Reflecting on the Semester

It's been a good semester, and I've learned a lot and done some awesome things.  So today I'm going to talk about those things.

Self-directed Learning/Personal Blog Posts
This class emphasized self-directed learning quite a bit.  We were supposed to take charge of our education and seek out information on our own.  I talked about my learning a little in some of my blog posts.

I studied several trends in digital culture, including hactivism, amateur business (including blogging and vlogging), online television watching, time-wasting and impatience (which I related to Dickens' Hard Times), and another collaborative novel, Atlanta Nights.  Yes, I was all over the place.  At the surface level, I talked about anything that caught my attention for more than five seconds.  However, in this post, I demonstrated that I actually did have a theme.  I was becoming more digitally cultured as I learned about these things, and I showed how our culture is progressing.

For the most part, I used Google+ to give examples of what we learned about in class.  I mentioned  Teach With Portals and Type Racer, both of which use gamification to teach skills.  When we were talking about remix culture, I posted an article about Romeo and Juliet in the modern age, and then discussed The Lizzie Bennet Diaries webseries.

I read Hard Times by Charles Dickens and discussed it in several different ways.  First, the speed of the Industrial Revolution is similar to our ever changing digital culture.  Next, the loss of the individual in the utilitarian theory of Mr. Gradgrind relates to the question of identity in online avatars (which we discussed in our collaborative novel).  As mentioned above, I discussed time and impatience in the novel and today.  Finally, I found the theme of measuring in Hard Times, and related that to badges, "liking" on Facebook, and number of hits.  The novel helped me notice trends in my culture that I may not have seen otherwise, and I started to wonder if these trends were good or bad.

Also, I read Bolter and Grusin's non-fiction book, Remediation.  After reading about immediacy and hypermediacy, I constantly noticed whether or not I forgot that I was working with an interface while using various media.  If I was constantly brought back into contact with the interface, I thought, "Hey, this is hypermedia.  Are my senses being satiated in order to create the illusion of reality?  If not, why am I using this?"  It was interesting to ask myself how the media imitated real life, and I was more aware of the imitation.

Collaboration
This was a big part of our group project.  My personal contributions included the following: after we all came up with ideas for our novel, I came up with a basic outline for the plot.  The group gave me feedback, and I came back with a revised version, and then we tweaked it enough that we all liked it.  Then we all created a a bio for various characters.  My job was to flesh out James' background and personality.  I also wrote the basic outline for two chapters for other contributors to work from.  After we had the site up, I helped write a section of the novel.  Finally, I found authors to help us out.  I got a few friends to do some sections, and I also wrote to the Quark writing club, talked to my creative writing class, and a few other organizations, though I haven't seen any evidence that these latter groups ended up contributing.

I collaborated in other ways as well.  I reviewed the first iteration of the Monster Mashup group's project, which I hope was helpful.  Also, I submitted a poem to the Menagerie group for their site.  In general, I tried to give feedback when I could during class presentations and on Google+, and I found additional information when it seemed helpful (like when we talked about net neutrality and I posted a review of Tim Wu's book The Master Switch).

Others' Assistance
All of my group members were very helpful.  They each inspired me.  In particular, Jason Hamilton, our group leader, kept me excited and motivated to finish our project.  Another group member, Heather Anderson, helped me with topics outside of our project, too.  Her blog focused on the good and bad of digital culture, and it was always helpful to see different sides to various subjects, including RFID tags and online connections.  I've already mentioned in previous posts how Gwendolyn Hammer has helped me understand remix culture and Machinima. 

Digital Literacy
I have definitely developed my digital literacy through consumption this semester.  I began using Pinterest, Google Reader, and Google Sites for the first time, and used blogs and Google Docs more efficiently.  These sites may seem very basic to others, but we all have to start somewhere.  These have been helpful in and outside of class.  For instance, I have used Pinterest to bookmark and find recipes for my dinner group (yes, I'm no longer just using it for Doctor Who!), and I waste less time thanks to Google Reader, since I no longer have to check through a million sites for updates; I just check Reader, and I don't have to look any further.

Most of my online creating has been through various blogs.  My individual blog was useful to get my personal thoughts down, and on the group blog I posted a character bio and plot outline.  Also, because of what I learned about amateur business and beta in this class, I started a creative writing blog, which may eventually bring me some revenue, and where I post rough drafts of poems and stories I've written.

Finally, I have connected with others online a lot this semester.  Most of it was due to our collaborative project.  I contacted friends, family, clubs, and people found through Google+ to help with the novel.  Also, I connected with my group members on Google Docs and on Google+ in a much more efficient way than I have before.  I love using Google Docs to do preliminary collaboration on a project now.  I see that it's a good alpha- and beta-testing site to use when you're starting a group discussion.  Then you can move it to more sophisticated sites and services. 

That's one thing I've come to understand better this semester: once you consume, create, and connect, you have to start that process over again.  After we received feedback about our group blog, we looked at other possible venues, and moved our project to a Google Site/Wiki.  We made it as accessible as possible, then asked others to evaluate it, and submit material.  After more feedback, we started the process again.  Digital literacy has become a question of seeking social proof, and using that to improve the way I consume, create, and connect. 

Final Exam Questions

Objective:

1.  In Bolter and Grusin's Remediation: Understanding New Media, what is one difference between hypermediacy and immediacy?
a) Hypermediacy refers to media where you are so immersed in the media that you forget that you are using the interface, while immediacy refers to media where you are constantly brought back into contact with the interface.
b) Hypermediacy refers to media where you are constantly brought back into contact with the interface, while immediacy refers to media where you are so immersed in the media that you forget that you are using the interface.
c) Hypermediacy refers to media that represents old media in a new way, while immediacy refers to media that is completely different from old media and does not draw on the past.
d) Hypermediacy refers to media that is completely different from old media and does not draw on the past, while immediacy refers to media that represents old media in a new way.
Answer found here

2. _________ is a form of civil disobedience in digital culture.  Examples include e-mail bombing, web page defacing, and web sit-ins.
Answer found here

3. Machinima uses video game engines to create movies.  However, Gwendolyn Hammer points out that not all movies made with video games are Machinima.  Why is that?
a) Machinima requires that you make your own story out of the game, not simply record the game being played.
b) Machinima requires that you use Bandicam to record it.
c) Machinima can only be done using PC games, not console games.
d) Machinima can only be done on games with a "Theater Mode."
Answer found here

Essay Questions:

1. Although our society is dependent on digital media, that does not mean we are addicted to it.  Digital media allows us to do great things we couldn't do any other way, and we need it in order to get along, but that is not a bad thing.
See blog post here.

2. As Heather Anderson states, in the end, the majority will find the correct answer.  Although Web 2.0 can sometimes lead to misinformation as many non-professionals comment online, when more people contribute and collaborate there is more accuracy as the many correct one another.
See blog post here.