Reflection time

Self-directed Learning/ Personal Blog Posts
I've always had a love/hate relationship with technology, so I based my blog on seeing both the negative and positive aspects of digital culture. I used mostly my experience and that of my friends and family, but I also did some research on topics such as video game addiction(1, 2) and RFID tags. In Google +, I've mentioned research on Future shock (Nov. 19), civics (Nov. 6), RERO (Oct. 17), as well as other things with less formal research. I've used Diigo to categorize research for class - especially for my blog as well as others' posts and presentations from class.

Collaboration
My group was all about collaboration, but there are certain aspects which each group member had to work on in addition. I was in charge of the website and blog because I set them up originally, but the facebook was established by Jason. I tried to keep us on track and to make sure we each had something to contribute as well. I tried to view the videos from LBP as well as participating in early production meetings and google
+ posts to help make the project as good as possible. I tried to look at new iterations of each project, but the greatest help was with the presentations in class. I also tried to contribute in class, but found that I was much more fascinated by what others were saying.

Others' Assistance
I've especially loved Tasha, Jake, and Josh's comments in class, as they were varied and insightful. I felt like the badges and menagerie groups always had some way to contribute to the class in general, and it was very helpful and inspiring.

Digital Literacy
Although I've always been fairly tech-savvy - thanks to a movie-making father and computer engineer brothers - I've been skeptical of dependence on internet and computers. The class helped me to see how much more helpful it can be and how it can organize life while added to it. I created a pinterest account  by which I connect, but more importantly, I group all my favorite internet pictures. I joined a writing site, webook, which a classmate suggested, and it's been inspiring for me to connect with other on there as well as learn from their work. The class has helped me to see that the positives are not just about connecting with others, but connecting with aspects of yourself and just expanding the physical world into something more conceptual. I've realized that the internet/ digital culture is not really as different as I thought. It's simply a variation of the world we live in.

Final questions

1) Personal Connections in the Digital Age discusses a major shift in personal communication on a _______ level to that of a _______ level.

2) Diigo allows users to what?
  a. Bookmark sites
  b. Subscribe to RSS
  c. Create a website
  d. Take notes online
  e. All of the above
  f. A and D

3) Name three purposes for RFID tags...
  a. _____________________
  b. _____________________
  c. _____________________



1) Digital culture has allowed for further connections among people, especially across great distances, but it has also caused disruptions among families. There are ways for us to use the technology to reach out and ways to cut them off, so finding the best uses is imperative. See these posts: Digital sweet home and Digital sweet home: for the better.

2) Considering Jessica Lees' post, Copyright and the Open Movement, we have come to see in our modern society a kind of free enterprise unequaled in past generations. This freedom allows people to make use of innumerable resources and to push off from others ideas, but it also begs the question  of how we determine what is our own "property" and where copyright needs to go.