Foster relationships & Demonstrating respect
I believe, especially in this day and age, that fostering good relationships and mutual respect is both easier and harder than ever. With the option of communicating with anyone you want just by picking up a smart phone or hopping on a laptop, the instantaneous ability to communicate is as accessible as ever. There is a downside I believe though. With the new use and integration of technology in so many aspects of life, there has come a sort of “tech isolation” created by the loss of intimacy that face-to-face interactions possess. People’s emotions, feelings, inquiries, and intentions can be lost in translation from real-life to virtual communication. Courses are now offered where students could potentially do the entire course without interacting with their teacher or fellow classmates. I believe this is a great loss for those whose learning thrives off of building those meaningful connections, K-12 and beyond. It is so important that we adapt our ability to foster these relationships in order for our students to learn and even more importantly, retain what they learn. That kind of learning leads to the enrichment of their overall learning experience.
In regards to A. Garrett Dickers “Handbook of the research on K-12 online and blended learning,” he mentions Vygotsky, and his theory of the “Zone of Proximal Development” or “ZPD.” We learned about this in one of our classes last year, and it was described as being the zone in which students can best absorb and understand what they are learning, and a teacher acts as a scaffolded guide. This idea is highly dependant on fostering meaningful relationships between students and teachers in order for students to reach their ZPD, and excel in the best way they can.
Garrett Dickers, A. (2018) Social Interaction in K-12 Online Learning. In R. Ferdig & K. Kennedy (Eds.), Handbook of research on K-12 online and blended learning (pp. 509-522 ). Pittsburgh, PA: Carnegie Mellon University ETC Press.
Regan, P., & Jesse, J. (2019). Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: Twenty-first century student sorting and tracking. Ethics and Information Technology, 21(3), 167-179. DOI: 10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2