At Last, We Have Reached the Finish Line!

Unfortunately, our time has come to an end. This moment is bittersweet for not only me, but all of my other colleagues. Digital Media Literacy has been not only a journey, but a beautiful challenge that I have embarked on and I am glad that I had the opportunity to take this course with Dr. Stacey Patton as my professor. So instead of being melancholy, let’s reflect on my journey throughout this course! Let’s begin!

My Journey

I remember coming back from Winter Break, excited that I made it through my first semester; I was on honor roll and made the Dean’ s List with straight A’s. I was ecstatic to start my second semester. I was hoping it would be a breeze just like the first semester, but boy o’ boy was I in for a rude awakening…

On the very first day of class, I got lost! I could not find Screening Room West to save my life! Once I finally find the room, I enter and automatically feel the vibe. There’s music hip hop music blasting and I am loving it. After a couple of minutes, my professor arrives and we start to meditate. Yes… MEDITATE! Now what professor do you know that starts the class off with some meditation?! I immediately knew that this class was going to be amazing.

Now do not get me wrong, I love a good challenge; I usually get bored if I do not feel like my brain cells are not being worked. But this class was definitely a challenge, more like a slap in the face (but in a good way)! My first assignment… missed. Second assignment… late. Third assignment… challenging. I was not prepared. There were so many weekly written assignments that I was not mentally ready for. I had to make a blog every week on top of implementing a video onto my very own website. Sounds like a lot right?

Amidst having to write a blog every week, I had to record a video to compliment each blog entry. This is where the challenging aspect of this class came in. I had to be consistent. Consistency was very important because not only did I have to make sure that I did not miss any deadlines, I had to have quality work. I had to read passages and excerpts. I have to watch lengthy videos in order to be able to comment on certain topics. It was overwhelming for me; I had to adjust to this workload and fast pace. It was new to me.

After a couple weeks go by, I am starting to get a hang of this! I am taking initiative, looking at emails, asking for help, and communicating with my professor. Life is great (as Future and Drake would say). I receive my progress evaluation for the semester and my results are looking great. This boosts my determination and drive. Overall, I believe that I have really grown throughout the course; from not having any motivation to do my assignments, to being excited to turn upload a new blog post and record videos talking expressing my views and opinions on life.

Key Take Aways

This course has definitely taught me a lot about myself as a person. This class has also given me more skills as a writer and a student.

The main thing that I grasped in this course is the ability to create blogs and vlogs, and turn them into quality content. I have always wanted to create a YouTube, I just never knew where to start. But, as I started to dive into this course, it gave me the confidence to create more videos and explore my creativity.

Another aspect of the class that will stick to me is all of the information that I learned in this course. The content in this course was very interesting and I actually was intrigued. For instance, we watched a episode of the Netflix series Black Mirror called “NoseDive”, which really opened my eyes. It allowed me to realize how much people are entitled to their cellular devices and acceptance from other people. The course also introduced the importance of “Digital Media Literacy”!!!!

Final Thoughts About the Course

Furthermore, I am please with the class. I can not count on hand how many positive things I have to say about this class simply because there is so many. I love the creativity, spontaniety, and overall vibe of this class.