Justin C.
- What are your thoughts on hybrid learning (in person and at home) compared to when you are in your learning groups (at school for all classes). Which format do you prefer, and why?
I personally unlike many liked the hybrid system of learning. Although there were some cons, the hybrid system worked quite well for me. At home, there are no shortages of distractions, from my phone buzzing to computer games. But I was often more productive at home than I would usually be in school. This was probably due to the fewer social distractions rather than digital aspects of how I got distracted. I was also able to complete other pieces of homework early during lighter courses when I had that course’s work done. An example of this attribute was when we had a heavy load of TALONS work, and I was able to work on them more at home when my other course work was completed. Due to many leadership project reflections and not much in-class time we were expected to work on them on our own time. Hybrid learning allowed me more time at home to work on these independent projects more than the normal system would.
- How has technology benefitted you during the hybrid learning experience?
Technology has helped me in a variety of ways. Applications, such as Microsoft Teams, guided us through the school year. We received our homework as well as our instructions for materials needed for in-person classes. Without the use of applications and programs like Teams, it would have made my grade 9 learning experience far more challenging. An example of how technology benefitted my learning is in both of my Humanities courses where we were expected to type far more than usual. From September to June my typing speed jumped from a maximum of 50 to getting 90+wpm (words per minute). Because of this, I was able to take write my assignments for humanities and other courses much faster than it would be done by hand. I personally took full advantage of autocorrecting on word and Grammarly so that I would receive no marks off for any grammar errors that are spread throughout my work.
- How has technology impeded you during the hybrid learning experience?
As I mentioned earlier, at home there are no shortages of distractions, from my phone buzzing to computer games to communicating on Discord. There were many cases in which I would get tired of working on an assignment so I would message my friends or browse online for new YouTube videos to watch. I knew that it was not beneficial but, it helped me to take a mind break and gain further focus when the time came where it was absolutely necessary to focus on my work.
- Is there anything that you hope remains part of a school that was new because of hybrid learning after the pandemic is over and school returns to normal?
Here is a list of a few things that I hope remains a part of school when everything returns to normal:
- Quarter System
I personally liked the quarter system over what I have heard the semester system is like. I prefer having two courses over a shorter period of time so you can focus on them more and don’t forget what you learned in the beginning during a final exam.
- Online Learning
It was quite nice to have a choice when to wake up and get to work rather than being on a schedule on when you had to be at school and when you were finished. As I stated earlier I was often more productive as I didn’t have as many social distractions which allowed me to work more independently at home.
- Link to 2 Projects in school /TALONS that used digital technology, and explain how the use of that digital technology enhanced your project. Ideas include In-Depth, Eminent, Zip, individual class projects in Talons or other subjects…
This year, both my In-Depth project and Photography course used plenty of digital technology in many different formats. For example, in my In-Depth project I was constantly using Zoom to meet with my mentor to learn ASL. Using zoom was essential due to Covid as it prevented us from meeting in person. In Photography 10 I got to learn how to use a camera in all of its functionalities such as learning how to properly balance ISO, Aperture and Shutter Speed. I then learned how to use Photoshop to edit photos and create cool images which you can see below. (Keep in mind that it was my first time using a drawing tablet for the tracing image and combining photos in photoshop.) Technology was able to enhance my photos using the advanced cameras we have today and programs like Adobe Photoshop.
http://mygleneagle.sd43.bc.ca/justinc2020/2021/05/30/in-depth-final-blog-post-justin-c-asl/
http://mygleneagle.sd43.bc.ca/justinc2020/2021/02/25/photography-post-tracing-and-layers/
http://mygleneagle.sd43.bc.ca/justinc2020/2021/03/09/selection-and-combining-images-photography-10/