Tag: learning

Myself as a Blogger

Alyssa Lopez 2013 Fall Cohort, Gateway Leave a comment

As someone who has had to blog for other classes in the past, I thought that I knew everything that I needed to know about this platform and type of writing.  Because there was no direction given to the ways that blogs should be written in my previous classes, I felt like blogging was just a boring old way to keep track of your thoughts on different issues and communicate with others in your class.  The thoughts that I had posted were never addressed or responded to — the entire process seemed quite uninteresting and not useful in a class setting.

However, I can tell that my thoughts on this have changed by the way that I now take the time to think more critically about what I plan on writing and making this interesting and engaging for the greater audience I am reaching.  I think that because of the time that we spent in this class reading different blog posts and studying the ways that blogging can be fun and make a difference were crucial to my growing appreciation for blogging.  Especially in terms of the perspectives that we read about in the blog carnival, I have continued to search for blog posts that catch my attention and showcase a writer’s inherent abilities and distinct voice as a strength.  While it still might not be the most easy or enjoyable use of my time, I can at least recognize now the effort that goes into creating and maintaining a blog and blogging persona that feels natural and true.

As for myself as a blogger, I will have to see whether or not I will continue to blog in the future — be it for future classes, jobs, or just for fun.  The thought of creating a blog seems a little less scary now, but I’m still not sure if I would really be able to ever be super comfortable sharing so often in this public medium.  This is something that I am still working on — becoming more comfortable with the idea of being viewed or criticized by others.  But as an essential part of blogging, I realize that this will always happen no matter what the situation.  It’s just a matter of time… let’s see where the interesting things that I’ve learned throughout this class will take me!

Who Knew?

Hallie Parker 2013 Fall Cohort, Gateway Leave a comment

This week, I would like to, yet again, blog about the process of my remediation process, however, this time from the technological perspective, rather than the writing, editing, structuring, or storyboarding perspective. Who knew that when I was accepted into the Minor in Writing program here at the University of Michigan, I would learn more about technology than I ever thought I could? When people think of writing, they often think of essays, papers, peer-editing, drafting and re-drafting, punctuation, sentence structure, and all things related to letters and words. However, I now have a entirely different perspective on writing, one that I would have never gained if not for the Minor.

Writing has a lot to do with technology. In today’s world, where technology is the center of mostly everything that we do, it has become the center of writing, editing, and publishing. Consider print journalism. Today, newsreaders use the Internet as one of their main sources for finding out about the world. Fewer and fewer people turn to print sources (newspapers, magazines, pamphlets, brochures, etc.). Instead, they simply turn on their computer and Google whatever it is they need to Google. Technology has made information-searching easy as pie. In this way, my remediation project in particular has taught me ways to take advantage of a world in which technology is so embedded and prevalent in our writing practices.

For my remediation project, I am creating a website on WordPress. Through this project, I have learned so much about presenting an argument through technological mediums. Not only has WordPress allowed me to insert text into its interface, but I have learned to insert links to online news stories, am in the process of creating an iMovie video for my site that will combine YouTube videos featuring cooking shows, and have uploaded a multitude of images to my site. All in all, my website has allowed me to use video, images, and links to create an argument, rather than simply text. Although this is not necessarily the most conventional way to write, and is far from the usual 5-page essay, my website has adapted to today’s version of what writing has truly become: technological.

Technology

Taking a risk with my writing

Amy Henson 2012 Fall Cohort, Gateway 1 Comment

As an English major, having to write a lot of essays kind of comes with the territory. Nothing beats that feeling of figuring out an essay topic that you just know is going to be good- but how about those that make you feel kind of nervous and uncomfortable? For one of my classes, the assignment was to read a book then come up with a question about the novel then attempt to answer it in a paper. Coming up with a question that was both challenging and engaging was difficult in itself–and made answering it even harder. My question had no concrete answer, so I felt like I was taking a shot in the dark. In desperation, I wrote and re-wrote various answers until my brain turned to scrambled eggs…then I emailed my professor. All I can say is, it is SO AMAZING to get some reassurance that your writing risk is a good one. She recognized the challenge that I set for myself and appreciated that I was working hard to figure it out…which really validated my choice to choose a risky topic in the first place. In the end, I still have no clue if my paper is “right”…but that extra encouragement to take the risk really reminded me the point of writing. Don’t just take the easy way out and write about something obvious…rather, use writing as a means of figuring out something really difficult (maybe you will even learn something…).