The semester is halfway over. And what does that mean? Halfway through the stress of another semester and one step closer to graduation and the real world. But as I get closer to entering the what they tell me is the real world, the more I realize that I am nowhere near prepared to be part of it. I've found myself frantically grasping in my classes to find things to help me with my future. Luckily, this class actually has been fairly helpful with that.
Nonfiction Book
Admittedly, the bits and pieces I read of Digital Culture by Charlie Gere were a while ago but a quick review reminded me of some key things that I learned from it.One thing that struck me the most is that as much as it may seem like the changes in technology have been an abrupt surge over the past 20 years or so, it has actually been a gradual wave throughout the 20th century and even before then as well. In the grand scheme of things, yes it has been a quick change. But those who have been willing have been able to dip their toes in and get a feel for the digital age before everything digital seems to have taken control.
Fiction Book
My fiction book, Lord of the Flies, and the theme I pulled away from it go along well with what I learned from Digital Culture. While we have had time to adjust to the technology in the digital age, it seems as though we have yet to adjust to the social rules that accompany that technology. We have yet to find where certain boundaries are: how much is too much to post on Facebook, when have you spent too much time online, when are you too connected to your phone, etc. To be really in tune with the digital world, how far out of the real world must we become? And what does it do to us when this happens? If we're following the same rules that applied in Lord of the Flies, becoming that disjointed with our two societies can break us down. We need to find a way to unite the two and avoid making one less sophisticated than the other.
Self-Directed Learning
I struggled with finding my niche in the class at the beginning. As was mentioned many times, there was a lot going on in the Google Plus stream and I didn't know where my voice could fit in. After deciding that I would take my interests and try to apply them though, I found that I would do a little research here and find a little social proof there. I became really interested in music sharing and now, thanks to my searching and asking, I have a folder full of sites. Once I became involved in the lit mag group the same thing happened all over again. Even if I didn't learn a crazy amount digital stuff, I did learn that simply asking people what they know and using them as a resource is a valuable and powerful tool. No way in a million years could I have discovered all that I learned just by looking around online and standing back. Once I tried to get involved and get other people involved I was finally able to see the real Web 2.0 in action.
Student Influence
A turning point for me in my learning was a conversation I had with Gwendolyn Hammer and Tara Pina on Google Plus about gaming wikis. I realized that the things I had to say could be valuable and the interests that I had could be applied. I've also enjoyed reading Tasha Watts' blog and the things she has to say, particularly her initial post that launched us into the elit mag group.
Other Things
Crowdsourcing and the Longtail were probably two of the more interesting concepts for me to learn about. Particularly when I could apply them to the areas that I was really interested in. I feel like learning more about these terms, as well as others, has helped me to better understand how to use Web 2.0 for myself. It is a vast world of knowledge and if I can apply it correctly, it has great potential to help me in the future.
Nonfiction Book
Admittedly, the bits and pieces I read of Digital Culture by Charlie Gere were a while ago but a quick review reminded me of some key things that I learned from it.One thing that struck me the most is that as much as it may seem like the changes in technology have been an abrupt surge over the past 20 years or so, it has actually been a gradual wave throughout the 20th century and even before then as well. In the grand scheme of things, yes it has been a quick change. But those who have been willing have been able to dip their toes in and get a feel for the digital age before everything digital seems to have taken control.
Fiction Book
My fiction book, Lord of the Flies, and the theme I pulled away from it go along well with what I learned from Digital Culture. While we have had time to adjust to the technology in the digital age, it seems as though we have yet to adjust to the social rules that accompany that technology. We have yet to find where certain boundaries are: how much is too much to post on Facebook, when have you spent too much time online, when are you too connected to your phone, etc. To be really in tune with the digital world, how far out of the real world must we become? And what does it do to us when this happens? If we're following the same rules that applied in Lord of the Flies, becoming that disjointed with our two societies can break us down. We need to find a way to unite the two and avoid making one less sophisticated than the other.
Self-Directed Learning
I struggled with finding my niche in the class at the beginning. As was mentioned many times, there was a lot going on in the Google Plus stream and I didn't know where my voice could fit in. After deciding that I would take my interests and try to apply them though, I found that I would do a little research here and find a little social proof there. I became really interested in music sharing and now, thanks to my searching and asking, I have a folder full of sites. Once I became involved in the lit mag group the same thing happened all over again. Even if I didn't learn a crazy amount digital stuff, I did learn that simply asking people what they know and using them as a resource is a valuable and powerful tool. No way in a million years could I have discovered all that I learned just by looking around online and standing back. Once I tried to get involved and get other people involved I was finally able to see the real Web 2.0 in action.
Student Influence
A turning point for me in my learning was a conversation I had with Gwendolyn Hammer and Tara Pina on Google Plus about gaming wikis. I realized that the things I had to say could be valuable and the interests that I had could be applied. I've also enjoyed reading Tasha Watts' blog and the things she has to say, particularly her initial post that launched us into the elit mag group.
Other Things
Crowdsourcing and the Longtail were probably two of the more interesting concepts for me to learn about. Particularly when I could apply them to the areas that I was really interested in. I feel like learning more about these terms, as well as others, has helped me to better understand how to use Web 2.0 for myself. It is a vast world of knowledge and if I can apply it correctly, it has great potential to help me in the future.
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