Month: August 2025

Video by TECHtalk

This video gives an overview of phishing attacks, the topic of choice for my group for our interactive learning activity. The video is short and sweet, while covering the main areas of what phishing is and things common methods it appears.

The method of interaction of the video is passive and does not inherently require them to respond in any way. The video serves as a good primer for phishing, but in no way is interactive or requires deep thinking on the subject.

A learner responding to this video, if actually wanting to learn, would likely take notes, jotting down the important points covered in the video. It could be used at the beginning of the course, and taking notes of the video would be relevant for the rest of the course as concepts and ideas will be continuously used throughout.

For this activity, I would suggest learners, after they have watched the video, to write down all the important ideas, or anything really, that they remember to help them remember these concepts and ideas. Since the video is short, I would also recommend taking another watch and actively take notes and compare what they wrote to the video. This activity would provide knowledge into what phishing is, and the concepts and ideas associated with is, it primarily would act as a primer to the idea for the rest of the course. The medium used to complete this activity would be some sort of device with internet connectivity to access the video, along with either paper or electronic note taking (notepad or google docs for example).

To get feedback on this activity, there could be some sort of gamification used to provide some sort of EXP to the learner after watching the video. As this activity does not really have much of an assessment associated with it, there would not be much for providing feedback other than ensuring that they have watched the video. The medium used for getting their activity I suppose could be a form of file sending, like the same used on brightspace, where the learner would send a photo of their notes. Like brightspace a teacher could then provide feedback on the notes and correct any areas that maybe were lacking or incorrect.

To illustrate the impact that universal design can have in engineering, I would like to highlight an example that we have likely all experienced before: the automatic door. The first modern automatic doors came as a result of an issue some people experienced opening doors in a windy area in the United States. The door was designed to fix this issue, so people would no longer have to try and open swinging doors on windy days. However, as we have learned, an improvement for some is an improvement for all. (Door Services Corporation, 2023)

Automatic doors, while designed for a specific cause and group of people, actually benefit everyone. The design of the doors allows someone carrying groceries or moving equipment, for example, to still go through the door without a problem. This is an example of how universal design in engineering provides benefits beyond the intended user, and is something that can be used to inspire learning design. 

The learning environment is a lot like the environment of an automatic door in that there are barriers that exist and solutions to those barriers. For example, researchers found that adding captions, while having large benefits for certain groups, was universally beneficial to all learners (Gernsbacher, 2015). This example shows the true importance and value of universal design, which is that everyone benefits. Using the screen captions from the research as an example, sure, some people benefit more, such as those who are deaf or hard-of-hearing, however, the research showed that all groups benefited from this design change, just like the automatic door.

Learning design inspired by the automatic door should feature the same features of universal design that the automatic door has. Specifically, the automatic door provides users with ease of access, flexibility, and inclusivity. The automatic door simply opens, without requiring any effort other than approaching. It provides flexible use in that it can be used in multiple contexts (hands full or mobility needs, for example). And it is inclusive, as it simply performs the same action for all that approach it, it doesn’t single anyone out, it performs the same for all. Learning design inspired by automatic doors should follow suit. Make the learning content an ease of access so that educational materials are presented without barriers. Have flexibility in learning design so that learners are able to learn and engage with material in multiple ways that best fit their needs. Provide accessibility in learning so that people don’t feel singled out, like the captions example from above.

Automatic doors are a useful tool that has a great universal design, and while they may not appear to be related to learning design, the universal design in which they are made has direct parallels to how an educator could make learning more universal.

References

Door Services Corporation. (2023, March 9). Step back in time to learn about the history of automatic doors. Door Services Corporation. Retrieved August 19, 2025, from https://doorservicescorporation.com/dc/resources/blogs/2023-march/step-back-in-time-to-learn-about-the-history-of-automatic-doors

Gernsbacher, M. A. (2015). Video captions benefit everyone. Policy Insights from the Behavioral and Brain Sciences, 2(1), 195–202. https://doi.org/10.1177/2372732215602130

Educational materials are often used to supplement learning of students, from dummy bodies in CPR training, to textbooks in a history class. These materials, especially in a post-secondary environment however, are often not free and will cost a large amount of money. This can lead students to choose between getting the full learning experience but losing more money, or to pay the full price. Open pedagogies looks to bypass this barrier by removing the cost element from learning materials. 

Open pedagogy simply means using open resources (resources that are in the public domain or have a free license), or open sharing of teaching practices, to support and improve education and learning. Teachers and students are often able to edit learning materials, allowing for contribution instead of just absorption of knowledge (University of Saskatchewan, n.d.). For example, a course on first aid could have an open access textbook, and students could be tasked with adding new content to the textbook. This helps to shift the traditional power dynamics of the classroom, which can give students insight into how knowledge is transferred and the process it requires. 

Now that we know what open pedagogies are, how well does it fit into educational material on anti-phishing? In this area, open pedagogies turn out to be a great fit for anti-phishing and here’s why. Phishing is simply where people try to get other people to reveal important information, usually personal or financial, by pretending to be an authority or trustworthy figure. This is a broad and wide area of scamming and as such it gives open pedagogies the ability to shine. For example, a quiz on phishing may become obsolete or outdated within only a year or two, making the learning useless. However, in an open pedagogy example, learners could update course assignments with phishing attempts they have received, such as an email. This would help keep course contents up to date, while also furthering understanding by explaining the phishing attempt for future learners.

Phishing is something that will only continue to become more complicated especially with the rise of AI generated content. Because of this a traditional learning style that is unchanging such as using the same resources over and over will lead the course to becoming useless. Open pedagogies could however, enable learners to continually update the course, ensuring that phishing innovations are highlighted to educate people on the new methods.

Reference
University of Saskatchewan. (n.d.). Open pedagogy. Gwenna Moss Centre for Teaching and Learning. Retrieved August 3, 2025, from https://teaching.usask.ca/teaching-essentials/open-pedagogy.php