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.

As I have grown up, the internet has always played some kind of role. From some of my earliest memories, my family had a home computer, so my siblings and I became familiar with it from a young age. I remember playing Disney games and playing with online coloring books all the time as a child. My parents set a lot of restrictions on our internet use (understandably), but it was still one of our favorite “toys”. The internet was so much simpler 15+ years ago and was mostly for practical uses. Websites that featured games and activities for younger children were fairly simple and not nearly as sophisticated as they are today. I would say that my internet use began to change when it became incorporated in my schoolwork, around second or third grade. That was when I realized all that the internet really had to offer, other than fun games to play when I was bored and my mom would let me. The internet then became a more integral part of my education. I am grateful that I grew up learning to use a computer and the internet because it has made a lot of things simpler and given me a lot of skills that may have been difficult to master had I started later in life.

 

One of our favorite sites growing up, circa 2001.

Tool: MyOpenMath

https://www.myopenmath.com/

 

What does it replace? Online supplemental math programs, primarily MyMathLab, a program used with Pearson textbooks.

 

MyOpenMath is a website that offers different free math textbooks and supplementary lessons and problems to work through and practice. A student can use this website to practice additional problems and learn more on their own, or teachers can choose to implement these free textbooks and the included study material in their classes. They offer books in many different levels of math, ranging from basic arithmetic to calculus and business calculus.

 

When it comes to higher education, MyOpenMath could be extremely beneficial. Everyone is required to complete a certain amount of math classes (at least at the University of Mississippi). Math textbooks are also some of the most expensive books that the school and other bookstores offer, especially because most of the books can be used for more than one course (even if you are not taking it). Professors tend to use Pearson textbooks because of MyMathLab, which is a very useful program. The majority of students do not go beyond calculus-level math, so MyOpenLab would be a great option for reducing costs while still receiving the same level of education. MyOpenLab would still allow students to complete weekly homework assignments, practice extra problems, and reference an online textbook.

Growing up alongside the internet and other technology, online learning has been integrated into my education for most of my schooling. Online and digital learning can enhance classroom lesson plans and increase the variety of teaching styles that may better suit different students. From “Type to Learn” in third grade to Codecademy in my senior year of college, I have used many different online learning programs as part of the curriculum. They have certainly been an asset and taught me things better than a traditional classroom setting could have.

The only exclusively online education that I have participated in was an online English Literature class that I took over the summer through a local community college. The course was only offered online at the time, which is why I did not take it in a classroom setting. To be honest, it was not the best method of learning for me. I completely agree with the New York Times article when the author says that people are less motivated when it comes to online education. I found myself procrastinating more and often missing assignments. Many factors contributed to this (lack of interest in the subject matter, other time commitments, etc.), but the main reason was that I did not have regular classroom meetings to keep me accountable and on task. I never once met with my professor or classmates in person, so I did not have the same motivation and discipline as I did in my previous coursework.

I believe that online education can provide benefits to learners. To achieve this, though, I think that there has to be an incentive there. The only reason I even completed my online class was because I paid a lot of money to take it and I needed to stay on track if I wanted to graduate college on time. I think that MOOCs are a great asset for people who want to learn new things, especially with the constant development of technology. However, I do not see the “stickiness” of them improving much since they are supplementary and often not a top priority for those enrolled. Other mandatory, urgent things in life come up that take priority. That being said, I do not think people should be discouraged from creating or enrolling in MOOCs because they can continue to spread knowledge and new skills, which are constantly improving our world.

van Dijck, José. (March 2013). ‘You have one identity’: performing the self on Facebook and      LinkedIn. Media, Culture & Society, 35(2), 199-215. doi: 10.1177/0163443712468605

 

http://www.globeuniversity.edu/blogs/la-crosse/how-to-make-your-facebook-profile-job-search-friendly-10-tips/

 

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/04/20/employers-use-facebook-to-pre-screen-applicants_n_1441289.html

 

Listed above are three sources that I plan on using as a part of my Digital Literacy Illustration. The first of the three is a peer-reviewed journal article by José van Dijck. This article talks about the importance of maintaining a respectable identity online. It stresses that the idea of having an “work identity” that differs from your personal life is not entirely possible and that they can and will overlap. Because of this, it is important to monitor online posts, even if you think that they will only be seen by friends. The second source I listed is an article from Globe University and Minnesota School of Business entitled “How to Make Your Facebook Profile Job Search Friendly: 10 Tips”. This article offers suggestions of good things to add and good things to leave out of you Facebook profile, especially when you are looking for a job and giving your information to potential employers. Some suggestions include sharing career-related articles and keeping your work experience section up to date and detailed. The third article I listed talks about a study that states that 37 percent of employers use Facebook to pre-screen applicants. I think that I can use this article to provide some statistics in my illustration, rather than just tips or “do’s and don’ts”.

Question: How does technology influence or determine the content of the writing, in addition to the process?

 

Using technology to write can influence many different things about the content. For starters, composing something using a keyboard as opposed to by hand or a typewriter can allow you to write more material more quickly. Because of this, writers may tend to get more wordy and elaborate in their language. Using technology to write can also change or expand your audience, which may result in a different style of writing or different content altogether. You may alter what you say to appeal to a certain group of people that you hope to reach through your writing. I also think that when using technology, writers can be less cautious about making mistakes while writing because it is so much easier to fix any mistakes on a computer. You can get your thoughts on “paper” nearly as fast as you are thinking them and then go back and edit any mistakes later. When writing by hand, writers tend to be more careful and deliberate, which can be good, but can also cause them to leave out some of their thoughts and ideas in the process.

Every aspect of communication has evolved drastically over time. The way we communicate is vastly different than it was 100 years ago, and even than it was ten years ago. I think that written communication is something that is continually evolving every day in the hopes of increasing efficiency and functionality. As we discussed in class, writing by hand used to be the sole means of long distance communication. This remained the same for hundreds of years, even though the mediums (writing utensils, surfaces, etc.) were evolving. Typed communication increased the speed of composing written messages, but sending and receiving them was still not much faster. It was not until email and basic T9 text messaging were made available and popular that written communication between two people could be nearly instantaneous. This quicker back-and-forth resulted in more frequent communication and shorter messages. Eventually, instant messaging became a main method of communication, especially in work and school settings. This was an even quicker way to send memos or short messages to someone quickly and efficiently. The invention of the iPhone and other full-keyboard cell phones further increased the speed of text messaging, which is now considered a primary method of communication for most people. Nearly everyone has a cell phone, making text messaging (or iMessaging) a preferred method of communication. Although text messaging is debatably the most common method, nearly every form of social media has developed a messaging component. Essentially any website or app that requires and account or username has messaging capabilities. With so many options, instant written communication continues to change the ways in which individuals relate with each other.

 

Unfortunately, I do think that the message of this video still rings true, even nine years later. The overall theme of the video seemed to be that technology was doing more harm than good in the classroom and that a lot of what students were doing in class was not effectively preparing them for the rest of their lives. Personally, collaboration does play a role in my day-to-day experience as a student. I do not have to complete many group projects in my classes, but many class periods include some form of group discussion, brainstorming, or other activities. Technology certainly benefits me in this aspect because it makes communication and collaboration outside of class periods so much easier. This is certainly not the only way I rely on technology, though. I would say that I use my computer nearly every day for school purposes, whether that is in the classroom or at home. It is not only helpful, but essential at this point. Most schoolwork could not be done without access to a computer. I use my computer for word processing, keeping up with schedules and deadlines, completing online assignments, and studying, among many other things. I do use my computer for personal use, but most of those things can be done on my phone, which is what I prefer to use for personal use, typically. I certainly rely very heavily on technology. This can be seen as a good or bad thing, depending on the context. I cannot even begin to imagine what our dependency on technology will look like in eight years. The use of technology, especially in classroom settings, keeps increasing constantly. My hope would be that this increase in technology opens up new doors for students and provides them with more opportunities to learn and grow, but it is just as likely that technology could overtake the classroom environment and get in the way of things like hand-written note taking and class discussion.