Hey everyone! I’m Anthony, a fourth-year student currently pursuing a major in Computer Science here at UVic. If I were to describe myself, I’d want to say I’m a friendly and outgoing individual who strives to be diligent in his work. Apart from my love for reading, I have a strong interest in active hobbies like weightlifting, basketball, and tennis.

As a Computer Science student, my main goal is to gain a deeper understanding of my studies and improve my coding skills to ultimately excel in the future. I believe this course is a great fit for me as it offers a unique yet exciting opportunity for me to learn compared to content from the usual electives I’m accustomed to taking. Moreover, I believe this course will provide valuable insights into both digital learning and teaching, which interests me since I’m aware of how influential learning experiences are and how they can affect one’s approach to studies and overall attitude toward the subject.

For instance, having spent my first two years at UVic in a digital and online learning environment, thanks to COVID, I’ve experienced firsthand the tremendous influence that the learning setting can have on a student’s learning, with my own learning experiences heavily relying on whether the instructor knew how to teach online effectively.

I strongly believe that education is an incredibly powerful tool that plays a vital role in the growth and shaping of students. Students have a crucial role in discovering their own identities and leveraging education to find their unique place in society. Simultaneously, instructors have the role and responsibility of guiding and ensuring the comprehensive development of students whilst providing them with effective learning experiences.

In terms of what I hope to learn from this course, I mainly have three goals:

  • To explore the impacts of open and distributed learning and see how our society has benefited from it
  • To further expand and develop a better understanding of open and distributed learning
  • Enhance my own skills in designing and implementing effective open and distributed learning experiences