Who are you, and what do you like to learn about? (academically, professionally, and/or personally)
I am a full-time high school Chinese language teacher and a doctoral student at George Mason. My specialization is Multilingual and Multicultural Education and my secondary is technology learning design. For my research, I would like to know more about technology use in foreign language classroom, digital equity, and intercultural communicative competence. I also used my free time to learn digital drawing and designs as well.
What hardware do you use to learn? (Eg. smart phone, tablet, laptop, desktop)
I used my laptop, ipad pro and smart phone to learn. For my doctoral coursework, I use my personal laptop to do research and homework; for teaching, I use the school laptop; I use my ipad to practice digital drawings.
What software do you use to learn? (Eg. search engines, mobile apps, social networks, eBooks, digital libraries, wikis, blogs, videos, podcasts)
For research, I used Mason Digital Library to look for articles and books; it is free to students
For teaching, I used YouTube to look for grammar and cultural videos about Chinese language (many videos are short and informative; I like videos filmed in China and many of them are good for teaching the language and its culture). I followed some Chinese language account on Twitter, Instagram and Facebooks as well (images have good designs and contents are up-to-date).
I use SkillShare to learn digital drawings. Although there is a 8$ monthly subscriptions, the instructors there are professional artists and designers. I can share my work or view others’ work. Some lessons also offer worksheets for learners to practice.
What digital tools do you wish you had access to for learning? (Eg. any graphic organizers, mind-mapping tools, resource management tools, progress tracking tools, design tools, etc.) Why?
Adobe illustrator, photoshop and indesign. They are useful softwares for doing design work, but I think for people who do not study or work in the industry, these softwares are expensive to use.
What might your ideal Personal Learning Environment (PLE) look like?
It gives learners choices to choose the lesson;
It is personalized based on our skills, hobbies, interests, etc.
It allows learners to interact with others (feedback for improvement or compliment);
Free, low cost or reasonable cost;
It provides learners with opportunities to use the skills in real life;
It allows users make improvements at their own pace;
It offers recognition or rewards.
