Reflections on Week 7

This week, I took a different approach to participating in our class. Rather than reading all the assigned articles, I focused on exploring the tools highlighted for the week and familiarizing myself with how they work. In doing so, I ended up reading a similar article to the one by Dennen and He (2024) that was assigned last week. This article, by Dennen et al. (2023), focuses on college students’ digital competencies and how their everyday social media habits translate (or don't translate) to academic and professional settings.

This context helped frame my experiences trying out Discord and Parlay, two tools that offer very different ways of encouraging participation.

Discord, which I’ve used for years in gaming contexts, revealed a lot when used in more educational or community-centered ways. As part of my observation assignment, I joined the Discord servers for two esports teams: Fnatic and G2. In Fnatic, I was active; in G2, I mostly observed. The difference was stark. Fnatic felt like a true community. Conversations were organic and familiar, with inside jokes and shared rituals. G2, on the other hand, felt more like a crowd I was just passing through. What makes Discord so unique is that, even with its many added features, it remains a messaging-first platform. Its structure naturally supports ongoing, low-pressure communication. Being able to use a gamertag instead of my real name also helped me feel more at ease when participating.

Parlay, on the other hand, felt structured and purposeful. It gave me learning goals, discussion prompts, and even a secret identity (Grace Hopper!) to use during the discussion. When I first responded, I was the only one there, but later, someone commented on my post. Their reply challenged my perspective and pushed me to think more deeply about how I understood the reading. It was a small interaction, but it made the experience feel much more valuable.

Both tools reinforced a core idea from the reading: the design of digital tools significantly influences participation. This week made me reflect on how tools shape tone, and how thoughtful structure can guide more meaningful interaction.


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