One thing that has been working really well for me in this class is the blogging assignments. I actually really like the blog stuff, especially when I get to write about my personal experiences. It feels more natural to me than writing formal essays. When I can connect the topic to something that actually happened in my life, it’s a lot easier for me to think about what I want to say. I also like the quizzes on the chapters we read each week. The quizzes help me check if I actually understood the material from the textbook. They feel pretty straightforward and help me stay on track with the reading.
One challenge I had at the beginning was setting up the blog itself. I wish there had been more instruction on how to actually set up the blog, because I didn’t really know how to do it. I ended up having to look up videos online to figure out how to get everything working. On top of that, I had to spend money to set up my blog, which was kind of frustrating. It would have been helpful to have a short lesson or guide explaining the process so students didn’t have to figure it out completely on their own.
The discussions have probably been the most challenging part of the class for me. A lot of the time, I feel confused about what is actually expected in the discussion posts. Sometimes I’m not sure how detailed my answer needs to be or what exactly the teacher is looking for. It’s also hard because I can’t check what other people are writing before posting mine, so I can’t use that as a reference to see if I’m on the right track. Another thing I struggle with is word counts. I’ve always had trouble with them, either writing too much or not enough, so that part can be stressful for me.
Another difficulty I’ve noticed is that some assignments don’t have a rubric. When there is no rubric, I feel like I don’t have anything to reference to know what I’m supposed to do. Rubrics help me understand the expectations and what the teacher wants from the assignment. Without one, I sometimes feel unsure if I’m doing the assignment correctly. I think having clearer instructions or a rubric would help me feel more confident about my work.
Overall, this class has helped me think more about blogging and media in general. Before this class, I mostly thought blogging was just writing things online and sharing opinions. Now I understand that blogging is more structured and involves thinking about your audience, your message, and how media influences people. The media can shape the way people think about topics and can start conversations about important issues. This class has helped me become more aware of how media works and how writing online can actually influence readers.
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