Tool Reflection

• What you have learned from the variety of tools we have been using?

That having that many tools allow for more inclusivity and makes class discussions so much easier. For example, having slack and zoom available helped the people who missed class or could not attend to still participate and voice their opinions. Additionally, having six smartboards allows for the class to work on several tasks separately in several groups instead of being constricted by one screen. Also, having the class blog allowed us to write and share our writings and thoughts with the rest of the class as it made everyone feel heard. I also learned how to annotate any webpage I want while voicing my opinion and see the different views of many people on the page that I am reading using Hypothes.is.

• what you have discovered each of them is good/suitable for versus not?

The classroom itself is very useful in enabling in class activities and making them accessible to all students in class, while the easy adjustment of the chairs allows for better seating in which we can all see each other which allows for easier discussions and debates; however, the smartboards are a bit too laggy most of the time and it makes writing on them such a pain. I remember that I used to hate this class back in fall 2021 as it was still new and the technology was very laggy and the professor was not utilizing the seating properly to allow for any discussion.

The slack group is very useful for out of class communication as we would ask each other about the assignments update each other on the coursework and even discuss football matches . However, what I did not like was that I would not get the notifications most of the time so I’d miss out on some discussions.

Hypothes.is was very useful in annotating the webpages and seeing other peoples’ opinions; however, sometimes I’d find it very hard to write something that has not been already written.

The class blog was probably one of the best features of this course as the whole class could share their work and get feedback while being as creative as they can with their writings and visuals. The only downside to the blog is that sometimes it would not save my work and I had to do it all over again. Therefore, I started writing my assignments on Microsoft word and then copying and pasting it onto the blog. Additionally, it was very hard for me to insert pictures into the wellness gift basket assignment.

Using zoom in this class was very useful as it allowed for the people who could not make it to class to still join and participate. The only problem is that I am not a big fan of online learning as I feel that it lacks the human interaction part which is very essential. Additionally, I felt like some of the people on zoom could not really show their expressions on certain topics. Nevertheless, it still allowed for more inclusivity.

• what you have learned about yourself?

I learned that I am someone who really likes to participate when it comes to in class discussions especially because of the seating in the classroom and because everyone was so respectful to one another while hearing each other out. I also learned that my PowerPoint skills are not as good as I thought from the digital narratives assignment as I learned that I could make them a lot better by utilizing different tools such as prezi. I learned that I really do not like online classes on zoom and I prefer face to face classes. On zoom, I can’t concentrate, I don’t feel like engaging in discussions, and overall, I just do not learn well. I am someone who likes to be expressive when given the chance, I found the class blog to be a platform where I can write and express my thoughts freely.

• what skills or attitudes you have developed over the semester via using these tools?

I definitely was participating more because of the classroom and the seating and how we would always sit in circles and see each other. The class blog allowed me to develop my writing skills which have not been used since fall 2021 as I had not taken any core classes and my major, business finance, does not require much writing. Using google slides and google forms for the game allowed me to develop my knowledge and skills in regard to those web applications. I am now much more comfortable with creating PowerPoints and surveys without a shadow of a doubt. Slack gave me a way to stay in contact with my class which really allowed me to develop better online communication skills.

• what you liked and what you didn’t – and WHY?

I pretty much liked everything in regard to the tools we used in class. There were definitely some hardships when using those tools, but I would not say that I did not like any of them. The high-tech classroom was definitely my favorite tool all semester. When I talk about zoom, it is not that I do not like the application, it has everything it should. I am just against virtual learning.

• Which tools would you like to use again in future courses or in other contexts? Why?

I would really like to use google forms to create surveys in future courses because I like how comfortable I am with it now and how easily I can create any type of question using it. The high tech class (CP18) is now my favorite class, and I really hope I can take one last class there before I graduate as the seating and the smartboards make the learning experience 100x better in my honest opinion. This was not my first time using slack as I had used it in another course in which we had to post weekly onto there about the course readings that we had done, however, I find slack to be a more professional method of communication than whatsapp and I definitely see myself using it in more courses and even at work. Honestly, I do not see myself using Hypothes.is again as I do not think that I’ll be enrolled in a course that needs me to annotate anything anymore as I only have 2 major courses left; however, I can use it to see other peoples’ opinions on certain articles. I would definitely love to come back and visit the class blog to see where I was and where I am. I really hope that I’ll be able to come back and reflect in a few years about what I have written in this course.