This assignment started off by completing the review sheet. Following this, I had to continue to work on my term project, including mastering my presentation medium and taking a screenshot that demonstrated this. Finally, I had to create a word document describing the work I have done on my term project thus far, and upload it to an assignment link.
Once again, the review sheet was cumulative, so before filling out the unit 8 page, I had to fill out the pages from units 1 through 7 first. The unit 8 page asked me to list six of Huitt’s sources of motivation and give one example each of how that source of motivation has affected your use of the Internet.
The first source I listed was stimulus-response. When an external stimulus, such as a buzz or a notification flashes on my phone, I tend to click on it and go to wherever it takes me on the internet. The second I listed was social. I often want to see what friends, classmates, family, and others I know are up to, so I text and Snapchat them, and look at their Instagram posts. My third was biological. Sometimes I use the internet, in the form of online videogames, to wake me up and give me some energy when I am tired.
My fourth was cognitive. I like to learn new information and give my attention to interesting things, which I tend to do through online courses, emails, and websites. Fifth was affective. Sometimes I just want something to make me feel good, so I can listen to music online, interact with friends, or play games that I enjoy on my phone. Sixth was conative. I am a student and want to feel competent at it, so I use the internet by checking my school email, using course websites, and in other ways to accomplish this.
The review sheet then asked me to list five reasons why people binge watch TV shows or movies. I listed because they are fun, available, usually commercial free, it’s what everyone else is doing, and it allows developing deeper connections with the characters.
In my document, as always, I described my term project as writing a daily journal in which I itemize the course content along with my detailed reflections. My medium is a blog, on a website called Word Press.
I described that this week I have made 8 blog posts, including at least 1 every single day. I plan on continuing at this pace. Also, the assignment always suggests that I should be spending two hours per unit on my term project. Even though I have been getting more used to how I write my blogs, thus decreasing the amount of time I spend on each post, I still spend well over the recommended amount, usually just under 3 hours per unit.
Reflecting on this assignment, the review was the same as always, but I have always thought it is set up well. The cumulative fashion is an example of distributed learning and definitely helps the students retain the information for longer periods of time. This is what all courses should strive for, rather than encouraging massed learning.
Also, as I get further and further into the term project, it is very cool to look back and see all of the work I have done. Making a blog post for every course assignment can be tedious, but it will be worth it in the end. So far, with 8 units of blogs complete, I have made almost 50 posts, which is crazy to think about.
Besides this, there is not much more to reflect on. The weeks fly by and it is crazy that we are already this far into the semester. Before I know it, I will be doing my last review sheet and completing my final blog, and will be on to senior year! However, I am trying to live in the moment, and enjoy everything as it happens.
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