Ana+Alic

== =Contributions:=

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 * Added a biography page on the comic artist and author Rick Geary on October 11th, 2006.
 * I added a page on direct-to-consumer advertising on November 18th, 2006
 * I made some alterations and edits on the fashion magazine page
 * I added my wiki reflection
 * I added a heading and link for DTCA page, and I added (editied) information on the farm security administration for documentay photography on Dec 2nd
 * added more info on my DTC page, added promotion and sales sections
 * edited fashion magazine page, added more information on history, cleaned up page, and added a picture of a magazine cover that was discussed in the text
 * added most of the content to the myspace page
 * I edited the portuguese fado and folk music page
 * I added a table of contents to DTCA page, Myspace, and portuguese fado, folk music
 * did some adjustments on the digital divide page
 * I added a youtube file on social influence page

=Reflection Questions:=


 * When first encountering wiki at the beginning of the course…**

1) What do you think/feel about this collaborative learning environment?

I think this is a really important learning experience for the future. Most of us will need to collaborate with our colleagues and it is very important to learn how to successfully and respectfully do that. I think any experience that forces us to work together and gather our knowledge is very worth while. It teaches us cooperative skills that can be used in all other courses and in various facets of our lives.

2) What are your expectations for yourself?

I hope to contribute information that is relevant and interesting to others. I also hope to learn from others work and contribute to their pages. Overall I expect to learn a lot about media and about aspects of the course through this experience.

3) If you have previously used wiki in another course, describe what you have previously learned and how you want to expand on your understanding.

I have used wiki in CCT 205, and generally I learned how to successfully contribute to a working learning environment. The goal of wiki, as I learned through my past work, is to collaborate and build with others in creating relevant information that can be used by all. In this collaboration you contribute information, edit others information and participate in the working space. I also learned how to edit others work by providing constructive edits that don’t take away from someone’s work, but only add relevant changes.

4) What can you contribute as an experienced participant?

As an experienced participant I know how to navigate through the wiki. If someone needed assistance on how to import pictures for example I would be able to help them out. Also being experienced means that I know the type of information required and how to properly structure that information. I think it works towards my advantage, as I am fairly comfortable with this type of learning environment.


 * Think about the following and answer best to your ability…**

1) How do you choose which postings to contribute or change? What do you look for?

The postings I contribute to either are ones in which I am interested in the topic or have done some work on in previous courses. It’s always useful to contribute to areas that you have some background knowledge in and maybe have already found great resources for. It is also helpful to contribute to postings you like, it makes the experience that much greater because you get to research and write on a topic you enjoy. As for changing others work, I usually read others topics that I have interest in and see if it needs any editing. I also look for incomplete pages that are just waiting to be finished.

2) What are your thoughts on adding, editing or re-arranging other people’s work?

I think it’s important to edit others work since this is a collaborative environment. I think by editing we learn how to be better writers and others benefit from learning from their mistakes. It is hard to edit our own work, so it is important for others to help in the editing process. My own work improves because of others edits so I appreciate the time and effort others put into correcting my work. Once again the wiki is a shared effort and we all learn by working together as a class.

3) Do you regularly check your postings for alterations? Has anyone changed your work and how do you feel about it?

Yes I do regularly check my postings for alterations. I feel that it is a chance for me to see where I can improve. I really enjoy watching the wikis grow. Week after week more is added, and a simple idea because a huge contribution that many people have worked on. I don’t mind others correcting my work; I actually like the fact that others are taking the time to edit my writing. I think it just makes me a better writer and lets me see the areas I may need to improve on.


 * 3.As a final reflection for the course, post your thoughts and ideas on:**


 * Challenges or limitations you experienced while working collaboratively on wiki**


 * I didn’t experience too many challenges as I have worked on a similar wiki assignment last year. Therefore I knew how to use the wikispace quite well. Some things that I had trouble with were posting images on the page, it was hard to move the image to the exact location you want, and also there is no spellchecker in wiki and that would have been beneficial. Also when people are editing a page at the same time you are a box came up when you hit save and you have the option of overriding their work or your own. I didn’t like this feature because I would have to either start the editing over again or see what the other person edited and add the things they changed if I believed it was a good addition to the page. My concerns with the wiki is mostly technical, I had no difficulties working with people in the class. I found that people were generally supportive and accepting of changes I made. It really seemed like people were working together, for example if I couldn’t find a good picture for my page someone else would add it for me. Overall it went really smoothly and the collaboration was really good.**


 * Advantages or benefits from participating in this wiki**


 * Some of the benefits of working on this wiki were that I learned more about the process then I have before. I believe it just furthers your knowledge and allows you to learn more about effective collaboration. I thought the use for the culture jamming project was the most beneficial part of the wiki page. It really helped our group put together our ideas and work as a team. It also allowed us to look at the progress of other people which also helped with our own creative process. I found that I learned a lot more about the project this way and my team and I really got excited about it and we looked forward to showcasing our work. The wiki for the project was a really great idea and I even noticed people in my other classes using it to help with their own projects.**


 * Things about the course you thought worked well and/or suggested improvements**


 * My favorite part about this course was the culture jamming project. My group was really passionate about the topic we were discussing and we had a lot of fun creating our final project. I think this is a great way students can learn about the influence media has on our society while using their creativity to express that. It perfectly correlated with what we were discussing in our class and in other classes. I think there was too much emphasis on comics in the course. Maybe if only one of McCloud’s books were looked at. Although I actually really enjoyed the essay topic, it was interesting for me because I never really looked at comics in such a critical way before. Overall I really enjoyed this class and thought it was conducted very well.**