Learning Diary for ICT class

My experience for the 8 classes that I participated under the name of ICT of Pedagogy course by Lebanese Frenc University (LFU)-Erbil is outlined below.

Even though, because of my significant knowledge in of technology in general, I had expected this class will not be a good opportunity for me to explorer new tools within Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Dr. Ali and Dr, Serkawet proved me wrong.

Now, I'm no stranger to many of the new tools for teaching in technology, especially the tools that will help me to engage with my future students in academic arena, and do automatized work flow with automatized data-analysis in different parts related to students, such as attendance of the students, online time, logs for using Moodle and other online teaching and learning tools such as zoom.

In general , Dr. Ali's class wasn't just about the basics. It went deep into some cool tools like Kahoot, Padlet, Moodle, YouTube, Email, Canva, Prezi, Google Mail, Zoom, and a bunch more. That is, even for someone who thinks they know their way around technology, it was pretty eye-opening experience.

One of the tools was Kahoot. This class showed us how to really use it for interactive learning. It's not just about answering questions—it's about making learning fun and engaging for everyone involved.

Then, we got into Padlet. This thing is like a virtual bulletin board where you can share ideas, collaborate on projects, and basically brainstorm and introduction of the whole class, including pictures, and short biography of each student.

Moodle was another tool, and I thought I knew so much about online learning platforms. Through this class I got to know  cool features and tricks that I'd never used it before, especially the various new features for automatization of teaching process for students.

On the other hand, learning to you Google site was the most exciting feature not only for my teaching career, but as a professional career as well. I have build my own site on Google that is very user-friendly and can be updated within few minutes. We uploaded our completed assignments on the site almost every week. That was another step to make the learning and teaching process much easier and convenient.

One of the classed was dedicated to group-work shops. Our group workshop was about Canva. Discovering Canva and how to use it was a game changer for my professional career. I had used the time consuming complicated design software such as Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Illustrator and after many years of use, I am yet to be expert in using them. In contrast, using Canva and making appealing poster was a matter of hours to learn. This was a true fascinating experience. Whether anyone has any background in using Canva or a professional user, it can be used with no experience to edit the already available templates in many different professional areas.

Prezi was another exciting software tool. Instead of classic slideshows of MS PowerPoint,  we learned how to create dynamic presentations that really grab people's attention. A group of students in the class showed us cool tricks for storytelling and visual storytelling in an appealing way.

Finally, we learned about using Zoom, especially using Zoom for students, creating professional accounts. Along side all of these, creating accounts in Google Scholar and Research Gate was another cool opportunity to learn.

Overall, Dr. Ali's ICT course was a significant learning opportunity for me. I thought I knew my way around technology, but there's always something new to learn. I came away with a plethora of new skills and ideas that I look forward to put into practice.