When I look back at how much we've covered in this class in such a short period of time, it really blows my mind! Before this class, I honestly felt very computer savvy and the person so many of my family and friends turned to for computer help (even more so for internet help), but this class has made me realize how much I DON'T (or at least, didn't) know about the Internet! There are so many tools we've already utilized that I hadn't even heard of, some that I'd heard of but dare not have used, and some that I'd only scratched the surface of its abilities! And I feel like I've totally been missing out.
Google Docs, for example, was something I'd never even heard of! I've been using google for years, but only for the search engine, maps, and email. I had also heard of Google Wave recently, but hadn't gotten around to playing with it (maybe if I had, I'd have heard of/seen/experienced google docs). Or YouTube... I had obviously clicked on a link here and there, or found a music video when I was at work and had a song in my head.. but I'd never posted anything! And I'd never used it to actually learn something (as terrible as it sounds... but it's true!) Now I have a bit of a love affair going on with Michael Wesch and his teachings. And blogging.. ohhh blogging. I think I've "set up" about 3 blogs, but never had actually blogged anything. Now look at me! I'm a-bloggin' all the time!
Something I've found interesting since joining this class is how much more in-tune I am with just how much Web 2.0 related topics are mentioned on the news or even in television sitcoms. Or how much a part of Web 2.0 my friends are and I'd never noticed! Just the other night, we went out for a friend's birthday and one of our friends made a funny comment.. another friend immediately whips out his phone and posts it on facebook! Micro-blogging! (and before I didn't even know exactly what microblogging was!)
At this point, we have developed (and are continuing to develop) a surface level knowledge of lots of things.. I'm looking forward to having a more in-depth knowledge of a handful of the more important Web 2.0 sites. Now, how we're going to determine which are the "more important" may be a challenge.. but maybe a project where we can decide which resources are going to help us best? Just a thought.
I have definitely felt a little overwhelmed a couple of times in this class (okay.. maybe a lot overwhelmed sometimes). I think it's partially because of just how much we are covering, but I think it's mostly because of the amount of work we have each week. It's not hard work, but it is time consuming and I've found myself falling behind (and I reeeally hate that). And I feel like sometimes it's preventing me from being able to dedicate time to delve deeper into the tools or do additional research about related topics and tools, just because I don't have the time. Again, I feel like this would be helped by narrowing our scope as time goes on and have more in-depth looks at fewer tools each week.
I'm really proud of the work I've done in this class so far. I look at my website and through the past modules and I'm amazed at the stuff we've covered already! I also am really enjoying blogging about the experience, as a lot of times I discover things about what we've watched or learned that I didn't even realize at the time.. like talking about it (or, in this case, blogging about it) helps me to formulate more questions and thoughts about a particular topic. To be honest, I was worried that blogging would be cumbersome and annoying, but it's worked to be the exact opposite. It helps me further my knowledge even more, as it pushes me to delve deeper into a topic and into my own thoughts and reflections.
I'm enjoying the class a LOT and each week I'm excited to see what we'll learn about next.
Hey Alana- these kinds of posts warm my heart (smile). A few comments:
ReplyDeleteOnce you know something, you see it everywhere. I've heard of this happening with everything from shipping containers, to plastic bags stuck in trees. I even notice now when a minivan like mine is around (old design honda odyssey) - and for years people with jeeps, motorcycles, or beetles have had a unique affinity for one another.
One of our challenges (and indeed a life challenge) is the deep/shallow debate. We could, for example, take a tool like youtube or flickr and go over every single feature (and believe, me, there are a LOT) but at the expense of getting more coverage. I wonder (out loud) if it would make sense for each person to attack one tool of their choosing that's not yet been selected by another... Then there's the issue of depth of understanding (as opposed to depth of using) - does social media change societies? How does it affect our lives, really, and on what basis? Do we want to actually put together research and submit a research paper? Or is a practical project better?
Perhaps the key is to revisit your objectives and your job description and ask- what do I really want to get out of this. And then let's discuss that as a group and get to a conclusion some time mid-Oct so we can still get it done.
d.i.