This class completely exceeded all of my expectations. Although the topic looked interesting, I still thought I would have to write long boring papers. I was pleasantly surprised when we wrote about ourselves and things that effect us. One thing I got from this class is awareness. I think this class should be taken by everyone because it forces us to stop and think. If you look around busy areas you will see people glued to their phones but we need to stop and ask questions. How is this iPhone shaping my identity? Why do I use this app so much? We go on social media websites sometimes and absorb a lot of information and sometimes don’t understand its power over us. I believe understanding how technology is effecting us now will prepare us for the future. I can’t wait to see what technology I don’t want to embrace at the age of 35! I am definitely going to use what I learned in this class everyday and I’m promoting this conversation with those around me too. I mean, what point is it to have all of this knowledge if you don’t share it?
Let me not forget to mention how incredible Ms. Barta is. The class was well organized and I understood the purpose of every short writing assignment, draft, reading..etc. The class just made sense. Thank you for putting so much effort into the class and making sure our (me especially) experiences were pleasant. You’re the real MVP! Most Valuable Professor in this case LOL.
I couldn’t agree more that awareness of media and it’s effect’s on us is something I definitely gained from taking this course. I share the same experience in feeling that some of the things we touched upon throughout the semester made me stop and think about the substantial impact media has in our lives, and the way in which it shapes us and we shape ourselves through it.
I like what you said about awareness! I think this class has definitely inspired me to break away from my iPhone. I love it so much but now see how it makes us less sociable and possibly even narcissistic. I did learn a lot about myself through the iNarrative and Learning Record reflections. It forced me to analyze my strengths and weaknesses and be honest about how I could improve. Overall, I enjoyed how much the course has helped me personally in addition to what it taught me about rhetoric and persuasive writing!