Setting a firm goal initially makes the design process a whole lot easier. Basically setting a checklist of everything you need to include in your design can help shape what you want to make. And of course, some rearranging of some elements can occur in order to reach your goals.

I believe this was a well chosen anecdote. It is something that most, if not all, people have come across in their life, and is surely a frustrating moment. Options are good, but options that cater to a specific demographic are way better!

Most teachers do not realize that learning experiences can occur, even when 'bad' things happen when kids use technology. Like in later examples in the text, students are put into trouble for gaming and hacking.

Whenever instances like this happen, instead of confiscation and shaming, conversations can be made. These conversations can include the students' interests, the job field, or even the legal aspects for things may do that may be unlawful.

I grew up in the age of online games and can 100% agree with this. There was a fair amount of self learning and practice by myself, but having interactions with others who are doing similar tasks as you allow you to gain skills in communication, empathy, and ego moderation.

When a educator is eager to use a tech tool in the classroom and does not question said tool, and It can lead to failure. There may be instances where a student and teacher are learning off of each other when using the tech tool; however, usually the case is that the teacher is familiar with using the tool. It is always good to do test runs, play around with, and question the technology you may use before implementing it into a lesson plan in the classroom.

It can be a powerful tool for transforming learning, as long as it is used properly by and educator who is very familiar with the tools they are using to teach.

Yes.

I do like the emphasis that Collier put into the call to action with this statement. Injustice in design is a real problem and it is not going to busy to get to a point to say that all of it is equitable to everyone.

I think it is safe to say that any form of action that pushes towards equity in the educational field is a step in the right direction. It is a voice that is heard by those who are passionate about learning and teaching. These "small moves" are important as it can initiate something on a much larger scale.

I couldn't highlight the section I wanted to highlight since this table is a .jpg, but I wanted to cover the argument of "This has always been done"

This argument is heard so often in not just education but the work force, politics, and more. From my experience with this argument, in my undergraduate studies in landscape architecture, at the end of every design studio we give a presentation of our work. A number of the professors in the program I would consider to be old fashioned, but not all of them. The format of the final presentation would always be a powerpoint slide presentation where visuals of sites would be shown as pictures and photography. A common critique would be that the pictures either looked bad, looked too good, and did not show parts of the site they wanted to see.

I wanted to make not only the powerpoint but design projects to be more interactive and engaging. So I developed presentations for my class in a video format. While some forms of interpretation may be left out such as "going back to a slide and having a closer look at infographics and images, the viewing experience of the presentation became more engaging and interesting.

Another process I wanted to incorporate is using real-time modeling tools like Minecraft as a development tool for my site designs. Though, that idea was shot down, but I think with the accessibility of the application as well as realism mod packs to the game, that dream can be a reality. That and going even further by implementing VR capabilities. This is not just in landscape design, but in other forms of media making as well.

While this graphic shares an expansive knowledge on pedagogy and learning tools, I find it very overwhelming, and due to the amount of information presented, I do not see myself being able to read every piece of information provided as my ADHD brain feels exhausted looking at it for a minute.

I found this table to be helpful, as it gives a a general idea of what kind of tools can be used in order to reach a goal. This can be more engaging and encouraging educators to explore certain tools out there that will best cater to their teaching/learning goals

People learn best when information is provided to them in a structured format. Whether it be the transition between story arcs similar to Freudian's Hero's Journey in storytelling, or something as simple as a bullet pointed list, it gives a framework that is easier to understand.

Unfortunately, there are educators who believe that factual knowledge is the only form of knowledge that students can learn from. The amount of memory-based lessons that have little room for interpretation is absurd. Lessons like: "This is what X is, and you will be expected to remember that on the next exam."

A great deal of knowledge can be obtained solely based on observation. With a shift to online learning, and the potential isolation people are experiencing during the pandemic, a lot of people will have to rely on observing online media. YouTube, for an example, is a pure-observational learning situation as you are watching video to gain knowledge about something. You never interact with the guy who is teaching how to tie a tie, but you still internalize the knowledge given to you from this pseudo-interaction.

I like this definition as every part of learning does require some form of structure or framework. It doesn't matter in what setting you are in, or who you are learning from, what only matters is how structured the learning environment is in order for someone to understand any form of knowledge.

It is never a coincidence that an advertisement on your feed is catered to your interests. The two factors that play into what advertisements you see online is the data applications get from you, even unwarranted audio recorded from your device, and the money funded by corporations in order to promote their product. While some believe it is an invasion of their privacy, others use it to their advantage. Say I am in the market for a new desk, I will talk about desks and google search 'desks', so that the media I use will take my data and curate advertisements to cater to my data.

Nonetheless, it is important to read through privacy policies to have a proper understanding of what data is taken from you and what they are using with said data.

I have used all three of these applications, Tiki Toki the most recently. While programs like Scratch makes tasks like coding and sprite development easier, there goes a long way to make an app like so accessible to those with disabilities.

As someone who is completely technologically able, I found some features of these applications difficult. While there may be tutorials on the applications themselves, it doesn't quite seem like they are accessible to those with disabilities. You can find sources externally from third-party sources like YouTube Videos, though some of the videos do not have closed captioning. It's difficult to check off every demographic when developing an application, but it is much more rewarding when there is notable features your application may have

With the growing awareness of those with disabilities, digital tools and apps are slowly becoming more and more accessible; however, not everything is being fulfilled in the checklist. This is due to discrepancies in the theory v. practice implementation, coding bugs, AI bias, and many other conflicts that are yet to be discovered. Web-based developers are trained to have accessibility in mind, though they are also trained to have a finished product by a deadline, which can lead to potential barriers to those with special needs.

A note that I wanted to add is the lack of "techquity' (Tech Equity) in terms of accessibility to these EdTech Tools. While a majority of the OS's listed are what most devices run on, others that were not mentioned, such as Linux, do not have accessibility to said tools. Even though certain aspects like simple UI or sharing capabilities may have to be altered, separate versions can be made to accommodate to those may not have access to certain OS.

I recommend this rubric as it gives a clear and fluid structure of what you want to find in a E-Learning Tool. It also provides examples of tools that are proficient in each category.

There has come so many times where I want to use a tech tool, only to be asked if extra stuff can be downloaded in order for it to be used. When this pop-up comes up, I always back out and find another tool.

So many people have downloaded fake "Adobe Flash Players" riddled with malware because they are unfamiliar with what actually goes into viewing and using technological tools -- myself included. When a website asks you to download Adobe Flash Player to view their contents, it is usually a phishing scam. Never download it unless it is directly from Adobe themselves.

Yes, social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram can be utilized in a professional setting, allowing educators to interact with other educators and provide interactions in a different format than a standard forum. My only hesitation from using popular platforms like so is the amount of NSFW content and misinformation that can be found on said platforms. Social media platforms are as popular as they are is because of the amount of recreational users on the site. It is dependent on the user and they utilize the platform as well as how they want to curate the data they want to see based on who they follow and what tags they want to look up. In summary, using platforms like so can either be really successful or really dangerous.

Chenyang did an awesome job explaining the basics on Twitter Chats and how resourceful they can be.

I think we take for granted how resourceful the Google Suite is in terms of collaborative work and how accessible their suite is. Their data collection policies are questionable; however, working on projects collaboratively with classmates, colleagues, and higher-ups has been made much easier and favorable.

These are quality questions to consider when developing your network. I think something else that should be considered are peoples' history. A background check is necessary before investing research into someone's work.

I definitely back this statement as it is good to have a selection of creditable authors to choose from. The more the better. Having both a varieties of perspectives as well the providence of formulated, unbiased data can be extremely helpful in terms of developing a professional career. The learning network is vastly growing with the insurgence of learning media/platforms.

The SIFT model is a super reliable process to follow for gathering correct and accurate data. One complaint I have heard specifically about this model is that It can be time consuming, especially if on a time crunch/have a vast number of resources to go through. Keeping the model in mind is important, but it is not something to be bent over backwards for. Balance is needed