Introduction

Overall, I think I have maintained my end of the learning contract. I feel that I have been very diligent in my work and done every task assigned. My groups that I have been in have turned in projects that were complete and creative. At this point of the semester I feel that I am at a good point. One category that I always need work in is presentation, so I will continue to try to better myself as the class progresses. At this point I am still comfortable with the percentages I started with.

Final:

I am confident in the percentages I have chosen. Throughout the semester I feel that I have maintained my end of the contract. I have turned in all assignments and stayed on task. This is shown in all my assignments that I have worked on independently and collaboratively.

 

Content
Composition
Collaboration
Presentation
Tinkering
Participation
Student-Chosen Outcomes

Content

Content 30%

Goal: I want to learn exactly how literature and technology tie together in this course.

In this Voyant Blog, I demonstrate how I was able to use technology to gain knowledge on a book I hadn’t even begun to read. Technology allows you to research and have a good head start before you start getting into the more complicated details. Voyant was a very interesting tool because it allowed you to look ahead in the book but gave a very brief description. So one way thus far that we have tied technology and literature together is using the Voyant tool.

Goal: I want to learn about the digital humanities field.

This goal is one that I think I will continue to learn throughout the semester. Digital Humanities is researching, teaching, and learning about literature (in our case), in a digital format. In my Annotation Blog, I address using this website as a crowd reading device. It allowed our class to read one document and commentate on the material in the book. This site really stood out to me because it was in every way connecting our class to the digital world.

 

Final:

Throughout the semester I have gained a very thorough understanding of the tie between technology and literature. Technology allowed me to upload data for my final project into Voyant. If i was to do this task by hand it may have taken me years. By uploading this data I was able to analyze not just one text but two. My next goal was to learn about the digital humanities field. I feel that I now have a better understanding of what exactly it is. By going to the conference I was able to see the impact and others using this in the real world to explain important matters. I am also excited to continue to learn more about this field as I pursue it as my minor.

 

Composition

Composition 30%

Goal: My writing will be interesting and informative.

I have really enjoyed being able to be creative and have a more open response when doing the blog posts. In many of my blog posts I have mastered adding images to either get my point across or to add a bit of excitement to my posts. I have also added pictures of the websites to inform others what exactly I am talking about when I am referencing something. The composition section has been my favorite so far.

Goal: I will work on my analytical skills vs. my descriptive skills in my Timeline post

I have shown that I have progressed and am able to put into words my process. I go into more depth of how I accomplished my goal and how I was able to visualize it as I created it. I also have begun to be a much better problem solver when it comes to the digital world. Using trial and error and a lot of failure I have begun to have a much better understanding of my analytical skills.

Final:

My writing throughout the semester has been very thought out and thoughtful. When analyzing data I was careful to read and take away the most important data from it. This allowed me to write in the same way. Since we have not had as many blogs I demonstrate this more in my final project with the analysis of words between my two texts.

 

I have continued to advance my knowledge on the digital world, and through that experience I have also become better at explaining my process in everything I do.

Collaboration

Collaboration 10%

Goal: Learn to distinguish and distribute group work

So far we have done a lot of collaboration on our projects. I have really enjoyed the opportunity to work with all of my classmates and accomplish the task at hand. It has been a lot easier than I originally thought to distribute the work, at times it has been almost unspoken for who does what. These projects have allowed for a lot of collaboration and it has been fantastic.

Goal: Be a good peer reviewer

This goal has not really came up too much to feel that I have mastered it. My groups that I have been in have been very thorough in their work and always seem to accomplish their part without much assistance. Also the work has seemed to be completed simultaneously so we are able to see each others work as we go. So the peer reviewing is more of collaboration in the middle of the project. Which I think works even better, because then you are able to talk through your thought process while it is happening instead of later.

 

Final:

Distinguishing and distributing group work did not occur at the end of this semester. I worked independently on my final project. But my collaboration with group members at the start of the semester is very important towards my overall semester achievements. This peer reviewer goal was a little trickier, I found that I struggled to pick apart others projects. I often focus on the good parts of a project and am not very informative of what they need to add. This is something I will continue to work on. Constructive criticism!

Presentation

Presentation 5 %

Goal: I want to speak loudly and confidently while presenting

We have only had two presentations thus far, but I feel as if I am much more confident presenting to the class. It may also be because we only have about six people in the class, but I think that my voice is more steady and confident when I speak out loud to the class. I am also much less fidgety in front of the classroom, which I believe is because over the course of the semester I have had the chance to work with most of my classmates, making me more comfortable to present in front of them.

 

Final:

I will always feel that I need to improve my public speaking skills. But since I have had to step up more this semester and present in front of a different crowd (the conference), I think I have more confidence in do so. If I can speak confidently about a project that is still in the making, I will hopefully be more confident when presenting the typical “finished” project.

 

Tinkering

Tinkering 10%

Goal: I want to become skillful in the website

This website has become very easy for me to navigate, I am able to get straight to what I am looking for without much tinkering. In the beginning I screwed around on the website quite a bit so I could get to this point, so I am very happy with where I am. About my only issue with the website is that it logs me out from time to time, but that is not so much user error as website error I think. It likes to log me in and out based on what tabs I have clicked on, but maybe with more tinkering I can solve that problem as well!

Goal: I want to practice and be proficient in tinkering

I have come a long way with tinkering since my first blog post, I don’t feel as behind in the technology world. I am able to solve a problem much quicker now and it has given me a lot of satisfaction and confidence as the semester has ensued. My biggest accomplishment with tinkering thus far is posting my embedded link into the “Technology and Literature” website. I am not only able to post the link but also show the full image of what is in the link. I have also been able to do the same with videos within my project.

 

Final:

I feel very confident in my ability to navigate through the iris website. So confident in fact, that I even created my own WordPress site. Since I created my own website on the iris page, I feel that I have come very far in tinkering. Voyant wanted to give me more trouble with uploading two texts to the site, but I was able to figure that problem out rather quickly. I was able to download both texts to my computer and upload them both as attachments. Tinkering is probably the most interactive and exciting goal I have achieved over this semester.

Participation

Participation 5%

Goal: Feel comfortable and join class discussions

I have done much better with this goal than I originally thought I would. I am much more comfortable speaking out loud with my classmates and adding to the discussion. Although, I do think I do better with my project groups rather than the entire class. This is something that I could work on more but I have developed a bit over the beginning of this semester. So I am happy with where I am right now and will continue to work at this.

Goal: Be confident

I have stayed attentive and thoughtful in class discussion and feel that I add good depth to the conversation. But I know that I could add even more, I need to continue to work on this goal the most. If I have an answer I should be more confident in putting my opinion/ idea out there.

 

Final:

Class discussions were lesser at the end of this semester. It was more of independent work, but I felt that when I needed assistance or guidance I was able to voice my needs/ goals. Since this class is so small, I was able to gain confidence rather quickly. I enjoyed interacting with my classmates and seemed that we all supported one another in our goals. I also felt that when I could assist one of my classmates, I do so.

Student-Chosen Outcomes

Student Chosen Outcome 10%

Final Project

Goal: Discuss findings of my tinkering in class

Since this class is so open, I am able to voice most of my discoveries while tinkering as I accomplish them. My group is also working on the same goal so it is rewarding when you are able to find the solution to help your group. In my Timeline post, I emphasize how excited I was that my tinkering led to success. With enough tinkering you can just about solve any issue!

Goal: Find new resources beyond the website

I have found a few resources that have benefited my work. The projects that require images to be inputted I have browsed around on many sites to find images that would successfully post to the project. Most of my outside resources have been when looking for images or trying to gather research information. This is another goal that I can look to further develop as the semester continues.

 

Final:

I feel that since this part of the semester was so independent, I was not able to voice my findings as much to my classmates. But with Dr. Despain, I was able to tell her my findings and bounce ideas back and fourth with her. Also with the help of Dr. Despain, I was able to find a great site that allowed me to copy all of The Lancets journals that I required. I also found informative articles from Love Joy library that benefited me greatly in researching for my final project. These articles also gave me a better understanding of what exactly The Lancet is.