⠀⠀ aysel’s learning space

With finals upon us, it is time to take a little intermission break! This blog has been like a digital dormitory for my Instructional Technologies and Materials Design course, and it has been a fantastic journey full of learning, creating, and adapting.

I mostly enjoyed all of our tasks, but if I had to choose one absolute favorite, it would be the collaborative writing assignment where my friends and I wrote a film review of The Silence of the Lambs. This gave me the opportunity to analyze an intense, classic movie ,which happens to be one of my all-time favorites, alongside my peers, all while utilizing digital collaboration tools. It was really great to see how digital tools can turn writing into a dynamic teamwork experience, though wrestling with platform limitations still tested my patience at times!

Blogging itself wasn't a completely new adventure for me. I actually had a Tumblr account when I was 13, though I never really posted anything back then. With this course, I finally became an active creator. While I was initially hesitant to share my thoughts publicly and felt a bit anxious about what to write, it quickly became a personal space to unpack my thoughts. It became so much more than just a series of blog assignments; it turned into a genuine digital portfolio of myself and my ICT tasks.

Did this course change my view on technology? Not in the sense of discovering its power, as I had a personal computer when I was only 7, but it absolutely shifted my perspective on how to integrate it into a language classroom. I used to think using technology for language just meant watching videos or playing Kahoot. Now, I see it as a powerful vehicle for fostering and enhancing how students interact, supporting language learning, and building interactive, collaborative environments for students.

Huge thanks to everyone who has been keeping up with my posts and sharing this journey with me.

Hi everyone!

Long time no see! I was/am studying for finals. Also, I had an AI assignment. For the assignment, I used the Magic School AI chatbot to have a conversation with George Orwell, the famous author of 1984 and Animal Farm. One of the biggest advantages of using AI was accessibility. I could ask questions whenever I wanted and receive immediate responses. Although the experience was interesting at first, I found it less engaging than I expected. The idea of speaking with a famous author sounded exciting, but the conversation often felt limited because I was not actually interacting with Orwell. Instead, I was interacting with an AI system that was trying to imitate his ideas and writing style.

One thing I noticed was that the responses were often very neutral and cautious. George Orwell is known for his strong opinions about politics, propaganda, freedom, and power. In reality, I imagine that Orwell would have expressed his views in a much more controversial and challenging way. However, the AI-generated responses often felt simplified. While the answers were informative, they sometimes lacked the sharp criticism and intensity that I associate with Orwell's writing.

Another limitation was that the conversation did not feel particularly enjoyable or surprising. Many of the answers were predictable and repeated similar messages.I expected a more dynamic discussion. As a result, the interaction felt more like reading a summary of Orwell's beliefs than having a genuine conversation with him.

At the same time, I recognize that AI can still be useful for educational purposes. It helped me review important themes from 1984 and Animal Farm, and it provided information quickly and clearly. It also helped me organize my thoughts when writing my report. However, this experience reminded me that AI cannot fully replace human creativity, personality, or historical authenticity.

However, AI helped me improve my writing process. After completing my report, I received feedback on areas such as language use, clarity, coherence, and style. The feedback helped me identify mistakes and improve my work. Revising my report based on these suggestions allowed me to produce a stronger final draft and become more aware of my own writing habits. I think this type of use of AI is more okay.

As a future English teacher, I would consider using AI as a supplementary tool rather than a replacement for traditional learning methods. It can help students brainstorm ideas, practice writing, and explore literary topics. However, students should also learn to question AI-generated content and understand its limitations. AI can imitate an author's voice, but it cannot truly recreate the author's experiences, emotions, or perspective.

Overall, this activity showed me both the strengths and weaknesses of AI. While it can be a useful learning resource, I felt that the interview lacked the depth, originality, and personality that a real conversation with George Orwell might have had. For that reason, my experience was informative, but not particularly engaging or memorable. These are my drafts:

And these are why I changed my first draft, the questions I asked and the chatbot's answers:

I am also curious about what you think, so do not hesitate to write!

The Office (NBC/Universal)

Hey there, everyone!

For our Instructional Technology and Material Design course, we had an online collaborative writing task. My group members Burak and Nisa and I decided to write a film review, and we chose The Silence of the Lambs. Honestly, it was an easy choice, we all agreed pretty quickly.

The task was to write a review together as if publishing in a university magazine. The sections were divided by our instructor: introduction, plot summary, analysis, and lastly recommendation, and each took a part. It was interesting to see how differently we each thought about the same film. Bringing those different perspectives together into one coherent text was a little challenging, but also kind of fun.

We also shared our review with another group and received their comments, which I really appreciated. It is always different when someone outside your group reads your work. You get a chance to notice things you completely missed and can hear other people's opinions about music, actors, etc.

For Google Docs, I believe it is well-suited for this kind of assignment. The real-time edit showing others' revisions and commenting in the document gives a sense of genuine collaboration, rather than having everyone divided. The only downside for me is that sometimes it may be messy when everyone edits at the same time, but Google Docs is nonetheless a well-made application.

I enjoyed this assignment more than I expected, and I think the final review turned out well!

You can also visit my friends’ blogs, Muammer Burak Efe and Hayrunisa Altın.

Hope to see you soon, XOXO.

Hi again everyone!

It has been like 3 weeks since my last post and in that time my friends and I were dealing with a digital storytelling project. For our digital storytelling assignment, my group of three created a retelling of the Icarus myth using a storyboard format with images and narration. Our twist: Icarus flies too high, the wax doesn’t melt, and Zeus shows up as mildly annoyed that the tragedy didn’t go as planned.

We started with the ending and worked backwards. Once we decided Icarus would survive and the story would play out as dry comedy rather than tragedy, every other decision followed from that tone. We wrote a script with dialogue between Daedalus, Icarus, and Zeus, then I translated each scene into a storyboard. We found copyright free sound effects from Pixabay and my friend, Burak, edited the voices and the video.

This project reminded me that storytelling is one of the oldest contexts for language use. When we were writing the script, we weren’t thinking about grammar or vocabulary in isolation rather then that we were thinking about character, tone, and whether a line would land. As a future language teacher, I want to bring that same wholeness into the classroom. Stories give learners a reason to care about words and a reason to choose one over another. They create genuine communicative purpose which is something a gap-fill exercise rarely does. If students can build a story together, argue over a punchline, and feel proud of what they made, they are already doing the work of language learning without it feeling like work.

You can access the digital story from here!

I am also curious about your opinions about digital storytelling, so do not forget to write a comment!

Also you can visit my friends, Sevgi's and Burak's, blogs!

Hi again, everyone!

It has been a long time no see, in that time I had midterms, sadly. However, my friend Nisa and I created a podcast for our latest project! We decided to do a vox-pop format and sparked a debate: "What is the most overrated show you have ever seen?" We interviewed about 20 people on campus, yet we only included 11 of them. Not surprisingly for me, most of the people said How I Met Your Mother and Friends.

This is the podcast!

The biggest struggle for me was editing the voices. It took more time than I expected, and we spent a lot of time finding a suitable app/website. First, we tried to edit on iPad, but it did not work. Then, I downloaded some apps to my laptop, and lastly, I chose Audacity. Separating the voices was another struggle, but I handled it. Also, finding a place that does not have background voice was hard too, and for some reason, we made all of this a day before the due date. Despite all these constraints, I think we did it well and I really enjoyed.

As a future teacher, I probably would give this task to my students. It is a perfect way to hear your own voice. Also, it turns English into a more social context. There are some downsides, but it would be worth it.

That was all from me today and do not forget to write your opinions about overrated shows and you can take a look at my friend’s blog here!

Hi again, everyone!

Today I want to share my latest project: an infographic about what to do if you are being cyberbullied. For this assignment, we were asked to make an informational infographic about ethical or legal issues related to technology use. I chose cyberbullying as it affects young technology users' daily lives and their mental well-being significantly. So what is cyberbullying? According to UNICEF, cyberbullying is bullying with the use of digital technologies. It can occur on social media, messaging platforms, gaming platforms, and mobile devices. It is repeated behavior, aimed at scaring, angering, or shaming those who are targeted. I wanted to show with this infographic how people who are cyberbullied can deal with it.

My Design Experience

To create this infographic, I used Piktochart. I found the copyright-free visuals on freepik and istockphoto.

And I found the information from siberay and unicef.

The most challenging part of the project was finding a suitable template and related images for it, and I faced some download problems while using Piktochart, since you have to pay for a subscription if you want to download your work more than 2 times.

My Reflections

I believe that in English classrooms, infographics can enhance students' visual learning. They can capture students' attention. Infographics are the combination of illustrations, icons, and minimized texts, and this can spark curiosity. Also, infographics can reinforce their understanding. Teachers can use infographics to explain abstract/hard-to-understand topics or to remind students of old topics briefly. On the other hand, when students create their own infographics, they can learn about the design elements. And creating an infographic can make complex knowledge more understandable and help the information stay in the mind much longer, as you have to do research for it.

That's all from me, and I want to know your opinions, so do not forget to write a comment!

Hope to see you soon, XOXO.

https://pixabay.com/illustrations/presentation-gui-e-learning-course-341444/

Hi everyone, welcome back! As an English teaching candidate and technology lover, I find myself asking what “21st century learning” involves in practice. Sitting down to make lesson plans, either to teach young children about the present perfect tense or to try out a new strategy, reveals that this idea is not a “thing” but has real impact. It represents a complete break, moving away from rote memorization to equip the learner with critical thinking, communication, collaboration, and innovation. Why is this so important when it comes to languages? Language can connect people. So, it is not just a thing to memorize grammar for an exam, but rather it is an instrument. In the modern English classroom, 21st-century learning is helping students to actually use the language in order to solve problems and interact globally. This is precisely why technology incorporation in our classrooms is a must today. Advancements in technology help to tear down four physical walls by turning passive reading into active, genuine communication with the world. As I further my studies and prepare to enter the classroom, I will try to infuse technology into my teaching to make it a crucial link to help learners become confident about both language and technology.

https://pixabay.com/photos/cottontail-rabbit-wild-rabbit-grass-7116707/

Hi and welcome everyone!

If you're new here, hi! Let me give you a quick background on who I am. I am Aysel, and I am 19. I am a university student at Marmara University, and my major is English Language Teaching. I created this blog to share my second-year ELT journey about Instructional Technologies and Material Design. So what can you expect here? Mostly my projects, though I'll add my reflections and the processes behind them.

Whether you are a student, a teacher, or just someone who loves to see my journey, I hope you enjoy it!

I am really excited to share my experiences with you! If you have anything to ask, please do, I also want to make connections with you!

Hi everyone!

I'm Aysel, a 19-year-old English Language Teaching student at Marmara University, İstanbul. I am originally from Isparta, Turkiye. I am going to post mostly about my educational projects.

I want to shortly introduce myself. I am a cat person and have 2 cats! Here they are,

I am into fashion and makeup, so in this part I want to show you myself :D

I also love baking but hate cooking. These are the few things I made:

Nowadays, my favourite artist is Weyes Blood. I love her songs. I love to watch series and movies. My favourite show is Killing Eve, and my top 3 movies are Blade Runner 2049, Kill Bill II, and Babam ve Oğlum (My Father & My Son). That's all I can say for now, I think. If you have any questions, do not hesitate to ask!

Hope to see you soon, XOXO.