Maja+Batinica

Nov 21
 * Created the page on Travel Writing
 * Added major content (over 500 words) to that page

Nov 22
 * Modified content on Travel Writing page

Nov 23
 * Added a major contribution (over 500 words) to Jazz page
 * Edited (book section) Hierarchy Media Genres

Nov 24
 * Modified (added links, text, and an image) to Jazz page
 * Edited (added text and an image) content to Gospel Music page
 * Edited (added a paragraph) content to Drama page
 * Modified (added to book section) Hierarchy Media Genres

Nov 25
 * Added a minor contribution (over 300 words) to the Hard Rock page

Analysis
I believe that this environment can be very beneficial to students as they combine their efforts in building an information network of the sort that can be a very useful tool in broadening their knowledge about different media and realizing just how diverse this whole field is. It can also serve as a quick reference for any of the different genres listed here. All in all, I believe that this idea of having so much knowledge contained within a specific location is truly great as it reminds me of the more traditional print encyclopedias but here we also have the benefit of updating this knowledge as often as necessary and adding to it over time. However, since the content found here can be edited by anybody within a group there is always a question of reliability. It is somewhat unrealistic to expect that each person will approach this project with the same level of enthusiasm and responsibility and thus, sometimes the information found can be undocumented or even completely untrue. I guess with projects like these there is always that degree of risk included but I think that the benefits of such collaboration outweight those risks. First and foremost, I expect to gain a pretty thorough knowledge of at least one media genre which I choose to do as my main project. Also, by adding to different genres (or simply browsing through them) I expect to learn more about those as well. It is also interesting to see which genre will attract my attention because I love to read and know quite a bit about literature but do not have a clue about video games, for example. I do not wish to write about something I already know, but at the same time I am not sure that I would start writing about something I know absolutely nothing about either. > I have never used wiki before.
 * 1. When first encountering wiki at the beginning of the course.**
 * **What do you think/feel about this collaborative learning environment ?**
 * **What are your expectations for yourself ?**
 * **If you have previously used wiki in another course, describe what you have previously learned and how you want to expand your understanding.**

N/A
 * **What can you contribute as an experienced participant?**

> Well, first of all I look for something that might hold my attention. Since I will be doing research on it, it might as well be something I am interested in. At the same time, I also try to find something that I at least have a vague idea about if not the knowledge of all the details. This is important because I do not feel comfortable writing about something that is totally unknown to me. I would rather let other people who are more familiar with that partcular genre write about it as they are obviously more knowledgeable about it too. But as I said before, I also do not look for something (some literary genres in this case) that I might already know a lot about. This is an opportunity to broaden our horizons, so to speak, about different things and I think it is thus wise to use that opportunity. At first I did not feel comfortable at all changing what other people have written and in fact I still do not feel totally comfortable about it. That is why I try to add content instead of changing it and the only reason why I would change something someone has written is if it was obviously untrue and a complete misinformation. Otherwise, I respect what other people have to say and the knowledge they acquire and post here. I would never change content just because I do not like the way it is written if the style is legible and information correct. That said, I have no problem with other people changing my content if what I have written is not helpful or valid. I am not sure how I would feel if someone was to change my content for the worse though (for example, removing some valid information). I think I would be bothered by that. Yes, I check my work from time to time. So far i have not seen that anybody has been changing it. However, somebody did try to change my work at the same time when I was working on it and it was somewhat frustrating. I have everything planned out and I was doing my research and posting information (but piece by piece, as I found different things) and in the middle of that someone was trying to change the layout of my page and also modify some content. Normally, that would not bother me, but as I was not finished yet, it really messed everything up for me because my sections were somewhat changed and could not continue as I wanted. So I changed everything the way it was until I was able to finish it and then I let people change it if necessary. However, ot has not been changed since.
 * 2. Think about the following and answer to the best of your ability:**
 * **How do you choose which postings to contribute or change? What do you look for?**
 * **What are your thoughts on adding, editing or re-arranging other people's work?**
 * **Do you regularly check your own postings for alterations? Has anyone changed your work and how have you felt about it?**

I cannot really say that I experienced any real limitations while working on this project. In fact, I was able to post what I thought would be useful to other people as well as to edit what I thought needed to be edited. The biggest challenge was finding the relevant information and making sure that all sources are properly cited. Also, deciding how much info is enough was also somewhat difficult. In a project like this, one could go on and on about his/her chosen topic, but that would in the end turn out to be counterproductive so I had to decide how much to write so that there is enough info but also not too much. The greatest benefit of a project like this is the collaboration which take place because there can be much, much more knowledge accumulated when people work together. Also, the freedom that wiki gives you to update your or other peoples' entries is very useful in today's world where new events and discoveries are taking place every day and one really needs to stay on top of all those happenings. Browsing through other entries gave me new knowlegde about different media genres about which I knew very little before. It also gave me a new perspective on just how broad and diverse this whole field is but also how interconnected in certain ways. I think that this whole course worked quite well and was greatly beneficial to students. The only suggestion I have for this this specific project is that maybe students should have been assigned different topics as their main entries to ensure that there is an even distribution of entries across different genres. Since it is known that kids today are more into technology and may not, for example, read books as much, or may read specific books more, some genres were overlooked whereas other genres were given more attention. But even with this, I think that the course was very useful for better understanding of the whole CCIT program.
 * 3. As a final reflection for the course, post your thoughts and ideas on:**
 * **challenges or limitations you experienced while working collaboratively** **on wiki**
 * **advantages or benefits from participating in this wiki**
 * **things about the course you thought worked well and/or suggested improvements**