I <3 MACS

Dr. Reid wins. It is the end of the semester and I no longer detest the Macintosh empire. Macs pretty much saved my butt this semester. Especially for my technical writing course, in which I used InDesign for most of my projects. I think their GUI is much better than PCS, and I love the grab tool; it makes my life so much easier. I think it's important to be both Mac and PC literate and I'm glad this semester forced me to do so. Now all I need is $500 and Cingular service so I can buy my iPhone. But I won't hold my breath on that one.

What I've learned about online courses

I probably should not take another one because I easily got behind from being sick, or not having access to a computer, or simply by being distracted by other things. When you see a professor face to face it's a trigger in your mind that you need to get your work done. When you don't have the visual, or the physical activity of showing up in a class. It's easier to put other classes before it. I enjoyed a lot of the things we did in this class. I found myself frustrated at times on the blog for this reason: when you are face to face you can debate and argue; when you are typing an argument you need to be extremely careful not to come off sounding offensive or brass. That's difficult for someone like me who is sarcastic by nature. In person one would know I am using dry humor to get my point across. But for a bunch of strangers who are just reading my words, I might just come off as the ass hole. The line is a little more blurry. But, I oo understand that as a writer you need to be able to convey your tone or emotions in an articulate way so that people perceive you the way you want to be perceived. Also, it's a lot easier to be bold behind a computer screen. I think that makes a huge difference especially when it comes to work shopping. I enjoy work shopping online because I feel like people are more honest. In person, people try to be overly nice and sugar coat things. Online you are protected to a certain degree so its easier to say what you're really thinking. So I would say work shopping online = good class discussion online=not so hot.

Adios!

Book Stuff

I can see how the readings for this class were relevant and worthwhile. It was a nice change from reading words on a screen. If I had to eliminate one book for the class I would probably choose Snow Crash. As much as I detested Smart Mobs I could still see that it was very important information pertaining to the course. I suppose Snow Crash was a nice change because it was more like a science fiction novel, but I think that it could maybe be an optional reading assignment. A Whole New Mind was the most beneficial. That could be because I have the most to say about it, or it could be because it was full of usable information. Either way, AWNM was the one book I couldn't put down. I took lots of notes and highlighted pretty much every page. I envy Dan Pink for writing a book on the given topic without putting the audience to sleep. That's something I can't say about Smart Mobs.

Play Money

My feelings on Play Money are somewhat mediocre. There were times when I couldn't put it down, and other times when I fell asleep reading it. It was weird learning about this completely separate culture of people who make money living in virtual worlds. I found the story about the man who purchased a castle for himself and was working up to master blacksmith status to be a fascinating, in depth look into what goes through the mind of someone involved in gaming. I suppose I can't really have a blind biased opinion without ever trying one of these games. It's understandable how they can become addictive. I remember being 12 and obsessed with Zelda to the point where I looked up "game secrets" online. I don't exactly think I would ever BUY myself swords and potions though, because I really think it is cheating. If you love the game so much why would you want to cheat the system? It seems almost disrespectful in a way. . .

What About A Whole New Mind?

This was by far my favorite book for the class. Not just because it was quick and easy to read, but also because I learned the most from it. A Whole New Mind helped me to learn about myself as a writer and thinker. I've already recommended this book to several people; it's something all writing majors should read. I also liked to sections Pink included that give outside sources and more information, those are very useful tips. I would be interested to read more books by Daniel Pink.

Notes on Snow Crash

I am not generally a fan of science fiction and I don't think that view has changed much after reading Snow Crash. There is a funny story behind my ownership of the book though. I remember not being able to get a copy of the book and I was telling Phil about it and then one night he showed up at my dorm with a copy of it. He had gone to Mando in search of a CD and came back with a copy of Snow Crash for me. I will be forever in his debt. The book was a little hard to get into but it picked up a few chapters in. The Metaverse was the most fascinating aspect of the book for me. I liked being able to tie it into Second Life. Still, I cannot help but wonder why someone would want to live their life through a video game. I understand for many their quality of life is better in a game, but I guess it's just a personal preference. I'd much rather be out enjoying the nice weather than visiting a beach in Second Life or the Metaverse.

What I Thought About Smart Mobs

Smart Mobs from way back when at the beginning of the course. To be honest I didn't finish it because I lost all motivation and interest. I did try to take some things away from it thought. It was a little intimidating as the first book of the course. I was worried all of our books would be like that. It did contain some really useful information though. I never would have known about many of the new technologies that are developing without this book. It made me feel really hip and up to date. I remember telling my parents about the book and they thought some of the stuff was crazy. For example the possibility of being able to get information about any part of the world just by pointing you cell phone at a certain object. There were definitely some worthwhile facts in this book I just wish we could have skipped over the rest of it.

The End

This class is basically over and I want to reflect on the semester. I've already discussed what I thought about the class, the subject matter and the assignments but on my blog I'm like to outline some of the thoughts running through my head.

First week of class:
Confusion, frustration, anxiety, stress, reaching out to every possible human contact to figure out who the heck knows what they are doing. Realizing this class is mostly based on opinion which I'm bad at. Trying to figure out some sort of organizational system to keep track of what I've done. Wondering if I'm going to have trouble keeping up.

A few weeks in:
I am a champion. I actually know how to do the wiki. Everyone asks me how to do the wiki. Phil asks me a question, I ask Rachel a question, Rachel usually knows the answer which I then pass on to Phil. After a few days I realize Phil and Rachel should speak directly to save time. I hate the first book and wonder if all the reading will be like this. It is somewhat discouraging.

Middle of the semester:
I keep getting behind. I missed a week while in the hospital and I just can't seem to catch up. I realize that I am probably screwed for the rest of the semester but I'll just have to do my best to keep up. I do my first NeoVox article. It was nice to write something that wasn't my opinion. After receiving my grade I found out I was apparently supposed to include my opinion...

Closer to the end:
I'm really screwed. I'm keeping a tally on my desk of how many wikis and blogs I need to do to catch up. So far about 6 wikis, 5 personal blogs and 2 course blogs. I avoid Dr. Reid in the halls for fear of a look of disappointment and despair in his eyes. I take comfort in talking to people who are worse off than me like Steve and Andy. " Hey Andy did you do you first NeoVox article yet?" ... "NO.. what NeoVox article?"


2 weeks left:
Panic. I'm really wondering what my grade will be. I've done well on all the podcasts, videos and NeoVox stuff. My course blog is pretty solid. I think I've finally caught up with the wiki. This damn personal blog. I hate trying to come up with things to say on here like I enjoy hearing myself talk that much or something. I'm not good at talking about the books either; one or two posts and I've had enough because I've already talked about them on the course blog and I don't want to repeat myself. I once again try to build myself up by talking to Andy " Hey Andy did you do your NeoVox article yet" .."Oh yea I just handed it in".



The End
Almost caught up and waiting for that sigh of relief!

Slight Frustration

I am not going to attack anyone on my blog. But I'm a little upset. I'm always nervous to post my ideas for things like NeoVox articles and videos because I'm worried that people will use my ideas. As far as podcasts go many people end up talking about the same thing, but because it's in a discussion format it's less likely things will be repeated word for word. I want to point out that on at least 2 specific occasions during this semester people have used an idea of mine (that I made public far in advance) and ended up saying basically the same thing's that I've said. I'd like to think it's pure coincidence, or even that someone thinks it's a great idea and they would also like to explore it, but I know if it were me I would probably tell that person that I like their idea and wanted to use it or at least mention their name in why I had the idea in the first place. I know this is not just a problem in an online class because I've had it happen in another class as well, but it was more along the lines of straight up plagiarism. I'm wondering is there some sort of online etiquette for an online class about sharing and using ideas or comments? I understand most of it is fair game, but as the typed word becomes the main medium for writers how will we keep track of ideas and give credit where it's due?