Blog Post #10

 Working on Assignment 5 (PowerPoint Interaction) challenged me to learn new technical and design-oriented skills that go beyond normal slide shows. I learned how to use hyperlinks, triggers, and slide navigation to simulate a Jeopardy game based on U.S. History. The hardest part for me was designing an interactive user experience where each tile leads to a different slide. I also applied visual design principles to ensure that the game remained intuitive and visually appealing. One aspect I particularly liked was the creative freedom to design something interactive and fun for students. However, I found the process somewhat tedious at times, especially when dealing with multiple slide links and double checking that all pathways worked correctly without errors. If I were to improve this assignment in the future, I would encourage a singular game design and focus on streamlining navigation and possibly adding more advanced elements such as timers or scoring systems to enhance engagement.

As a future educator focused on social studies, I see a ton of potential for using data collection tools such as Qualtrics to help me improve instruction and assess student understanding. For example, I could use surveys to gauge students’ prior knowledge before beginning a unit on topics like the Civil War or constitutional law, allowing me to tailor lessons to their existing understanding. Additionally, I could implement short post-lesson surveys to measure changes in student attitudes or comprehension, particularly when teaching complex or controversial topics such as political polarization or civic responsibility. These tools would also be useful for collecting anonymous student feedback on teaching methods, classroom climate, and engagement levels, which can help me refine instructional strategies over time. 

One technology-related skill I would like to learn next is advanced data analysis and visualization R, particularly for educational and survey data. My SMART goal is: Within the next three months, I will become proficient in using R to clean, analyze, and visualize survey data by completing at least two online tutorials and applying these skills to a small dataset from a Qualtrics survey. This goal is specific (learning R for data analysis), measurable (two tutorials and one applied project), achievable (given my prior exposure to data analysis), relevant (aligned with both teaching and research interests), and time-bound (three months). To accomplish this, I plan to dedicate a few hours each week to practice learning, starting with data cleaning (e.g., handling missing values), then moving to visualization using packages like ggplot2, and finally applying these skills to real data from my own projects.