We will… design courses which will be much more complete, immersive, and useful. Courses for Digital Pedagogy Lab 2020 will take place using a combination of open platforms—primarily Ghost, Discourse, and Zoom—and faculty will be utilizing other collaborative tools (Hypothes.is, Google Docs, etc.) to make their courses as interactive as possible. Every course will rely primarily on asynchronous interaction, but may include synchronous moments (video, hashtag chats, etc.) as well.” Sean-Michael Morris, Director, Digital Pedagogies Lab https://www.digitalpedagogylab.com/covid-19-update-dpl-2020-moves-online/
In the spirit of making lemonade from lemons, for those of us with limited funds, time, resources (not to mention caring responsibilities, mobility issues, disabilities, and health conditions), ‘moving all higher education online’ has suddenly opened up a whole range of opportunities that were not available pre-COVID-19 lockdown.
One major professional development event that has become very accessible in 2020 is the Digital Pedagogy Lab (DPL), a week-long “international professional development gathering for educators committed to critical pedagogy, digital pedagogy, and critical digital pedagogy… a space for teachers, students, librarians, administrators, and technologists interested in inquiry, praxis, and social justice.”
Hosted this year by the School of Education and Human Development at the University of Colorado Denver, DPL has long been a model of inclusive practice with regard to higher education conference hosting and organising. Now that it’s ALL online, you can expect much food for thought on how to do big-group professional learning and engagement well, not only in terms of using new (and old) technologies, but also integrating technology into educational practice in ways that actually support, rather than hinder, learning and teaching.
DPL is like any other higher education conference: there’s the keynotes (some great speakers this year), workshops (titles include ‘A Syllabus of Care’, ‘Becoming a Student-Ready Teacher’, ‘Ethical EdTech’), and opportunities to meet and talk to some of the most passionate and innovative educators, you’ll ever meet, online or in person. Participants at DPL also sign up for one “course,” or track, specific to their research interests, teaching area, or creative bent. Courses range from the “practical, to the erudite, to the experimental”. The very strong emphasis on asynchronous learning throughout the week also means that different time zones will not be as much of an issue, and so international participants will be supported within the DPL format to fully participate, despite any of their day hours being major pyjama time in the US.
After agonising careful deliberation over what track to choose (they all sound excellent) I’ve signed up for the INTRO COURSE which is described thus:
This course is ideal for new and experienced educators alike interested in exploring how digital technologies inflect education and intersect with themes of equity, access, activism, agency, community.
(The other courses / tracks that I would also do in a heartbeat, given time and energy, are below.*)
I think it’s safe to say that I’m rather excited – and really, this entire post is nothing more than a major rave about this rare chance to participate in a uniquely thoughtful, and thought-provoking event. Also, it’s a not-subtle invitation to join me. Details are below.
Digital Pedagogy Lab, July 26 – August 2, 2020 – FAQs here. Registration cost $250 USD. Register here.
*All the courses available at DPL 2020.
COMMUNITY AND CONNECTEDNESS IN A DIGITAL WORLD
This course will question what community building looks like, and explore methods to build community and create practical ways for connecting to one another in both our physical and online classrooms.
CRITICAL DIGITAL PEDAGOGY
This online course is an exploration of the intersections between critical and digital pedagogies.
DATA, CODE, ETHICS
This course focuses on the basics of data science and coding, as they apply to education, educational data, combating disinformation online, and helping students grow their data literacy.
DIGITAL SCHOLARSHIP IN A TIME OF PRECARITY
Participatory, hands-on exploration of the systems and practices shaping the direction(s) of scholarship in a time of increasing audit culture and precarity.
EDUCATION, AGENCY, AND CHANGE
Drawing on the works of Paulo Freire, bell hooks, Maxine Greene and others, this course will work to imagine possibilities for a new educational model.
STEM-H & CRITICAL DIGITAL PEDAGOGY
This course explores the potential of critical digital pedagogy in math and science disciplines by building a bridge between the theoretical and the practical in STEM-H courses.
DECOLONIZATION AND EDUCATION
Decolonizing unsettles. It implicates many of us in practices and structures we want to disavow. It says what’s been too long unsaid. So let’s decolonize higher ed.
PREK-20 RECESS: PLAY IN THE TIME OF PANDEMIC
Play-based learning is an essential tool for teaching and learning, and greatly benefits children in developing essential life skills.
INFORMATION LITERACY
This course focuses on modern information literacy applied in digital and tactile environments; and centers on supporting diversity and inclusion by incorporating lived experience and thoughtfully approaching individual needs.
BLENDED MAKER FAIRE
What does creativity, critical thinking, innovation, play, vulnerability, and collaboration look like in an equitable makerspace? What counts as making and who decides in the art of making?
TECHNOPHOBIA / TECHNOPHILIA
Navigating between the pitfalls of technophobia & technophilia in education, participants will collaborate on approaches grounded in compassionate and reflexive pedagogy.
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