Orientation

Welcome to Critical Digital Pedagogy! Here are some super important things you need to know:

1. This course won't be taught in the traditional manner. Rather than a teacher who controls the direction of the discussion throughout the term, I will be stepping back and letting you all decide what are the most important things to talk about.
2. Please consider yourself a researcher and practitioner during this course. You will have the freedom to explore areas of critical digital pedagogy that are the most interesting, relevant, appealing to you. The field is incredibly broad and complex, so it's best to find your corner of the field and grow what you want to.
3. Participation in discussion is not mandatory, but it is essential. Research and learning does not take place in a vacuum, so it's important that you find ways to engage with the community of this class that support your own work and others' work.
4. You'll have the chance to take the podium. Another way to participate (and that I highly encourage you to do) is the "Taking the Podium" exercise. For this, you'll sign up for a date during the semester and write a blog post for that day which I'll post here on this site. There's more information on the Schedule.
5. This course is synchronish. What I mean by that is that we will be moving along together through the work, but we'll be doing that according to each of our own timing. As a researcher, you will be choosing your own readings, reflecting on our shared work in discussion, and you will be in control of your own research process.
6. You will not receive any grades on your work during the course. Your work will consist of:

• 1 research proposal
• "Take-the-podium" blog post
• 1 final research project
• 2 self-evaluations (mid-term and final)

We will provide feedback on your project proposal and final project, and you will offer your own perspective on your learning in the course. Your final grade will be based on all four of these pieces, and will be largely determined by your own reflections on your work.

A few things to keep in mind:

• Critical digital pedagogy cannot happen without community. So, jump in!
• Critical digital pedagogy cannot happen without metacognition. So, think about your thinking, learn about your learning, question your assumptions.
• Critical digital pedagogy is a problem-posing approach to digital learning, and as such doesn't offer as many answers as it does questions. Get ready to be productively uncertain!

The methods we are employing to teach in this class are in keeping with the philosophies we'll be exploring. Because this is a class about pedagogy, it is also a pedagogical class. Awareness of your own expectations of education and teaching, attention and inquiry about how we are choosing to teach, and the recognition of your ability to intervene in your own education, are all as important as completing the work of the class.