This course was very different from much of the other writing that I have done throughout my academic career. For most writing classes and assignments for other classes, I have written in a narrative or term paper style. Through this class, I have expanded my composition skills into a more versatile set of capabilities. I have learned to fine-tune my writing not just when in a long essay or composition style, but also with different platforms and styles. I have become a lot more confident in creating multimedia content.

 

One thing that I liked about this class is that it offered many transferrable, practical skills. Blogs, reports, and visual media are all skills that are useful to nearly every profession, especially as we become more dependent on technology. As someone studying psychology and counseling, I think that I could definitely benefit from creating some type of blog or website. Practicing blogging and coding helped me refine skills that can help me accomplish this. I am also glad that I got more practice with professional/technical report writing, which gave me valuable skills to potentially set me apart in the workplace in the future.

 

Of course, gaining these skills did not come without challenges. To start, coding and Github were completely foreign concepts to me. I still am not completely proficient in the two, but the practice opened up a lot of new possibilities to learn and expand my knowledge and skills. Additionally, I always find myself challenged when faced with collaborative projects. I am grateful that I am gaining experience with projects like these, though, since they will be very prominent in the professional world. Learning to effectively work with others is such a valuable and necessary skill.

 

Before this class, I considered myself fairly good at utilizing technology. I quickly realized that there was so much that I did not know and still had to learn. I was introduced to so many new programs and skills through this course. Although I will be learning continuously for the rest of my life, I feel significantly more confident in my ability to utilize different aspects of technology now.

 

If I were to define “digital writing”, it would consist of so much more than just writing. I think that being proficient in digital writing means being digitally literate, educated in different uses and benefits of technology, and being able to efficiently and effectively communicate to an online audience. Digital writing has opened so many doors for writers, educators, and people of countless other professions. More people are now able to communicate their message and share it with anyone in the world.

 

 

After watching the screencast of the Insomnia Cookies, I noticed a few problems:

• on the menu, a dozen cookies (which we were assigned to order) is called a “Sugar Rush” and does not indicate that it is 12 specifically, making it difficult to find
• users are required to re-enter information more than necessary
• the user had to spend more time looking around for what she needed than what should be necessary when ordering something online

I chose to analyze Reddit.com for the accessibility audit. At first glance, the homepage looks very overwhelming. Many people are familiar with Reddit and use it frequently, so they are aware of how to use it. The accessibility evaluation even noted fewer errors than some other websites that I personally find more user friendly. However, if it is someone’s first time on the site, attempting to navigate or use it with no instruction can be quite difficult. Getting the most out of this website requires a lot of outside knowledge. I have known about Reddit for a few years and am still not completely sure what its main use is intended to be.

 

Some specific errors that the tool found were empty links, linked images without alternative text, and missing form labels. Many of the items can be clicked on and lead to other things but it is not always made clear. Other things were marked as “alerts” rather than “errors”, which were many of the things I have noticed about the website. Some of these things included small text and multiple links for the same thing. Reddit tends to have a lot of text crammed together in a small area, sometimes making the content difficult to read and navigate. There are two or three areas that could be considered a “main menu”, so making that more clear would be beneficial. I personally do not find the website to be very aesthetically pleasing, which I think would improve the webpage tremendously. I believe that the website does have a lot to offer and a few changes could make it more accessible to even more people.