Contributing to Learning: My Role in EDTC 300
It is quite crazy to believe that the Spring semester is almost over. When I chose to take EDTC 300 as an educational elective I was a little bit nervous as I did not really know what to expect. Although I use technology everyday of my life, I normally stick to the tools I already know and understand how to use. This course pushed me out of my comfort zone to expand my knowledge on Educational Technology & Media. As I was just learning new things myself, I did find it a little bit difficult to give my classmates good tips on different technology tools. Some ways that I contributed to the learning of others were through the weekly Zoom classes we attended, commenting on my peers blog posts (this was my favorite way to contribute) and also through the classroom Discord.
Weekly Zoom Classes
During our weekly Zoom classes I felt like I contributed to others learning by being an active participant in the breakout rooms. I made sure to have my camera and microphone on the whole time so that I could participate in the discussions. During one of the breakout rooms I volunteered to share my screen and make notes on everyone’s ideas/comments. I felt like this helped so that our group could stay involved and on task. The next way I feel like I contributed to the learning of others during Zoom was by sharing my screen with the class so that Katia could help us how to start a blog post instead of a page. By doing this, I not only helped myself learn but also helped my classmates. Finally, I also shared a resource in the comments that helped me to make pictures smaller to be able to add them to blog posts.
Contributions Through Blog Comments
Another way I feel like I have contributed greatly to the learning of others is by commenting on my classmates blog posts. Through my comments, I mainly focused on giving words of encouragement and also gave some of my classmates some advice. When others commented on my blog posts it made me excited and happy that they were actually being read. I know how much work is put in to creating these blog posts and it was my goal to make others feel encouraged to continue making great posts! I focused on commenting on at least 5 peoples posts weekly, if not more. I found the learning project blog posts the most fun to comment on as I got to learn so many new things as I did it. It was amazing to see the different ways that my classmates and I could support one another through the use of technology. By using our blogs to encourage and support one another, I believe this greatly benefited everyone’s learning!
Below I am going to share some screenshots of my contributions through blog comments on a Canva I created as well as a Document as there are too many to share on the Canva.
Interacting Through Discord
I personally found the classroom Discord very useful. This tool allowed us to reach out to all of our classmates to share resources that we found, ask any questions we were unsure of and share ideas with one another. I found myself using this resource anytime I had any questions regarding a blog post, technology questions or how to properly insert things on EduSites. I feel like I contributed to others learning through Discord by answering their questions, sharing my opinion, asking my own questions and sharing some resources. Below I am going to share a few screenshots of my contributions through Discord.
EDTC 300 has been a transformative experience, pushing me beyond my technological comfort zone. Through participating in Zoom classes, interacting with classmates through the use of Discord and engaging with others through blog comments, I have expanded my own knowledge and have hopefully contributed to the learning of others as well! This course has truly enriched my educational perspective!