Here is my mid-semester evaluation:
Canvas:
I love Canvas. Canvas is a Learning Management System (LMS) that I used in undergrad at Colorado College and I wish every class at UH utilized this LMS instead of Laulima. Canvas is very simple and organized and also, very pleasing to look at. Kind of reminds me of a simple mobile platform with the big dashboard icons and the calendar format that displays all the assignments and events of different classes.
One thing I would improve of Dr. Bert’s class assignments are the titles; I think every title for posting and commenting should correspond with each other because it was hard to locate some things. Here’s an example:
“Weekly Blog Post (Week 7) – Makerspaces” corresponds to:
“Comment on Weekly Blog Post (Week 7) – Makerspaces”
On a side note to that particular Weekly Blog #7 – Makerspaces, there was no area to post because there was no Discussion Page created, only for the comments section. Also, what is the difference between a “blog post” and an “online discussion” (referring to “Online Discussion – Privacy Issues”)?
Difficulties:
Honestly, this class was very difficult for me. I think one reason is because I personally do not enjoy synchronous online learning; I don’t have a sense of community and motivation is not 100%. The other reason is because this class is a constructivist formatted class. Not saying that that is a bad thing however, I believe the topic of “emerging technology” needs a little more structure in terms of what we should talk about, what we learn about, and what we produce. We, the students, created our own assignments about our our own interpretations of what emerging technology is based off the Horizon Report, but that doesn’t necessarily means we learned anything specific or substantial; the students in the class have different opinions of what emerging technology means/is and the uses within the education system therefore, what we talk about and what we create as assignments will evidently be very bias towards the opinions of the students with the louder voice and stronger personalities, especially in an online classroom setting where an instructor doesn’t know who is calling the shots.
The solution? I don’t have one. I feel like I didn’t learn anything beyond what I already know and what I could have learn by myself in an asynchronous class. 🤷🏻♀️
Learning with Emerging Tech: Critical Trends 