Distributed Cognition proposes that knowledge isn’t just inside of a person. Instead, people “distribute” their knowledge using objects, other people, tools, and the space around them. This can be shown in a classroom with technology and other tools as students learn and distribute their knowledge there.

For the exploration, I watched Effective Teaching with Technology- 3rd grade Language Arts. The students in the video are actively involved in project-based learning, where they must accomplish a larger project as a summative assessment. Their prompt in English Language Arts was to persuade people to buy poultry products, and they were to come up with ways to communicate their reasons why. The teacher allowed them to choose what types of advertisement that they wanted to use for their persuasive pieces. Students were using programs like Canva and a video making tool which provided them the ability to creatively format the information they wanted to relay. The video making tool afforded a space for students to upload their content, add fun effects, images, sound, and backgrounds to support their case and captivate their audience. Canva also afforded them with abilities to create simple graphic designs that they could use for the advertisement. The great thing about these tools is that they could be used again for future projects, and the students were able to get familiar with the different platforms.

Inside the classroom, the students had the opportunity to watch a chicken egg hatching in an incubator. The incubator is another form of technology that helped those students understand the importance of chickens and their worth in persuading the audience. Since these tools were accessible, students could distribute their knowledge by working with the tools and seeing results because of the tools. They could take in information by observing and put out information by writing to and persuading the audience.

The teacher was also played a role in the distributed cognition by being able to offload the information about poultry, persuasive writing, and prompts to the incubator, Canva, and video making tool. She also had an aid who worked with her in the classroom that could assist her in”distributing her cognition” and work with other students at the same time. She did a great job at equipping herself and her students for offloading knowledge onto other objects or people in the space.

At the end of their projects, the students were given a public audience in order to showcase what they accomplished. This is an important part of project based learning so that the students have can demonstrate what they have created. In a way, this is offloading as well. Students are able to instruct the audience about the knowledge they have, thus giving the audience a chance to offload their knowledge somewhere new.

This classroom environment was a great representation of distributed cognition because of the various ways students could spread their knowledge. As a teacher, it is important to use technology and tools with students so that they can see how they learn outside of themselves and in the experiences around them. Tools also help teachers distribute their knowledge when instructing as well.

https://www.wevideo.com/view/1643208491

By Maddie Bender and Kate Brunn

Unfortunately with the current events taking place, my cooperating teacher at Gesu has been under a lot of pressure and has not responded to my email asking for information on technology at the school. However, I was able to get some information off of their website that might help, and I also recall some of the technology that the students used while I was visiting.

Gesu has a robust technology program at their school. Every student 2nd-8th grade has their own tablet with their tablet program. The website did not specify what type of tablet, but I assume they are talking about iPads, since I saw these in the classroom. They also have tablet carts for the pre-k and kingergarten rooms. Each classroom in the building is also equipped with a smartboard. The website also mentioned that they had their own private network for the elementary school, middle school, and church.

On the second floor of the elementary school, there is a broadcasting station that I was able to visit, where students are assigned to give the daily news and put out information to the school. The broadcast is live-streamed every morning as the announcements on the smart boards.

Gesu offers a STREAM Program, Programming & Robotics Club, Minecraft Club, and Tech Camp throughout the year as well, which helps the students stay involved with technology.

Finally, the website mentioned that “Internet safety and digital citizenship are also covered in age-appropriate ways at every grade level.” I imagine that this means there are lessons taught about browsing. Because it is a private school, I have a guess that there is a controlled firewall that blocks certain programs, videos, and games from being opened during the school day. I do not know this for sure, but it may also be managed by the tech administrator. Unfortunately I cannot find information on a firewall or a name for those in technology services in the faculty directory.

Overall, the students at Gesu are engaged with technology often, and the 2nd grade classroom that I was in had all of the things mentioned above, including two classroom computers that students could use for larger research projects. There were iPads in the classroom that were used during centers, and I imagine that they were given to each child through the tablet program. It was also cool to watch the morning announcements broadcasted throughout the school. Students encounter technology everyday at school, and they are given access to the internet in these multiple areas.

Partnering with Maddie Bender, we created our digital story to represent our experiences with extreme weather conditions!

“Extreme Weather!” (thunder clap)

*spinning text saying “extreme weather” comes in*

These are our unique experiences with extreme weather! 

Fade out 

Fade in 

*insert picture of child Kate*

“When I was eight years old I had my very first extreme weather experience”

Fade out 

Fade in

A car (white noise driving sound) 

“I was driving into Indianapolis, Indiana with my parents for a family trip.

The conditions were perfect for tornadoes but we weren’t expecting to see any. 

When the radio came on (radio sound)  and the weatherman told us there were two in the area, I looked out my window and saw two twin tornadoes just a few miles away! My family kept driving and we were safe, but it was a bit scary!” 

Fade out 

Fade in

*Picture of eight year old Maddie*

“I had my first extreme weather experience when I was eight too!”

Fade out

Fade in 

“I was spending a week with my mom in florida, she was working on a photoshoot for the company she was working for at the time”

“We were just about to leave to go home when suddenly…”

*THUNDER CRASH*

*wind sounds*

“There were two huge hurricanes back to back! We had to stay in the airport for hours not knowing when it would be safe to fly! I was a little scared but I made it home okay once the storm was over!” 

Fade to black screen 

“So, what should you do to stay safe in extreme weather conditions like us?” *news alert sound* 

“Pack things like water, blankets, flashlights, and bandaids when traveling in case you run into extreme weather. (Zipper noises) Know where storm shelters are in the area. Communicate with your family when you are not with them in severe weather.(texting sounds) And if you are able to, remember to follow the tornado safety rules in this graphic. Driving in tornadoes can be dangerous, so take shelter if you are able.” 

“Now for some…”

“…hurricane safety tips!”

“For this also be sure to have supplies and stay in contact with loved ones if possible! Try and be somewhere safe from flooding and have an evacuation plan just in case!”

“We stayed safe in these storms and so can you! Tell us your story and give us safety tips so that your classmates can know what to do when extreme weather strikes!” (thunder clap)

The second graders in my field placement are very active in the classroom. They seem to have a good relationship with the teacher and enjoy talking with her and one another during snack time and recess. It is a very personal and social environment that has been established, and I have noticed that every student has someone to talk to (no one is without a friend).  The teacher often uses technology to help her students stay alert throughout the class period. She will use the smart board for most of the lessons, and students also have access to iPads during their center time. Students use ABC mouse for most of their activities in spelling on their own during this time, and the teacher will come around to check on their progress. With the smartboard, the teacher usually demonstrates how to write in cursive so that the students can copy it in their workbooks. She also uses the smartboard to play videos from GoNoodle to give students the opportunity to take a “brain break.” The students respond well to the visual examples she gives during the lessons on the board, and they also stay attentive during centers while on the iPads. I talked to a few students about what they do at home, and most of the responses I received were along the lines of: “I play fortnite,” or “I like to watch movies.” This didn’t really surprise me because I know that screen usage is a common thing among adults and children alike. I have not recently noticed any types of digital storytelling in the classroom to date. Most of the technology in the classroom is used by the teacher for modeling. 

Since the students seem to respond well to the demonstrations, digital storytelling would work in this classroom if the teacher ever wanted to share a digital story with her students. The majority of her students are visual learners, so taking in information through a digital format might actually help her students get more out of a lesson. In the same way, they might be able to make their own stories. On page 90 of “Critical Lessons and Playful Literacies: Digital Media in PK–2 Classrooms” by Nicholas E. Husbye, 2nd grade boys make their own digital story and play during filming sessions. Not only could this function as a learning opportunity, but it could also be a type of “brain break” for the students. Instead of GoNoodle where they only dance, they would be active and creative at the same time. They can interact with material in a new way that relates to them, which might make a student view their screen in a different way.  “From a developmental perspective, when children learn to think as media producers and not just consumers, they begin to see multimedia texts as malleable and negotiable through their coauthoring experiences in collaborative productions (Husbye 91). For example, they won’t just be taking in information, but they will start creating their own. The teacher could even use this as an assessment to check what information her students are understanding and how they are applying it.

So, what now?

Dys4ia is not a long game to play. In fact, I finished playing in about 5 minutes. There is no way to level up or gain points. The only thing to do is play through it to understand the storyline! Playing again actually seemed tedious, since I already knew Anna’s story, and there was not another incentive for me to improve on my gaming skills. In some ways, this almost makes Dys4ia seem less like a game and more of an interactive story, however, that would also discredit it. It is very clearly “playable,” and although there is not a way to make any personal gain, that might just be the point.

The player shouldn’t really have anything to gain from Anna’s story except knew knowledge and awareness of her transitioning. The next step after playing through the game is to actually live it out. The player is left with the interpretation of Anna’s story and their reactions to it. They may decide to write it off completely or become an ally. In a sense, we are able to “level up” by stepping out of our comfort zones and learning more information about gender dysphoria.

I highly encourage the playing of this game for any adults who want to learn more about gender dysphoria. The game is interconnected with a lot of other games created by similar authors to share their stories. Thus, this could open a whole other world of information for the player about what it means to be inclusive. The end result might be more personal growth than they were originally expecting.

As I continue to play Dys4ia, I think it is important to look at the actual playability of the game. The graphics and controls are very simple within themselves, using just the four arrow keys to control the series of events. As you can see below, the pixelated style of the game is not very complex, but is still engaging.

The bright colors used throughout the game make the images more enticing to the player. I think this is interesting, since we are often accustomed to thinking a “good” video game has amazing and realistic graphics. Dys4ia definitely does not have this quality, but the colors and creative use of “old style” pixelation accomplishes what it needs to in informing the player of Anna Anthropy’s story.

Also, the simplicity of the game could allude to some deeper meaning. For example, the pixelation distorts some images, possibly showing the unclear feelings that Anna experienced on her transitioning journey. The four simple controls are what everyone (as a human race) has to use, but Anna’s experience in using and navigating with those controls was especially different from everyone else.

Although the game itself is easy to play and figure out how to use, the content is obviously not simple. The game is a story of Anna’s life, and it touches on some very emotional (and possibly controversial) topics. I have concluded that this is a game for an audience that is much more mature than a school aged group of children. However, it would be a wonderful game to use in teaching inclusivity of gender identities in a workplace or other organizational setting.

1. First name: Kate (she/her/hers)
2. From: Streetsboro, OH
3. Unique things: I love to sing, play piano, ukulele, and enjoy anything crafty! My dream trip would be to visit India someday. This semester, I plan on learning more chords for both the piano and ukulele.
4. Learning style: I learn best in an environment that is hands on/activities based or in group discussion. If I am familiar with the people around me, I usually feel comfortable to share ideas. However, I complete projects best by working on my own.
5. What I’ve been reading: https://hechingerreport.org/opinion-confessions-of-a-white-teacher-in-an-urban-school/ Last semester, I had the chance to complete my field hours in an inner city school. I fell in love with environment; struggles and all. I am currently doing more research on what it would look like for me, a White female, to teach in a predominantly Black school district. The article, “Opinion: Confessions of a White Teacher in an Urban School” by Jennifer Rich, is one that I found extremely helpful in persuading me to get out of my comfort zone and teach where my passions lie.
6. Questions for Dr. Shutkin: When and why did you start riding your bike to John Carroll? What is the one question you wish people would ask you?