Computer Usage and Disabilities

    My first symposium experience  

Our second presentation was announced soon after our first presentation which was based on the book. Each group was responsible for teaching a specific lesson to the rest of the class. Now moving forward our class was tasked with a mental health/ disability presentation. Everyone was assigned a different topic and our group decided to do computer use and disabilities. After picking the topic each group member went ahead and started to select their topics. I went ahead and decided to primarily focus on the Advantages and disadvantages of virtual learning. Isabelle decided to focus on student and staff perspectives, Heyner did use the internet to your advantage, Jacques did digital resources, and Joe did economic disparity and emotional handicaps. A few classes later we had Corrinne came into the class to help everyone with their presentation. When Corrinne finally joined our breakout room, we had a lot of questions regarding our topic. I first asked her about her personal experience with students that have faced any difficulties with virtual learning. Corrinne went ahead and explained that she has had encounters with students who necessarily don’t thrive in the virtual setting. For example, a student with back problems faces challenges sitting in front of a computer all day. Another disadvantage that stems from virtual learning is the lack of special accommodations. For example, not all e-texts are keyboard friendly or accessible and it becomes a difficult format for students with visual, physical, and sensory limitations to easily access. I also asked her about the advantages that students have reported to her from virtual learning. An example of an e-text that does not have close captions is MathLab, certain videos don’t offer closed captions, which creates a barrier for students who have auditory disabilities. In addition, those with low vision or color blindness may have challenges viewing certain colors, fonts, and formats.

Corrinne shared with my group that doing virtual learning eliminates any diversions that students may have faced previously in a physical classroom. For example, virtual learning may provide fewer distractions for students who find it more difficult to tune out other people around them. Students who have ADHD have improved significantly through virtual learning due to fewer distractions and students being able to find a quiet space at home where they can focus. In addition, Corrine explained the accessibility that virtual learning provided for students. Accessibility is something that virtual learning provides for students. Essentially students can access class via phone, laptop, and tablet. This allows students to not miss class and stay connected. In addition, students have access to screen recordings. Students who face visual or auditory challenges can have difficulties catching things during lectures. So, having the screen of the lecture recorded gives students access to go back and rewatch any content they missed or did not understand previously. After having the very productive session with my group and Corrine we transition into actually creating the slides. After our tech person, Isabelle sent the link, I didn’t open the goggle slides until about 3 days after due to midterms. I was intensely studying for my math midterm, but when I finally opened it, I loved the theme selected by Jacques. I started to translate all the information from Corrine into my slides. Once I had everything into its slides, I started to write my script for my 2 slides. I tend to lean towards writing a script to rehearse and perfect my presentation. After going over my introduction and my two slides I went ahead and started to search for an educational video that coincides with my topic. I found a perfect video that shows the perspective of parents and how they deal with at-home learning. Many voiced concerns about not being able to obtain the special accommodations that were previously available at school. Some parents explained how they started to become more creative while dealing with home learning by finding alternatives for their kids to be able to learn since special accommodations were not met.

Then came presentation day where we would present our topic to the class, and this was in preparation for the symposium. Group 1 and 2 went the first two days and they did an excellent job in showcasing their topics for the class. I learned a lot about mental health/anxiety in both presentations. Then came time for our group and Kasandra did the introduction of our presentation. Then it was time for me to go and discuss my topics. I was less nervous than the first presentation we did as a group. I thought I did a decent job on my part; I feel like I could have improved more on the delivery. The rest of my teammates did an amazing job in delivering the sections of their presentations. After we finished presenting, we were told to shorten our presentation to at least 7 mins to have the whole class present for their symposium. After, compacting my part of the presentation the rest of my teammates did the same, and everyone needed to have a minimum of 1 minute and 20 seconds. In the next class, we decided to do a run-through with all 5 groups to present at the same time and each group had 7 mins to discuss each of their topics. To be honest, I feel like including our group and the rest of the class we were slightly underprepared and could’ve done better in the practice run before the symposium. Lastly, the big day for our class to present our presentation at the symposium was about to happen. I was excited to present our research to the students attending because mental health and understanding the challenges students face are important to acknowledge. After everyone's group went, I think we did a good job in terms of showcasing our information, although our timing could have been better. Afterward, we were introduced to a science research assignment, which was interesting. Overall, it was a great experience to present our hard work in front of 50 students or so and educate everyone on the importance of our topic.