Reflection on Blogging Experience

What did I learn from Blogging?

I would say, a lot. Even though I am pretty much familiar with blogging concept since before I took this course, it doesn’t mean that I did not have hard time when blogging. What I found most challenging is to make this blogging activity regular. I love to read other people’s blog, however to maintain my own blog each week, purportedly not an easy job. It requires self-discipline, which I would admit, I lack of. So, by doing this activity, I learned my first lesson: to keep something happening regularly, where external consequences can’t be seen clearly, needs effort. It requires self-discipline. And I think this course has trained me a lot about it.

Then, I learned about the virtue of sharing. By blogging, we shared our ideas, let other people read it and respond to it, and on the other hand responding to other people’s ideas/ writing. It is indeed a great way to learn. We learn collaboratively. I read a lot of articles about how Web2.0. became a great tool for collaborative learning. But that knowledge is not complete if I didn’t have first hand experience. So, this blogging activity has given me the first hand experience I need to completely comprehend the virtue of Web2.0., i.e. sharing.

The third lesson learned is, I should feel obliged to do some research before I blog each week. I couldn’t just write about anything. I need to validate what I write, and in order to do that I need to be supported by data. This is what I learned when blogging academically, instead of personal journal. I did personal journal blog, but I think it requires less effort.

Specifically, I learned about my own topic : wiki & Universal Design, as well as Turnitin AntiPlagiarism Software, Game Based Learning, Clickers, Google Books Project, RSS feeds, and Social Bookmarking from my blogging group : Patrick, Andrew, & Ellen. Following their blog apparently has given me opportunity to observe their experience, learn from it, and then apply it to my own context. Thank you guys!

In general, this blogging experience has given me a chance of reflection. I do love reflection. However, this busy schedule sometimes makes me forget to sit back and review again what I did, what I’ve learned, and what I still need to learn. By blogging, I have this opportunity back.

What can I do to improve my blogging?

To improve my blogging, I think I need to exercise more in managing my schedule, so I have enough time to think and put my ideas into writing, and then post it to my blog. I also think that I need to read more and give comments to other people’s blog. I honestly often forget to comment on my fellow bloggers’ posting. I do enjoy reading their blog and often want to say something about it, but lazy me, I procrastinate until I forgot that I have something to say about their posting. I truly regret that.

In addition, I think I need to pay more attention to my surroundings. By paying attention, I process the information I get from my environment. And by processing that information, I believe I would have thousands things to share in my blog.

Second Stroke. Review of Universal Design [Dot 04-Dot 08]

I started my second blog topic by pondered over the list of topic given, but then I decided to write about the principle that structured lots of technology. That principle is Universal Design (UD).

I began to introduce UD by talking about its history. Apparently most aspect in society's history influenced the birth of UD. Changing demographic, federal legislation, changing economics, changing social climate, the Barrier-Free movement, as well as the rehabilitation engineering and Assistive Technology. All of these situation have brought people's recognition of the importance to design features that benefited everyone.

Then, I tried to present UD's definition. Seemingly, not most people like the term Universal Design. The argument was, "if it couldn't serve the needs of all users, why use the term Universal?" For me, this is very understandable. However, I think it is better for us to pay attention more to the 'operational definition' and to the idea / philosphy of UD. By understanding that concept, hopefully we do not feel puzzled by the terminology. By the way, Universal Design has 7 principles that were developed by a group of people in Center for Universal Design in North Caroline State University, NC.

So, the idea (or I can say, the operational definition) of Universal Design is to design products and services that serve the greater extent possible of people. This means, UD cannot serve the needs of all people. Some people would still find the environment as harmful, and thus need more sophisticated and personalized design. In this situation, Assistive Technology can play its part.

There are differences between Assistive Technology and Universal Design. I listed the differences in my blog posting. However, there is a feature that makes the benefit of UD become apparent. That feature is cost. As Bowe (2007) noted, the products or services designed and marketed specifically for people with dissabilities usually carry a high costs because the potential market is small. And conversely, if the technology can cover the needs of the large population, the price per unit would rapidly fall (note : remember the example of PC)

Afterward, I talked about how the principle of UD being applied in education. I quoted the tips from Bowe (2007) book. Nevertheless, I would like to emphasize what David Rose and Anne Mayer discussed in their article about UD Principles in Learning/ Education. They discussed the importance of acknowledging the goal of learning, whenever one wants to apply UD principles in learning. As Ellen said, this would bring us -as the Instructional Designer- back to the focus, that is prioritizing the goal of learning whenever we design an instruction.

Dot 08. Universal Design in Education

So now, how can Universal Design Principles be applied in learning/ education? Bowe, F. (2000) listed some tips for educator when preparing a universally design curriculum and materials.

I'll quote it from his book.

• Present information in multiple ways. Anything written or otherwise offered visually is also spoken aloud, and vice versa. The teacher, recognizing that personal computers and software provide easy and rapid ways to customize how information is presented, not only prepares curricula, materials, hand outs, etc., on disk but also makes those disks available to students on request (so they can make large-print versions, etc.) and posts them on Web pages where they may be read by students using their personal adaptive equipment.

• Offer multiple ways for students to interact with and respond to curricula and materials. Students may respond by speaking (e.g., in class, into a tape recorder, to a computer program, etc.), writing, typing, etc. Students may also control the "look" of information (type size font foreground and background colors, etc) and the pace at which material is presented on computer.
  

• Provide multiple ways for students to find meaning in the material and thus motivate themselves. Students may work independently, may work as members of a team, and may show that they have mastered principles by applying those to favorite activities (e.g., calculate batting averages to demonstrate knowledge of adding, dividing, etc.). Some students may benefit from participating in an instructor-sponsored listserv, through which students may post comments, questions, etc., to each other and to the instructor, while others may learn well through group study listservs that allow student-only interaction via e-mail.
  

• Make good use of personal and course Web pages. Web pages can easily be made interactive, greatly adding to students' benefit. Information on a Web page may be read using the students' own, personal adaptive technology devices and equipment at home. Teachers must ensure that such Web pages comply with the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) access guidelines (www.w3.org/wai). One convenient way to check such compliance is to use "Bobby" (see www.cast.org/bobby). Bobby is a computer software program that evaluates the accessibility of Web pages and offers specific suggestions for improvement.

Having said that, I think we may not neglect the goal of learning.

David Rose and Anne Mayer present a very great idea in their article about applying Universal Design Principles in Education/ Learning. One point that interesting is that non-educators often make mistake of equating "access to information" with "access to learning." They assume, that the goal of universal design in education is achieved by creating materials in which information is more accessible. While it may works the other way around, that is increasing access can decrease or eliminate a learning opportunity. For instance, having electronic text where the computer can read all the words aloud is a powerful way of making the text more accessible. But if the goal is to teach a dyslexic child how to decode unfamiliar words, such accessibility may be counter-productive. However, if the goal is to learn science concepts, having the computer read the text aloud could enhance the learning opportunity for a student with dyslexia.

"Universal Design for Learning requires careful attention to the goals of any given learning experience so that a balance of challenge and support can maximize the learning opportunity" - Rose & Meyer -

Dot 07. Universal Design and Assistive Technology

People often confused about the difference between Universal Design and Assistive Technology. Sometimes the term "Universal Design" was mistakenly used interchangeable with "Assistive Technology". So now, let us learn the difference between the two.

Even though Universal Design (UD) was derived from Assistive Technology (AT), UD has special characterisitic that made it differed from AT. Bowe, F. (2000) explained that the benefits of UD become apparent when it comes to cost. The products or services designed and marketed specifically for people with dissabilities usually carry a high costs because the potential market is small. One of two solutions offered is Universal Design. Bowe said :

When a product appeals to, and is marketed to the general population, the price per unit rapidly fall. That is because the benefits of the technology are provided to large swaths of the population, not just to a small group of people having special needs.

Bowe then gave example. The first desktop computer he bought cost him $6,000. It was at the time when such devices were used primarily by researchers and scientists. However, today PCs are used virtually by everyone, and cost less than $1,000 (six times cheaper).

Bowe also stated that the idea of Universal Design is only a small minority of people will need "special" accommodations those who cannot use even universally designed instruction. This means the purpose of UD and AT is not the same. UD has a broader target market, of course.

Bowe, F. (2000) then, added some points to made the distinction of UD and AT become clearer.

• UD: alters the environment and information
• AT : its services & devices make possible for individual to adjust an unaltered environment or information source.
  

• UD: Responsibility of designers/ developers
• AT : Responsibility of user or user's agent
  

• UD: Done while service/ product is being developed.
• AT : Done after product is finished, or while service is being delivered

• UD: Serves many people at once
• AT : Serves some individual user at a time.
  

• UD: Renewable accessibility
• AT : Consumable Accesibility
  

Dot 06. Principles of Universal Design

Here are the Principles of Universal Design and guidelines, as developed by a working group of architects, product designers, engineers, and environmental design researchers (Bettye Rose Connell, Mike Jones, the late Ron Mace, Jim Mueller, Abir Mullick, Elaine Ostroff, Jon Sanford, Ed Steinfeld, Molly Story, and Gregg Vanderheiden) in Center for Universal Design (CUD), North Carolina State University, Ralleigh, NC (1997) -examples are quoted from Bowe, F (2000) book- :

1. Equitable Use
Definition : the design is useful and marketable to people with diverse abilities.

• Provide the same means of use for all users: identical whenever possible; equivalent when not.
• Avoid segregating or stigmatizing any users
• Provisions for privacy, security, and safety should be equally available to all users.
  
• Make the design appealing to all users.

Example : power doors which open automatically when someone steps on a pressure-senstive area on the pathway leading to the door.

2. Flexibility in Use
Definition : The design accommodates a wide range of individual preferences and abilities.

• Provide choices in methods of use
• Accomodate right-or left-handed access and use
• Facilitate the user's accuracy and precision
• Provide adaptability to the user's pace

Example : an ATM machine that lets people decide whether to read or listen to information.

3. Simple and Intuitive Use
Definition : Use of the design is very easy to understand, regardless of the user's experience, knowledge, language skills, or current concentration level.

• Eliminate unnecessary complexity
• Be consistent with user expectations and instruction
• Accommodate a wide range of literacy and language skills.
• Arrange information consistent with its importance.
• Provide effective prompting and feedback during and after task completion

Example : the user manuals that accompany Hewlett-Packard printers that are very brief and clear.

4. Perceptible Information
Definition : The design communicates necessary information effectively to the user, regardless of ambient conditions or the user's sensory abilities

• Use different modes (pictorial, verbal, tactile) for redundant presentation of essential information
• Maximize "legibility" of essential information
• Differentiate elements in ways that can be described (i.e., make it easy to five instructions or directions)
• Provide compatibility with a variety of techniques or devices used by people with sensory limitation.

Example : an information system at a train station that offers arrival/ departure information in both visual and auditory modes

5. Tolerance for Error
Definition : The design minimizes hazards and the adverse consequences of accidental or unintended actions.

• Arrange elements to minimize hazards and errors : most used elements, most accessible; hazardous elements eliminated, isolated, or shielded.
• Provide warnings of hazards and errors
• Provide fail safe features
• Discourage unconscious action in tasks that require vigilance.

Example : a kiosk that offers the option at every screen of returning to the main menu.

6. Low Physical Effort
Definition : the design can be used efficiently and comfortably and with a minimum of fatigue.

• Allow user to maintain a neutral body position
• Use reasonable operating forces
• Minimize repetitive actions
• Minimize sustained physical effort

Example : door levers are an excellent example, no grasping or twisting motions are required.

7. Size and Space for Approach and Use
Definition : Appropriate size and space is provided for approach, reach, manipulation, and use regardless of user's body size, posture, or mobility.

• Provide a clear line of sight to important elements for any seated or sanding user.
  
• Make reach to all components comfortable for any seated or standing user.
• Accommodate variations in hand and grip size
• Provide adequate space for the use of assistive devices or personal assistance.

Example : subway turnstiles that present the token or card slot at a height easily reached by people using wheelchairs and young children, yet do not require ambulatory adults to crouch.

“Please note that the Principles of Universal Design address only universally usable design, while the practice of design involves more than consideration for usability. Designers must also incorporate other considerations such as economic, engineering, cultural, gender, and environmental concerns in their design processes. These Principles offer designers guidance to better integrate features that meet the needs of as many users as possible.”

To see the example of the principles (in image), please visit CUD website, and click the HTML format. You may need to fill / answer simple questions (your zip code, state) at first.

Dot 05. Universal Design - Definition and Some Important Keypoints

Last week, we have learned about the history of Universal Design (UD). Based on that little information, it's hard to have a clear concept about UD. The easiest way to help us clear up this dusty concept is to first understand its definition.

There are a number of definitions promoted for the term "Universal Design." However, I think the best one is the Assistive Technology Act of 1998 (PL 105-394) number 17 section 3 version :

The term "universal design" means a concept or philosophy for designing and delivering products and services that are usable by people with the widest possible range of functional capabilities, which include products and services that are directly usable (without requiring assistive technologies) and products and services that are made usable with assistive technologies.

So, does it mean that UD should meet all needs of all people?

Bowe, F. (2000) noted that universal design will not meet all needs of all people, some persons will still find some environments to be hostile and so will need assistive technology products and services. That is why universally designed products and services must also be compatible with widely used adaptive equipment.

Hmm, what if there is any shortcoming in the UD products?

Dr. Vanderheiden and his colleagues at the University of Wisconsin's Trace Center (this is from the website Ellen referred last week, thanks Ellie!) also proposed a definition of UD. In his definition, Bowe (2000) also noted that Dr. Vanderheiden emphasized the responsibility for any drawback in UD is upon the designers and providers of products and services, not upon users. Therefore, if a product or service is not usable by some individual, it is the responsibility of its developers to find ways to make it usable, or, at minimum, to arrange for it to be used together with assistive technologies of the user's choice.

So, based on the definitions proposed by some people, we can learn some important things :

1. UD will not meet all needs of people
2. UD products and services should be compatible with widely used adaptive environments
3. The responsibility of any shortcomings in UD products and services is upon the designers, providers or the developers, not upon users.

Okay, now we've learned about the definition and some important keypoints. I think we're now ready to learn about the Principle of UD. (I decided not to compile the definition and principle together in this posting, as I planned before). So, wait for the next posting. :D

Dot 04. Universal Design - Introduction & History

It was really hard to choose topic to be discussed for the rest of this half semester. Each technology seems intriguing. However, after reading, thinking, and contemplating, I decide to discuss not about technology as a product, but the important principle we should know in order to design a technology. It's Universal Design. I first heard this terminology in Alan Foley's class (IDE600) and we have some discussion about it. Apparently it really got my attention and has made me think a lot.

So, how did Universal Design emerge?

According to CUD (Center for Universal Design), almost each aspect in society's history influenced Universal Design's birth.
Changing demographics, that is, people are living longer this time due to healthier living, better medicine, and vaccines and sanitation that have virtually eliminated many killer infectious diseases (The Denver Post, 1998).This means, more old and disabled people (as well as veterans from world wars) are still living, and their needs are as important as ours to be considered.

Federal Legislation. The Disability Rights Movement that was inspired by The Civil Rights Movement of the 1960s, has a great impact on the legislation of the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s. These laws interdicted discrimination against people with disabilities, and provided access to education, places of public accommodation, telecommunications, and transportation.

Barrier-Free Movement. As people who dealt with designs acknowledge the importance to address the needs of people with and without disabilities, they began to struggle with the implementation of the standards. They realized that designing accessible features resulted in a more expensive, and (usually) ugly products. Those situation as well as the environmental changes reality have brought a recognition to design features that benefited everyone (less expensive, unlabeled, attractive, and marketable). This become the foundation for the universal design movement.

Rehabilitation Engineering and Assistive Technology. This concept become apparent in the middle of 20th century, as an application of scientific principles and and engineering methodologies to address the technological problems of rehabilitation including communication, mobility, transportation as well as prosthetics and orthotics needs of thousands of disabled veterans who returned from World War II (1940s). The label "assistive technology" was then applied for personal use devices that were created to help people with physicial, sensory, and cognitive disabilities to function more independently.

Changing Economics. At 1980s, product manufacturers were beginning to recognize the potential of broadening the market of 'accesible' products. Regarding the growing size and diversity of potential customer, "globalization" (another emerging economic trend) was also be the focus of consumer businesses in order to survive and success. These situation escalate the need for design that is responsive to individual preferences and abilities. And because Universal Design adresses the diverse needs of majority consumers, it has become a very marketable approach.

Changing Social Climate. The growing population of disabled people has brought another impacts, that is the quest for independence and equal rights. Consumers of Assistive Technology now requested the consideration of their impact on the image as well as the function of the product. Peter Francese (in a 1990 issue of Capturing Customers) noted, "As more Americans age, products that offer youthfulness without denigrating aging will do well. These consumers are not like their parents — they don't feel that older is ugly" (American Association of Retired Persons, 1992).

Now that we know the history of Universal Design's existance, what we need to know next is the Universal Design principles (standards), its' differences with Assistive Technology, and also the Universal Design in Education, since we're now all enroll in education fields. Those topics will be covered in the next postings.

PS. So, from your own understanding (your best guess), what do you think of Universal Design's definition?

First Stroke. Summarize of The Three Dots.

When I started this blog, I realize that I only have a little knowledge about Wiki. However, as I began to spot the 'dots' about Wiki, I understand that Wiki -as a medium for people to collaborate their knowledge- has played a significant role in knowledge aggregation. This feature has been beneficial in improving people's learning as well as in the delivery of instruction (that may not possible in classroom).

Wikipedia, the most powerful wiki presently known (Naufal, in his article), apparently has some drawbacks that people may object. The good thing is, Wikipedia's honesty in admitting its limitation, although it also defended and reasoned itself. Nevertheless, Wikipedia's positive and negative sides which we know, more or less represents the characteristics of Wiki.

So, having spotted these dots, how can we draw a line?

Hmm, I like the statements made by Naufal,
"It is not that wiki is still not in our minds or that wiki is really strange. It is that we are unaccustomed to collaborative work. Knowledge work is inherently collaborative. Wikis are a great way to learn to collaborate. Collaborative and cooperative learning should be encouraged to facilitate constructivist learning (Hooper & Hannafin, 1991;Johnson & Johnson, 1996; Palloff & Pratt, 1999)"

I think, although the idea of Wiki might not be complete this time, we can still rely on the fact that it has made a big contribution to education (and instruction). Research has shown that teachers and students can get very creative and develop innovative and useful activities for learning (Synteta, 2002 in Naufal article) as well.

Dot 03. Common Objections of Wikipedia

People who are comfortable with Wikipedia (use it as resource or even contribute) might find it hard to read all the objections/ criticism about this website. It's somehow painful to know something that you highly valued are being opposed by groups of people. To be honest, I know that there are controversies around Wikipedia, but somehow I choose not to be bothered by the criticism (Yes, I was ignorant). Because I'm a pro Wikipedia. As I mentioned before, it has been a part of my life since yearrss ago.

However, now, I have to open my eyes. I have to have a fair judgment. I encourage myself to read all the criticism. And so, I read Criticism of Wikipedia, Why Wikipedia Is Not So Great. As I read those articles, I found another article that apparently replied the criticism. This is the link of the article : Wikipedia:Replies to Common Objection.

I found that it is an interesting article. It stated that there are many reactions toward Wikipedia. Some of them love the idea of Wikipedia as collaborative website which anyone can contribute their knowledge or ideas. Some others think that the idea of Wikipedia is somehow absurd that it does not require any considerations. However, some people have stated their criticism about Wikipedia. In that article, Wikipedia (itself) tried to reply those objections. The common objections are divided into four parts. First part : "Letting arbitrary Internet users edit any article at will is absurd", Second part : "Wikipedia can never be high quality", Third part : "Scalability", Fourth part : "Miscellaneous Concerns".

It's very interesting to read how Wikipedia replied (countered) each objections. Some of the criticism have been discussed in our class discussion board, as well as in this blog (previous post). I hope that article might add new perspectives to you (as it does to me).

Dot 02. More about WIKI

In my last posting, I gave a little introduction about Wiki. Now I hope we can explore a bit more about it. Based on an article from Educause Learning Initiative, I quote seven things we should know about Wiki :

1. What is Wiki?
Wiki is a Web page that can be viewed and modified by anyone who has a Web browser and access to the Internet. Even though this means potential mischief may exist, wikis can be surprisingly robust, open-ended, collaborative group sites. It permits asynchronous communication and group collaboration across the internet. Wikis provide its users with both author and editor privileges; the overall organization of contributions can be edited as well as the content itself. Barriers to modifying wiki pages are minimal, because the user interface is familiar - a Web page on a personal computer.

2. Who's Doing It?
The first wikis appeared in the mid-1990s. Scientists and engineers used them to create dynamic knowledge bases. Its content could be immediately and widely viewed and commented on. These past few years, wikis are being used for a wide variety of collaborative activities. Faculty and staff and staff in higher education use wikis as a "place" for meeting notes, distributed agenda before meeting, and saved the meeting notes in public archive. Some institutions are experimenting with wikis as e-portfolios. Educators and students, amateurs and professionals (artists, writers, collectors) have found wikis useful in expanding community involvement and interest in their subjects and activities.

3. How Does it Work?
To make Wikis work, all we need is Internet connection and a Web browser. In wiki page, we can modify its content by clicking "edit" link, then click "save" button to save the changes made.

4. Why Is It Significant?
Wikis are powerful and flexible that it allows us to use it as a collaborative communication tool for developing content-specific Web sites. Wikis can address a variety of pedagogical needs, such as student involvement, group activities, etc. And because all it needs is internet connection, students can access and participate from any location and anytime, whenever they have internet access.
Wikis have also benefited faculty and students in terms of instructional technology. It allows them to engage in collaborative activities that may not be possible in a classroom.

5. What Are The Downsides?
First, because of its flexibility to be modified by users, it is risky for a manipulation of the information. To counter that, wikis are often monitored to ensure that inappropriate language, spam, and incorrect or inappropriate content are not present. This can be time-consuming. That's why many wikis require authorization, so only people within the group can modify its content.
Second, because wikis are created by a group rather than an individual, structuring the initial content in such a database for easy access can be a challenge.
Third, because it represents the collective perspective of the group that uses it, it may has a collaborative bias. Wikis are well suited to reflecting current thoughts, but perhaps not as effective in obtaining unbiased perspectives on rapidly evolving topics or issues.

6. Where Is It Going?
Wikis may carry an inherent potential to change how we construct knowledge repositories on the Web. Because wikis are easy to use, it allows anyone to become a publisher. Wikis show great potential as collaborative spaces that may become semi-authoritative voices on particular topics. Most students often use Wikipedia as a reliable source of information.

7. What Are The Implications For Teaching and Learning?
Wikis might be the most effective and easiest web-based collaboration tool in instructional portfolio. It's simplicity is crucial for student in group editing or other collaborative projects. Faculty may also use wikis to collaborate on projects where community input can help inform and direct subsequent investigations.

Dot 01. AHA Experience about Wikis, RSS, Blogs

I found that most topics in 611 course are new to me. Maybe I've heard about it or read it somewhere before, or use some of it in my daily life. However, I did not have a good understanding of what its original purpose, how it works or even more, how it can be used especially in education.

Wikis is the example of my first ignorance, i.e. not having a good understanding of its original purpose. I think almost every time I go online, I visit some wikis. Wikipedia is my most visited wiki. But honestly, I didn't know that it was meant to be a collaborative website which anyone can contribute the content, until I took this program. That means, in the past time I considered Wikipedia only as a read-only medium which can benefit me in my work.

[To understand more about wiki, you can see this video]

RSS is the example of my second ignorance, i.e. not knowing how it works. Actually, not just that I don't know how it works, I even don't know what it is. The bad thing is, I never care to find its definition or meaning, even though often when I opened a website and saw the RSS orange icon, I felt there something poked my mind. Oh, it was RSS! It asked my attention to find an understanding about it. But I neglected it. Poor RSS. Whereas if only I know its meaning, its function (it couldn't be there just for decoration), I would have been benefited since before. Poor Me.

[Want to know what RSS means and how it works? I'll let my friend in CommonCraft (again) explain it to you in plain English video. It's a really good video for a technology rookie like me]

Blogging is the example of my third ignorance. Weblog (Blog) is not a new word for me. I made one when I was a freshman in my university. However, I never think of its usage as a medium to share good information, much less for Education purpose. For me, it was only for my personal journal. Well, it's not wrong to have a blog as your personal journal, but how wonderful it would be if the information you share could benefit others too, isn't it? Moreover, to be used in Educational purposes.

[By the way, the video explaining about Blog (in plain English) is already posted in our Blackboard]

Wikis, RSS, Blogs are just three examples I mentioned of my technology-ignorance. I believe the more I learn in this course, the more I realize how I took things for granted, because those technologies are (already) in our everyday life. So, the list will go on.

Connect The Dots

Hi!

I'm Mehkta Sophia Waney. I'm an IDD&E graduate student in Syracuse University. This is my first posting in Connect The Dots. I hope this blog may serve as a tool in communicating my thoughts, my study, especially in IDD&E classes, in order to complete my learning experiences.

As I try to connect the dots of my daily life -knowledge and experiences-, I hope by keeping track of the dots, and then connect them, I might get the big picture. That way, I hope I may have a deeper understanding towards everything I sense, especially in my academic journey.