I have really enjoyed taking this class this semester. Exploring different forms of media has opened my eyes to the possibilities of creative works which I very much appreciate as a creative writer. I always thought text, image, and sound were separate ways of communicating, but through this class I have come to see them as tools that can be used in conjunction with each other in very effective ways, and that memes, podcasts, social media, blogs, and video games can be very impactful in creating meaning and inspiring action.
My favorite assignment was the Collaborative Composition and Analysis piece. I had so much fun playing with different forms of participation, a new genre of story (horror), and a new kind of story (Choose Your Own Adventure). Since I am majoring in Creative Writing, I was very grateful for the chance to apply what I had been learning in this class to my area of study when writing the story.
Similarly, I really liked writing the personal manifesto. At first I was reluctant to do it and did not think it would turn out well, but since this is a New Media class I thought of trying to make mine in a different way than just bullet points or a simple “this is what I believe” statement. Instead, I wrote it as a poem (also outside of my comfort zone since I consider myself a short story-writer/novelist instead of poet) and I am very pleased with the outcome. Again, I toyed with a familiar medium (poetry) and added elements of new media like images and hyperlinks and really enjoyed the process and am happy with the result.
I did not really like the reaction paper we wrote a few weeks ago, since I am writing plenty of papers in my other English classes. I thought in a class about new media where we were creating a blog I would not have to worry about academic papers, so I was disappointed when that one came around. I really enjoyed the article it was about too, but then analyzing it and coming up with an argument took the joy out of it for me and made me feel as though I was just in any other literature class. It was hard for me to benefit from that assignment, since it felt the same as every other English assignment I have had since high school.
Overall, I am glad I took this class to fulfill one of my major requirements. The subject matter was especially interesting since our world is increasingly dominated by technology and new ways of presenting information. Each assignment was different in some way that made me excited to tackle it. I really liked the online discussions on Fridays since it gave me time to gather my thoughts and present them in the best way rather than spitting them out half-formed in an actual classroom. Throughout the semester, I learned a lot about how to communicate ideas effectively and am excited to take those lessons beyond this class.
Tara's Blog 