EdTech Office's Summer Interns 2020

Over the summer of 2020, the EdTech Office has had the opportunity to hire 9 full-time interns and 3 work-study students to the team. With FASE planning to move to online learning in the fall, the EdTech Office will be supporting more and more professors and departments as the switch to online learning progresses. The interns are here to support every aspect of the office, including remote video editing, Quercus email support, and one-on-one consultations. Let’s introduce the team!

Alice Zhang (ECE2T2)

EdTech Support Documentation Writer & Editor

Hobbies/Interests: Writing, reading, swimming, playing Pokemon and Animal Crossing, gardening.

Office Experience

Recent Work: Finding and filling gaps in the current documentation by writing articles about institutionally supported tools and how they can better help the professor during an online semester.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: I really enjoy researching for and writing each article. Since I may be a lot more familiar with some tools than other people, it’s an interesting experience to write out the thought process and steps for performing certain tasks to people who may have never used the tool before or are not familiar with it.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: I really like that everything is pretty flexible, and that we have some creative freedom to do the tasks we are assigned. In addition, we get to work on what we enjoy while not necessarily being restricted to doing that type of task for the entire internship, so we can get a wider range of work experiences.

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: I think it’s a lot harder than it sounds for both the professor and student to adapt to online learning, but with the right tools, dedication, and proper communication between the class and the professor, it can be done. I like that online learning gives us students a lot more freedom, schedule-wise, and allows us to pace ourselves.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Encourage students to give feedback on methods to improve the quality of teaching. Accessibility is an especially important issue now that everything is online, and there are many tools out there that can help.

Justin Chong-Kit (ECE2T2)

Consultant & Blog/Documentation Writer

Hobbies/Interests: Composing music, drawing, sports, and playing games with friends.

Office Experience

Recent Work: I have recently been preparing and having consultations with professors to discuss plans for learning online. I have also been writing documentation and blogs (like this one!)

What I'm passionate about in my current role: Working and having discussions with professors while helping them create plans for online teaching. It's also interesting exploring different teaching tools and how they can suit each professor's teaching style.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: Being able to contribute to the development of online learning while working with a friendly and supportive team.

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: When organized and planned well, online learning can be very beneficial. Students can digest material at their own pace, and the ability to review content and lectures is extremely helpful. However, I do miss the collaboration and experience of in person learning.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Create an online community and connect with students on a human level. Also, be sure to outline the expectations of students, and what you as a professor can offer as support.

Karthik Srinivasa Murthy (M.Eng. 1st year)

Video Editor

Hobbies/Interests: Badminton, Photoshop, Eclectic music appreciation

Office Experience

Recent Work: Working with the Video Editing team.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: I enjoy interacting with the instructors and tailoring our support to their personal requirements to produce a high quality educational content. A perk of editing lecture/tutorial videos is that you learn some of the content in it when scrolling through the timeline multiple times.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: I love the super supportive team and our Fizzy Fridays!

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: I prefer in-person classes over online learning. This opinion maybe biased because I like interacting with the professors and other students. But, online learning is the best alternative during this time and I hope I can make the best use of it.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Please keep the lectures interactive and lively. If the lectures are long, consider having multiple short 5-10 minute breaks in-between.

Kate Ni (INDY2T2 + T1)

Consultant & Blog/Documentation Writer

Hobbies/Interests: Long walks and singing.

Office Experience

Recent Work: Preparations for consultations and an iPad support article.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: I’ve really liked meeting with different professors and being their sounding board for September online plans.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: Exclusive access to education webinars!

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: Definitely will miss interacting with classmates but can’t say I’ll hate learning in sweats at home.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Learning should be a group process! Create opportunities for students to learn with peers.

Mymy Tran (ECE2T2 + T1)

Blog/Teaching Tool Help Guide Writer & Video Tutorial Creator

Hobbies/Interests: Currently, my main hobbies are running, reading, playing music, and creating animations! Although, outside of quarantine, I love to play sports with friends (most if not all sports)!

Office Experience

Recent Work: I recently wrote a follow-up blog post on Scott Ramsay's webinar for OneNote! It was particularly interesting as he was my first year professor, and on top of being an excellent lecturer, his intent and passion of using technology in the classroom to enhance the experience of lectures is astounding. In the future, I hope to lead a consultation or webinar.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: The array of skills I am picking up from the day-to-day tasks I am assigned is really enjoyable. One day could be spent supporting a few webinars, where I get the chance to listen in on meaningful conversations, and another may just involve working on documentation!

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: The work environment is wonderful to work in. When I am in doubt, I know that there is a strong support around the office such as my fellow interns and supervisors, that I can easily reach out to.

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: Going in, I was a bit nervous when news about transitioning to online learning broke out because I already settled into a solid routine for my Winter 2019 semester and I heavily relied on tutorials and practicals as a way to solidify my understanding on course material. I thought that the valuable acquired knowledge from tutorials and practicals would be lost through this transition to online learning because of the loss of the interactive atmosphere where purposeful discussions could be facilitated. My overall impression now is that what separates a good and a bad online course is how well learning outcomes and material are organized and circulated.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: My opinion is that if professors make their directions clear for tutorials or labs, it makes navigating a task so much easier and leaves room to really understand and explore content. I like to know what my learning goals are for each lecture and having a clear view of what topics we are learning and how they connect to other topics already taught. That being said, I also personally find value in seeing a timeline for a course, a detailed timeline. It gives me a sense that things are methodical and that I will have enough time to complete tasks.

Nick Tran (ECE2T2)

Video Editor & Technical Documentation Writer

Hobbies/Interests: I'm really into technology and computer hardware, and right now I'm super interested in custom mechanical keyboards. In my free time you'll find me listening to music, chatting with friends, and playing video games.

Office Experience

Recent Work: A lot of technical documentation writing (on hardware and software options) and video editing.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: Researching different technologies and thinking about how they would fit into an educational aspect. I also really enjoy being a part of the course design process and being able to offer insights from a student perspective.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: The people are diverse and all fit into a wide range of roles. Everyone is super friendly, and being able to hear the experiences of fellow students, faculty and other staff is always interesting.

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: I really enjoyed it. It was a little strange at first, but once I found my rhythm it was really nice being able to attend lectures live, but also have the choice to watch them at a time better suited for my learning.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Build a community with your students. It's a lot harder without the face to face interaction, but record a video introducing yourself, and check up on students once in a while. It helps to add a sense of approachability and helps students feel like you are invested in their learning and growth.

Patsy Jian (Computer Science and Cognitive Science, 4th Year)

Technical Documentation Writer & Email Support Team

Hobbies/Interests: Digital painting, UX/UI, music (piano/guitar/bass clarinet).

Office Experience

Recent Work: Creating technical help guide documentation for instructors and teaching teams; helping instructors with technical issues.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: I am very interested in technology and its applications into the real world, especially how it can help to facilitate learning experiences. I would love to see how I can bring in the student perspective to create better solutions for problems and projects.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office:I really enjoy the team culture and supportive environment despite working under the virtual condition. I also love our Friday get-togethers!

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: I think that online learning is a more accessible and flexible form of education where students can benefit by being able to better pace themselves with recorded lectures. For some students, they might be more willing to participate in an online environment and others can also benefit from this increased engagement.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Have more opportunities for student participation so they can be more engaged in the course or during lectures.

Poornitha Suresh (Chem Eng. M.Eng. 1st year)

Email Support Team

Hobbies/Interests: Basketball and dance.

Office Experience

Recent Work: Technical email support. 

What I'm passionate about in my current role: I am a person who learns more through experience. In Quercus email support, you’ll have to perform certain tasks yourself to understand them e.g. testing out sandbox operations. I enjoy that part of the process very much. I also find video editing to be interesting.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: Amazing mentors, smart crowd, frizzy Fridays. And of course, learning and understanding latest technology!

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: I prefer in-class learning as I get to interact better with my peers. However, from the perspectives of both travel and overall learning experience, I find online learning more comfortable. Considering the ongoing pandemic, Online learning platforms are definitely a boon.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: I would ask them to definitely record the lectures and upload the same, in case of synchronous learning, I like going back to recorded content and re-watch the entire lecture at a 2X speed before an exam. I find that it helps score marks.

Priscilla Deng (ECE2T2)

Blog Poster & Email Support Team

Hobbies/Interests: I love rock climbing and playing video games!

Office Experience

Recent Work: Mostly writing our Weekly Quercus Updates (so instructors can be up to date with the latest improvements to Quercus and other affiliated tools), and I've also been adding information bit by bit to our EdTech FAQ page.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: Definitely helping instructors prepare their courses for online teaching. I had a terrible experience when we first transitioned in winter (changes to exams last minute, disregarding students' voices, lectures now linked to other institutions' Youtube videos), but my prof this summer (JRE410) did an excellent job in keeping online lectures genuine and enjoyable.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: I love the atmosphere! Everyone's so kind and cheery, making it enjoyable to hop into calls. Fizzy Fridays are a lot of fun - we all get together and play games. We've done Skribble.io, Cards Against Humanity (SFW version), Kahoot, and I'm excited to experience much more.

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: Same as remote working - it's been implanted long ago, and yet it is still considered a niche part of the system. While online courses do exist currently, they lack the same "feel" as in-person courses, mostly due to the lack of personal connection. I feel that our priority is to focus on that gap - to allow students to feel a sense of connection in an online lecture.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Hmm, I would say make an effort to listen to your students. When we first transitioned to online in March, I know a lot of fellow ECEs were upset by how the profs treated us. I understand that professors were under pressure to deliver, but students want to know that their opinions and voices matter, and their most direct contact are their professors. If professors turn a deaf ear or a blind eye, many students will be left helpless and enraged. To conclude, listen to your students! They're pretty funny and most are good peeps.

Ron Thomas (ECE2T2)

Blog Writer, Video Editor & Email Support Team

Hobbies/Interests: I love to learn new concepts and skills.

Office Experience

Recent Work: I have mostly been working on Webinar session summary and analysis blog posts. I have also been participating in providing Quercus support and video editing support.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: I love doing research and analysis about topics. Writing blog posts, providing Quercus support and video editing all go nicely into these passions.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: I find it interesting to gain an understanding of the struggles the faculty face when trying to adapt to an online environment and figuring out the best possible solution.

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: I love the freedom in timetable scheduling online learning could provide if done correctly.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Ensure that online lectures and content are recorded and uploaded promptly (ideally right after the synchronous lecture is conducted).

Shahzeb Ahmed (INDY2T2)

Video Editor

Hobbies/Interests: Debating, gaming and practicing for the LSAT.

Office Experience

Recent Work: Video Editing for professor's lectures and animating ScreenSteps.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: Although I enjoy video-editing as part of the remote-editing subteam, I most enjoy making spreadsheets and analyzing trends with Excel.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: Getting to work with professors in essentially designing lectures for designing courses is really cool. Getting to work with a great team of people while doing that is a great bonus.

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: I prefer online learning. I can stay with my family instead of living in Toronto or commuting. Plus, lectures are recorded so I can learn at a time that suits me.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Consider reducing the weight of exams/midterms and putting those marks towards group assignments, as a solution to academic integrity. Having several group projects with different group formations will reduce the likelihood of some students not putting in the work.

4th year CCIT Student Intern

Technical Documentation Writer & Email Support Team

Hobbies/Interests: Reading a good book, watching a good movie, cooking a new dish, going on a good hike

Office Experience

Recent Work: Primarily, I’ve been tackling email support and technical documentation for the EdTech website. I’ve also been able to join various meetings and conferences to get a better sense of professors’ perspectives, hopes, and goals for the upcoming academic year.

What I'm passionate about in my current role: I enjoy being able to experience the duties of the various different roles that the EdTech office plays, and to be presented with new tasks or viewpoints to enhance the overall quality of work that the office’s team strives to provide and achieve.

Best part of working in the EdTech Office: The best part of working in the EdTech Office is the amazing team of people that I work with, their contributions to the roles of the office, and their passion for what they do.

Online Learning Perspective

Impression of online learning: I believe online learning is completely subjective to the learner and how they are able to best process and retain information – while some people love it, others most certainly do not, and would rather be in a traditional, in-person lecture environment. As the majority of people will not physically be going back to campus in the fall, we must be able to adapt to the circumstances and to ensure that students are able to receive the best possible learning experience online.

Recommendation for professors teaching online: Personally, the most essential recommendation I would have for professors teaching online is that communication with students is imperative. As many students will not be able to receive face-to-face announcements during lectures, or directly be in the presence of their professors during office hours, keeping lines of communication open with students through announcements and emails is vital to ensuring that they are keeping on track, in the loop of what’s taking place, and staying engaged with the class.