This semester in Communications 200: New Media and Communications, I have learned a copious amount of knowledge about media. First I would like to state that my favorite activity done in this class was the final project. I helped to create a remix by combining movie scenes with dialogue from another movie. I have always wanted to learn how to do this while watching other similar videos on YouTube. Now because of this class I have successfully managed to achieve this.
In this class I have been introduced to a lot of new websites and media tools. For example, I created my first twitter account and I have begun to blog. WordPress was very easy to use and I would recommend the site to others. When I spoke to my dad about having to blog every week, he told me to learn this new skill because blogging is becoming more and more popular with spreading information and media. The same is similar with twitter. What I also like about blogs is that I can find other blogs that are similar to mine and read about what others have to say. Another project our class had done was a “technology fast” for two days. This experiment made me realize how dependent I am on TV, my phone, the internet, and music.
Throughout the semester we have been reading Douglas Rushkoff’s book Program or be Programmed. Rushkoff basically explained that we know how to use a computer but we do not know how to program it. We depend on “qualified” people to do this for us. At the beginning of the year we watched a video called Digital Nation: Life on the Virtual Frontier. It shows young Korean children using computers. I was already aware that other countries are ahead of the United States when it comes to technology but this greatly surprised me when I saw children at the age of 6 already learning how to use a computer. I didn’t start to take computer classes until 7th grade in Middle School. Other topics I have learned more about are the issues with hacking and the basic steps in creating a website.
Furthermore, what I liked about this class was talking about how we use technology but we do not entirely know how it works. This has been an issue stressed deeply for all students. However, I do not think it will change the way that I personally will use my technology from now and into the future. From the start, I have never been engrossed in technology: my computer with its basic programs along with my iPhone is all that I care about. Nevertheless, this class has taught me that we all depend too much on technology. Instead of face-to-face conversations, we depend on texting and facebook. Thus this class helped to reevaluate myself and to do a better job in interacting personally with others.
sofiakarin 