Tech Tinkers: End of Gr11 Reflection

Tech Tinkers has been an interesting experience to be a leader. Leadership positions were usually reserved for more senior members of the student led service, and thus this was also a first time for me. Although at first I found this new role quite challenging and intimidating, I think now that I’ve grown more accustomed to the habits and regular activities of the service its far less scary. Being part of a leadership position I think that there’s an expectation and responsibility to be far more active in what you do throughout the service, but perhaps I think I found it satisfactory to just keep up the status quo… Instead of constantly trying to find new “acquisitions’ like partners to give or take tech… These more interesting options never really floated into my conscious and looking back I never should’ve waited for it to float in. Rather take action and initiative to do so.

Being part of a position that overlooks others has meant that I had to often plan and do preparations outside what was previously the norm. This meant more frequent communication, and on this front, I think Techa Tinkers has helped. Obviously growing up through puberty and what not has meant a more mature attitude but I would credit this to more and more exposure to conversations with adults and having this practice has meant its more comfortable.

SERVICE LO4 – Commitment and dedication to participation. I think that even in the time of Covid-19 it’s still very important to find many opportunities to help the community in which you belong. Also being a leader of Tech Tinker’s college service, there is also a responsibility to aid in the process and continue to dedicate me to working towards our objectives. I think that this has brought a focus away from the traditional more menial tasks which we have in a session like organizing and fixing, and instead, we can work on other things such as branding, self-advocacy and also further improve our knowledge base for future members of the service. In the online sessions closer to the end of the academic year, we worked on doing research for future projects such as upcycling old components, researching how we could also reuse the scrap parts, and potentially use a 3D printer to rehouse and repurpose the old tech that we had available. I enjoyed this activity a lot because to me it was similar to what we previously did, trying to create new value in these parts that are no longer suitable to their original place.

LO6 – Engagement with a global issue of significance. Something I realized while I was working on self-advocacy is the importance of our contributions and donations to the partners we work with. One key example has been that of Blue Dragon Children’s Foundation in which over the last few years we’ve donated dozens of technologies like laptops, tablets, and phones. By having aided them in closing the digital divide, we’ve been able to ensure that they are able to provide quality experiences to their foundation at perhaps a lower cost which is vital for an NGO. This was why I chose to work on self-advocacy, as it allows for valuable time of reflection on what our organization has been able to achieve over time! Although the engagement with this activity might be limited in the following years, I look forward to seeing, and if the time fits, to continue to contribute to the activity.