Author: ayshaa1099

In the second lesson of the semester, we practised coding (HTML) using the application Dreamweaver on the MAC computers. As soon as Mark informed us that this was what the lesson would be on, I had already lost interest due to a previous negative experience with coding. However, I thought I would enjoy it slightly more due to the MAC computers, but I quickly developed a major hatred towards these computers. Whenever I scroll up, the page moves down?? This really annoyed me, and I started losing interest in the lesson.

First, we opened up Dreamweaver which is an app used to ‘… design, code and publish websites’. (Adobe.com, 2019). Where some of my peers found this a task as it was a new technology for them, I was already familiar with it and therefore knew what I was doing. Dreamweaver can be used to make websites and that was the purpose of our lesson. It was quite simple to use if we were following Mark however everyone got a bit lost at one point as we all missed either a comma here or spelt a word wrong there. It did have its limitations; to be able to use Dreamweaver effectively, you need to learn about HTML, URL and other coding. This is needed to be able to create the website pages, add in text, change fonts etc.

HTML stands for Hyper Text Mark-up Language – I can never remember the last bit! HTML is used to create the website. URL stands for Unique Resource Locator and this is the website link that would navigate a person to your website.

Although I didn’t have a lot of interest to begin in, I copied Mark’s actions on HTML coding which he showed us on the projector board. This was good for me as I’m a visual learner, so I was able to watch him and put it to memory, so I could copy it later on. and then went to help fellow peers and I began to be more interested in the lesson because I was able to help my friends who did not quite understand how to use Dreamweaver. According to Vygotsky’s theory, this led to me being the More Knowledgeable Other (MKO). An MKO refers to ‘… someone who has a better understanding… with respect to a particular task, process, or concept’ (McLeod, 2014). Therefore, this shows that an MKO doesn’t have to be a teacher, rather it can be someone who has more knowledge, and as I had used Dreamweaver, HTML and CSS before, I was the More Knowledgeable Other.

We also started doing CSS which is Cascading Style Sheets. This is changing the fonts, the colours, the background colours etc. Although I enjoyed doing this, I found it quite boring because I spent 2 years doing coding in college. However, I found it quite entertaining watching my friends as they were doing it wrong and getting aggravated when they made a tiny error that caused a big change. I had one bit of my CSS that didn’t work because I forgot to put a comma, however, I wasn’t as fussed because I found the error quite quickly and didn’t have any other errors. When my CSS did work, I felt quite accomplished and happy that I got myself into it rather than losing full focus.

For some reason, my website wouldn’t work on internet explorer. Mark reassured me that this had nothing to do with the coding I had done, especially after I had checked it three times! When Charlotte said hers didn’t work I felt slightly better. I still don’t know what was wrong so unfortunately, I was unable to see what my website looked like once uploaded.

One thing that really bugged me that lesson was a comment from one of my classmates. He called me over and asked me for help and I told him one moment as I was helping Neelam. As I explained to Neelam what she had done wrong and how to correct it, he made a remark saying, “Stop acting like you know it all”. This made me demotivated to help others because that negative comment on my knowledge made me feel as though I was acting too cocky, even though after this, my friends were still asking for my help.

We worked in a formal setting- the classroom- and we were working formally following instructions. If others were to use the same software, they could do it in an informal setting such as at home, yet Dreamweaver is used to create websites so to create that requires coding which is formal learning.

Overall, I feel as though the lesson worked well for everyone. At the end of it, everybody’s coding worked, and I don’t know about everyone else, but I definitely felt accomplished!

In Mark’s first lesson, we played a game of Kahoot. This helped to break the ice between ourselves and the new lecturer. I felt as though it was a very good way to start off a new semester as everyone was included, and we had a good competition between us. Although some people weren’t doing as well, it was good when we cheered them on when they did finally get a question right. Even though it was a long quiz, Mark was very informative in telling us why the logo matched the name, and why it couldn’t have been the other options. This increased my interest in the rest of the game as I was interested in finding out the background information of the logos. One aspect I especially thought was good, was that Mark had already got some information on each of us. This meant that he knew most of our names even if we had only met once or twice. He also knew some of the meanings behind our names, for example, he knew that Sidra meant stars. He has also had a very funny nature which helps ease us all into this class. I especially liked the fact that he knew my name Aysha, was after the Prophet’s wife. This shows how he has researched, and it made me feel quite happy that he knew, as people outside of my religion wouldn’t necessarily know this.

I also created my own Kahoot at home. I was quite excited to make it because I did it on a topic that I enjoy- Harry Potter. I found it quite easy to create my own quiz on Kahoot and didn’t face any difficulties. When we did try to do it as a class, the MAC computers were very slow therefore we didn’t manage to get past the 2^nd question.

On 22nd February, we took our first step into Mark’s classroom. My initial thought… ‘Oh God! This class is small, stuffy and the computers are practically bigger than the tables!’ After a quick introduction, I began to feel more comfortable as he didn’t treat us like we were students, he treated as adults.

Today, 7th May, I have come to the conclusion that Mark isn’t THAT bad of a teacher 😉
If I’m purely honest, he was one of my favourite teachers this year. He never raised his voice nor got frustrated if we were talking/did not understand. Would I recommend him as a teacher? Definitely 😀