Looking back at this semester, we covered a lot of content but I learned a lot along the way as well. Coming into this class, I knew the basics of new communication technologies because they have been a part of my life for as long as I can remember. But I was quite interested in the many ways NCTs impacts our society, both positively and negatively. I think the most important takeaway from everything discussed in-class and the readings is NCTs are continuing to rapidly domesticate our society. These technologies are the norm and almost everyone would not be able to get around nowadays if it wasn’t for NCTs. While these technologies are slowly but surely isolating individuals from each other, we have become so reliant on them that they have become a second universe for us. This was the topic for my NCT project except it only talked about the impact in schools, particularly at UW-W. During my project, I learned quite a lot of truly how much this university is adapting to these technologies in order to ensure high quality teaching and learning.
I really enjoyed doing the group presentations because not only did they give us the opportunity to know some of our classmates even more, but it kept us engaged in whatever topic we chose for that presentation. The presentations in addition gave us a chance to preach our extended knowledge of NCTs and how the content shared from the readings and class discussions connected to the presentation. I enjoyed working on all presentations, but my favorite was the memes. I think it’s obvious all of us enjoy memes because most of them are hilarious and is fun to talk to friends to. All of the presentations were well done, informative, and got a laugh out of the class once in a while.
But I can’t forget that all of this wouldn’t be possible if Dr. Wachanga wasn’t teaching this class. His background knowledge of this field, and also his comedic moments, I think kept the class interested during all discussions because we heavily relate to this stuff. No matter the topic Dr. W talked about, I remember at least one person always voluntarily participating without him asking because that one person wanted to get something off their chest. Not to mention how many times the class laughed because Dr. W said something funny to keep the class focused. The first things I remember is him bringing up Soulja Boy when discussing memes or how gold diggers are changing globalization. While funny and relatable to the class, they made sense in regards to what we talked about.
As I complete my research paper and move on from this course, I will surely be remembering some of the things we covered. I think it’s important for us to know this stuff because if someone brings up something about technology, there’s a good chance I’ll mention something for Dr. W’s NCT class and emphasize how truly important these technologies are to whatever is discussed.
Now I’m once again going to check my Twitter feed.