Final Post: Learning Experiences

Well, the quarter is coming to a close, and all the projects and papers have been handed in. Looking back at the progress we all made, I'm impressed by how much we accomplished in such a short amount of time, and how much thinking and learning we did surrounding the issue of underprivileged and marginalized populations. It was very rewarding to create a project from the ground up, and it's even more rewarding to do so for a worthwhile cause.

One of the things that impressed me the most was the incredible variety of projects my classmates put together. From the starting point of serving underprivileged populations, people came up with a whole slew of different ideas, from preserving languages to helping schoolchildren in India to providing first aid for people on the border. I wonder if our class had been twice as big, or four times as big, how many fascinating ideas would have emerged.

At the expo, I met several different people who had incredibly useful things to say about my project; I spoke with a woman who works with emotionally disturbed children, and a cognitive scientist who works with depressed patients, for example. It was great to get their real-life expertise on a subjects I'm just beginning to learn about. They gave me constructive feedback on things I hadn't even considered (What if they can't figure out how to play the game? How to deal with children who are pre-literate? Can you save your progress? What happens if the player just sits there without pushing any buttons?)

Since many of our projects are still in the early stages, I'm curious to see whether these endeavors will continue, and if so, in what form. I haven't decided yet how I plan to carry on my ideas, but based on the feedback I got from the people who visited my poster, it sounds like a game for childhood depression is a good idea, and with enough work and research, it could turn into something truly valuable.

It was very eye-opening to see the many different options out there in the field of online learning. It seems like the web is a great way to transmit education to the masses, and I hope to participate as these initiatives become even more prevalent in the near future.