English 1102 with Ms. Karen Morris has certainly been more of a rigorous and demanding course than Ms. Morris’s English 1101 I took first semester. Initially, signing up for a hybrid class, I expected that there would be more involvement online. Thankfully, it was not as bad as I assumed. I knew that I was going to have to devote plenty of time studying and researching to improve my essays and make academic progress. As far as technology is concerned, I also expected we would be using way more modes of technology, but having everything done online was pretty complicated enough. Now that the class is at its end, I am very pleased with the outcome. My expectations were maybe too far-fetched. I expected the worst, but what I received was an amazing academic experience. Although it was exigent, I was able to grow as a writer, speaker, and gain a greater understanding of citation regulations. What I dreaded the most were the late class times. We met once a week on Thursday evenings. Thursday was always my last day of classes for the week, and the class would always occur when I was ready to go to bed! I was looking forward to the new technological modes we would be using. Last semester in Ms. Morris's class, we created a presentation and she provided us with so many different links to create different, fun presentations by animation, slideshows, etc. The essays this semester initially were complex to me; typically because I was not very familiar with the sort of criteria involved. The essays were all quite interesting and the research that I always found was captivating as well. My favorite essay is the final essay because I worked very hard on it. I vividly remember the night that I finalized it. I stayed up way past three in the morning just so that I could finish it. I was so exhausted and drained, but I just could not bring myself to waiting another day to finish it! I am very proud of its turnout. There were a few mistakes that were pointed out by my instructor, but they were revised and corrected and the improved FINAL piece can be found on the page on the left-hand side. I revised every individual essay that I received feedback and criticism on. I enhanced them to include whatever I was advised to correct whether it was a misuse of sources, correcting grammatical errors, providing better examples and analogies, or just making the points a little bit more unambiguous in the beginning; my essays are better than before. I usually made my revisions once the draft was graded and I received comments by my instructors or peers. I tried not to wait too late because our class would then begin another paper.
The peer reviews were tolerable. I never made it to any conferences due to my job and arbitrary situations that occurred. I loved the course modules! They were by far the most helpful tools for fulfilling assignment. I could always return to them just to double check everything was arranged appropriately. I thought without question that the wikis helped build my research essay because a lot of evidence was already provided for me to incorporate. I also thought that the two different essays (the compare and contrast essay and the human interest essay) helped because I was able to acquire from both essays. In addition to that, the human-interest essay motivated me to include my best friend’s (Dante) personal account in my essay. The portfolio is a wonderful method for me to rebuild my essays and prove that I can be a phenomenal writer. The portfolio is a way to display my growth throughout the semester and showcase what I deem as my best works. I am not very sure how ghost grades operate, but if it is when grades are blank until verified to be better, I love that process. It gives students time to show that they can improve themselves and optimistically gain a greater grade. Argumentation can be positive as well. Again, it will be able to persuade and debate one’s progress.
The use of technology was not intimidating nor too overwhelming. I thought it would have been more difficult if anything. I was familiar with the use of technology last semester so I was definitely expecting to use even more this semester in English 1102. It was not a surprise; it was sort of anticipated. The use of wikis was tough to negotiate; I did not know exactly which ones would best fit in my research essay. I chose the ones that I elaborated the best on and was more appropriate for my argument. For the course work, wikis were not that much of help. I do think it was for more show. However, the collaboration on the magazine was awesome! I think the magazine is going to be a collection of unparalleled topics. With so many different topics covering a different issue, readers will be sure to be enthralled by something that intrigued them. I definitely think it is always better to collaborate in class just in case we may need direction or assistance from an instructor. When collaborations occur outside of class, schedules can conflict or people may just provide excuses for reasons why they cannot meet.
Now at the end of the semester, I feel that my web presence does not only include of social networking accounts, but now it can consist of an online blog which includes a portfolio of my best works. I am proud that I am not only on the Internet to socialize, but I can flaunt my scholarly accomplishments that I am proud of and worked hard to improve. I do not think I will have a next English, but if I do, I definitely KNOW for sure that I will be prepared and equipped. Engaging in my next class will be a breeze; I feel that what I learned in this class is more advanced or ahead of other English 1102 classes. Talking with my other friends, they seem to be a week or two behind. Our class would be working on our final research paper and their classes would just be getting introduced annotated bibliographies. If I was to present myself to an employer, I would definitely be primed to speak and present myself as a professional potential/prospective employee. I have learned how to engage different audiences and how vocabulary and diction is major when speaking to people of authority. I will be able to prove my strengths and market my contributions to the company. I am better prepared through this class to speak and present myself as a professional and talented addition to any company or corporation! If I did not work as hard, put so much time into revising, read over those humdrum chapters, or attend class every week, I would be no where near ready for the real work force or even the thought of presenting myself to an interviewer or a potential employer. I am ultimately grateful that I stuck with this course and pushed through; many other students stopped coming to class or withdrew. I did not want that to be me - I do not give up! I learned more than I expected to and even made a few friends a long the way. There is no better experience than that!
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