Tamaka Fisher's MET ePortfolio
Introduction to the Master of Educational Technology ePortfolio
Territorial Acknowledgement
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My name is Tamaka Fisher. I am an uninvited settler and respectfully acknowledge that I am communicating from the ancestral, traditional and stolen territories of the qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen) and q̓ic̓əy̓ (Katzie) First Nations, and the Coast Salish Peoples. I am and my ancestors are from the island of Honshu in Japan, although my settler grandfather was born on the traditional and unceded territories of the ˈmʌskwiəm (Musqueam), sc̓əwaθən məsteyəx (Tsawwassen), and qʼʷa:n̓ƛʼən̓ (Kwantlen) First Nations and my settler mother was born on the traditional and unceded territories of the Yaqan nuʔkiy (Lower Kootenay) First Nation. I am grateful to my hosts for the privilege of studying, living, working, and recreating in this life-giving place and thank them for their stewardship. I recognize my responsibility to take action to reduce the racism, oppression, and harms Indigenous peoples experience and work towards reconciliation.
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Image credit: Tamaka Fisher
Me in One Minute
For a consolidated version of who I am, what I do, what I represent and my key takeaways from this entire learning experience, here's a one-minute video.
Video Transcript
Hi, my name is Tamaka. I am an educational technology specialist. I help organizations increase equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, anti-racism and accessibility in digital learning. I currently operate in accessibility services and anti-racism in higher education, inclusion and accessibility in provincial tourism, and digital learning research spaces. I have experience in accessibility policy development in higher education, and I'm knowledgeable in various digital tools. My undergrad degree is in leadership, and I am emotionally intelligent. My key takeaways from the MET program are that teaching is the most productive when instructors understand how learning occurs and apply culturally responsive pedagogy so that all people feel seen, heard and welcome. There is much work that needs to be done to decolonize digital learning spaces and work towards reconciliation. Please see my LinkedIn profile for further information.
Culturally Responsive Pedagogy as an ePortfolio Framework
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Video 5 min.
Dr. Keri Ewart's Considerations for Creating Culturally Responsive Pedagogy linked QR code
Smart Goals for the MET Program
The following are three smart goals I have developed for my learning in the MET program. For a goal to be considered smart, it will contain the following attributes: it is specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, and time-bound.
Image Description: Graphic with black letters in yellow boxes with the word smart, which is an acronym. Underneath the letter s is the word specific. Under the letter m is the word measurable. Under the letter a is the word attainable. Under the letter r is the word realistic. Under the letter t is the word time-bound.
Audio for the three smart goals
1. I will have gained a critical understanding of learning theories (behaviourism, cognitivism, connectivism, constructivism, sociotransformative constructivism and constructionism) and principles (culturally responsive pedagogy - CRP), universal design for learning (UDL), First Peoples Principles of Learning, Liberatory Design (related to Human Centred Design and Design Thinking), through the work of digital uses and examples created during the MET program. This goal extends my andragogy further and supports all learners using equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and anti-racism (EDIDA) considerations. This will be achieved by gauging my post-MET understanding by graduation in April 2024.
Audio image description of the First Peoples Principles of Learning
Image Credit: First Nations Education Steering Committee FNESC.com
2. I will have developed educational research and group collaboration skills through digital projects demonstrating critical thinking, metacognition, soft skills, creativity, integrity, and discipline. This is critical as my future roles will include consulting to organizations. This will be achieved by gauging my pre-MET and current understandings and will be completed by graduation in April, 2024.
3. I will have developed instructional design and digital communication skills using a variety of tech that will be demonstrated through digital artifacts. This is critical to my future goal of consulting in digital learning design and potential acceptance into a Ph.D. program to further my education. This will be achieved by highlighting usability in digital artifacts and will be completed by graduation in April 2024.
Artifacts from each course in the MET program
ETEC 565P ( now called ETEC 581) Practicum @ Canadian Digital Learning Research Association
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Image Credit: Headway on Unsplash.com
For my fourth course, I was grateful to be accepted into a practicum with the Canadian Digital Learning Research Association (C.D.L.R.A.) with Dr. Nicole Johnson, Director of CDLRA and UBC's Dr. Leah Mcfadyen as my supervisor. The C.D.L.R.A. collaborates closely with Canadian higher education institutions and partners to conduct research that advances knowledge in strategies, policies, and practices in the field of digital learning. Dr. Johnson generously provided me and my peers complete access to C.D.L.R.A.'s quantitative and qualitative research from the beginning of the organization's survey history. During the practicum, Dr. Johnson trained us to code qualitative research using the NVivo platform. The artifact is an annotated bibliography of articles on inclusion in the digital space. Understanding racism and exclusion in higher education is an essential piece of culturally responsive pedagogy, as awareness of challenges to social justice is required. This is important to my Smart Goal #3 of acceptance into a Ph.D. program in 2025 and to Smart Goal #2 of consulting for organizations by April 2024. As a result of this practicum, I have begun working with the C.D.L.R.A. as a volunteer researcher since September 2023.
Image Credit: Benjamin Thomas on Unsplash.com
ETEC 565S Summer Institute-Makerspace and Inclusive Implementation: Makerspace examined through equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and anti-racism (EDIDA) frameworks
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In the summer of 2023, I attended a summer intensive course and the MET Inclusive Makerspace Conference at U.B.C., where I collaborated with a team to create a unit of learning titled “Andragogy and Technology”. This unit consists of five workshops that explore E.D.I.D.A. (equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, anti-racism, accessibility principles), and relevant pedagogies, with a Maker Provocation and Challenge accompanying each workshop. This project aligns with my Smart Goals of extending my andragogy, developing educational research and group collaboration skills, and developing instructional design skills, all crucial for my consulting aspirations and acceptance into a Ph.D. program in 2025.
Linked QR Code for the complete group makerspace unit of learning
Image Credit: Carlos Muza on Unsplash.com
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ETEC 500 is a core course that aims to ensure learners have a solid understanding of educational research (quantitative, qualitative, mixed method, and action). This artifact is an analysis of a mixed-methods study by Criollo-C et al. (2021), focusing on a mobile language learning application developed to teach the Kichwa language in Ecuador. The study, despite some procedural limitations, received favorable responses for the app and mobile learning, and contributes to research on preserving First Nations languages. This analysis is significant to my educational research skills development, aligning with my Smart Goals and potential acceptance into a Ph.D. program in 2025.
This artifact is for the first course I attended in MET. The course instructor, Dr. Keri Ewart, provided feedback multiple times and allowed students to hand in reworked assignments until the end. It is essential because it represents what an instructor considers using culturally responsive pedagogy: how do their actions scaffold learning, and what will it take to ensure students don't fail? (Ewart, n. d.). I will never forget how Dr. Ewart's actions helped me succeed when I was not confident I would.
Image Credit: Jay Mantri on Unsplash
Accessible Technologies for First Peoples Mind Map
During this course, the first of my MET journey, students were asked to begin to think about potential avenues for research. Below is a simple mind map of my thoughts on possible research questions which came about as a result of my experience in accessibility and interests in social justice in access to technologies. Some essential considerations in any research with First Nations are discovering what they are interested in knowing, creating reciprocal relationships, following protocols, and involving First Nations partners (Biin et al., 2021). The map explores considerations like context, cultural relevance, and barriers, and is the first time I used the Mindmeister application. At the end of the course, I had settled on "What is needed to ensure access to educational technologies for Indigenous students with disabilities that align with traditional community values and teachings?"
Text audio including the image description of the mind map.
This artifact is essential because it represents my early interest in decolonization and reconciliation and relates to the First Peoples Principles of Learning (learning recognizes the role of First Nations knowledge). It is important to note that First Nations communities have endured problematic encounters with settler researchers who did not follow ethical, culturally responsible practices.
The artifact is a starting point for learning and creating using previously unused technologies, which is associated with Smart Goal #1: Extending my andragogy further and supporting all learners using equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and anti-racism (EDIDA) considerations and developing digital communication skills using a variety of tech that will be demonstrated through digital artifacts by graduation in April 2024. Before the MET program, my experience consisted of website design, the use of conference and presenting technologies, databases, and Moodle. During the MET program, I gained skills in video production, creating wireframes for prototyping, AI, and using digital collaboration tools. These skills relate directly to my future consulting practice in early 2024 (Smart Goal #2).
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The final project for this course was to create a learning resource. The project demonstrates early interest in equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and anti-racism (E.D.I.D.A), a common thread in all my courses. With Maurice Broschart and Nicole Magne, we created an E.D.I.D.A. Education proof-of-concept website as a teacher's introductory guide to inclusive teaching. The site considers usability and is related to Smart Goal #1: Extending my andragogy further and supporting all learners using equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and anti-racism (EDIDA) considerations, and aligns with Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. The site also relates to Smart Goal #2: developing educational research and group collaboration skills through digital projects demonstrating critical thinking, metacognition, soft skills, creativity, integrity, and discipline. The proof of concept also relates to Smart Goal # 3: developing instructional design and digital communication skills. These skills are essential to my future consulting practice in April 2024.
I.D.: Young person with blond hair, looking up and wearing a blue t-shirt with the words, "Love who you are" on it.
QR code for the video tour of the notetaking app wireframe created with Figma, together with Bailey Lo and Jessie Young
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During this course, we explored usability issues in the digital space (Issa & Isaias, 2015), artificial intelligence and digital labour (Crawford, 2021), and content prioritization algorithms (Noble, p. 156). This project is a proof of concept for a note-taking app to support new English language learners and learners with disabilities in written expression. The note-taking app clarifies the notes taken by learners to ensure the accuracy of intention. There is an option to share notes with classmates, a course calendar, and push notifications to remind students to review their notes early (which aids long-term memory). My group included Bailey Lo and Jessie Young. The artifact is a video tour of a wireframe we created using the Figma app.
This artifact relates to Smart Goal #1: Using Liberatory Design, which is associated with Culturally Responsive Pedagogy. The artifact is associated with Smart Goal #2: Demonstrating educational research, learning new software, peer collaboration, and implementing usability considerations in digital applications. The artifact is related to accessibility and inclusion for learners and to my Smart Goal #3 of consulting in digital learning design.
QR code and link to the cognitivism blog website created for this course
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This Cognitive Blog website was the first site I designed during the MET program in my second course. At this point in the program, I had not considered accessibility in my own digital designs, which would become an important consideration in future websites. During this course, I was exposed to various learning theories (behaviourism, cognitivism, neural theories, cognitive constructivism and social constructivism), their uses in different educational settings, and how to apply them. This relates to Smart Goals #1: understanding learning theories to support andragogy and #3: gaining instructional design and digital communication skills. Understanding how learning occurs is related to ensuring cultural inclusivity in learning design. This critical piece supplements my current knowledge of Universal Design for Learning and accessibility and is a vital tool to teach in my consulting practice.
Image text, "Cognitive Load Theory+ Natural Information Systems, 3 min. video, 4 mim. read. Historically, cognitive load theory, C.L.T. has been concerned with...
Image Credit: Tamaka Fisher
QR code and link to the website created for this course.
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This course, my third, lived on a blog rather than the regular U.B.C. Canvas learning management system. My project partner was Elizabeth Handford. At one point, I was visiting family in Saskatchewan and was overjoyed to have the opportunity to meet with Elizabeth in person to work on it! I still stay in touch with her. This project on transhumanism was the first time I considered accessibility in website design, and the site contains both an audio and a transcript version. I had yet to consider QR codes and image descriptors. Knowing the sociocultural identities of learners is a crucial piece of culturally responsive pedagogy. This artifact is essential as it demonstrates critical thinking, soft skills, creativity, integrity, and discipline (Smart Goal #2) and the evolution of my growth in digital communications, which is vital to my future role of consulting in educational technology (Smart Goal #3) after graduation in April 2024.
I.D. : Androgenous head looking down to the left with machine parts for the arms and chest
Image Credit: Possessed Photography on Unsplash
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This artifact is a paper on knowledge from a philosophical stance to the constructivist theory of learning. I discuss the evolution from my original thoughts about epistemology, developed through ETEC 500, Research Methodology in Education (Creswell, 2005), to Pritchard's (2018) classical accounts of knowledge and then to Fosnot's (2006) theory of constructivism. Baviskar et al. (2009) align constructivism with teaching practice. This artifact aligns with Smart Goal #1: To gain a critical understanding of constructivism by graduation in April 2024. Constructivism aligns with culturally responsive pedagogy, as teaching and learning are centred on the learner.
Painting and image Credit: Tamaka Fisher
Equity Diversity and Inclusion (E.D.I.) Graduate Academic Assistant for Dr. Keri Ewart, University Professor and Anti-Racism and Community Outreach Director-Masters of Educational Technology (MET), Faculty of Education, UBC
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In September 2023, I started as an E.D.I.D.A. Graduate Academic Assistant for Dr. Keri Ewart at U.B.C., contributing to the MET Anti-racism Speaker Series. I’ve researched and provided educational resources for the U.B.C. MET website and co-interviewed notable guests like Len Pierre, Dr. Satwinder Bains, and Dr. Rob Eschmann. This work, related to culturally responsive teaching and digital spaces, aligns with my Smart Goal #2 of consulting in E.D.I.D.A., by April 2024.
Transformational Practices Through an Indigenous Lens; Interview with Len Pierre, Knowledge Keeper and CEO of Len Pierre Consulting
When the Hood Comes Off: Racism and Resistance in the Digital Age- Interview with Author and Professor, Dr. Rob Eschman
Voices of Change: Navigating History, Heritage, and Anti-Racism- Interview with Dr. Satwinder Bains
MET's 20th Anniversary: 20 Years in 20 Weeks Spotlight Series
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In the fall of 2022, I was honoured to be chosen among my MET peers to represent a current student narrative. I discuss the meaningfulness of what I have learned to my next steps moving forward. The program has strengthened my passion for and sharpened the focus of my research into equity, diversity, inclusion, decolonization, and anti-racism in digital learning and culturally responsive teaching. The privilege of participating demonstrates my integrity, work ethic, self-motivation, discipline, and soft skills (Smart Goal #2). It is vital to my goals of acceptance to a Ph.D. program (Smart Goal #3) and creating win-win relationships with consulting partners.
Conclusion and Next Steps
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No one is meant to do life alone. I am filled with gratitude for everyone whom I have met on this journey. Everyone has taught me; faculty and peers. As of December 2023, I will have one more course (ETEC 524: Learning Technologies: Selection, Design, and Application) to complete the Master of
Image Credit: Dr. Cameron Cartiere
Educational Technology degree and will graduate in April 2024. The MET program has been such a transformational experience. Each course was meaningful and intentional and felt differentiated because I couldweave my passion for decolonization, equity, diversity, inclusion, anti-racism and accessibility into the work.
I am forever grateful to my professors, Dr. Keri Ewart, Dr. Christopher Rozitis, Dr. David Vogt, Dr. Leah Macfadyen, Dr. Nicole Johnson (CDLRA contact for the practicum), Dr. Samuel McCready, Dr. Andrea Sator, and Dr. Diane James, for their teaching and practicum support. I am also grateful to the many peers I met, collaborated on projects with, and had many great discussions with! You are friends for life; thank you! After graduation, I will begin consulting. I will never stop learning, exploring new technologies, and improving my instructional design and teaching skills. I don't know what the future will bring, but I will be open, not afraid of risking and making mistakes, and embrace both the joy and struggle as I walk the path of serving others.