Overall, my favorite part of the class was definitely the blog. It was actually kind of fun do to assignments in this format and I've enjoyed it so much I am considering starting a personal blog just to see what happens. I learned a lot about the set up and maintenance of blogs, information I never knew before, and now I definitely feel comfortable running one and putting the fact that I have experience with them on a resume. A lot of the jobs I've looked into have an online writing component and I think this experience will be invaluable. Without the class to force me to do so, I doubt I would have ever just jumped into a blog, so I think the assignment as a whole was a very positive part of the class.
I liked the format of the discussion board interactions as well. I enjoyed the fact that we were encouraged to bring our personal experiences and opinions to the board, rather than being encouraged to simply repeat what the book says just to prove we've read it.
The assignments were interesting and enjoyable for the most part. The internet abstinence assignment was particularly eye-opening for me. I honestly had no idea how much I depend on it and forcing me to reject it and then write about the experience has made me realize it in a way that wouldn’t have been possible otherwise. I think I have a whole new perspective now thanks to the assignment.
The survey and letter assignments were probably my least favorites. They weren’t particularly difficult, I just found it difficult to arrange times for my interviews and to force myself to sit down and write an actual letter. I’ve avoided handwriting just about everything I can since I got my first computer around age 11.
I really enjoyed the way that this class is so integrated with the subject material. So many classes seem to completely ignore the subject being studied, but this one embraces the internet and cyber communication with open arms. I honestly never thought I’d get to do an assignment about Myspace or Facebook, or get credit for joining a discussion group and then writing about my experience.
This class has really opened my eyes to the different methods of communication and the advantages and disadvantages of both. I never really thought about the downside of our ease of access to information and lightning-fast communication. It all seems so convenient and advantageous that we never really stop to consider what we’re giving up. The letter assignment and the internet abstinence really made this clear to me.
I’d say definitely keep the abstinence, myspace, and internet community assignments. I thought all three of them did a good job of forcing us as students to consider the issues and concepts in the texts and how they apply to our own lives.
If I were to cut something out, I’d probably remove the letter assignment simply because I think it’s the one from which I learned the least. Everyone seemed to find exactly what they expected. The younger generations depend far more on the internet than the elder, mainly because the younger people grew up with the technology and are consequently more familiar with it than those who had already-established routines when the technologies became widespread. I definitely learned from the assignment, it just wasn’t as eye-opening to me as the others during the term.
The wild card assignment was a great one, as well. Definitely keep it in. It was interesting to read what people chose to do.
1 comment:
I understand about avoiding handwriting! Even when I take notes, I type them on the computer! I enjoyed the letter writing assigment though, I just thought it was a fun change of pace, even though my hand hurt afterwards! As for the interviews, I did them by email and IM, except for my grandfather's interview. I certainly didn't have the time to sit down and do them either - and this being an internet class I figured why not use CMC to conduct the interview?
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