Over the course of the semester I learned a lot of new things. I learned about myself as a writer, and different techniques involved with writing, such as: writing, research, and technology. I believe I have grown as a writer as I expanded my horizons and stepped outside of my comfort zone.
Writing
Essentially, I gained quite a few new perspectives on myself as a writer. Writing has never been a strong point for me, mainly because of my lack of confidence with my own skills. That same lack of confidence has produced a fear inside me, a fear of sharing what I write with others. Throughout the Writing, Research, and Technology course, however, I was able to break out of my shell a bit because of the online blog we had to keep for an assignment. Sharing the blog with the class was not an option, it was required.
Additionally, I tried new methods of writing that are not typically included with my style of writing. First, I was able to set up and manipulate a real working website, on Weebly, that the public, including classmates could see. An online blog was also part of the required assignments for our Weebly sites. Each week, we had to come up with specific blog entries based on different readings and questions posed by Professor Mangini. Second, I was able to learn about and create a found poem, a haiku, and a personal narrative based on Tweets I had used for a separate assignment. The poetry was definitely out of my comfort zone and it is not a genre I typically write in, but I was able to push through and really come up with some creative poems.
In addition to blogs and Weebly, I expanded my writing techniques by using Twitter as the base for assignments and creating multimodal pieces for the collaborative research project. The collaborative research project also included: introductions, abstracts, forwards, afterwards, and annotated bibliographies.
Research
In the same fashion, I also learned a lot about research, not the traditional research, but research for online projects and assignments. We were given readings in class and asked to come up with blog topics based on the readings. In a sense, that was research, coming up with a topic and writing about it based on the text. I also found that Twitter was a new way to research. I used my tweets to research ideas in order to develop my place for my Twitterive, as well as for the found poem, and the haiku.
Traditionally though, I was able to do some regular research for the collaborative research project. I was able to search for articles on the internet about Vitaminwater and use the articles to support the side of the Vitaminwater debate I was supporting. I also developed primary research questions before even starting the project. Interviews and interactions with the public allowed me to dig a little deeper on the subject of Vitaminwater in order to conduct the oral history portion of the project. At the end of the project, I was able to form a conclusion based on the research-based information and the public’s knowledge of the Vitaminwater and whether it was healthy or not.
I also learned that I definitely prefer to write blogs for research purposes or personal enjoyment, rather than based on a specific reading. For me, it is much easier to come up with what to write about when I have a topic or I come up with my own.
Technology
Technology was definitely the area I learned the most about during Writing, Research, and Technology this semester. I was able to try new things and step out of my comfort zone considerably as I have not always known a lot about technology.
The very first new thing I learned about, technology-wise, was how to create a website. I created a Weebly account and was able to figure out how to manipulate the elements to make the site clean and profession. I learned how to add a blog to my website and create a multi-tab place for all of my assignments complete with drop-down menus. I was able to upload pictures and files to my page. After working with Weebly for a few weeks, I had more knowledge of linking other webpages to my page which makes traveling from page to page much easier. Plus, linking gives credit where credit is due.
On the same side, I also learned more about Twitter and using the confining space of a tweet to communicate. Twitter was a technological tool I set up for another class a few semesters back, but this time, I used Twitter for a purpose. I learned about hashtags to group people, classes, or other things together to make searching easier. Twitter was the base for a Twitterive, a found poem, a haiku, and a personal narrative.
Likewise, I also created a Youtube account and uploaded videos to Youtube for the first time ever. I uploaded about 20 something videos to Youtube this semester only. Also, I was the behind-the-scenes camera girl for all of the interviews Lindsey and I conducted for our oral history and collaborative research project. I worked the camera, and provided the technical support.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I learned so much throughout the Writing, Research, and Technology course. A lot of what I learned overlapped, but that is the nature of the three subjects. They all overlap and intermingle in order to form one complete assignment or task. I am happy that I was able to step outside of my comfort zone, think outside of the box, and color outside the lines a little. In order to expand my writing horizons, each element was beneficial in providing useful information, and hopefully I will be able to use the information I learned in the future.
Writing
Essentially, I gained quite a few new perspectives on myself as a writer. Writing has never been a strong point for me, mainly because of my lack of confidence with my own skills. That same lack of confidence has produced a fear inside me, a fear of sharing what I write with others. Throughout the Writing, Research, and Technology course, however, I was able to break out of my shell a bit because of the online blog we had to keep for an assignment. Sharing the blog with the class was not an option, it was required.
Additionally, I tried new methods of writing that are not typically included with my style of writing. First, I was able to set up and manipulate a real working website, on Weebly, that the public, including classmates could see. An online blog was also part of the required assignments for our Weebly sites. Each week, we had to come up with specific blog entries based on different readings and questions posed by Professor Mangini. Second, I was able to learn about and create a found poem, a haiku, and a personal narrative based on Tweets I had used for a separate assignment. The poetry was definitely out of my comfort zone and it is not a genre I typically write in, but I was able to push through and really come up with some creative poems.
In addition to blogs and Weebly, I expanded my writing techniques by using Twitter as the base for assignments and creating multimodal pieces for the collaborative research project. The collaborative research project also included: introductions, abstracts, forwards, afterwards, and annotated bibliographies.
Research
In the same fashion, I also learned a lot about research, not the traditional research, but research for online projects and assignments. We were given readings in class and asked to come up with blog topics based on the readings. In a sense, that was research, coming up with a topic and writing about it based on the text. I also found that Twitter was a new way to research. I used my tweets to research ideas in order to develop my place for my Twitterive, as well as for the found poem, and the haiku.
Traditionally though, I was able to do some regular research for the collaborative research project. I was able to search for articles on the internet about Vitaminwater and use the articles to support the side of the Vitaminwater debate I was supporting. I also developed primary research questions before even starting the project. Interviews and interactions with the public allowed me to dig a little deeper on the subject of Vitaminwater in order to conduct the oral history portion of the project. At the end of the project, I was able to form a conclusion based on the research-based information and the public’s knowledge of the Vitaminwater and whether it was healthy or not.
I also learned that I definitely prefer to write blogs for research purposes or personal enjoyment, rather than based on a specific reading. For me, it is much easier to come up with what to write about when I have a topic or I come up with my own.
Technology
Technology was definitely the area I learned the most about during Writing, Research, and Technology this semester. I was able to try new things and step out of my comfort zone considerably as I have not always known a lot about technology.
The very first new thing I learned about, technology-wise, was how to create a website. I created a Weebly account and was able to figure out how to manipulate the elements to make the site clean and profession. I learned how to add a blog to my website and create a multi-tab place for all of my assignments complete with drop-down menus. I was able to upload pictures and files to my page. After working with Weebly for a few weeks, I had more knowledge of linking other webpages to my page which makes traveling from page to page much easier. Plus, linking gives credit where credit is due.
On the same side, I also learned more about Twitter and using the confining space of a tweet to communicate. Twitter was a technological tool I set up for another class a few semesters back, but this time, I used Twitter for a purpose. I learned about hashtags to group people, classes, or other things together to make searching easier. Twitter was the base for a Twitterive, a found poem, a haiku, and a personal narrative.
Likewise, I also created a Youtube account and uploaded videos to Youtube for the first time ever. I uploaded about 20 something videos to Youtube this semester only. Also, I was the behind-the-scenes camera girl for all of the interviews Lindsey and I conducted for our oral history and collaborative research project. I worked the camera, and provided the technical support.
Conclusion
In conclusion, I learned so much throughout the Writing, Research, and Technology course. A lot of what I learned overlapped, but that is the nature of the three subjects. They all overlap and intermingle in order to form one complete assignment or task. I am happy that I was able to step outside of my comfort zone, think outside of the box, and color outside the lines a little. In order to expand my writing horizons, each element was beneficial in providing useful information, and hopefully I will be able to use the information I learned in the future.
