If any of you have ever read Aristophanes' Clouds, you know that it's a little satirical and the main character is kind of a joke. Strepsiades is so steeped in tradition that he is essentially incapable of learning from Socrates, the master philosopher. Nevermind that Aristophanes has beef with Socrates and makes him out to be a bit of a lunatic in the play. The point is, I used to be Strepsiades. I was so concerned with my grade and with conventional methods of education that I was incapable of taking full advantage of the opportunities presented to me in this class. Looking back, however, I do think I'v changed. It was a long and difficult process, I really think this class has enabled me to grow beyond what I would have thought possible.That said, I suppose it's time now to take a look back at my progress throughout the class, and evaluate how I met each of the learning outcomes.
1. Historical Concepts
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| One of my favorites. This one really got the ball rolling for me. |
- Pushing the Envelope
- Too Much of a Good Thing
- Jamestown: Cultures Collide for Better or Worse
- Finding a Balance
- Give Me Liberty
2./ 3. Core Concepts and Digital Literacy
I think in some ways our generation is lucky to have grown up with that technology that we have; in other ways though, I can see advantages to having grown up without it and having to learn to adapt. Mostly because I've always taken it for granted. Before this class, I never even considered the four tenants to digital literacy: control, information, openness, and participation. After our class segment of group presentations focused on these concepts, I feel like I have grasped a real understanding of them, and I find myself evaluating things I encounter online in terms of these concepts. Furthermore, before this class, I never would have thought to consciously evaluate my digital literacy or think in terms of creating, connecting, and consuming.I think I've really grown in that regard. In particular, after attending the event and hearing the many things we can do to be a part of the digital revolution, I feel like I am constantly thinking in those terms.
- Create
- This sumer I'll be studying at Cambridge University, and I am already thinking about what I will create and contribute to the digital world as a result of my experiences. I'm wondering whether I should journal or blog (or both), whether I should tweet (that might be a stretch), and whether I should deactivate my facebook account (so as to avoid distractions) or keep it up and update my friends and family about my travels. Furthermore, I'll be doing a supervision, which means I'll be meeting weekly with a Cambridge professor who will help me develop a thesis over the term. The thing is, I'm not in the honors program, and don't really need to develop a thesis, so will I just write it and let it go to waste. Of course not. I'll have to find a way to make it authentic and useful.
- Relevant post:
- Go About Doing Good
- Create something worthwhile.
- Consume
- For my digital concept group presentation, we decided to talk about responsible consumption of information. Preparing the presentation was pretty enlightening. We noted the natural propensity to believe whatever aligns with our own inclinations, and accordingly presented a few ridiculous notions to the class as fact during our presentation. It was amusing, but also thought provoking. Thanks to that presentation I have been much more conscious of this tendency and have been trying (rather successfully I might add) to avoid it.
- Relevant post:
- Are You Sure About That?
- Avoid the temptation!
- Connect
- I think our use of Google+ has been a huge factor in my perception of what it means to connect with people online. I have never really used the Internet as a means to facilitate intellectual discussion with my peers, much less with people I don't know at all. I also never would have attempted to contact big name authors and professors about ideas that I have. Remember that supervision I mentioned? Well I'm thinking about doing it on changes in the non-profit industry that have resulted from the Digital Revolution. My parents recently attended a philanthropy conference in San Antonio, where they met a prominent figure in the industry who is very well informed about those digital changes. My mom got his email address and I'm planning to send him an email and hopefully bounce some ideas off of him that will help me refine my proposal for my supervision. Honestly, I think our ability to connect with anybody across the globe has been the most poignant realization for me from this class.
- Relevant post:
- Overcoming the Fool's Ultimatum
- Connect with others and employ synergistic thinking
4. Self-Directed Learning
I think my success in self-directed learning correlates to what I mentioned in the historical concepts section. I have found it so invigorating to learn for the sake of learning, just because it interests me. I have loved trying to find out more about things that I'm interested in. Furthermore, my awareness of responsible consumption of information has helped guide my learning quite a bit.
I think the most important thing about being able to guide my own learning this semester has been that it has instilled in me a love of learning, self-directed or not. For example, the classes that I'll be taking at Cambridge (The Development of the City from 1890 to 1990, and Spooks and Spies: a history of U.S. and British Intelligence since 1909) have absolutely nothing to do with my major (Information Systems). I'm just taking them because they sound interesting!
5. Collaboration
Wow, this class has been collaboration central. I don't even know where to begin. Between our historical groups, our digital groups, and our eBook/ presentation groups, I have learned so much about collaborating to create something meaningful. Right from the get go, our presentations were not meant to be typical. Our history group spent many hours collaborating in person, on google+, over google docs and over email trying to develop an idea that would resonate with the class. Likewise, our digital group used all the same tools to create the presentation that I mentioned in the "consume" section. Finally, our eBook/ presentation team went through many iterations of ideas trying to find the right product. I definitely learned a lot about what it means to collectively produce something great. I think the fact that we weren't all fighting for a grade, but instead focusing on the product, made the group experience much more authentic. I really think the skills I've learned from these projects will be incredibly helpful to me throughout my life.
Alright, I think it's time to bring this thing to a close. This class has been a real struggle, mentally, physically, emotionally and just about every other way possible. It was downright difficult to adapt. But I think I got there, and I feel so much the better for it. I think the most important thing that I learned (in particular from our eBook "failure"), is that it doesn't end here. The lessons I learned from this class are authentic, and I will continue to build on them. Even if it kills me, I will continue to adapt.
