MID-TERM (spring-2010)

After studying media for eight weeks in this class, what have you learned? Please be specific.

I have learned many things in this class. How to use an RSS reader, how to use twitter, how to define each of our power tool sets, and much more. I have such a fun time in this class, I don't even know where the time has gone, and how I was able to get this much information in such a short period of time. I have to hand it to you Dr. W, I havent learned this much in any of my other classes, and if I ever have, it deffinately wasn't this much fun!



What is the most important thing you have learned about yourself as a ..... in this class so far?


Critical Reader: I know that even if there isn't something I am going to enjoy reading about, that there always seems to be some underlying fun facts that I find when I have accomplished the reading task. After I have finished I feel smarter, and I know that there was useful information that I will know for later on, if needed.


Writer: As a writer, I have learned how to be more outspoken, with the blogging. I am very critical of my own work, but I have learned to be more free, and actually care more about what I am writing about.

Critical thinker: I need to work on becoming a better critical thinker. Media has been a very big part of my life, and I think that I am now realizing how much of a toll it has taken on me. Whether it was wanting to look like a face on a magazine, or have the latest new trends, I think that I will be more rational now when I think about myself compared to those who are featured in magazines.



What's one thing YOU would do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?


I think I would have studied more with the power tool sets. Not that I didn't study.. just study more with them. Even if I just took the time outside of my own blog and used them on a television commercial/show or even a movie, I would have a better understanding of each of them. I think that I also could have picked out ones that I wasn't so familiar with and tried to sit down and find advertisements, or shows that featured them. Over-all I think I am doing alright with the power tool sets, and that I am being a little too critical :P.



What's one thing you would like ME to do differently this first half of the semester if you were to take this class again?


I think that it would be useful to use the powertools more in the begining of this class. That way we would be more used to them, and have a better feel for the use. The excersices that we did do in class were great, but I still felt a little lost and nervous about memorizing them all in such a short period.




Please comment on the usefulness of the course blog, your personal blog, our films, and our book as learning tools.


The Course Blog: I like the way that as a class, we get to spend time viewing eachothers thoughts and work, as well as getting our own out there for everyone else to see. It is a useful way for us to be able to interact with the age of convergence.


My Personal Blog: I found it very useful to be able to set up our own blogging space. This I feel is going to be useful to students, as well as myself, for when we do get placed in jobs where we are able to say "Yes! I know how to do this!", and possibbly make a difference when being selected for that job. :)


The Films: I loved the films that we viewed during our classes. These films were chosen well because of the relativeness to not only what's going on now, but for all of the ideas and topics we cover through our textbook, and class discussions.


The Book: I have been in so many classes where the textbook is so outdated, that it still has Bill Clinton as our president. I love the fact that this textbook that was chosen for our class is relevant as well to our time. Thank you for that!