# data[].attributes.body
What did you find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy?

The most intriguing part about critical digital pedagogy is this idea that learning is mostly happening on the web. Anything that we learn can be found on the web. Many teachers and students use the web as a resource to find instant information. Because of this, we ought to take advantage of everything the web has to offer, including the connection to others. The article places great emphasis on how critical digital pedagogy is about actively investigating, teaching, and learning. By collaborating, we are sharing our knowledge with others while also building off of their own knowledge, which can be a more relevant and significant experience for some.

What do you find most applicable to your own practice in teaching?

I find the emphasis on community and collaboration as applicable to my teaching because I facilitate so many class discussions( since I am an 8th grade ELA teacher) about different texts that we are reading. Rather than being the one to start the conversation or simply just be the one to give out the answers/ideas, I always encourage my students to share out their own ideas and to continue the conversation with one another simply because they have so much to offer. They can each other grow by building off of one another's ideas/comments/questions rather than just relying on the teacher. I think it's important to allow students to share their interpretations and experiences because it offers a variety of perspective other than just my own.

# data[].attributes.body
What did you find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy?

What I liked in the Critical Digital Pedagogy article was the idea of combining both pedagogy and technology together, rather than using it as an extra tool to fill in the time. The students get to interact through technology, and the educators can create a positive learning environment and enhance the students learning. For better or worse, more and more of our learning is happening on the internet, and I agree with Berens that it doesn't matter whether you are learning in the classroom or from the computer in your living room as long as you are learning and continue to grow.

What do you find most applicable to your own practice in teaching?

Again, I don't have any experience as a teacher. However, I enjoyed it when my teachers used technology in the classroom and taught us how to use it to enhance our learning abilities. For example, I can't imagine how would I get all my research papers done in time if our librarians and teachers didn't show us all the technological resources that are available out there. Understanding the research done in the library and using books is one way to do it, but if you use technology, it will allow you to speed the whole process up while you can let your imagination and creativity to take over.

P.S. - Sorry for the late response

# data[].attributes.body
What did you find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy?

The most intriguing part about critical digital pedagogy was the banking method Freire described. I think about the lack of critical thinking my children have obtained over the years and how some teachers push this model because it's "easier" to manage. Having students engage in manipulatives and discussions with each other is not an easy task but some teacher rather speak at students and hope the regurgitate the material that they have mastered than allow the students to learn on their own. .

What do you find applicable to your practice in teaching?

I believe technology is a great supplement to my teaching in the classroom. I may not get to use it all the time, due to constant issues, but I truly believe when used properly it can help target many student needs. It can help target students reading levels, or student gaps in math. It can provide differentiated instruction in ways paper and pencil can't. My students were also born with technology being readily available, so for them tech is a tool that can enhance their learning. Especially at home, parents complain about common core math and the tech can now support the parents in teaching their child.

# data[].attributes.body
While reading "Critical Digital Pedagogy" most intriguing was how Stommel's argument essentially counters the validity of teaching as I know it. About learning, he states "that educators and students alike have found themselves more and more flummoxed by a system that values assessment over engagement, learning management over discovery, content over community, outcomes over epiphanies." In my year and half of teaching, teaching has majorly been about assessments, learning and behavior management, content, and outcomes. During undergrad and throughout this Master's program, I've come across multiple readings that have made similar claims, and I found it intriguing to read one that comes from the angle of technological advancement in the classroom.
I found that it was helpful to re-ground myself in the definition of "pedagogy." The text says, "Pedagogy is praxis, insistently perched at the intersection between the philosophy and the practice of teaching." It is still arbitrary and conceptual to me, but it seems like something that will make more sense with more experience in the field. I would have appreciated it if Stommel had defined "practice of teaching" in order to concretize and universalize the definition of pedagogy. "Practice of teaching" is ambiguous, since everyone's understanding of the practice of teaching is varied, personal, contextual, and constantly changing.

# data[].attributes.body
In the reading, “Critical Digital Pedagogy” by Jesse Stommel, I was intrigued by many of the author’s ideas and conjectures regarding digital education. The first thing that struck me while reading was when Stommel discussed the difference between content and pedagogy and her distaste for the word content. She states, “It is not that education is without content altogether, but that its content is co-constructed as part of and not in advance of the learning”. I think this distinction is so eye opening, in our other EDUR class this week we learned about Open Educational Resources. My school does not use curriculum, but only OERs, therefore remembering that the things we download and create is not what education is. The things we download must also use strong critical pedagogy in association with the content downloaded. It is not enough to simply download and teach, we must always remember the act of learning. The other part of the article that inspired me was when Stommel clearly outlined Critical Digital Pedagogy. In the end she states, “A Critical Digital Pedagogy demands that open and networked educational environments must not be merely repositories of content. They must be platforms for engaging students and teachers as full agents of their own learning”. I think this quote truly wraps up and encompasses the best practices of digital learning. The quote inspires me to be a more creative teacher.

# data[].attributes.body
What I found most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy is the emphasis to include student's reality and perspective into the practice. It is all about creating a practice that aligns with everyone in the learning community. We as the educator may feel disconnected through student use of technology, but for these students that may be their reality and we should concentrate our understanding on them.

What I find most applicable to my teaching is to always be double checking myself to ensure that the needs of my students are being met at a pedagogy level. Their understanding and use of technology my be vastly different than the lesson I am trying to teach them. I need to make sure we work as a community not just an operator to student.

# data[].attributes.body
What did you find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy?

What I found most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy it that it put in the importance on engaging the students through the use of technology within emphasis on producing quality work as apposed to technology being an extension of the work. As teachers we should be focused on the growth of our students and we cannot achieve this without thinking about the needs of our students. After we take a look at the needs of our students then we can best create a plan of action for what will help them the most. Today's technology should enhance and create more opportunities for today's students that we as teachers didn’t necessary have as students.

What do you find applicable to your practice in teaching?

I really enjoy using technology as a teacher, it changes the way we as teachers plan design lessons. Majority of my students are fairly tech savvy but allot of the time they don’t know how capable they are with technology. Students today can do things in 10 minutes on their phones that took hours on a computer 10 years ago, they just haven’t quite bridged that gap between using it for social media and educational purposes. The article really reinforced my way of teaching and I will continue to not hesitate to incorporate new and interesting ways to intertwine technology into the classroom.

# data[].attributes.body
What I found to be the most intriguing parts of critical digital pedagogy has less to do with the “digital” aspect of it and more with “critical pedagogy.” In my opinion, this is due to the absence of a significant distinction between the two terms. Critical digital pedagogy is the same as critical pedagogy, with the only difference being that its vessel is the internet. The mission of providing all learners with an equitable and empowering education is the same regardless of it being facilitated online or not. It should be mentioned, however, that Stommel does make it a point to highlight the novel potential that the internet has brought to critical pedagogy. This includes the creation of a classroom with international voices that have the opportunity to collaborate despite their cultural and political differences. Such a classroom would be difficult to recreate in certain parts of the world.

As I read about what constitutes critical pedagogy, I was simultaneously discouraged and hopeful. Discouraged because the description of a class community where students are interested in eachother and in their differences is not one that I have. While it is a norm to listen to one another and not talk over a speaker, this is not from a sense of genuine interest but more a classroom management protocol. Additionally, the notion that learning and teaching should not value efficiency is in direct opposition to the philosophy of my school administration. My school site has heavily focused on increasing the rigor in our classroom so that our SBAC scores improve. Hence, this perhaps explains why in my classroom outcomes are valued over epiphanies. On the other side, the description of the problem posing education was encouraging. A classroom where students are readily posing questions and the process of learning is ongoing and recursive is one that is aligned to the pedagogy behind the New Generation Science Standards (NGSS) that I teach and the Ambitious Science Teaching (AST) practices that my curriculum coach encourages me to utilize in my lessons. This is probably the most applicable aspect of critical digital pedagogy for my own practice. That is, a commitment towards highlighting cognition over information, empowering my students to be full agents of their learning by creating lessons that build the skills that make it possible for them to do so.

# data[].attributes.body
What did you find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy? What do you find applicable to your practice in teaching?

I found the banking model to be the most intriguing. As I read about it and truly thought about education and the way my school works, I feel as though the banking model has been followed. Test scores are greatly valued and a very tight curriculum is written for me however, there is not much creativity, epiphanies, or discoveries being made and I worry about how true learning can actually occur without the passion and fun. As I reflected on my favorite learning experience for the flipgrid, I was remembering all the fun I had in school. Reading about critical digital pedagogy has reminded me of the initiative i need to take to make learning meaningful and culturally relevant with the use of social media and the internet.

# data[].attributes.body
What did you find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy?
What I find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy is that it continues to center the practice of "teaching" and "pedagogy" around community and liberation, but it add another technology as another layer to be used by teachers and students. Critical pedagogy has always gone against the banking model of education and dehumanization of the student. With critical digital pedagogy, students are able to learn about themselves, make who they are present, as well as others who have been oppressed by the banking model of education. Technology allows students to tap into the digital agencies available for them.

What do you find applicable to your practice in teaching?
What I find applicable is letting students learn for themselves. I think many students think teachers know everything, which is far from truth. I also think that many students think their answer is only right when the teacher approves the answer. I always encourage students to "google" the answer and use multiple sources. It is not jut about "googling", but the act behind of them doing the investigation by themselves and increasing their confidence. I also like to state, I don't know everything or correct, I might be wrong.

# data[].attributes.body
What did you find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy?
When learning about Critical Digital Pedagogy, I was really intrigued by the multi-faceted definition. This provides everything encompassing about the pedagogy. The definitions seemed very intentional, to show that it is a dynamic teaching style that is always being re-evaluated. The article then goes into depth about what each definition means, explaining the misconceptions that teachers often fall into. I also appreciate the comparison to Freire's works.

What do you find applicable to your practice in teaching?
According to Freire, knowledge is always emergent, evolving, and difficult. This reminds me of technology usage in education. Technology is always changing and always getting stronger. Sometimes incorporating new things into the classroom can be difficult and teachers can be resistant. But if we are not able to do so, we do not provide that growth that students need. When we consider how technology can help students, we need to allow it to manifest in our classrooms. This is why I find this comparison applicable to my teaching.

# data[].attributes.body
What did you find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy?

What I find most intriguing about critical digital pedagogy is that it really focuses on engaging students through technology tools that are purposeful, rather than using technology as an added “extra.” Stommel notes that oftentimes, “ed tech starts with tools, when what we need to start with is humans,” which I found really powerful because it is our job as teachers to help our students grow. We cannot achieve growth without keeping in mind the needs of our students and where they may benefit most. Technology should enhance the opportunities that we are already trying to create for our students, rather than being the basis of our lessons.

What do you find applicable to your practice in teaching?

I really enjoy using technology in the classroom and want to see my students become more technologically literate when researching, using basic tools, creating, etc. Sometimes, I feel guilty when I do not find ways of incorporating technology or when some of my trials end poorly. I think this article really allows me to consider that I should be capitalizing on how technology can uplift my students and take them a step further in their learning, rather than submitting to my compulsion to use all the new tools I find without first thinking through their purpose.