Community Contributions

Throughout this class, we are not just learning about personal learning networks, we are immersing ourselves within one. This involves active participation in our classroom community and our learning pods through blog posts, commenting on classmates posts, asynchronous discussions, and self-directed synchronous discussions.

You will take up ideas presented in the courses, integrate them into your thinking and the contexts in which you work, and create new meaning. This involves continuously reflecting on key readings, videos, activities, working samples, blog posts, and presentations throughout EDCI 338 by (re)examining them in depth and asking questions about how the approach(es) influence your beliefs, practices, and conceptualization of learning, both for yourself professionally and personally, and the impact of personalization and/or social media in networked publics.

Each week, it is expected that you will create and share blog posts on the readings as well as review and provide comments on the three of your peer’s blog posts. Your posts may vary in length and quantity (e.g., series of shorter posts, fewer yet more lengthy posts, a combination of the two). You will be expected to select and polish one of your blog posts for review during the first half of the term and develop a one page self-evaluation of your community contributions, with hyperlinks to your work over the term, at the end of the course.

A variety of media (text, audio and/or video clips) and hyperlinks, to outside articles and other sources and people, should be incorporated into how you present your ideas in the blog posts. The purpose of your blogging is to curate information and resources and to document your progress advancing from general research topics to a specific interest. Creativity is encouraged however, and given the ability that technology provides to connect us with the broader research culture, learners are encouraged to curate resources via communication participation.

You will be assessed on five key aspects:

1. active participation in weekly activities, blogs, community commenting and feedback,
2. your understanding of the relevant theories,
3. the depth of your personal reflection and connection to the material,
4. the opportunity you provide for social interaction and engagement, and
5. the thoughtful use of multimedia to support and enhance your contributions.

Post Topics

Each week, the course update will introduce the topic and provide prompts to guide your discussion and reflection. Use these prompts as a starting point, while allowing your post to develop in ways that are relevant to your own experiences, questions, and interests.

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Assessment Rubric

	0 – 2 (Needs Additional Work)	3 (Marginally Meets Expectations)	4 (Fully Meets Expectations)	5 (Exceeds Expectations)
Theoretical Understanding	Post is missing or off-topic; shows little or no understanding of theory.	Post demonstrates basic understanding of theory but is underdeveloped.	Post demonstrates clear understanding of theory and applies it appropriately.	Post demonstrates deep theoretical understanding, critically engages with concepts, and may extend ideas beyond expectations.
Personal Connection	Minimal or no reflection; does not connect ideas to personal learning or experience.	Some reflection; limited connection to personal learning or experience.	Reflection is thoughtful and connects ideas to personal learning and experience.	Reflection is insightful, richly connects theory to personal learning, and demonstrates critical thinking.
Social Opportunity	Provides few opportunities for others to engage, contribute, or connect with the ideas presented.	Provides some opportunities for others to engage, contribute, or reflect, with limited connections to others.	Provides meaningful opportunities for others to engage, contribute, reflect, and connect with relevant individuals, groups, or ideas.	Provides rich opportunities for dialogue, reflection, and connection, linking ideas to relevant individuals, groups, communities, or broader perspectives.
Use of Multimedia / Resources	No multimedia or external resources used, or irrelevant to content.	Some use of multimedia or resources, but integration is minimal or superficial.	Multimedia and resources are relevant, integrated, and support the discussion effectively.	Multimedia and resources are thoughtfully selected, well-integrated, and enhance understanding or engagement.

Generative AI Guideline

This assignment allows for structured and defined support from AI tools at the planning and post-draft stages. You may use AI to deepen your understand of theory and, after drafting, for tasks such as clarifying your approach or engaging in meaningful revision, while preserving the integrity of the core writing process.

If you have any questions about permitted AI use, please contact me before you use the AI tools.

Stage	Permitted AI Use	Not Permitted
Before drafting	Understanding of theory, clarifying concepts, and exploring different perspectives	Generating thesis statements, arguments, outlining, paraphrasing, or full paragraphs
Multimedia development	Thoughtful prompting to create individual assets with a preconceived vision (e.g., images, videos), often with multiple iterations to refine the output. You must cite AI and comment on the biases (more below)	Using the assignment description or full paragraphs to ‘auto-generate’ a final product and meaning-making through multimedia
After complete draft	Receiving feedback on structure, coherence, and alignment with the rubric	Rewriting content via AI suggestions

Disclosing / Citing AI

When using AI, you must cite it’s use. This is necessary to be transparent on which tools were used and why. Learn more on specific citation requirements here: Scholarly use of GenAI tools

An acknowledgement statement provides a general overview of what GenAI tools you used, what prompts you used, and how you used the tool’s output. 

Sample statement: I acknowledge the use of [insert genAI tool name(s) and link(s)] to [specific use of genAI tool]. The prompts used include [list of prompts]. The output from these prompts was used to [explain use]. 

Example: I acknowledge the use of ChatGPT (https://chat.openai.com/) to generate materials for background research and self-study in the drafting of this assessment. I entered the following prompts on [insert date]: [insert prompt(s)]. 

UVic, Scholarly use of GenAI tools

Biases

One of the biggest issues with AI is the way in which it perpetuates biases. Generative AI is based on statistical probability, that is it draws from all its training data and creates the most common patterns. This is often what is popular, not the quiet nor marginalized voices. If you are using AI to create images or videos you must comment on the biases that occur (ex., are the generated images only depicting White individuals?)

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Here are sample prompts you can use with an LLM of your choice (e.g., Gemini, ChatGPT) to get the most out of AI while adhering to permitted AI use.

Before drafting

I am a student in an undergraduate-level Educational Technology course. I want to understand [INSERT THEORY NAME HERE] deeply enough to write a critical reflection. Please use professional but accessible language. 

Your Role: Act as an expert academic mentor in Educational Technology.

Please provide the following:
 - Core Essence: A clear, concise explanation of the theory's main argument.
 - Clarifying Nuances: What are 2–3 specific concepts within this theory that are often misunderstood? Explain them simply but accurately.
 - Diverse Perspectives: How might different educators or researchers view this differently? Provide one "pro" (supportive) perspective and one "critical" (skeptical) perspective.
 - Practical Tension: What is one way this theory is difficult to apply in a real-world classroom or digital environment?

Tips for Theory-Based AI Engagement

• Challenge the Theory: Ask for common critiques or “skeptical” perspectives of the concept
• Request Analogies: If a concept feels too dense, ask for a non-educational analogy (e.g., “What would this theory look like in soccer?”) or to “explain like I am five years old”. This makes the theory simpler, intuitive and/or easier to connect to.
• Dive Deeper: Explore the nuances by identifying “unintended consequences” or “hidden assumptions” within the theory; how might the concept evolve in the future or where might it break down.

After complete draft

I am a student in an undergraduate-level Educational Technology course. I am writing a theory-based post on [INSERT TOPIC HERE] (~XXX words).

My goal is to actively participate in the course community by engaging with course activities, connecting theory to personal experience, and creating opportunities for meaningful interaction. The assignment has the following requirements:
1. Theoretical Understanding: Demonstrate an understanding of relevant theories and concepts and how they apply to the course material.
2. Personal Connection: Reflect on how the course material connects to my own experiences, perspectives, and learning.
3. Social Engagement: Create opportunities for others to engage, contribute, reflect, and make connections with individuals, groups, or broader communities.
4. Multimedia & Resources: Thoughtfully integrate external resources and multimedia (images, video, audio, links, etc.) to support and enhance contributions.

Your Role: Act as my academic writing coach. Please review my draft based on the provided rubric.

Your Tasks:
 - Theoretical Depth: Does my draft show a clear understanding of the theory, or am I just "mentioning" names and terms?
 - Critical Reflection: Identify areas where I am being too descriptive. Help me move toward a more "critical" or "insightful" tone by suggesting better questions I could ask myself.
 - External Synthesis: Check if my use of external resources/tools is clearly explained. Do I justify why I included them?

Important Constraint: Please do not rewrite the text for me. Instead, give me specific, actionable suggestions or ask me clarifying questions that will help me improve the draft myself.

Assessment Rubric
1. Theoretical Understanding
0 – 2 (Needs Additional Work): Post is missing or off-topic; shows little or no understanding of theory.
3 (Marginally Meets Expectations): Post demonstrates basic understanding of theory but is underdeveloped.
4 (Fully Meets Expectations): Post demonstrates clear understanding of theory and applies it appropriately.
5 (Exceeds Expectations): Post demonstrates deep theoretical understanding, critically engages with concepts, and may extend ideas beyond expectations.
2. Personal Connection
0 – 2 (Needs Additional Work): Minimal or no reflection; does not connect ideas to personal learning or experience.
3 (Marginally Meets Expectations): Some reflection; limited connection to personal learning or experience.
4 (Fully Meets Expectations): Reflection is thoughtful and connects ideas to personal learning and experience.
5 (Exceeds Expectations): Reflection is insightful, richly connects theory to personal learning, and demonstrates critical thinking.
3. Social Opportunity	
0 – 2 (Needs Additional Work): Provides few opportunities for others to engage, contribute, or connect with the ideas presented.	
3 (Marginally Meets Expectations): Provides some opportunities for others to engage, contribute, or reflect, with limited connections to others.	
4 (Fully Meets Expectations): Provides meaningful opportunities for others to engage, contribute, reflect, and connect with relevant individuals, groups, or ideas.	
5 (Exceeds Expectations): Provides rich opportunities for dialogue, reflection, and connection, linking ideas to relevant individuals, groups, communities, or broader perspectives.
3. Use of Multimedia / Resources
0 – 2 (Needs Additional Work): No multimedia or external resources used, or irrelevant to content.
3 (Marginally Meets Expectations): Some use of multimedia or resources, but integration is minimal or superficial.
4 (Fully Meets Expectations): Multimedia and resources are relevant, integrated, and support the discussion effectively.
5 (Exceeds Expectations): Multimedia and resources are thoughtfully selected, well-integrated, and enhance understanding or engagement.

Current Draft
[PASTE YOUR DRAFT HERE]

Tips for Using AI for Feedback

• Be Specific: If you are worried about a specific section, ask the AI to focus specifically on that part of the rubric.
• The “Why” Matters: If the AI suggests a change, ask it why that change would improve the score. This helps you learn the underlying principles of design and communication.
• Iterate: Don’t just take the first set of feedback. If the AI says your goals are “vague,” ask it: “Can you give me an example of what a ‘highly specific’ goal looks like in the context of EdTech?”
• Maintain Your Voice: Remember that the AI doesn’t know your personal “voice” or your specific project as well as you do. If its suggestions feel too robotic, disregard them.