Through reading and understanding several resources, I think I most agree with the view that blended learning is an innovative educational method.By reading the book “teaching in blended learning environments”, I think blended learning is not a simple combination. It complements the advantages and disadvantages of face-to-face teaching and text-based online teaching.For example, blended learning solves the campus space problem of face-to-face teaching and also solves the problem of lack of timely and effective communication between students and teachers in text-based online teaching.This teaching method is very suitable for university campuses during the pandemic. It imparts knowledge to students to the greatest extent under the condition of ensuring safety.The auxiliary tools used in this teaching method, such as brightspace, zoom and MS teams, can assist students to receive suggestions and guidance from professors and classmates remotely.

The upsurge of new educational technology makes us see the multifaceted nature of future educational methods, but at the same time, we often ignore the negative impact of educational technology on our privacy and security. At first, I didn’t pay much attention to privacy security, but a recent incident made me pay attention to it. On July 23rd, I received an email from UVic privacy information, which said that guard.me( a provider of emergency medical insurance for international students at the University of Victoria) had been illegally accessed. it leaked students’ information and data. This reminds me of some other websites. Whether it’s an assessment website like Turnitin or a website like Quizlet that provides online exercises. Both students and teachers need to register accounts to achieve better use results. These registrations may require me to provide my contact information and name, so whether this will cause the leakage of my personal information is my most concern.However, if I submit the registration information, it means that my information may enter the database, which is tangled and contradictory to me.In addition to these cases of whether to register or not, some data must be recorded. Through reading the materials, I learned that they are a kind of “administrative data”, including attendance records and transcripts. These data are closely related to my learning career and must be recorded, so how to respect privacy while ensuring the recording of students’ basic information is the direction I want to know more.

I think the muddiest concept mentioned in topic 1 is the viewpoint mentioned in Jim Luke’s article “That’s No Plagiarism Checker”. He believes that websites such as Turnitin exist to make profits and replace labor with capital investment. He believes this is a the teaching death star. To some extent, I think the existence of such websites may infringe upon the privacy of students and the copyright of academic works. But it is also meaningful to think from another perspective. It can reduce and simplify manual scoring and maintain original thinking. Therefore, I do not think we can unilaterally criticize or praise this kind of educational technology.

In conclusion, this week’s reading helped me understand the close relationship between privacy and new educational methods.

References:

Regan, P.M., Jesse, J. Ethical challenges of edtech, big data and personalized learning: twenty-first century student sorting and tracking. Ethics Inf Technol 21, 167–179 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10676-018-9492-2

Vaughan, N. D., Garrison, D. R., & Cleveland-Innes, M. (2013). Teaching in blended learning environments: Creating and sustaining communities of inquiry. AU Press.

Luke, J (2019), That’s No Plagiarism Checker, https://econproph.com/2019/03/12/thats-no-plagiarism-checker/