One of the most beneficial aspects of this course in my opinion was getting students used to navigating and understanding Twitter.com. Despite how much some people try to resist it, we have to accept that a technologically based future is inevitable. A frequent comment I hear is "Oh this social media. People are going to forget how to actually communicate in person and will just sit side by side and text each other." First of all, let's not be overly dramatic. Newer and younger generations may be fully immersed in technology and social media sites with their smart phones and ipads and kindles and what have you, but technology has so much relevance and importance in today and the future that such a cultural shift from string-and-tin-cup communication is necessary. Although most of the students (myself included) grumbled and whined about having to browse around twitter and follow people related to their field and tweet critically analytical responses to presentations or papers, being made to do such things has honestly only benefited me. The veterinarian I chose to follow on twitter tweets vet tips and facts all the time, and who knows if one day just being exposed to these tweets will help me gain entrance into vet school! If I was not required to put my thinking cap on and actually mull over topics and then talk about them in a tweet or blog post, I would still be in the dark about so many topics and events; an unfortunate fate. The list is endless on what I now know thanks to ALES 204! How to create a professional Facebook page, what a CV is, what SOPA is, what a pecha kucha is, links to making a good resume, what old journals looked like and how to use the library system. Endless I tell you!
The picture I chose to post may seem a bit out of place, but never fear, I have a reason for it. The Stop Kony 2012 movement may just be one of the first awareness campaigns that literally took the WORLD by storm. The video for Kony 2012 was posted on the evening of March 6th, and on the morning of March 7th, it had hundreds of thousands of views, likes, and shares. This got me thinking of how truly powerful social media is. This video would of not reached into as many parts of the world as it did in such a short amount of time if it was not for sites such as Facebook and Twitter. These sites have enabled the creators and participants of Invisible Children to share their message with millions of people in literally 2 days. That is amazing! I now follow Jason Russell on Twitter, and would never of been exposed to his constant updates if I had not been required to sign up for an account because of ALES 204.
The point of this post was to be critically reflective about what I have learned in the (incredibly!) short 3 months of this course. I really enjoyed how ALES 204 forced me to expand horizons that I otherwise would have never explored. Many people critique social media sites and the so-called communication barriers they have built, but I LOVE them. And not simply because they are a great source of entertainment/distraction from studying, but because I love seeing people connect and share ideas and thoughts and pictures and videos. Connecting with a person via a social media site in places like Dubai and South Africa have only made me a more cultured person who understands more about traditions and customs in other places. They have not turned me into a hibernating troll with no social skills. I also really enjoyed that this course made me stop being so lazy and actually put together a respectable resume, which I have used on several occasions thus far. Personally, I did not see the benefit behind some of the activities we had to do during the lecture, but I can understand the intended motivation behind them from a teacher's perspective. Overall, I am a far more knowledgable person about many different things than I was before this class, and I have furthered my critical thinking skills by realizing I should not be so gullible and should mull over what I read and develop an opinion and do research on said topic before coming to an ultimate decision.
I'm choosing to internally link to Marney Steadman's Blog, because we seem to have come to some of the same realizations about critical thinking :)
links to my 5 comments:
http://techhurtsmyhead.blogspot.ca/2012/04/interviewing-its-art.html?showComment=1334113028954
http://marneysteadmanales204-2012.blogspot.ca/2012/04/hello-again-this-week-in-my.html?showComment=1334113900394
http://ales204hecolstudent.blogspot.ca/2012/04/uses-of-tumblr.html?showComment=1334114297952
http://bbohlender.blogspot.ca/2012/04/blog-about-my-interests.html?showComment=1334251903963
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