instructional Design & Technology

Technology

Reflection

As a student committed to lifelong learning, I often find myself grappling with the daunting task of writing various assignments, from basic essays and reports to complex research papers and creative writing projects. Unfortunately, as much as I adore the written word and take pleasure in producing quality work, writer’s block can oftentimes hinder my creativity and focus, making it difficult to begin or sustain my writing.

However, my writing experience has been transformed by the discovery of a range of innovative tools that have immensely improved my productivity and overall writing skills. Not only have these tools allowed me to efficiently manage my time and collaborate with my peers, but they have also positively impacted the quality and style of my writing. For example, Canva and Adobe Express have enabled me to produce visually stimulating presentations that capture and hold the attention of my classmates and teachers. Moreover, Go React has played a significant role in helping me hone my oral communication abilities by enabling me to create video presentations that convey my ideas more effectively. The organization and arrangement of my thoughts have also improved substantially thanks to Obsidian, which has facilitated the gathering and classification of important ideas, making my essays more concise and coherent.

Finally, ChatGPT has been a lifesaver in helping me overcome my writer’s block. The platform’s effective brainstorming techniques have enabled me to overcome mental blocks and develop a strong framework for my assignments.

Google Classroom and the Google Suite

Google Classroom is a platform that simplifies classroom communication and teaching practices. The suite, which includes tools for collaboration and creation like Google Docs, Sheets, and Slides, as well as cloud storage and scheduling tools like Google Drive and Calendar, allows for a seamless and efficient way to manage classroom instruction and communication. I use Google Docs and spreadsheets regularly when working on assignments and collaborating with research partners, as well as in project tracking and management. Google Classroom is instrumental in the sucess of many of my online classes as it provides a clutter free interface for me to communicate to both my instructors and peers, providing all of us a more personalized learning experience. 

Eduflow LMS

Eduflow LMS is an intuitive platform that allows educators to create engaging online courses while providing learners with a seamless learning experience. Key features include course creation, integrations, task and assignment management, analytics, and reporting. I like the fact that Eduflow is cloud-based and has a very straightforward process with its instructions for first-time users like me. I was able to find a template I could use within the first few minutes of going through its vast template library. Publishing and making it available for use by my learners was just as easy as well. Eduflow LMS is the perfect way to enhance online teaching capabilities.

Canva

Canva is an easy-to-use design platform with a vast library of customizable templates, graphics, and fonts. It’s cloud-based, meaning you can create infographics from anywhere and easily share them with others. With drag-and-drop functionality, adding text and graphics is simple, and design wizards make it easy to create the perfect look for any project. Infographics created in Canva can display data, ideas, and insights in an engaging and visually compelling way. When it came time for me to work on my infographics and my weekly reading assignments, I was able to pick out a template that had a color scheme to my liking. Personalization was not at all difficult either. I also use Canva for short videos and birthday invites because of its user-friendly editing software, and I love it that they always update their elements with catchy graphics and pictures. The best part of Canva is that it’s mostly free. 

Adobe Express

Adobe Express is a web-based tool designed to help creative teams collaborate efficiently and effectively. Also cloud-based, Adobe Express makes it easy for designers, developers, and project managers to work together on projects of any size and complexity. The interface is less complicated than the Adobe Creative Suite (which most design and print professionals use) but it is nonetheless as effective, and perhaps even revolutionary that Adobe can be used by just about anyone nowadays. I use Adobe Express whenever I switch up designs and when I can find useful templates for my projects. Adobe Express is just the perfect tool to help bring ideas to life.

GoReact

GoReact is a video-based platform that allows students to record and share their practical skills or presentations for efficient feedback. It features customizable rubrics, editing tools, and real-time commenting for timely feedback. Ideal for remote learning and online courses, GoReact is versatile and user-friendly across various industries. I was introduced to GoReact through an IDT class where we were required to observe and critique peers’ presentations, and receive feedback to help all of us in our communication skills and allow us to improve our practice in creating educational videos to form part of our instructional design. 

Obsidian

The Obsidian app is an advanced note-taking tool that helps users streamline their thoughts and processes. The interface makes it easy to quickly jot down ideas, create outlines, and connect notes through an interactive graph view. With Obsidian, I can efficiently control my research and knowledge database and tasks in one place. Its robust search functionality allows me to improve my productivity by typing my research information in and by creating codes for ideas to link together, making it easier for me to retrieve them by subject/topic.   The app is available for Windows, Mac, and Linux, and it syncs through popular cloud-based storage solutions like Dropbox or OneDrive.

ChatGPT

ChatGPT is an advanced AI conversation partner that can comprehend and respond like a human. This sophisticated and intuitive chatbot engages in natural, context-aware conversations on a diverse range of topics. A few prompts on ChatGPT give me plenty of guidance on topics that are hard for me to wrap my head around and help me beat writer’s block. It also acts as a thesaurus, a dictionary, and a search engine. ChatGPT is a useful tool for working on complex ideas and getting it simplified for better understanding.