My first week of the PDP program so far has been an overwhelming experience. I have learned about multiliteracies, cross-curricular lessons, the psychology of adolescents, teaching science to students, and lots of new websites and apps to use in class. I have made a new account on Twitter, created a blog, MatterMost, Trello, hypothesis.is, and many other resources to use. One of the most useful websites so far is MatterMost. Because we are all scattered around the world, MatterMost helped us to be connected easily. We have different assignments in different courses, and in MatterMost, we are all presented which helps us to talk to each other easily.

Being a student at this moment brought a very new and unique experience to me. I entered elementary school in the year 2001. Back then, computer monitors were still very thick, internets were unstable, and using media took a very long time to be loaded. I mainly used computers to play simple games online, chat with my friends, and to listen to music. I think it was around 2007 when I started to use Facebook to connect with my friends and use skype to chat online whenever we have to prepare for group presentations. Although we had this system, meeting up together afterschool was easier to discuss and create PPT slides. Due to various tasks given from my high school, I learned how to use MS words, powerpoints, excel, iMovie, GarageBand, Adobe, GoogleDoc, Prezi, and etc. At the moment, I did not know how being literate with digitals will be helpful in the future. People could still meet up to chat and have meetings so ‘online class’ was not significant.

Then 2020 hits and COVID-19 begins. Nobody has expected any of the situations happening until now. Thanks to great doctors, nurses, governments, and people who fight for COVID-19 yet, in terms of education, we are still facing a huge wall. I considered myself pretty familiar with technologies but I am starting to see the barriers and limitations for having online courses. The first obstacle will be Communication. To be connected with people is not just about talking to each other. In an actual conversation, we use various skills such as gestures, facial expressions, tones of voice, speed of speech, sitting/standing position, and etc. Most of these things are disappeared in the Zoom meeting.  We had to sit in one spot for about 2 to 3 hours, staring at the monitor, trying to listen and take notes at the same time while looking at the professor to see her facial expressions. It seems over too much multitasking yet it is something that we have to overcome as a student in 2020. Another obstacle that I am facing now is the Time Difference. Most of the students are in Victoria which is very good but as a student locating on the opposite side of the globe, this is a lot to take. Most of classes are between 12 am in midnight to 8 am in the morning. I have tried to shift my day and night period however just the fact that to stay awake at 3 am in the morning to gaze at the computer screen is challenging. On the other hand, I am amazed at how I could still be part of the program even far away from the campus. Technology has improved so much that this is possible. I believe there are more obstacles to come, but this is a great way to find the limitations and benefits of technology’s role in education.

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