Block 1: Learning with Data In the block ‘learning with data’ I learned more about the key issues surrounding ‘data analytics’ and ‘personalisation in education’. Through the readings, I explored how new technologies offer the opportunity of ‘democratizing information and instruction’, where the classroom is a space where students can be creative and ‘pursuit their own paths’. (Bulger, 2016) The ‘myths of e-learning’ were explored by Friesen (2020), where personalised education can be better understood as a ‘dream’ that is still far from being achieved. Through the creation of my data visualisations, I was able to understand more clearly, from the ‘data producer’…
This block we explored the topic of ‘Governing with data’, the interdependence between government and knowledge (production and use), as well as different ways of digital governance and practice. According to Ozga (2016), there has been a drastic shift in terms of how human activity is understood and measured, and the ease by which vast amount of data can be collected and process sin all aspects of human activity. The rise of ‘data-led’ practices where ‘actionable data’ is privileged, pose the risk of reducing ‘creative thinking’ and limit the possibility of understanding the ‘fundamental problems and possibilities’ of human activity. In…
Digital technologies and data systems are shaping the educational systems and everyday life of students and teachers. The extent and presence of these systems in schools and higher education spaces is growing every day, often without being noticed by educators until it is already embedded into the educational practice. The quick adoption of new technologies in the classroom, often with very little consideration of the ‘data subjects’, lead to a ‘pedagogical reductionism’ that values ‘datafied learning’ over any other types of ‘learning’. (Williamson, Bayne and Shay, 2020) This block we explored how data-driven technologies can enhance and modify educational practices; how…
This block was all about ‘Learning with Data’. At the beginning of this block, I thought the data collection process and visual representation of the data would be a simple and easy task. However, ‘seeing’ reality through a distilled collection of data points was eye opening; not only did it provide a detailed snapshot of different aspects of my current life, but also highlighted areas and interactions I was not so aware were affecting my learning, teaching or personal life in general. The data visualisation process in block 1 was exciting, challenging and at times uncomfortable, as data, even when…