Reflective: Thoughtful, Meditative, Contemplative, Pondering, Speculative, Pensive

So this being my final blog post for Digital Civilization, I can't say that I'm terribly upset.

I began this course with absolute hatred. Blogging being the main target of my distaste.

I just felt that it was annoying and useless for me to write 2-3 blog posts a week. Plus, it took me a long time to read all the information, do some self-directed learning, AND write an acceptable blog post about what I learned.

But as the class continued and I got the chance to meet more people in our class, I won't lie, I actually began to like the class.

Someone that I befriended in the beginning and made the class bearable was Erin Hamson. She and I were the only freshman in the course, at least I'm pretty sure we were. We sat together the first day and from then we were class buddies. We were in the same group for the mini book club project. Which we all enjoyed doing. We read the Marriage of Heaven and Hell. This project, while at first I thought was going to be a pain, I really enjoyed doing. My choice of project to do about the book was a photo project. It was a lot of fun to do and I feel like it expressed the point of the book well.
So thanks Erin! You really helped me survive this class. 

I feel like this picture expresses my initial feelings of the course very well.

So what have I learned from this class?

Way too much...

But at least it will help me as I acclimate to the whole college thing. 

Self Directed Learning: It took me a LONG time to get use to this. But it has definitely grown on me. I discovered I could find details about topics that I WANTED to learn about. A whole new revelation to me. I suppose an example of this would be my blog post about the Triangle Factory Fire concerning the Industrial Revolution --> The Girls

It also just so happens that this post is my most "popular" post. It seems like many people liked how I presented my information.  

The Web: The online world is HUGE. Even bigger than the planet it lives on. While before the class, I had accepted the fact that I would only be knowledgeable in what I had been taught to use, this class has expanded my options greatly. I can be a digital citizen. 

All in all, this class will be missed. I have enjoyed growing and learning with all our connections of history and the digital world. 

I have yet to figure out what I might blog about in the future..But I assure you, it will be spectacular.

Why?

I will begin by saying that this post is definitely more on the religious side.

Prof. Burton & Prof Zappala wanted for us to explain why we are invested in our Final Project and what makes us feel the need to successfully complete it.

Our Mormon Message is focused on families. 

For some odd reason, I feel a great need to write what I'm about to write.

A Long Day - Update on the Final Project

Current Time: 3:24 PM
Location: Multimedia Lab - HBLL

Mental Capacity: 5% and dropping..

Technological Capacity: -32% and exponentially decreasing

Our day here in the lab began hopeful and enthusiastic. Although my own enthusiasm has waned, we remain steadfast on our journey to complete the Mormon Message video.

We were able to edit and cut much of our footage and most of our clips have been separated into their respective categories.

With 2 different computers reserved and yet another computer with all our files, we were lucky enough to meet some very kind and understanding people who allowed us to switch computers.

We took different shifts to get food since we were all getting pretty low on physical energy.

Now, we are working on a computer that is connected through the same network to our main computer with all our work. We've hit a small technological obstacle and are just trying to think of what to do.

David, Ariel, and I are just going to push through..

In the words of The Sound of Music, "[We] have confidence in [us]". Not exactly a direct quotation..but close enough for me.

In Honor of The Day The World Got Brighter

There are 4 events that God saved to be the MOST important in the world. 1st of course being Christ's birth. The 2nd for Christ's fulfillment of the Atonement. 3rd for the 2nd Coming. 

As for the 4th...

December 2, 1992
A soon-to-be mother goes about her day. Thinking of what to make her husband for dinner. What groceries need to be picked up. Is there anything else needed for the new baby? She was expecting her first born daughter in just 10 days. All she ever wanted was to have at least one girl. She had been feeling a bit uncomfortable all morning. Some random pains every few minutes. Suddenly, realization set in...the baby was coming.

Later that day...
after being rushed to the hospital by her very excited husband, she was immediately put in a room and ready for the next few hours of discomfort..

5:03 PM
Hallelujah. Heavens open. Angelic choir. The world brightens. A baby girl has been brought into existence. They named her Shuan, a fitting name for a brilliant being. God saved this great event for the birth of the most spectacular Asian.

Nominations *drumroll please*

Historical Content

A blog that I have been consistently reading throughout this course has been Erin Hamson's --- >  Call me......Erin
She always has interesting posts about the historical content and brings a different opinion to the subjects. I especially like her post: Dual Personality of Enlightenment. She introduces her subject and what she will be talking about in the post, then goes in depth and it is very apparent that she has done her research. 

Another post that I found really interesting, especially since I don't particularly like the topic, was Kurt Witt's --> Hollywood responds to the Atomic Age. 

When I read most posts, I usually just skim and read the most important points. But with his post, I watched both of the videos all the way through and clicked all his links. It was well put together and concise. All in all, it was a wonderful, informative post that I enjoyed reading.  

Digital Literacy

Danny Patterson's --> Mass Text Email Program Written in Excel post I found really interesting. It's personal because he created it himself but also informative and useful since it would benefit many people as well. It introduces his program and explains how it works and the benefits gained from using the program. A well-explained and interesting post.