To: Laura Cline, English 102 Instructor
Thank you so much for an excellent semester. I would say that this class has been one of the most enjoyable I have done yet. It not only engaged me academically through the writing assignments, but also on the social level by utilizing social networks such as blogger and YouTube to do assignments. There are many things that have gone into making this an enjoyable and informative course, things that will help me now in my college time as a student and later on in life as well.There have definitely been much improvement in my use of technology. Using blogs, videos, and online presentations was entirely foreign to me before this class, so this was definitely the biggest hurdle but also the greatest victory for me. This I would say is extremely important in today’s culture where so much communication is done over the internet. Utilizing these resources will benefit not only my academics but also in my future as a priest. A priest’s duty is to reach out to people, and if they are on the internet then that is where he must go. I want to thank you for helping me to better discover the vast amount of resources available.
The learning outcomes were definitely met. I enjoyed learning especially in the areas of organization and review. I think that I write fairly well, except that I had a hard time staying focused on one subject. Many of my papers began to drift to other subjects by the middle of the paper so that by the time I reached the end I had gotten onto a completely different subject. Now that I have better organization and review, I can catch myself before I drift too far.The readings were also exciting and interesting to read. I had never read Frankenstein so it was like reading a fun novel for school. The assignments also helped me to better analyze works. I read a fair amount of non-fiction works by leading theologians and thinkers such as George Weigel, R. R. Reno, and founded by Richard John Neuhauss. Learning to better analyze papers helps significantly in understanding these authors thoughts and writings.
The research involved in the writing assignments was also great. I loved researching the history of dragon lore, a subject I might have not looked into otherwise. My findings have further prompted me to continue writing a fictional novel about a mythical land about to be overwhelmed by evil. Dragons will have their role to play, but as I write about their ferocity it will no doubt remind me of their part in literature as well. Critiquing Shelley’s Frankenstein and other works by various authors was also exciting as we attempted to delve into the minds and motives of the authors.
This as I have said has been a most rewarding class. I have enjoyed the comradeship of my fellow bloggers and benefited from their ideas. I look forward to writing more and better in the future. I cannot thank you enough for all of the advice, teaching and effort you put into this class. May you have a Merry Christmas, a Happy New Year, and many more successful semesters.
Pax et bonum,
Joseph McNerney
Where is Communication going? Click on the Link to see Forbes site on communication advances:
http://www.forbes.com/2005/10/20/future-communications-gadgets-cx_gd_1024feat_comm05_ls.html
Joseph,
ReplyDeleteyour blog looked just a little lonely so I thought I would comment. How right you are about a Priest having to go out into technology to find his flock. I suppose you could call it the new mission field of the 21st century! I am also glad that Mrs. Cline made us use technology so that we could be a little more up to date with it and not feel like were living in the stone ages. Good luck with final portfolio and the rest of the semester!