Mirrored Posting: The Three Seas of Digital Civilizations

Consume, Create, Connect

 These are the three seas, err that is Cs, of Honors 202 Digital Civilizations. Through each area our class is to expand their digital savvy, or in the spirit of the Renaissance and Enlightenment improve our Digital Literacy. I believe that in this, the first month, of this class I have found success in all areas.



Consume:
Students independently and intelligently seek out, gather, filter, and qualify information sources.

The consumption of information that the world has to offer has long centered itself at the fore of my life, and its pursuits. Until recently, however, the majority of my consumption was through tangible texts, or occasionally library-based article databases. I had always felt that internet and Google type searches were to be avoided at all costs.

Wikipedia: a history

The basis for this bias lies in the accessibility of the internet, if anyone can edit the internet, whose controlling what truth is published? Of course now I have learned of the hierarchy of authority behind Wikipedia, and the ability to see all of the changes that have come to pass on such pages. 
Also, I recently learned of other services that can be used to filter through information on the internet, and have begun to use them in all of my searches via the internet. For example, just yesterday I began an inspirational blog post and while looking for material to fill the post I need to perform a search. So looking for what actual people had had to say I turned to icerocket  to search and then briefly read various posts. This  first led me to this blog and inspirational posters.

Now I realize that none of this relates directly to the course but it is an example of how I have learned simply from finding different ways to search. In the areas directly related to the class and its topics, my greatest improvement in consumption is through the tools Diigo and Evernote. The former allows me to highlight and write notes on articles already on the internet, as well as post them to a group site to help others find relevant information.  Thus as I have become more digitally literate, that is familiar with searching, browsing, and filtering information, my learning for this course has become more focused on the most relevant topics. My literacy has also allowed me to connect with other students over articles and outside of blogs.

Create:
Students generate varied types of content and media in response to the course and as part of self-directed learning.

Creation is probably the area in which I lack the most skill and literacy. I have successfully created this blog and several relevant posts, on it that have allowed me to form opinions and articulate ideas before entering the classroom scene, and that is about the extent of my creation.  However, the blog posts and comments that I have generated have significantly improved my learning experience. In many areas of study it is often difficult to find a direct relevancy to life today, and one's own life. The creation process has significantly helped me to find the relevancy today through researching and drawing conclusions about problems of today. Additionally, interacting with the blogs of fellow students and others has assisted me to find other applications via seeing topics through their lenses.

Connect:
Students share what they consume or create, interact with others both in person and online, collaborate on meaningful projects, and use social media seriously.

Blogging and the affiliated research both fall directly under the previous two categories. However without these two beginnings there would be no connect, it is a bit difficult to connect with others when there is nothing to be said. My best experience with connection was the Group Digital Literacy Lab assignment, which required a group of three to come together and to connect. Through this experience I learned two new tools, Yugma and Evernote, and I was also able to connect with the students in my group, learn more about them, and realize that any perceived differences did not actually exist.

Consequently my research and learning of Yugma and Skype, allowed me to turn around and share those tools with others in a way to connect with people outside of the class. It is true that my results in efforts to reach to people I do not already know are lacking, however, I do believe that with a little more effort I will be able to over come this barrier.

One of my greatest efforts in this areas has been through Twitter. I have begun to follow people with similar interests through their "people finder" page, and perhaps one day I will have something to say that they will want to listen to.

And thus I find that the labs have significantly helped to augment my learning, and to give tools that I will almost certainly continue to use to further my education.