As I write this last blog, I feel a pinch of sadness overcoming me…another semester done…another farewell to classmates and wonderful teachers. Looking back at this semester I am definitely feeling some shock at the fact that I made it! We all made it! I remember the first week when I read the “Here’s What To Do” section and felt the anxiety building up in my chest…so much stuff!
From blogs to responses to EL Thinking work to discussions to group work to essays….and more. This has been one of the most challenging classes I have taken and I think a lot of it has to do with being online and being disciplined enough. It took a lot of energy for me to stay up to date with all the assignments. This has, however; also made this class one of the best I have taken. The communication skills I have learned, not just from thoroughly discussing and studying communication chapters in the book, but from actually communicating in different settings and different ways, has made my ability to communicate effectively so much stronger. I have gained a sense of appreciation for being able to communicate face-to-face, and also gained the skills needed when communication cannot take place face-to-face. We learned about the different means of communication: e-mail, blog, advertisements, cartoons, nonverbal, verbal, etc. and every new thing will stick with me in the future and better influence every situation (since communication is always being used everywhere).
The other very important thing that I have taken from this class is the skill of pure writing…not necessarily in a blog or a response or even a PDR, but the simple task of writing and expressing myself in what I write. The essays were not only the most challenging to me, but the most successful in building this skill for me. The extent to which I needed to stretch my abilities was exhausted after every essay. To express myself I had to carefully consider all aspects of what I was writing, how people would perceive it, and how I would want them to perceive it. The weekly responses we did on different topics in the discussion board were helpful in this sense. When I wrote something I was eager to see how other students would respond…would they understand what I was trying to convey? Would they get angry or sad or agree or disagree with my opinion? Would they consider my point of view and still give theirs? (Something I found difficult to do). Finally the essays called for PDR activities, which definitely scared me. I wasn’t too comfortable giving my opinion on someone else’s writing since my own was not something to brag about. I did, however; realize that it did not matter, because what these PDR’s allowed for others was the same as I was anticipating in the weekly responses. These PDR’s allowed others to see how their writing was impacting readers, how it was being perceived by different people with different backgrounds and different opinions, and finally something valuable…how they would take their life experiences and add to the writing to make it even better. I have learned to love those PDR’s!
These are only a few points that I have made on things that I will take away from this class. I enjoyed it (most of the time) and I am absolutely proud of every single student who made it through this class with me this semester! Thank you Jennifer for being such an amazing, easy-going, comfortable, and helpful professor. Good luck to everyone on your future educational and life adventures!
I agree and feel the same way you did about the about PDR’s and weekly discussions. I was very nervous to share my opinion and also to critique others writing. I felt I lacked the knowledge and grammar skills to review others papers. But I guess we are all learning and most of us feel the same.
ReplyDeleteI also did feel overwhelmed with the workload but I did realize that all of reading and writing assignments helped me become a better writer. This was one of the toughest classes I have taken since anatomy. They are both different in subject but they were alike because I had to spend most of my time and energy on them. Its classes like these that I find myself involved in and learn the most from.
Well here I am writing my last responses, it felt like it was just yesterday when I was learning how to response to blogs. I greatly enjoyed reading all of my classmate’s blogs, they were fun. I felt like people let their guard down and really expressed themselves and I was able to get to know their personality through their blogs. I did get a chance to read a few of your blogs and I really liked them. I wish you the best in your future.
It is interesting to see how many students felt the same way as I do about this class. I use to feel very uneasy about this class and I thought I was the only one. The way you feel about this class is exactly the same way I feel about this class. Every time I click on the link “So Here’s What to Do,” I also get the anxiety build ups you talk about. But it is odd how even though I know I will do just fine, I still get anxieties. My mind would start spinning from looking at all of the assignments we had to do. I say we should all stop complaining, because everywhere we go, even if school is over, we will still have more responsibilities and stress that we have to deal with. Those two things will never go away. We just have to deal with it. Complaining and stressing over that fact that we are already stressed out will not get us anywhere or any good. And just like you mentioned how you will miss this class, I think I will too. Even though this is an online course, it was really nice to successfully communicate with the classmates. And by the way, this blog is my last blog response for this class. You should feel special. =]
ReplyDeleteTake care & do well on that darn annoying research paper! (lol)
Oh no, you made me think about the anxiousness I felt on that first day as well. I remember sitting there thinking about how I was going to get all that work done. But, yes, we made it! I have taken many online courses, and I have never taken a class like this, although I say that with positive meaning. Like you said, communication impacts us in our lives, so we will definitely use the material we learned in this class since it was primary about language.
ReplyDeleteI too found that the essays were the hardest part out of all the assignments. There is so much to think about when building an essay. Additionally, I can see that making responses on another person’s paper might seem intimidating since one might be unsure what to say. But I loved it. I loved hearing responses from my peers on what needs improvement, and the positive remarks were very encouraging. I loved being able to help my peers on problem areas that I saw, and make a difference in their writing performance. I think Peer Draft Reviews are great because the professor cannot find every mistake that a student makes, so having input from classmates on corrections is very helpful.
Well, although I understand what you mean, I can’t really say that I feel the “pinch of sadness” that you mentioned. Actually, I am happy, just happy that I made it through this course. What a ride this has been! My wife is happy too; she has barely been able to speak to me for months, since I have had to focus on this class so much. Well, we still speak, but, you know what I mean. Even though I am happy that it is finally over, I truly value this learning experience for a number of reasons. One, like you said, my “pure writing” skills have greatly improved through the variety of writing assignments that we all had to complete. The blogs were completely new to me, and enhanced my ability to perform the “simple task of writing and expressing myself in what I write.” And, like you, I also looked forward to the responses that would come from these blogs, as well as the responses from the peer draft reviews and the group activities. I really took the advice and opinions that I would get from my classmates and diligently try to apply this to my final draft and to all of my other writings going forward.
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