This module was very fun and interesting. I learned a lot about the internet and all the possibilities. And even though I was very unsure about the whole blogging thing, I enjoyed it while it lasted. Im gonna miss getting to be on the computer during class! Hopefully now I can use all the different aspects of the Internet to my advantage as I continue my education!
Overview of Module 1 October 5, 2007
Wow!! I cannot believe that the first module is already over! It really seems like just yesterday we split up into groups. I’ve been thinking a lot about this class and I must be honest when I say I have learned more in four weeks than I have in any of my other classes so far this semester. No lie. As I have already mentioned, I am very technology illiterate so reading all the required articles opened my eyes up to a whole new world of opportunities. Also, the information that we learned in class, as well as the different sites we’ve been introduced to and have registered for prove to be very beneficial internet sources. I am absolutely amazed how far the internet has come and how it is still on the advance. At the same time, I am shocked at some of the things that the web offers us that people partake in that can be disadvantages, whether we realize them or not.
Going back to what I was saying about learning more in this class than any other one I have so far, I must also touch base upon the fact that the book (that we clearly didn’t need in this module) was only about $10 as opposed to the $80 or more I have spent on my other required texts. It is funny how things work out sometimes. Everything I needed for this class was provided for me on the web, at an easy access. I guess that is the point…to show us how technology is benefiting us in many many ways. I would always print the articles from the Mimosa computer lab, which was free. This just goes to show, in another sense, how the internet can be very informative and beneficial for us in providing material we need for free. The internet is not only an excellent source for receiving information, but for posting it as well. Dr. Wolff has introduced us to many different sources that allow us to communicate with other users, speak our minds, and develop our own personal profiles and spaces at our own convenience.
I can remember the first day of class when we watched the Shift Happens video and we saw how quickly technology was pretty much taking over our lives. I can see how this is relevant to us now, and I am pretty anxious to see where it’s going. Also, I would just like to comment that I find it pretty cool that we are the first class to ever have this Introduction to Writing Arts experience, and I am very impressed with the deliverance of the material up until this point. I am sad to be leaving this module because I honestly enjoyed going to this class, but I am also looking forward to whatever is next on our agenda J
-Amanda
Zotero October 5, 2007
Class Wednesday was really informative for me. It reminded me of a discussion we had in class in the beginning of this module where Dr. Wolff was asking us what we did with our information so we could always refer to it later. How would you be able to access a page you referenced possibly years after you used it for a paper? Back then, no one really had an answer. Wednesday, however, we took a look at Zotero, which is a site that allows us to save documents we find online through databases or other forms of research, bookmark them, and even tag them with key words that will allow us to find the specific information later. After doing that, the site would forever remain on your computer and at the click of the mouse, you could find that article whenever you wanted without having to go through all the hassle of trying to remember where you got it from. This, to me, is amazing because I, for one, do not like doing research. Even more so, I do not like having to take extensive notes while doing research. With this tool, and other ones like it, the time it takes to find information later on is greatly reduced, making our projects less stressful and annoying. I’m sure, beyond this class, I will put this tool to good use J
I am very technology illiterate, so learning about all these new things is pretty exciting for me. Yeaa… I’m a complete dork. hahaha
-Amanda
