Click on the image below to access Marwa’s blog.

I’ve known Marwa since winter 2020 when we studied in ETEC 524 together. Later, in the fall of 2020, we collaborated on the final project in another course. Being one of a small number of ESL learners in the program, I can relate to Marwa’s journey as a student at many levels. One obvious connection is that we are both immigrant women, bringing linguistic and cultural diversity to our learning community. On the other hand, precisely due to these differences, we at times might feel marginalized.

Authoring Tool

Marwa and I are both using UBC Blogs to host our content.

The first thing that I noticed about Marwa’s webspace is that she designed her own logo, which speaks to her literacy as a coder/web designer, and also the willingness to take time to make things look polished and put together.

Next, she creates an organized, well-designed space for her reader by using different design elements, such as text boxes and icons. She also added the ‘About’ page to introduce her reader to the blog and herself, the author – something I haven’t included in my blog due to time constraints.

Taking into consideration the course limitations, such as the inability to talk with the classmates, or the lack of weekly forums (so grateful for that!), Marwa communicates with others by leaving comments on their blogs. She also takes time to revisit the blogs and add to the discussions started in the comment boxes – something that is hard to keep track of, in my opinion, but Marwa is doing it masterfully.

To sum up, I feel grateful and honored to be studying alongside Marwa. Her commitment to lifelong learning is contagious, and I have learned a lot from her.

References:

Cazden, C., Cope, B., Fairclough, N., Gee, J., Kalantzis, M., Kress, G., Luke, A., Luke, C., Michaels, S. and Nakata, M. (1996). A pedagogy of multiliteracies: Designing social futures. Harvard educational review, 66(1), pp.60-92.