Reflecting on dilemmas in digital resource design as a response to COVID-19 for learners in under-resourced contexts

The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic and the resulting school closures in South Africa necessitated a major shift in how to support learners’ ongoing mathematics learning. For 10 weeks learners were strictly confined to their homes with restrictions that prohibited seeing any person outside of their household. The only means to access learners and parents in their homes was to reimagine our South African Numeracy Chair Project work and transform it from predominantly face-to-face interventions to digital modalities. As a result, we initiated a project of digital resource development and distribution, particularly focused on our local community in the Eastern Cape. Twenty-two existing resources and 36 purpose-designed resources were shared via Facebook. Through in-depth post hoc reflection of the rapid digitalisation of our materials and ways of working we address these questions: (1) In relation to learners’ new ‘ecology of learning’ during lockdown what digital access modality and platforms were most fit-for-purpose in sharing mathematics learning resources? (2) What principles informed resource design and adaptation for digital distribution and use? (3) What dilemmas were confronted in making decisions about resource design and distribution?. These questions are answered through a document review and post hoc reflections on the noted dilemmas. We share some feedback received and discuss implications of our work and the dilemmas confronted for the provision of quality digital resources for supporting mathematics learning in historically disadvantaged and under-resourced communities in a post pandemic world.

Learning and Animal Movement

Integrating diverse concepts from animal behavior, movement ecology, and machine learning, we develop an overview of the ecology of learning and animal movement. Learning-based movement is clearly relevant to ecological problems, but the subject is rooted firmly in psychology, including a distinct terminology. We contrast this psychological origin of learning with the task-oriented perspective on learning that has emerged from the field of machine learning. We review conceptual frameworks that characterize the role of learning in movement, discuss emerging trends, and summarize recent developments in the analysis of movement data. We also discuss the relative advantages of different modeling approaches for exploring the learning-movement interface. We explore in depth how individual and social modalities of learning can matter to the ecology of animal movement, and highlight how diverse kinds of field studies, ranging from translocation efforts to manipulative experiments, can provide critical insight into the learning process in animal movement.

Informal language Practices via Digital Technology

The main contention of this chapter is to dig into ICT-based serendipitous activities that second language (L2) learners perform beyond formal curriculum. It is based on an idea that juxtaposition of formal and informal language learning, under the auspices of ICT, broadens the ecology of learning and thus contributes to learners' overall proficiency. Nevertheless, formal language learning continues to be disconnected from practices that take place outside the classroom in hyperspaces, and the language uptake obtained from informal electronic involvement generally goes unnoticed. The chapter undertakes this missing proficiency and suggests implications to bridge or at least narrow the gap between formal and informal learning. It familiarizes teachers, parents, and course designers with today's learners' experiences of learning that occur after structured lessons. It implies that informal ICT-enabled practices should be fostered as supplementary and complementary to the formal instruction.

The ecology of resilience learning in ubiquitous environments to adverse situations

Primary education in Mexico is facing a growing set of challenges that the government has tried to counteract through the use of communication technologies (ICT) in formal education. While these efforts provide support for students and educators, there remains a need for a renewed and contextualized awareness that will re-conceptualize the adverse experiences of students and the importance of resilience in the context of the learning environment. The objective of this document is to give an account of the learning acquired by nine telesecondary students in a rural area of Hidalgo and the student’s benefits of building awareness about the ecology of learning. The paper highlights the process of re-envisioning their experiences that emerged from the various points of views shared in discussion. The study was triangulated by quantitative and qualitative phenomenological and hermeneutical analyses. It was organized into three stages and employed a survey, semi-structured interviews, focus groups and use of the Google-Classroom platform. The hermeneutical analysis of autobiographies and the use of technological resources enhanced the personal analysis of the experiences of the participants. These experiences generated learning that may often be invisible in formal education but can empower critical thinking, collaboration and autonomy of students to become aware of their learning and the scope of their social contribution. La Educación Básica en México contempla desafíos crecientes a los que se enfrenta mediante el uso de Tecnologías de la Información y la Comunicación (TIC). Sin embargo, en la educación formal se requiere detonar una toma de conciencia crítica y contextualizada que rescate las experiencias del estudiantado para resignificar situaciones adversas, así como dar importancia a la resiliencia a partir de las ecologías del aprendizaje. El objetivo de este documento es dar cuenta de los aprendizajes ubicuos que adquirieron nueve estudiantes de telesecundaria en un contexto rural de Hidalgo y los beneficios de la concienciación de la propia ecología del aprendizaje. Se hace énfasis en el proceso de resignificación que emergió a través de las diferentes aristas de comunicación. El estudio presenta resultados de un caso abordado con una metodología mixta por medio de una triangulación de información multifuente, cuantitativa y cualitativa fenomenológica con análisis hermenéutico, organizada en tres etapas, mediante un cuestionario, entrevistas semiestructuradas, grupos focales y uso de la plataforma Google Classroom. El análisis hermenéutico de las autobiografías y el uso de recursos tecnológicos potenció el análisis personal de experiencias generadoras de aprendizajes quizá invisibles en la educación formal, pero que pueden empoderar el pensamiento crítico, la colaboración y autonomía del estudiantado para la toma de conciencia de sus propios aprendizajes y el alcance de su aportación social a lo largo de su vida.

Interactive Learning: The Sounds of Bonne Chance

Our Project, Bonne Chance, meaning good luck in French, is an immersive language learning game that manifests in the form of a mobile app. The game is designed as a course-companion for French 111 and 112 beginning language courses for college students. Instead of merely computerizing old teaching practices or creating grammar practice cards, we are radically re-envisioning the design of the learning experience. This project endeavors to build an “ecology of learning that extends beyond the four walls of an institution and engages [students] in ways that are exciting, empowering and culturally relevant” (Salen et al., 201100. The Project functions under four teams: the coding team, the user experience engagement team, the music curation and production team, and the app development team. As the music team, we focus on the music and sounds of Bonne Chance. The music and sounds of Bonne Chance contribute to this ecology by curating an authentically French soundtrack of pre-composed and original music, stimulating the learning environment, creating a sense of historical accuracy, and channeling the primary purpose of the game, which is to help immerse students in the French language. By conducting research into French composers and cultural trends throughout the ages, French musical history can be characterized as a diverse and central figure in the arts of humanity. French history has shaped human history, and its music sheds light on the roots of its global influence. The game itself is currently still in a series of prototype phases as we continue to test our most viable product [MVP]. Through our game-based learning application, our audience of elementary-level French students will gain language learning skills and intercultural empathy. Working in an innovative studio environment has allowed us to grow in the domains of collaboration, project management, programming, music history, research, music composition, music arranging, and music production. ­