research, as evidence, as legitimate inquiry" (p. 8) reflecting postmodernist compositions such as Italo Calvino's novel A Winter's Night A Traveler. 
  
• 1 2020-04-17T18:37:15+00:00 Literacies: Untangling a Concept 12 This is a subsection of the literature review and also a standalone page describing the complexity of the literacy concept. plain 2020-04-29T17:50:23+00:00      Surrounding these definitions of media and digital literacies there exists a veritable Pandora’s box of literacy terminology (Belshaw, 2012) including transliteracies (Sukovic 2016), cosmopolitan literacy (Zaidi & Rowsell, 2017), cultural literacies (Halpert & Chigeza, 2015), place based literacies (Harwood & Collier, 2017; Mills & Comber, 2013); artefactual literacies (Pahl & Rowsell, 2011); information communication literacies (Forkosh-Baruch & Avidov-Ungar, 2019; Horton, 2008); internet or web literacies; technological literacy; multiliteracies (New London Group, 1996); multimodal; multicultural; visual literacy (Collier 2018), transmedia literacies (Jenkins 2010), and re/mix literacies (Hoechsmann, 2019). While this literature review does not specifically examine this tangle of terminologies, they are mentioned here to acknowledge the confusion and recognize potential misconceptions resulting from the conflation of terminology (Belshaw, 2012; Spante et al. 2018).
       As a reflection of critical theoretical frameworks, my research is influenced by conceptions of critical literacies which are “historical works in progress. There is no correct or universal model. Critical literacy entails a process of naming and renaming the world, seeing its patterns, designs, and complexities, and developing the capacity to redesign and reshape it” (Luke, 2012, p. 9). This conception of critical literacy rings true for my research since how TEds "shape and deploy the tools, attitudes, and philosophies of critical literacy are utterly contingent: It depends upon students’ and teachers’ everyday relations of power, their lived problems and struggles, and … on educators’ professional ingenuity in navigating the enabling and disenabling local contexts of policy” (Luke, 2012, p. 9). 
       For this literature review, the primary conceptualization for literacy/literacies will encompass a critical framing of media and digital formats under the term MDL while recognizing that literacies are both an internal, cognitive ability and a social practice, with each requiring action and reflection. This literacy conception will be contextually placed within teacher education and the teaching and learning relating to MDL done in FoE. While Stordy’s (2015) taxonomies of literacies is particularly helpful as a starting point for a preliminary understanding of literacy/literacies, there is potential for further development of generating a phylogenetic graphic to establish origin stories of literacy terminology, integrating information about inherited characteristics, but that required more time than is available for this current review. 
  
   
• 1 2020-04-11T16:02:09+00:00 Glossary 10 Definition of terms and concepts plain 2020-04-29T21:35:31+00:00 Here are the individual terms and concepts used throughout this comprehensive portfolio, inserted as noted within pages and content.
  • cognitive load
  • connectivism
  • digital ethnography
  • ethnography
  • FoE - Faculty of Education
  • humpomnemata
  • labyrinth
  • liminal / liminality
  • MOOC
  • open education (OE)
  • open educational pedagogy (OEP)
  • open educational practices (OEPr)
  • open educational resources (OER)
  • rhizomatics
  • schema
  • ubuntu
  • unicursal / multicursal
  
  
   
• 1 2020-04-15T16:51:39+00:00 Researcher Positionality 10 This is part of the literature review but also a stand alone page describing the position of the researcher in light of the research questions. plain 2020-04-29T17:16:19+00:00      My intention, at the beginning stages of this digital ethnographic research study, is to critically examine the open educational practices of teacher educators to explore where they enact media and digital literacies, tacitly and explicitly. By examining the experiences and expertise of teacher educators who may embody and enact OEPr within their teaching ethos, lessons may be learned that can support the growth of MDL and OEPr within FoE across Canada, and potentially into global teacher education sectors. Currently, there is little research that identifies or examines the depth of knowledge in pedagogy and technology of teacher educators as it impacts on OEPr, both within and outside teacher education spaces.
       This digital ethnographic research study will bring critical subjectivity, collaborative action, a participative reality, and an epistemology of experience (Guba & Lincoln, 2005). My voice, reflexivity and media infused textual representations will be reflexively interrogated as I locate my ‘self’ as researcher-participant, both within and outside the research field of study (Guba & Lincoln, 2005).
       This research benefits from my years of experience teaching media and digital literacy courses in the FoE where I am both educator and student, as well as my extensive background as an elementary school educator. My engagement in global networks (Global OER Graduate Network (GO_GN); UNESCO Open Education for a Better World (OE4BW); Open/Education Technology, Society and Scholarship Association (OTESSA)), cross-border collaborations (Virtually Connecting; International Society for Technology in Education (ISTE) Inclusive Learning Network), and open educational spaces (Ontario Extend, Ontario Open Education Fellows, Creative Commons, Mozilla Open Leaders) will inform and shape this research.
       My intention is to explore how Canadian FoE can support the growing demand for digitally and media literate educators who demonstrate global competencies (CMEC, 2020) and are responsive to global calls for OEPr (Bates, 2019a; Montoya, 2018). My position as researcher is supported by my academic persona as a scholarly writer and as a media-making educator. This supports my notion of becoming and being created through hupomnemata, as evidenced in this graphic Towards and Academic Self. When considering and coding the research data, my media making efforts will further crystallize the findings.
  
   
• 1 2020-04-15T14:42:23+00:00 Purpose and Rationale 8 This is the purpose and rationale section of the literature reveiw plain 2020-04-29T16:30:57+00:00      This literature review will unfold my qualitative, digital ethnographic inquiry centering on the open educational practices of teacher educators in Faculties of Education in Canadian higher education contexts. This research focuses on the confluence of three areas – media and digital literacies (MDL), faculties of education (FoE), and open educational practices (OEPr). First, MDL is an important research focus, with growing political and public demands for literacies in all areas of education (OECD, 2018; Zimmer, 2018). Calls for educational responses to ‘fake news’ (Gallagher & Rowsell, 2017) and the teaching of digital citizenship to combat cyberbullying (Choi, Cristol, & Gimbert, 2018; Jones & Mitchell, 2016) will increasingly influence educational landscapes in Canada (Hoechsmann & DeWaard, 2015). Digital literacy and competency frameworks have been developed by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and the European Union to further education for citizenship (Carretero Gomez et al., 2017; Law et al., 2018). While research focuses on MDL in the K-12 education sector, on teachers in the classroom, or on the teacher candidates being prepared for teaching, there is little focus on the MDL competencies of teacher educators (Petrarca & Kitchen, 2017).
       Second, UNESCO amplifies the notion of education as common good(s), shifting from previous notions of education as individualistic and economically entangled public good(s), with a focus on open educational practices & networks as mechanisms for change (Daviet, 2016; Law et al., 2018). Common good(s), contributing to societal well-being, are undergirded with a humanistic and holistic belief system (Daviet, 2016). The Canadian Council of Ministers of Education and the National Council of Teachers of English have emphasized the need for enhanced literacy development in conjunction with technology competencies in education for all provincial education jurisdictions (Gallagher & Rowsell, 2017). The Canadians for 21st Century Learning & Innovation document Vision for 21st century learning in Canada, 2012, identifies key skills and competencies learners should possess, which suggests that teachers, teacher candidates, and teacher educators should also possess these skills and competencies. The development of a set of technology competencies for teacher educators (Foulger et al., 2017) suggests the need for a reconceptualization of current FoE structures and teacher educators’ practices.
       Since “teacher’s knowledge is an essential component in improving educational practice” (Connelly et al., 1997, p. 674), this research will explore the lived experiences of teacher educators who openly share evidence of applying MDL as part of their teaching practice (Cronin, 2017; Hegarty, 2015; Watt, 2007). In order to gain a better understanding of the context of MDL mediated OEPr within teacher education in FoE, teacher educators’ voices and stories need to be re-presented. Teacher educators will be invited to participate in interviews and to document – or “story” - their OEPr, and their media and digital literacy landscapes (Clandinin, 2015). There is limited research addressing the needs of teacher educators or how teacher educators infuse MDL into their teaching practice (Lohnes Watulak, 2016; Phuong et al., 2018; Seward & Nguyen, 2019; Stokes-Beverley & Simoy, 2016).
       Third, this research will explore, revise, and clarify current definitions of OEPr (Cronin & MacLaren, 2018; Nascimbeni & Burgos, 2016; Paskevicius, 2017; Tur et al., 2020). I will uncover potential connections from current conceptualizations of OEPr to understandings of critical media and digital literacy (Gee, 2015; Stordy, 2015). The criticality of MDL are yet to be recognized in the research into OEPr (Bozkurt et al., 2019).
       My research will not only add to rapidly evolving discussions about OEPr but may also contribute a much needed focus on teacher educators (Woloshyn et al., 2017). Teacher educators bring experience in educational teaching practice to the nexus between OEPr, teaching practices, and MDL. Teacher educators from diverse, Canadian, FoE sites will be invited to participate in interviews, to “story” their OEPr, and reflect on their MDL landscapes. The ubiquity of electronic technologies in the functional milieu of today’s educational environments suggest that digital tools are both field and method for ethnographic study (Burrell, 2009; Markham, 2016).
• 1 2020-04-17T14:01:10+00:00 Teacher Education 8 This is a section of the literature review but also a stand alone page outlining elements and contextual details related to Faculties of Education. plain 2020-04-29T19:22:57+00:00

  "Simply put, it is reasonable to assume that quality teacher preparation depends on quality teacher educators. Yet, almost nowhere is attention being paid to what teacher educators should know and be able to do" (Goodwin & Kosnik, 2013, p. 334)  

       Teacher education programs are referenced here as faculties of education (FoE). These are departments in higher education institutions providing a course of study in the discipline of education. Courses in the FoE are designed and delivered to preservice teachers, also referenced as teacher candidates in some literature, who graduate to become licensed teachers, usually working within the K-12 sector of education. FoE programs should not be confused with professional development courses, instructional design departments, or higher education centers for teaching and learning, that also provide teaching and learning opportunities and support teacher development without the full range of courses or subject matter found in a FoE.
       Since education in Canada falls under provincial jurisdiction, FoE develop programs with limited national oversight. An undergraduate degree followed by a course of study in the education department is the most common design of FoE in Canada (Russell & Dillon, 2015). Some universities offer a concurrent education program whereby education related courses are incorporated into the undergraduate course of study. A subsequent master level of study should not be confused with preservice teacher education or professional-years study. For the purpose of this research, the focus will be on the professional years of study.
       Globally, teacher education programs face the challenge of managing the ‘theory-practice’ tension. In Canada, this is a major consideration in FoE reform initiatives (Russell & Dillon, 2015). Program design traditionally includes the what and the how of teaching practice:

  “The what includes such familiar elements as foundations, subject area methods, and some generic aspects of teaching (e.g., behaviour management and assessment), as well as more recently introduced topics (e.g., diverse learners, inclusive education, and differentiated instruction). The what may also include issues such as the sequencing of courses and practicum experiences and coherence across courses” (Russell & Dillon, 2015, p. 151).

       A secondary issue is the highly transient nature of those who teach in FoE (Kosnik et al., 2015). The term teacher educator (TEds) describes those individuals tasked with teaching in the teacher education programs, seen as gatekeepers and lynchpins to the teaching profession (Kosnik et al., 2015; Voithofer et al., 2019). These individuals frequently bring extensive practice in the field of education into their course designs. TEds can also be new to the discipline, coming through an academic and research stream of study. While teachers in the Ontario K-12 sector are licensed through the Ontario College of Teachers, this is not a requirement for employment or teaching in higher education sectors such as FoE. Although TEds are "at the core of good teacher education" they receive little attention (Vloet & van Swet, 2010). TEds are often overlooked, invisible, and rarely researched within the field of education (Crawley, 2018; Izadinia, 2014; Kosnik et al., 2015; Voithofer et al., 2019; Woloshyn et al., 2017). Perception suggests that TEds:

  "should be able to handle themselves in their practice, to act in an effective way, to take care for themselves and to be physically, emotionally and cognitively balanced. They should have a realistic self-concept, concerning who they are, what they are able to do and how they want to develop themselves, especially when coping with educational innovations. ... They should have insight into their personal experiences, feelings, values and motives, and gain self-knowledge about processes of their identity development, construction of meaning and their professional development" (Vloet & van Swet, 2010, p. 150).

       With rapid changes in media and digital technologies impacting the preparation of teachers in FoE, there are increasing demands on teacher educators to improve outcomes (Buss et al., 2018). Research and change efforts in FoE include: a) self-study (Kosnik et al., 2015); b) the infusion of technology, pedagogy, and content knowledge (TPACK) frameworks (Jaipal-Jamani et al., 2018; Voithofer et al., 2019); c) the application of participatory teaching (West-Puckett et al., 2018); d) networking teaching and learning (Lohnes Watulak, 2018; Oddone, 2019); e) digital literacies and digital citizenship (Choi et al., 2018; Nascimbeni, 2018); and f) open educational practices (Albion et al., 2017; Kim, 2018). Some of these changes are politically driven, as seen from the US Department of Educational Technology 2016 release of the Advancing Educational Technology in Teacher Preparation: Policy Brief (Stokes-Beverley & Simoy, 2016) and the European Union Practical Guidelines for Open Education for Academics documents (Inamorato dos Santos, 2019).
       Focusing on these changes, specifically related to digital teaching and learning, Foulger et al. (2017) researched the technological practices of teacher educators. The development of the Teacher Educator Technology Competencies established a foundational set of skills and attributes which can support self-reflection and professional development. Research is beginning to examine these competencies in practice (Thomas et al., 2019) but explicit connections to MDL within OEPr of TEds in FoE have not yet been made. My research will focus on the nexus between MDL and OEPr found in teacher educators in FoE in Canadian contexts, so a deeper awareness of research foci with TEds is essential. 
• 1 2020-04-17T18:35:31+00:00 Digital Literacy 7 This is a subsection of the literature review and also a standalone page describing digital literacy. plain 2020-04-29T17:43:16+00:00

  Defining Digital Literacy

       When considering digital literacies as autonomous, conceptions relate to skills, proficiencies, fluencies, and competencies. Competencies broadly cover knowledge, skills, attitudes and values (OECD, 2018). Skills and fluencies focus on the mechanics of how to use digital technologies, and knowledge relates to the information required and used when manipulating digital resources. Competencies subsume skills, fluencies and knowledge into a fuller conception that includes attitudes and values (Spante et al., 2018). Competencies and literacies are frequently interchanged in the literature, depending on geographic contexts (Spante et al., 2018). Accordingly, some research views digital literacy originating from a “skill-based understanding of the concept and thus relates to the functional use of technology and skills adaptation” (Spante et al., 2018, p. 7).
       Ideologically, digital literacy is a “complex and socio-culturally sensitive issue” (Lemos & Nascimbeni, 2016, p. 2). Digital literacy shifts into social, collaborative, communication and sense-making actions and interactions using a variety of digital devices (Beetham et al., 2012; Belshaw, 2012; Lemos & Nascimbeni, 2016). Digital literacy is therefore defined as a dynamic process wherein the “creative use of diverse digital devices to achieve goals related to work, employability, learning, leisure, inclusion and/or participation in society” (Lemos & Nascimbeni, 2016, p. 2) and are integrated into everyday life (Belshaw, 2015). Digital behaviors, practices, identities and citizenship, as well as wellbeing, are incorporated into this definition (Belshaw, 2012; Hoechsmann & DeWaard, 2015; Lankshear & Knobel, 2007; Spante et al., 2018).
       The term critical literacy refers to the use of print and other media technologies to “analyze, critique and transform the norms, rule systems and practices governing the social fields of everyday life” (Luke, 2012, p. 5). Critical digital literacies (CDL) acknowledge power differentials, strive for equitable access to diverse resources, and the reconstruction of transformative potentials (Spante et al., 2018). This definition requires that those within a field of study examine how, why, and where norms, rules, ways of doing, ways of being in relationship to topics, processes, procedures, and each other, are critiqued with a social justice view, examining the spaces and places where those who are marginalized and disenfranchised can find intentionally equitable hospitality (Bali et al., 2019). Luke (2012) further explores how education utilizes “community study, and the analysis of social movements, service learning, and political activism, …. popular cultural texts including advertising, news, broadcast media, and the Internet” (p. 7). CDL are important considerations in course development and the design of learning experiences when infusing MDL into methods and core course requirements in teacher education programs.
       The overarching conception of digital citizenship subsumes all layers of skills, fluencies, competencies, literacies, and criticality when using, creating, and communicating with digital technologies and resources (Choi et al., 2018; Hoechsmann & DeWaard, 2015). Additionally, citizenship infers activism, engagement, and cosmopolitanism (Zaidi & Rowsell, 2017). When focusing on digital citizenship and the responsible use of technology, Ribble (2017) proposes nine elements categorized under three principles of behaviour – respect, educate and protect. Although citizenship is a worthy area of investigation and needs to be recognized for future attention, it is beyond the scope of this literature review.
       Digital literacy within FoE providing teacher education, focusing on the skills, competencies, beliefs and attitudes of teacher educators (TEds) frequently falls into the crack between literacy education focusing on teaching about reading, writing, and oral communications, the instruction of communication and media studies which is not always explicitly covered in FoE programs, and the integration of digital technologies into lesson design which is often done as a stand-alone course (Buss et al., 2018).