My Flight Path: Learning Beyond the Technical Side
Current Coordinates
I am a fourth-year Computer Science student, so I usually look at digital tools from a technical and problem-solving point of view. I have worked with programming, AI, software development, data, and human-computer interaction. I am comfortable learning new tools, but I have not spent much time thinking about how online platforms affect learning, privacy, or participation.
A lot of my learning happens outside class. If I do not understand something, I search YouTube, documentation, Reddit, GitHub, or AI tools until I find an explanation that makes sense. Most of the time I am a consumer. I read and use other people’s work, but I rarely contribute back. Public academic writing is also new for me, so posting on WordPress will be different from the technical assignments I am used to.
My experience in the Cricket Club and Coding Club has helped me with coordination and explaining ideas to people with different levels of knowledge. Writing documentation has also shown me that knowing something and explaining it clearly are different skills.
Mapping the Route
In EDCI 338, I want to become more intentional about how I learn online. I plan to build a personal learning network around areas such as AI, cloud computing, and software development. Each week, I want to contribute to at least one useful technical or professional discussion and share something I learned about twice a month. This is useful for me because I am preparing for co-op and future technical roles, and I want my online presence to reflect what I am actually learning.
I also want to understand personalized learning through learning theory. Constructivism stands out to me because I often learn Computer Science by trying something myself, making mistakes, and then connecting the new idea with something I already understand. I am interested in seeing how this works when learning happens through social media and online communities.
In Computer Science, I normally think about whether an algorithm works well. In this course, I want to think more about what happens to the people using those systems. Recommendation algorithms can help people find useful information, but they can also influence what people see and what they may never come across.
Privacy and data ownership are important to me because I may eventually work on systems that collect and process user data. Posting publicly during this course also makes me think more carefully about what information I choose to share online.
Anticipating Turbulence
One challenge for me will be dealing with topics that do not have a clear technical answer. I can connect some ideas to systems I already understand, but topics like digital identity or online inequality may not fit neatly into a technical example. In those cases, I plan to rely more on course readings, classmates’ posts, discussions, and office hours.
Another challenge will be keeping up with an asynchronous course and weekly contributions. I plan to check the course site and Teams at the beginning of each week and work on my posts before Sunday instead of leaving them until the last minute.
By the end of the course, I want to think more carefully about how the systems I may build affect the people who use them.