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Course Reflection

This class has taught me a lot about how to better navigate the internet and about how to better myself academically. I am currently a senior and will be graduating in December and really wish I would have taken this class sooner! It was nice to learn all the google can do for you. Coming into the the course, I just thought it was a search engine and somewhere to house an email account. It was pretty cool setting up a GoogleDoc account as well as setting up a schedule for myself through the site. I enjoyed learning about all the various search engines available to me as well as the resources that this class was able to point out for me. It was nice to interact with other students, commenting on each other’s posts and seeing what they had to say about the same material.

This class has taught me that I am no where near as technologically savvy as I should be. There are many aspects of the internet that I have no idea about and this class just grazed the top of what all is out there. It also taught me that I need to make better use of my time. Far too often, I am distracted by the influence of the 60 people living with me in my house. Granted I love them to death, but in mapping out my weekly schedule through my Gmail account, I realized I need to devote more time to studying and less time to going out and drinking. This course taught me how to better manage my time when it comes to online work. Having modules due every Wednesday and setting aside a weekly time each week to knock out the assignments was nice.

I would say the most meaningful experience in the course would have to be learning how to better navigate my Gmail account. I have had an email set up on there for years, but learning all that it has to offer will prove very beneficial in the future. I like how we devoted an entire week’s worth of material based on the topic. I have used the GoogleDoc feature multiple times in the very little amount of time I have had knowledge of it. The Google schedule also allows me to see where I spend most of my time and helps me out when I have important dates.

I will take many things away from this course. I now know how to work through the OSU online research library, being able to retrieve articles in the database without actually having to go to the library and scan them in myself. As I have mentioned previously, I will continue to use the GoogleDoc and Gmail schedule both academically and for various other things as I see fit. This class taught me to make better use of my time. Throughout the course, I was able to grow up a little bit, working through the distractions and buckling down (every now and then) and getting stuff done, much more than I had in the past. I hope to continue to better myself at my time management skills, hopefully one day getting the procrastination down to a minimum.

Searching and Researching

I found this week’s material to be very informative and I’m sure will prove useful down the road. There are many ways in which you can do an advanced search on Google (as well as many other search engines, I’m sure) that I had no idea about! You are able to add on an extension to your search, specifying things like domain name or if you are looking for exact words in the title. It is imperative that you use  a source that is reliable and credible in doing research, especially when you have to do so for an assignment in class. Some sites out there are comprised solely of biased and uneducated people on the matter, giving you a lot of unnecessary and incorrect information. Although it is okay to use Wikipedia for very basic things, you should always back up data received from the site with a more credible source, one that is not just an open forum where anyone can post. Another great resource to take advantage of here at Ohio State, is using the University Libraries website to access articles that can be used for a paper. There is an extended query that the site uses that is able to pick-point the exact article you want, and send it to you electronically. If the library can’t access it at a particular point in time, they may even scan it in for you and send it to you electronically! It is also very important that you reference everything that you use that is not your own work.

Web-Enhanced Listening and Viewing Strategies

This module reiterated a lot of points that I use in my studying and listening habits, while also adding some new food for thought. I always like to print off the powerpoint slides or notes that the teacher provided and always make sure that I leave adequate room in printing them off so I can take additional notes, building off the material as the professor lectures. I’ll have to go into further thought when it comes to making questions for myself, as sometimes I just like reading off the slides and having it make sense at the time, but at other times, I forget what the slide was about when I review it later on. The Cornell Method is also very informative as it breaks apart the note-taking process bit by bit as opposed to just one big paper of notes and questions scattered throughout. In viewing the materials provided in the module, an idea to audio record the lectures is something that my computer has the capability to do, but it hasn’t crossed my mind until now to do so. Some of my lecturers tend to talk pretty quick so being able to record and go back and re-listen to some of the material may be advantageous in the future. Additional podcasts on materials that I struggle with is also something I may want to look into. I know with calculus I would struggle sometimes, so getting some additional input on a particular topic is a good way I can get through more difficult material.

Educational Videos

For my academic video, I chose to view one of history and nothing interests me more like the history of golf! This video outlines the beginnings of the game and how it came to spread throughout Europe beginning way back in 1413 when the University of St. Andrews made a golf course out of the whispy grasses and links-style environment that permitted such a sport to be played. It was primarily a sport played by royalty and early on they would acquire clubs with hickory shafted woods and club heads made by local blacksmiths.  The east coast of Scotland served as the earliest home of golf, but when kings from various countries got wind of the sport, they would often engage in golf matches, challenging one another and this allowed the sport to thrive.

This video was constructed in a way that kept me interested and allowed me to concentrate on the video without being bored by its display. The video was accompanied by a very Scottish bagpipe piece and showed pictures of the early courses and the people that helped make golf what it is today. Although I had heard of many of the courses mentioned (Carnoustie and St. Andrews), it was nice to know the stories behind them. I never knew that golf was primarily a winter sport, as that was when the grass was the shortest. I also found it pretty cool that the kings of different countries would challenge each other to golf matches, as I had never heard of that fact before.

 

Effectively Navigating the Internet

The invention of the internet has opened the door to a whole new way to read material.  Although the internet may have a lot of distractions, it is important to be efficient and read the material just as if it were presented in paper form right in front of you. Before sitting down to read, you should look over the syllabus and make sure what points exactly you want to get out of the reading.  While reading, it doesn’t hurt to copy and paste certain articles you find to a word (or Google) doc, making notes pertaining to the topic as you see fit. There are many online resources to aid you in your college endeavors (infographics, mindmaps, and timelines), so do not hesitate to use them for all of your study needs. You can also use many different sites to make flashcards or put together a quiz for yourself so you can study effectively. The online resources make you think outside of the box as opposed to just text, sometimes a visual representation is more important in helping you grasp concepts better.  The digital age allows you to have textbooks, flashcards, online study resources, and various other things in the palm of your hand, it is up to you to get the most out of them by knowing just how to master each aspect of navigating the internet.

Communicating and Collaborating on the Web

It is important to make sure that when communicating on the world wide web, that you always act in a professional manner and make sure to present yourself in the same way you would if you were in a face to face conversation with the person you’re addressing.  You always want to make sure that whatever it is that you are typing out to send, that it is done so in a professional manner that is properly formatted, free of spelling and grammar errors, and avoids the common pitfalls that can happen when writing something online.  Always show superiors respect in writing to them (not addressing them on a first name basis unless instructed to do so).  Don’t be afraid to use online resources such as wikis and GoogleDocs to serve as a medium of communication for your group and a way to tackle a project that you are presented with.  It is important to stress each member’s role in the project and to make sure that they know the proper steps to take in order for the group to thrive as a whole.  The web provides you with the tools necessary needed to make your academic career much more stress free, so don’t hesitate to take the time mastering these tools, as they will definitely be worth your while in the long run.