Introduction
So far this semester I have looked through multiple sources of media and make observations about the content. I’ve also learned how to become a better writer. This part of the semester has been heavily focused on rhetorically breaking down the content of pieces that I come across. I enjoyed writing Digital Project #1 because it gave me freedom in what I wanted to write by letting me write about a time in my life. Digital Project #2 was a struggle for me because it forced me to not only be creative, but mindful in who I am intending my video for. I think I have done well in my goal of oral communication. A goal that I feel I need to improve on is Civic Engagement.
Now that the semester is over, I can say that I feel a lot more comfortable in not only CODES but in college in general. This course helped me improve as a writer, reader, and communicator. The reflections that we did over the course of the semester introduced me to different forms and styles of writing. Although I was a little reluctant to do Digital Project #2 because it was a little more complex, it opened up the creative parts of my brain and helped me get more comfortable speaking to an audience. One of my goals that I believe I succeeded in was civic engagement. Digital Project #3 taught me how to work well with other people in an academic setting.
Goal 1: Civic Engagement (30%): Tailors communication strategies to effectively listen, express, and adapt to others to establish relationships both in person and online
The first image above is a screenshot of a group me group chat for my photo essay assignment group. This artifact shows me reaching out and communicating with my group members about what slides they want to present in class. This assignment helped me develop the skill of working with new people to perform a task. The assignment took learning about my classmates and figuring out who would be best for certain tasks.
The second image above is feedback that I received from students that I worked on Digital Project #3 with. I received generally the same feedback from all 3 group members. When it came to group assignments, I always wanted to respect members of my group by staying in communication with them and doing my parts of the assignment on time.
The third image is a screenshot from the group chat that my group used during Digital Project #3. It shows me communicating with my group when I added points to our map.
Goal 2: Oral Communication (10%): Uses compelling, appropriate delivery techniques
This is a section from my class journal that I use to track my progress towards my goals. In this particular session I was tasked with receiving and giving feedback on essays to and from peers. In this assignment I was working on the skill of giving constructive criticism while also keeping a positive relationship between peers.
Goal 3: Written Communication (20%): Uses language to skillfully communicate with clarity and fluency
The first image above is a paragraph from Digital Project #1. In this paragraph I display proper punctuation. Because this assignment was mostly written off of pure memory, I had to learn how to effectively communicate with my audience by being descriptive in my writing. With that being said, next time I am tasked with writing a similar piece, I will heavily focus on being descriptive so the reader can have the best chance at accurately interpreting what I am communicating.
The second image above is a section from Reflection #2. In this paragraph I am explaining my interpretation of a photograph of teenagers hanging out by their cars on the side of a highway. I used my own personal experience of being a teenager who had gained access to their first vehicle. In the paragraph I display proper punctuation to express my thoughts to the reader. Writing so many reflections over pieces of writing over the semester helped me improve on written communication.
Goal 4: Information Literacy (20%): Accesses information using effective, well-designed search strategies and appropriate sources
The first image above is my citations page from my Multimodal Reflection Essay. It is a properly formatted MLA works cited page. It shows where I received the information and pictures that I used throughout the paper. I was already familiar with the skill of researching and finding credible sources before this assignment.
The second image above is a piece of a citations page from an essay that I wrote in my research team course. I wrote about the topic of water contamination and the health effects it has on those who drink contaminated water. I pulled evidence to support my claims from sources like the Illinois Department of Public Health, Heartlands Conservancy, and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources. For the topic of water contamination and its impact on health, these sources are safe and credible to use.
Goal 5: Problem-Solving Skills (20%): Identifies and evaluate multiple approaches for solving problems.
The first artifact was a paragraph from my Digital Project description. Initially, I chose to write DP#1 about experiencing cultural differences for the first time when I traveled to Canada five years ago. The second artifact is a section from my class journal that addresses this problem I faced. After realizing that my first topic wouldn’t work out, I chose a topic that I knew I would have pictures and more experiences with to write about. From this assignment I learned how to really assess my topics before writing a paper to make sure that I can have quality content.