Final Thoughts as the Class Comes to to an End......

Before taking this class this semester, I thought that my knowledge of digital technology was pretty good.  My first wakeup call was when we had to set up a twitter account and a blog and I found myself almost a bit lost.  What I came to find as the semester went on was that having a twitter and having a blog is a great way to get information across that you think should have more coverage then it is getting.  It’s a great way to get your point across because the internet is such a great tool to spread the word to the masses.  Although I’m not sure if I’ll keep a blog once this class ends, it is definitely a tool that I have now that I didn’t have before this semester started.

Something that I didn’t really expect to learn from the course was how to take a good photograph.  It’s more than just about finding a pretty thing to photograph, it’s about the rule of thirds, lighting, and all those other concepts that we talked about.  As you can see, my skill has definitely improved from when I first took that picture with my cell phone.

From my experience this semester though, I find that there are many positive aspects of digital information.  One that I experienced firsthand was the virtual classroom that occurred right before thanksgiving.  It just goes to show how far technology has advanced to a point where people can participate in class from their homes, although a negative aspect to that are the distractions that can occur when they are at home.  The different aspects of digital information, like the internet, mixed with traditional means of gathering information have made multi-tasking almost a must-have skill for the future.  Especially with laptops in the classrooms, students well need to multi-task like never before.

Another positive aspect that I see is the way digital information speeds everything up.  Relating to my last blog posting, the high speed exchange of digital information has made it easier than ever for families and friends to keep in touch with love ones who are deployed in combat zones.  I know for me, being in touch with my family and friends on a semi-regular basis made my time over there much more bearable. 

With this exchange of digital information, there are negative aspects as well.  We learned in class how easy it is for hackers to take our information from places like our phone and computers.  After learning about how Bluetooth can be used to take information from phones, I started to make sure my Bluetooth function was off unless I was using it.  While I was in class, I put my phone in discovery mode and found other devices in the room.  I am definitely much more careful with the Bluetooth on my phone now.

For my friends that did not take this course, I would say that they should really take advantage of the things that can be done now with digital information.  Things are just done so much quicker now and you can get your voice out there if you use things like blogs and twitter.  I would warn them also though, to know how to keep safe because there are people out there who can and will steal your personal digital information if given the opportunity too.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from this course, but in the end, it’s is one of the few classes that I have ever taken at the University of Maryland that I was glad that I took because the information I learned is applicable to life right now.