After finishing this course, I could bravely say that this course is one of those courses that offer much more than just academia. It offers a lot more about the new world and how to engage with its new technological advancements. The main thing that was of great importance to me in this course is the constant encouragement that Dr. Maha Bali has given me in this learning journey. The feeling of comfortability that the course provided made this experience so much enjoyable. Since I joined this class on a whim, I am truly grateful for this happy accident that led to this wonderful journey.

What I learned in this course:

About myself:

Soliya’s program was a great test to help explore real qualities that define me. The activity we done in Soliya where you chose 7 unique traits that represents you and then you cross out 4 to end up with 3. This specific activity made me realize that family and religion are two traits that definitely represents. This activity made me realize that family and religion are a basic part of my identity. Since all the participants in the program were keen to put religion as their top 3 traits as well, I believe I came to understand that religion is important to all people not only Muslims, like myself. Through this eye-opening experience, I believe I became much more inclusive of other people’s religion and see the negative comments that are targeted to other people of non-Muslim religion in a much more demining behavior.

That I will use in my academic life:

This course emphasized the great importance of giving people their own rightful credits. One of the main thing that I constantly made is that I forget to credit the work of other people. After I made my game, the thought that someone can play this game and using it in anyway without mentioning this course is quite irritating and now I can clearly see why someone would be furious if someone used his work without consent. Also, this course gave a better insight on how to use AI correctly and how to write the accurate prompts that could yield the most results out of AI.

That I will use in my social life:

The empathy game made me realize that other people have it harder than it seems to be. Being blindfolded and trying to make the shape just from other people’s remarks was harder than I had anticipated. This game was a reality a slap that made me realize that people may deal hard things that does not seem so at the first glance. From this experience, I learned that I need to be more considerate when dealing with other people because you do not know what they facing in their lives.

That I will use in my career:

In my career, I feel like I am more responsible when dealing with the internet, I have more knowledge of what to post online and what to not post online. Also I feel like I know much more of the consequences of what you can post online that can influence your future careers. For context, there a lot of professional footballers who receive criticism and face problems with their clubs just because of things they tweeted online.  

If I would show someone my learning through this class, I would show my digital narrative games assignment. My Soliya’s program reflection and my AI assignment. Here are the links.

Digital Narrative Games:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1JBVBsdMIhEYE41MZFPeIm05hWpYTY3hVeZks05tl_Mk/edit?usp=sharing

My final Soliya reflection:

https://reflect.creativitycourse.org/published/final-soliya-reflection/

AI assignment:

https://reflect.creativitycourse.org/published/ai-literacy-4/

Each one of those assignments were unique in their way. For me, the digital narrative games assignment was the most enjoyable. Having the chance to experience a lot of games that serve a purpose was truly fun and informant. The Soliya program for me was an unforgettable experience, having the chance to meet new people and engage in valuable conversations was very nice. The last assignment was an eye-opener. It made see the advantages and disadvantages of AI and the limitations that the AI can have. Also, it taught me how to use AI efficiently.

The main thing that I would change about this course is the emphasis on more group projects. For example, I was fortunate enough to have a classmate with me that supported me in the Soliya experience. I believe group projects are much more enjoyable and add to the learning more than doing anything solo. Working with different individuals just enhances the work created and creates an even better work than doing it alone. The second thing I would change is I would add more AI assignments, as it was only that I had to use AI on. I think since it is a digital literacy course, more AI use should be included in this course. In my experience in this course, I only got to use AI once which is on the AI assignment, but I should AI should be integrated more in the course. One idea which can be helpful which is the weekly use of different types of AI each week. For example, the first week we can use CharGPT and the second week we can use Google Gemini and son on.

I believe I was fortunate enough to take this course in my sophomore year as it is builds you to engage in useful conversations. Also, it is perfect for those who want to explore more about their identity. People who want to improve their digital literacies should attend this class as it teaches you the basic use of technology.

Dr. Maha is one of the most genuine people I have met in AUC, and this course would not be the same without her. Her lessons does not only include academic materials, but it includes life lessons such as to judge your own work which is something I would carry on even after finishing this course. The fact that I took this course on a whim was truly a happy accident that I am truly grateful for. I also grateful for all the amazing moments with my peers especially the singing performance of Ibrahim. I would like to end on an advertisement for the course. Hmmmmm. “Would you like to join a course that makes you use ChatGPT feely, then join Maha Bali’s class where AI is the way to go”