I believe strongly that COM 410: Advanced Topics in communication should be a requirement for every student here at the University, just like COM 100. The reason is that college is to prepare students for the real world. The real world now days consist of being on social media and learning digitally, if people do not want to agree with me they are wrong. I have learned so much already through online videos, classmate’s posts on muute and flip grid, as well as out text book Net Smart written by Howard Rheingold. COM 410 doesn’t only educate you digitally as a student but it is slowly teaching me how to be prepared for the real world by understanding the differences between digital learning and traditional learning (being in the classroom).

 

                     In the opening of our textbook Net Smart, Rheingold states that “The future of digital culture—yours, mine, ours—depends on how well we learn to use media that have infiltrated, amplified, distracted, enriched, and complicated our lives. How you employ a search engine, stream video from your phonecam, or update your Facebook status matters to you and everyone, because the ways people use new media in the first years of an emerging communication regime can influence the way those media end up being used and misused for decades to come” (Rheingold, Pg. 10). It is pretty amazing to read that, he talks about how even if media distracts you or can even be complicated, as we all know, no matter what new media will be in the decades to come, so we need to learn how it works now. Thanks to COM 410 I am learning new aspects every week of how digital media works, which is giving me a head start, compared to others who may be my co-workers in the future. I also want to comment on the fact that if my parents were to take this class they fail miserably because they were never taught how to use a computer like our generation because we didn’t have a choice and they didn’t have the technology. I say our generation didn’t have a choice because we didn’t, the technology and media advancements that occurred throughout our lives compared to our parents is out of this world and this class proves my statement. I believe that there is no option for students anymore when it comes to digital learning because of simply the technology advances we are experiencing in todays world. It is something students have to learn and adapt to if they want to be successful in learning.

 

                    Blended learning is in my eyes the only way schools should work; I mean come on it’s the twenty-first century. I learned more about blended learning after watching “What is Blended Learning – from the learning accelerator”.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The video above has so many great points that made me think about my own life as a student before college. I know I was the kid who went from class periods to class period bored out of my mind, that needed to change for me, why should I be bored throughout all my classes, I mean school is supposed to be fun I thought? It genually made my parents upset, they sacrificed to send me to a private high school that I would come home and literally talk about how much I hate school. In just a few years since I graduated high school blended learning as been increasing at absurd rates. I mean I was never allowed to have an Ipad in my classroom but now at my high school you are required to have an Ipad in the classroom, that’s amazing. An aspect to blended learning which catches my eye is an aspect that would slide right by most, which is that as a student you receive instant feedback on your work. Learning happened through understanding your mistakes and blended learning helps your teachers give you there feedback on your mistakes at a much faster rate compared to the traditional style of teaching. 

 

                     Yes, blended learning is a great way to educate but there are fundamental components to learning with all this new technology. The componants that are fundamental to online learning in my eyes are critical thinking, active participation, and face-to-face interaction, which bring me back to our COM 410 class. I honestly became overwhelmed during last week while reviewing the assignments that were due. I was reading the list and it was saying to use muute to post your thoughts, class will meet on Google handouts, flip grid to display your comments, etc. I was saying to myself "what is all of this?” I was beyond overwhelmed because of all the new ways I was going to have to use my computer and most importantly learn how to use it my computer, so I pass this class. On top of that there is about four assignments due every week, which stressed me out. My anxiety was through the roof to say the least but the anxiety gone this week because online learning has already taught me how to use muute, flip grid, Google hangouts, and how to be on top of my work. Seeing how COM 410 uses online learning and we don’t meet in a classroom, I don’t have anyone reminding me face-to-face that I have an assignment due, which stressed me out. I joined the class last week, so I am only a week into my online learning experience but I have already learned how to be on top of my work and I feel good about the class now. Online learning has taught me how to be more motivated by having to learn new digital learning tools and it taught me how to be more on top of my work. Its crazy to think I’m just one person from Cape Cod, MA who goes to The University of Rhode Island that online learning has on a person, It makes me think does everyone agree that online learning is great for everyone?

 

 

 

Works Cited

 

Rheingold, H. (2012). Attention! Why and How to Control Your Mind's Most Powerful Instrument. In NET SMART how to thrive online (p. 3). Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press. Proust and the Squid, Maryanne Wolf, 2007