Reflective Essay 2
When I first heard the term “Digital Learning” I had not the slightest idea what that could of involved. At first, I thought it was just another term for an online class, little did I know how wrong I was. After taking Professor Hobbs online course, I have gained a respectable amount of knowledge in online learning which includes the tools that are out there, the benefits of the internet and media and lastly how to navigate these tools in a way that best suits my own learning. Within this essay, I am going to share with you the main ideas and content that I took away from this course, as well as how I helped myself succeed by engaging in what was asked of me.
One of the main forms of digital learning that surprised me was Twitter. If you were to tell a student that Twitter was a beneficial online learning tool, they would feel no different than I did at first, which was extremely confused. It only took me about a week to realize that Twitter was now my one form of reading the news and other articles about current events. Not only did I gain knowledge that was relevant to the course, I found out information that I should just be aware about, such as the Presidential Debates. Professor Hobbs explained the proper way to form a tweet which I learned consists of having something of substance, at least one hash tag, and a link to an article, video, etc., that helped back up the point I was trying to make. I now use my twitter frequently to check out what happening in the world rather than using it to retweet senseless videos that have no substance or relevance to me.
Although Twitter stood out to me the most, Professor Hobbs also introduced our class to other online sources that I quickly learned were beneficial. For example, I tried out a free application on your IPhone called Shadow Puppet. This app allows you to create a short video that you could include a voiceover, text, and pictures. This app ultimately helped me find a different outlet to get my point across about a subject, in this case I used the app to help describe the participation gap that was frequently brought up throughout the course. Another example of a media outlet Professor Hobbs introduced to me to was Kami. For those who do not know, Kami is an online PDF editor, which allows you to upload a PDF or document and annotate it using features such as highlighting and adding text boxes. Not only did Kami help me with completing the course work within Hobbs course, but also I now use it frequently for other classes that involve citations and outside information.
Despite the fact that I took most of my learning from the media outlets and hands on tasks we were asked to do, I did find some insightful ideas within the textbook by Howard Rheingold “Net Smart: How to Thrive Online,” along with some of the readings that were assigned. As I mention earlier, the participation gap was a reoccurring theme that came up within the readings and projects. I now know first hand how beneficial online learning can be. However, not everyone gets the same privilege I did. Ultimately, there are many students who do not have the resources to learn online and may not get the opportunity to use online resources such as a laptop. These factors include age, money and most importantly not having a source to properly teach them how to use these resources. According to Jenkins, in the article we read, “Confronting the Challenges of Participatory Culture,” “The participation gap is the unequal access to the opportunities, experiences, skills, and knowledge that will prepare youth for full participation in the world of tomorrow.” Throughout the course I have gained so much insight on how to actively learn online and the one downfall I really found was the participation gap. Overall, out of all of the readings and concepts, this one stood out to me most and if I could try and change anything with the education system, it would be giving everyone the resources to learn online and to get rid of the participation gap as much as possible.
Now that the course is coming to an end, I have been able to think back and reflect on my personal experience and what I have done to help myself be successful. The main thing I did to succeed was complete the assignments that were asked of us weekly. If I ever felt lost about an assignment, I would look back to our Google hangout sessions and listen to what Professor Hobbs had told us to do before going ahead and completing the assignment. Along with completing the tasks, I made sure to read the textbook and all of the articles and blog posts she had provided for us. Instead of waiting for the Google hangout to get clarification, I would take advantage of the sources that Professor Hobbs had given us. I found myself being surprised in how easy it was to communicate with my class even though we had never met in person. When it came time to pick a partner for Leap 3, myself and other students used the media outlets like twitter and email to get in contact with each other. In terms of getting the assignments and the readings done, I believe that I was successful.
I have also realized that throughout this course, I have been taking these concepts that we learn in class and using them outside of the class. As I had previously mentioned, I use the app Kami in almost every single class now because of this one course. I have also talked about a lot of the concepts we have learned with my Mom and Brother who are both teachers and I even sat down with my brother to show him some of the videos and articles that are posted on our classroom website. It is funny to think back to the beginning of the course where I had no idea what to expect, to now, where I can not help but show my family what I have learned to now help them.
In conclusion, I would have to say that this has been one of the most beneficial courses I have taken at URI. I never imagined an online course being so beneficial and leaving me with countless online tools that I can use in my learning for years. Even tools that I had already used such as Twitter are now tools that I could use in a different way and a way that I find to be more useful. Professor Hobbs helped me learn how to use the internet to help me rather than distract me and I believe that with my active participation and reading, I was able to take the information she had given me and apply it in my own life and learning. I have decided to attach a video from the app Shadow Puppet that I had talked about earlier to help you understand the benefits something such as a free app like this can have. This video is a short summary of what I have taken from this course throughout the semester.
Shadow Puppet Video:
Works Cited
Jenkins, H. (2009). Confronting the challenges of participatory culture: Media education
for the 21st century. Mit Press.
Rheingold, Howard. Net Smart How to Thrive Online. Cambridge, MA: MIT, 2012.
Print.