Reflective Post for Week of 4/30

When I signed up to take COM 301, I never could have imagined that I would get as much out of the class as I did. I immediately became aware of my own habits when it comes to CMC. I realized that I take the technology we have for granted. The unit that dealt with the digital divide hit me especially hard, because it really made me aware that we are very privileged in America to have such widespread access to technology. I also realized that I definitely take CMC for granted in my own life, and I think many people around me do too. Now, when I see someone texting on their phone or chatting over IM, I think about how fortunate we are to be able to do these kinds of things. Also, as a result of this class, I have learned that I’m not as dependent on CMC as I thought I was. I CAN function without it if I have to, and because of this class, I will probably change the way I communicate. I won’t rely as much on technology, and I won’t get so frustrated when it’s not working.

In my personal and career life down the road, I will definitely be using CMC, because it is so prevalent in today’s society, but I’m not sure I’ll be using every aspect of it. For instance, I know we’ve talked a lot about online dating and relationships, but I don’t think I could ever be comfortable using the internet for this purpose. Even though I’ve discarded a lot of negative biases I had previously had about this, I still think I’m more comfortable finding a significant other offline. Also, I don’t anticipate using blogs much in the future. Although I’m glad we had to set one up for the class and post to it regularly, because it was a good way to learn what they’re all about, I’m not very comfortable posting my thoughts on the internet for all the world to see.

One thing that I actually might use in the future is a wiki. Much to my surprise, I’m actually enjoying using it, adding and editing information, and exploring the other groups’ wikis. My initial reaction when I learned about this project was “Oh great, you probably have to be a technology aficionado for this.” But to my surprise, I found that posting and editing the information was really easy! Even roaming the internet for sources and writing the articles has been kind of fun. I feel like a CMC expert at this point! Anyway, I think wikis are a great way to collaborate online and a great source of information for other people who need it. I can actually see myself using one again in the future.

In general, this course was a lot more hands-on than I expected, and I liked how we got first-hand experience with CMC using the blogs and wikis and such. I also think the online classes were a great idea, especially the week-long class. Even though it was a lot of work, I think it was a good one-time experience so we can know what online learning is really like. All in all, I really enjoyed this class, and I would recommend it to anyone wishing to learn more about CMC and their own habits online. I certainly learned a great deal in this class!