Extra Credit Evaluation Blog

The following are the answers to the questions posed in the email regarding the blog post sent to our class email list:

This is the first time that I have ever had to create and regularly use a blog. The biggest positive aspect of the blog, in my opinion, was the fact that the blog posts made me critically think about concepts that we reviewed in class. Without the blog, it is likely that I would have just memorized the lessons we learned during lecture, rather than think about their effect on my life and on our culture as a whole. In addition, by developing the concepts it helped clarify things that I was confused about during lecture. I appreciated the extra push that the blog provided to read further into tough concepts and definitions.

I enjoyed the blogs that developed ideas that are currently controversial in today's day and age. For example, I particularly enjoyed the blogs that I wrote regarding women's image in the media today because it was eye opening to see how easily the image of the "perfect" woman is engraved in my mind via advertisements and women's roles in all different media outlets. On the other hand, I found it difficult to elaborate on the blog regarding the Hollywood System, because it was hard to relate to something that hasn't existed in my life time. Although, I did learn a lot by looking into the effect of the Hollywood System and its audience an its actresses, which I appreciated. 

Although I did feel that the blog had some positive effects on my learning experience in RTF 305, I don't think that I would recommend using it again. This is because I felt that the blog assignments didn't help my understanding of the majority of the concepts we discussed in lecture. Although it enhanced my understanding of a few topics, when it came time to study for the exams I wished that I had completed assignments that clarified a broader range of topics that were on the powerpoints during lecture.

If the blogs do continued to be used in future semesters, I recommend that the sections make a point to cover topics that students did not elaborate on in their blogs. This way, the teachers will make sure that the students get to clarify all of the concepts, not just the ones used on the blog prompts.