Digital Ecogolical Footprint

This past week, our Internet for Educators class was virtually visited by Reynold Redekopp from the University of Manitoba.  "Rennie" (as referred to by Mike Nantais) provided some in-depth information in regards to the extraction of raw materials used to manufacture our everyday handheld devices.  Rennie introduced the idea of not thinking solely about our digital footprint, but our digital "ecological" footprint.  In all honesty, I have taken for granted the availability of smart phones and the access to the digital world I surround myself with.  Prior to hearing from Rennie, not once did I think about where my smartphone came from, what resources were mined to produce my smartphone, and how the production of smartphones negatively impacts human beings.

The most surprising piece of information presented was the fact that in Manitoba, we used to mine Tantalum, but with all businesses, the extraction of Tantalum needed to be profitable.  As Rennie mentioned, mines were eventually shutdown due to the lack of profitability.  Corporations look for the cheapest, most affordable raw materials and unfortunately, Manitoba wasn't cheap enough.  This is where places like the Congo, Brazil and Rwanda come into play because of their inventory of cheap Tantalum.  As mentioned by Newsweek, "Nearly all computers, cellphones and other high-tech gadgets use tantalum, a pearly, blue-gray mineral found in Brazil and Australia but also in Rwanda and the DRC."  Cheaper or no labour costs, a lack of safety precautions and human slavery have made the cost of extraction in war-torn countries like DRC very little.  The "human cost" of Tantalum however, is extremely high.

Map retrieved from https://www.americangeosciences.org/geoscience-currents/tantalum.

As suggested by Rennie, instead of teaching students solely about how to appropriately use social media and the internet, have them dive deeper and talk about the human impacts of our devices in the world.  For myself, it's a new train of thought, and one I would like to bring fourth in my future classes.

Lending a Helping Hand

If someone would have told me masks and face coverings would become essential to wear, that I wouldn't be able to visit friends and family, and students would be learning virtually from home, I would have said to them, "You're crazy!"  To think we've be working our way through an almost year-long pandemic - that continues to devastate society - is mind-boggling.  Our health care systems, small businesses, and our educators have felt the pinch of the pandemic (among an abundance of other professions).  Initially - and still in some cases - educators were asked to teach students in their classroom at the same time as teaching students who are at home.  From experience, in my placement this fall at Boissevain School, I had a student who qualified for distance learning.  Each class I taught, required me to record the lesson portion of the class to send to the student who was at home.  

I brought up Covid-19 and the affects it has had within our society because this week, we were introduced to the Principal of the new MB Remote Learning Centre, Andrew Mead.  The goal of the MB Remote Learning Centre, is to take students who are learning remote and teaching them.  This saves having homeroom teachers teaching both online and in-person classes simultaneously.  This is a very useful and helpful aid provided by the Government of Manitoba and as it continues to grow, the centre will hopefully be found working with all schools as soon as possible.

MB Remote Learning Centre

Internet Inequity and a Robot Salesperson

This past week, we were visited (virtually via Zoom), by Kirsten Thompson, the Coordinator of ICT for Mountain View School Division.  Kirsten highlighted the inequity of internet access in relation to remote learning within Manitoba.  The discussion and interaction throughout the presentation was engaging and thought provoking as an aspiring teacher.  In my previous blog post, I mentioned how the internet is taken for granted all over the world, but what if the internet where you live is extremely slow and lacking in reliability?  I live in Boissevain, MB and our internet is reliable, fast and can perform at sufficient speeds.  I never thought of others who live on farms, in remote communities and those who cannot afford reliable internet in my last post.  When I sit here and think about internet inequity, I think of students who struggle with attending online class or participating in remote learning, which at this time is incredibly important in the face of a worldwide pandemic.  In my own experience with remote learning, I've been fortunate enough to have access to reliable internet.  I have had professors who do not have sufficient internet however, and have asked us to come to class with our cameras off so they can proceed with class.  I couldn't imagine teaching students - in middle school or university - and not putting a name to their face.  The inequity of internet access needs to be addressed and should not be an issue in the 21st century.

I want to switch gears and talk about how my current part-time job could be handled by a robot and the pros and cons of switching roles.

I reflected, not on whether technology could replace the role of a teacher, but on my current part-time employment as a salesperson at Pringles' Sports Excellence.  My role at Pringles' is to assist customers, order new inventory, advertise on social media, and sharpen hockey skates - among a list of other duties.  What I bring to the table in comparison to a robot is people skills like small talk, being welcoming, and being humorous whenever possible.  A robot would have the ability to sharpen skates - as seen in this video - but would require human assistance to set-up and to press start.  As for ordering new inventory, it takes reports on how certain items have sold versus how they have not and an eye for picking out items that are considered to be "in-style".  Of course a robot could assist customers based off of an automated program, but the presence of having an in-person salesperson helping customers could never be matched.  Robots can exist in our society and in some cases, it makes sense to have robots working throughout our various industries.  In the retail world, people will continue to hold the role of sales because of their ability to be personable, humorous and likeable.  

Kirsten Thompson's Twitter

Kirsten Thompson's Blog 

Working with the Internet

The Internet is a kingdom in its own right and is a tool that is taken for granted all over the world.  Personally, I use the internet on a daily basis to access my social media accounts - Facebook, Instagram and Twitter - or to check up on news surrounding the Colorado Avalanche, Toronto Blue Jays and Winnipeg Blue Bombers.  Most recently, I've started to shop online for goods I could not otherwise purchase in store due to Covid-19 restrictions.  The internet offers a variety of tools, including - but not limited to - video tutorials, news articles, video-game streams, etc.  

Aside from my interest in sports, I am an avid outdoorsman and being in the outdoors means that I must dress accordingly and plan for the weather.  The internet has an impact on my personal activities like hunting and fishing because they are so dependent on temperature, wind, and the short-term forecast.  Being able to access all I need to know about the weather, helps me in deciding what my next steps are to being successful when looking for walleye or knowing where to patiently wait on a whitetail buck.

In terms of utilizing internet in the classroom, I was fortunate enough to have all of my students in front of me for my most recent practicum in Boissevain.  I've heard of a variety of stories about student-teachers who were required to use online platforms to deliver their lessons.  Although I was able to teach my students in-person, there were two students who were learning from home, where I was required to record my lessons and post them to our google classroom website.  This way, the students working at home would gather and hear the same information as if they were in the classroom with their classmates.  Without internet, this would not have been possible for those students.

What's my favourite part of the internet you may ask?  Personally, being able to connect with family, friends and classmates of the past is something I still cherish today.