Tomkins-+Analysis+and+Reflection

=Analysis/Reflection=

Contributions

 * 1) Main contribution - Machinima
 * 2) added paragraphs to Podcasting (Software, Problems with Podcasting)
 * 3) added paragraph to Japanese Magazines (Anime/Manga Magazines)
 * 4) minor editing (spelling/grammar and formatting)

Reflections
CCT 205 had previously given me the chance to use a community-edited wiki in a classroom (wikispaces specifically). I found that it encouraged cooperation and cameraderie among the students. I felt it took a lot of pressure off the instructors: students were able to answer each others' questions, helping everyone. Instructors were then able to devote more time tackling the truly difficult questions. My biggest complaint was the inability to modify the style of your document. Since then, I've realized this can actually be a good thing. The style uniformity prevents people from worrying too much about it, instead forcing them to focus on generating better content.

I found the course outline itself to be extremely broad - I hope to be able to draw on our collective wisdom to help better understand types of media.

Most users tend to feel criticized when other people edit their own entries. This instinct can only fade after a great deal of practice using the wiki system. Once you put an idea online, you feel a sense of ownership over it - defending it vehemently. I hope to be able to better deal with this mentality, by both improving others' contribution to my works and discussing it with them - hopefully promoting symbiotic understanding.

"//How do you choose which postings to contribute or change? What do you look for?"// One would typically be most able to contribute to articles which interest them. Scanning the table of contents for interesting topics provides an abundance of editable content. From reading the contributions, one can follow links for similar content.

//"What are your thoughts on adding, editing or re-arranging other people's work?"// See above. It's in our nature to want to defend our work - if you didn't believe it was right, you wouldn't have added it in the first place.

"//Do you regularly check your own postings for alterations? Has anyone changed your work and how have you felt about it?"// After I contribute a significant amount, I typically like to star the article so that I can easily look it up later, seeing how my baby has grown.

My major challenges when dealing with the wiki have been mostly time-management. The course covers such a broad subject matter, that it was difficult to find specifically useful information. I also found that a number of people 'cybersquatted' several topics, saying they would add more later. As much as I wanted to delete their 2 sentence blurb to fit my own ideas, I chose to pick another topic and work towards that.