Fall Semester Reflection

1.     I do in fact read my peers’ work on their blogs. I might not read them as often as others (maybe, I don’t know what others are doing!), but I do check up on other students’ work when I’m looking for different ideas and fresh perspectives. When I’m stuck, it is a great feeling knowing that I can get inspiration by reading other students’ work without being persecuted for “cheating.” It is quite different from other classes, but reading other ideas is helpful and makes me feel more…free. I don’t have to sneak around and try to fly under the radar as I ask around for ideas to just get started on my own work—as Dr Preston knows, some teachers tend to make students feel badly about just getting ideas.
2.    If the course blog was to suddenly disappear, we would all be quite confused, most likely. Having the blog online and visible to the virtual public makes us think harder about our responses to posts on the course blog, seeing as we humans are naturally inclined to strive to impress everyone else (I feel that with our commentary being public, we all put a little more thought into what we’re posting. Too bad that doesn’t seem to apply to people’s social media posts!). Plus, the course blog keeps us connected and updated after school.
3.    Oh, in theory, the fact that my work is published on the internet influences me to finish my assignments…But I’ve been having a little trouble with motivation lately. I refuse to call it “senioritis” (not just because of our talk in class this morning), but I’m just getting a little worn out with things…Also, I feel that if I don’t finish an assignment completely, I hesitate to post it and sometimes I don’t even post it at all. I’ve been told that some is better than nothing, but I don’t quite like the idea of my problem with finishing things becoming public.
4.  Most of my learning—for at this class, at least—happens outside of the classroom. Room 608 is where I’m prepped for what I will be/should be learning, then I go home and jump on the computer or stick my face in a book. The next day in class is usually when the information is continued and/or built upon and explained. My experience with the physical classroom has mostly just changed for this particular course—I feel that, because this one is run differently, and different things are expected of me in this class, I have to mentally separate this course from all the others I am taking this year.
5.   I usually describe this particular class as very different from any one that I have experienced in my last eleven years of education—we are more technologically reliant; more independent yet also freer (not fond of “freer,” I’d prefer “more free,” not sure why) to collaborate and share ideas at the same time. The part that usually impresses people (that is, those that are impressed) is usually when I tell them that every student runs his/her own blog attached to the course.
6.    That’s certainly a tough one…When we think about/discuss this course and the way it’s run, it isn’t that big of a deal and it does not seem terribly complicated…but when I explain the way things work to other people, they start to question the method (I must admit, sometimes I do as well). Some people find it interesting, and some say, “no thanks.” It seems that there are quite a few people that would rather just do their homework and turn it in for fear that their work isn’t being acknowledged by the classroom authority.
7.    The responses from people that are interested by the idea of our class make me feel good about being in it, frankly. Those responses, naturally, make me a little proud to be in the course. The other responses occasionally make me question the “system,” but not for very long (even in this different course structure I am still trained not to question any system of any kind. Oh, what will become of me?).  In general, their responses don’t affect me all that much, aside for brief moments of questioning (what in the world am I even doing on here?!).