711 Reflection

Assignment: Write an end-of-semester blog post discussing how your writing has changed, what you’ve learned, unanswered questions, changes/improvements, and instructor suggestions.

Considerations and roles
How has my writing changed? I’m not so sure that my writing has changed a great deal. My style is the same, though I am more careful about inserting humor…or rather what I find humorous. Writing for a diverse (and even global) audience requires that writers consider all readers, many of whom have different ideas regarding what is funny and what is offensive. The safe bet is to avoid any content that may be misinterpreted. Because of this course, I now consider my audience more carefully. There is more to writing than just readability and putting the punctuation in the right place.

I think I’m a decent writer. Am I a better editor? Perhaps. Sometimes I write too quickly–on the fly without the appropriate research. A tech writer and editor by trade, I sometimes assume my work is good and correct. I don’t comb through my own work as carefully as I do others’. In this business, both of those characteristics are negative ones. Don’t assume anything. And spend as much time on your own editing and revisions as you would if working for someone else. I often tell my students, “It’s hard to see whats been right under your nose for the last two hours.” Some tips:

• Step away for a few minutes.
• Have someone else (a fresh set of eyes) look over your work.
• Come back to it tomorrow.

The latter requires that you allow yourself enough time to do so. If you’re racing to meet a deadline, you may not have the luxury of looking at it again the next day. This is something I’m working on. Consider it a New Year’s resolution.

The future
The only questions that remain for me are those that cannot be answered accurately, though many speculate. What’s the next innovation that will affect me as a writer, editor, and adult educator? How can I better prepare professionally when this field is ever-changing? What is new will soon be obsolete, and the cycle will continue until I’m too old to get a job or even care. My suggestion to anyone wondering the same is LIFELONG EDUCATION. There is always much to be learned. Mia Hamm, female soccer legend, says that to be great in soccer, you should watch the best players. Learn the techniques of those you admire and wish to emulate. The same applies to arenas outside of sports. I respect my professors. I respect classic authors. I respect technologists ahead of their time. I have learned to ask for feedback and to accept criticism and be better for it.

Enhancements and suggestions

JoMC 711, the sixth class I’ve taken from UNC and the fifth in the certificate program, is what I expected it to be. I expected it to be hard work and time consuming. I expected my instructor to be critical of my work. That is an instructor’s job. We (students) don’t pay for A’s. We pay for someone to teach us, critique us, and tell us our work stinks when it does. Otherwise, it’s a waste of time. This class is anything but that. Writing for Digital Media is a class that not only helped me see my writing differently, but it has provided me skills usable in the real world.

My suggestions to BC: keep doing what you’re doing. You ask students for feedback on how you teach the class, what you can do to make it better. Not many instructors do that. You have a way of making students feel comfortable. I don’t think any of us felt like you were ever authoritative or treated us in a demeaning manner. We flourished because we received top notch instruction.

British journalist, Russell H. Ewing once said, “A boss creates fear, a leader confidence. A boss fixes blame, a leader corrects mistakes. A boss knows all, a leader asks questions. A boss makes work drudgery, a leader makes it interesting.”

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