Final Reflection

For my final reflection, I decided to create a video of my website. I wanted to be able to talk about it while you are able to look at it as well.

I honestly enjoyed this course so much, more than I thought I would. I’ve gained more and learned more in this course than a lot of my other courses. The freedom this course gave me over my website really encourages me to continue on with my website long after the course is finished. By creating a website, I am creating something tangible that I can place into my portfolio to show to prospective jobs. I have something to show for my hard-work in this course, and it can be measured in the refinement of my website.

I decided to create a website dedicated on educating adults about children and the development and growth of children. The assignments really helped me put into perspective how I would actually like for my website and blog to work. I created a website layout that was professional and also fun, to match the overall purpose of my website. The design principles assignment and readings really helped me create the website that I did. Understanding the principles of design will help a lot in the workforce. Knowing what looks good and what works well together is something worth learning and remembering even if you aren’t a designer.

I enjoyed the podcast assignment a lot because it is very relevant to activities bloggers are doing in the blogging world today. The skills, experience, and practice I gained from working on my own podcast is valuable. Some of us students wouldn’t have ever imagined making our own podcast. This assignment has allowed us to test the waters, and for me personally, I’m ready to dive deeper. I can definitely see these audio editing skills being utilized in the workforce. Video recording, audio recording, and writing can all be used in school projects, work projects, and personal projects, so it’s always good to keep practicing and learning.

The Wikipedia assignment was also a super fun, but also educational assignment that I enjoyed doing a lot. Yet again, this assignment let students, as aspiring writers and educators, test the waters in article writing for an organization such as Wikipedia. This experience is something I never thought I’d do, and yet it is something I can see myself casually doing now and again. Researching how an organization such as Wikipedia functions, understanding how their community works, and being able to contribute to such a renown encyclopedia is something a student such as myself would’ve never thought to do. I can see myself contributing to the community now, writing articles for the billions of people who use Wikipedia. Through this experience, I have grown more aware of the professional world and how different publishing platforms have different processes and requirements.

Despite my article not getting approved to be published, this course as opened so many doors and has encouraged me to try new things and learn new skill sets. The digital world has so many things to offer to the aspiring writer, creator, and student. It is just a matter of going out there and learning, and despite failing sometimes, getting up and trying again, receiving feedback, fixing mistakes, and honing the skills we learn. I will continue to practice what I’ve learned in this course, and will continue to learn more, so that I can better utilize the skills this course has introduced to me to aid the personal, professional, and civic realms of my life.