For this assignment, we first had to read a very brief note about the proper spelling of the word “judgment”. Following this, we were given a list of 15 articles, each examining an aspect of judgment and decision making on the Internet. We chose one to read, and then had to make a discussion board post about it, discussing what was studied, why it was studied, what was learned, if the conclusions make sense, and if I have personal experience with judgment and decision making in this area of Internet use.

The discussion board post I made for this assignment accurately summarizes my thoughts and reactions to the article. I included the points I made in my post below.

The article I read was titled “Trustworthiness of online beer ratings as a source of social information”, studied by Niemela and Dingemanse. The researchers studied the relationship between socially acquired information and whether it is biased, in the context of online beer ratings.

The reason that the researchers were studying this was because it is certainly true that people always use the internet to acquire social information, but that social information can possibly be biased and may be based on factors of conformism. When making decisions as a consumer, it is important to choose based on quality of the product, rather than popularity of the product. 

From this study, the researchers learned that the majority of the variation in the beer ratings was due to beer characteristics (65%), some by the identity of the rater (9.5%), and a small portion by temporal effects (0.5%), and that only a quarter of the variance went unexplained. In more understandable terms, this means that conformism was not a impactful bias. This implies that online beer ratings are a solid source of social information, and aren’t very plagued by biases. 

The results of the study caught me by surprise a bit, I didn’t expect that to be the outcome of the study going in. However, after reading through the whole study, the researchers conclusions totally make sense. Based on the results they received, it is very plausible to conclude that for the most part, online beer ratings are relatively unbiased and a pretty good source of social information.

Honestly, when it comes to online judgement and decision making regarding beer ratings, I do not have much personal experience. I recently turned 21, and the beer I have bought so far has been based on what is cheap, rather than how others rate the beer online or offline. However, with other foods and drinks, I have looked up online what people think of them, and they have influenced my decisions to purchase them or not. So, I do rely on online social information as a consumer, just not in direct relation to this particular article. 

Reflecting on this assignment, the first thing that stuck out to me was the choice we were given. We got to choose between a list of 15 articles to read, which was great, because it allowed me to examine something I was interested in. I found it humorous that there was a study on beer reviews, so it made me more excited to read about it. So, just giving students the choice can sometimes lead to greater engagement and enjoyment during assignments!

Additionally, I like the things it asks us to answer in our discussion board post. First, it asks about what was studied, why it was studied, what was learned. Answering these types of questions ensures that I understand how the study was conducted, and can accurately regurgitate what I learned from reading through the study.

After this, we were asked to state if the conclusions make sense, and if I have personal experience with judgment and decision making in this area of Internet use. This was nice, because there is no right or wrong answer, and allowed me to think about how the material connected to me on a more personal level. Having this mix of objective information and personal information is a great combination.

I also appreciated the small amount of steps going into this assignment. Although it takes awhile to read an entire scientific paper and answer questions about it, it was nice to know that that was all I had to do. It allowed me to remain more composed and focused throughout the assignment. It is much more reassuring than when we have to complete like 20 different steps for one assignment.

This assignment started off by completing the unit 9 review sheet. After this was finished, I had to continue to work on the term project, and create a document describing the work I have done so far for the project, as well as including a screenshot of the journals from my current unit. Finally, this assignment ended by turning the review sheet and document in through an assignment link.

As is the case for every unit, the review sheet is cumulative. So, before completing the page for unit 9, I completed the individual pages for units 1 through 8. When I got to unit 9, the first thing is asked me was to explain how Psychology informs good web design OR what virtual reality is OR why #The Dress was seen as both white/gold and blue/black OR the benefits of taking photos OR of e-Readers OR if we can identify photoshopped photos on the Internet.

I chose to explain why #TheDress was seen as both white/gold and blue/black. I claimed that it involved the perceptual sense of sight. Due to the Lotto-Barnhart illusion, we can see that it’s actually very easy to mistake colors based on the context in which they are placed.

The reason people saw different colors was both because our photo receptors can incorrectly adjust to changes in illumination, and because our photo receptors can be easily influenced by context, which in that case was a very brightly lit room. Because the source of light was very ambiguous in the viral picture, the colors of the dress became very hard to determine.

Shadow effects can completely change how we adjust colors. We correct colors when they are in shadow or in bright or colored light, but only when the source of the shadow or light is clear.

Next, it asked me to identify four reasons why the Internet is unlikely to be changing our attention. My first reason was that other human inventions, such as reading, which have been around considerably longer, have not rewired the human brain. My second reason was that there’s no scientific evidence that our attentional spans have decreased or increased over the past several decades. Thirdly, every technological invention has been feared to distract our attention and ruin our memories, but they haven’t actually done this. Finally, specific efforts to train attention, using, for example, Internet-based video games, usually result in only specific gains on the specific skill being trained.

Moving on to the term project, I started out by explaining that my project is a daily journal, itemizing content and giving detailed reflections, on a blog site called Word Press. I explained that I have made more than 50 blog posts so far for the project, including one each day, for each assignment. I explained that for Spring Break, we didn’t have any assignments, so I didn’t make posts, and this was cleared with Professor Gernsbacher. I included a screenshot listing all the blogs I had posted during the previous week.

Reflecting on this assignment, the review sheet is always nice. It gives me a chance to interact with old material and new material. Seeing the same questions over and over is valuable because I really know these answers well by now! It showcases how distributed learning facilitates long-term retention. Especially since there are not exams for this course, this is what ensures that the material is not forgotten immediately.

Additionally, the document describing the term project is pretty standard. Since I do a daily blog, there is not really anything new that goes on with the passing of time, I just post once per day. However, it always gives me a chance to look back and be proud of all the work I have put into it! I have made over 50 blogs, and each one takes a solid amount of time, so it shows how much of a commitment it is overall.

Even though this assignment is valuable, it is basically always the same, which is why my reflections for it are so similar. Even if it isn’t as fun, reviewing what you did previously is a big and important aspect of every course! So, it is definitely good that it is a part of this one as well.

This assignment started out by having each chat group member complete one set of tasks. I chose the set related to time management and focus, which included reading an article, and then downloading and using an app for a day that utilizes the techniques from the article. Following this, we had to chat with our new chat group for an hour, introducing ourselves, talking about our term projects, discussing how the internet can be used to help us focus, to block out distractions, and to schedule attentional breaks, and then talking about our experiences with the app we downloaded and used.

From the article I had to read, I learned about the “Pomodoro Technique” as a form of time management. It involves working on a task for 25 minutes straight, then taking a 5 minute break, then working for 25 minutes, then a short break again. After 4 25 minute segments, you can take a longer break of 15 or 20 minutes. This technique allows you to have a goal in mind of working the whole segment of time, because you will be rewarded with a break if you do. There are many apps based off of this, and the one I downloaded and used is called “Flat Tomato”.

During the group chat, we all shared our term projects at the start. Seraph and I are doing the whole course option while Erin is doing the deep dive option. I am doing the daily journal, Seraph is doing for the unit summary, and Erin is doing research about how the Internet changes people’s attention.

For how the Internet can be used to help direct focus, to block out distractions, and to schedule attentional breaks, we have talked about how iPhone has a new feature to help people tracking their screen time weekly, and how we can utilize the reminding apps like Google Calendar to keep track of the tasks we need to do and to remind us to eat healthy or sleep on time. I described that I text himself the tasks I need to do because that works well for me to get the reminder often. Erin and Seraph both love to use the reminder apps to keep them accountable.

Next, Erin shared about her one-day experience of setting her phone to DoNotDisturb while she went to grocery shopping and while biking. When she received a text, it would automatically reply that she couldn’t talk now, because she was on the road. We all felt that feature make us be present with no disturbs from the notifications.

After, I shared about my experience of the Pomodoro Technique which helps people focus better and get motivated to finish tasks. Seraph talked about her experience with using the app called “Moment” that can track your screen time and tell you what apps you were on while holding the phone. All 3 of us recommended the apps to others, and plan on continuing to use them moving forward at least occasionally.

Reflecting on the assignment, it was great to experience our first chat with our new chat group! The 2 girls in my group, Erin and Seraph, seem like very nice people, and gave some very insightful comments throughout the conversation. I really look forward to getting to know them and their opinions more throughout the rest of the semester!

Additionally, I like how professor Gernsbacher allowed us to choose which set of activities we wanted to do. They included solutions for distracted driving, time management, and keeping track of social media use. They are all very solid topics, however, for me, time management is super important and relevant to me in college, so I chose that. I learned a technique that may be effective in staying focused on tasks, which is valuable!

It was cool that we did not only just read an article about the topic, but actually download and use the app for at least a day as well. This gave me a personal experience with the technique I learned about, giving me a much better understanding of it and allowing me to truly evaluate it. This hands-on approach is great for learning and can provide something that can help people like myself going forward. I hope there are more activities like this before the semester closes out!

This assignment started out by reading all of the discussion board posts from Unit 9 assignment 1. After reading these, we had to remind ourselves of the best way to respond to the posts of other students, which is located in the course syllabus. Next, we had to write two response posts, including one student who discussed the same topic as me, and one student who discussed a different topic than me.

I first responded to a girl named Erin that chose a different question than me. Although I did not choose to discuss this question, I was still interested in this topic, so I figured I would respond to her post. The question she explored was “Why was #TheDress perceived as White/Gold to some people and Blue/Black to other people?”.

I started out by saying that I really liked how she explained a personal connection to the topic. The fact that she always saw white and gold instead of blue and black made her frustrated, which must have lead her to be more interested in learning why this illusion exists. I am sure this made her more engaged in the readings and allowed her to do her best on this assignment!

She made a point that it is easy to mistake colors based on the context in which they are placed, which I agreed with. Based on the lighting as well as the colors around an object, it is not uncommon for a color to look different than what it really is.

I also really liked that she gave another example of this type of illusion, the Adelson checkerboard picture. I did not previously know about this one, but it allows me to understand the illusion more in general, which is very cool.

Her question is all about a visual illusion, which is already very interesting. However, I wonder how audio illusions work, and if they rely on similar principles. For example, a year or two ago, there was an audio message where people debated if it said “Laurel” or “Yanny”.

The second student I responded to was a girl named Holly. She chose to explore the same question as me, which was “What Are CAPTCHAs and How Do They Work?”.

I started out by explaining that we chose the question for a similar reason! I have also seen photos comparing puppies to bagels, and other comparisons like this, but I had never heard the term CAPTCHAS before, so I wanted to learn what they were. It is funny how we have all ran into these on the computer before, but at least I never really thought about their purpose or what they were called or anything.

I also discussed that I liked how she broke up her answer into 2 parts and separated them into separate paragraphs. She explained what a CAPTCHA is with support from a couple articles and a video, and once this was done, you explained how they work, with information from a couple more sources. This made your post easy to follow. I also like how you included reCAPTCHAS at the end, because it explains the more modern form, rather than more outdated examples.

I wonder how CAPTCHAS will continue to adapt over time. As Holly and I know from reading these articles, there are many different forms of them, and as new ideas emerge, I am sure the idea of CAPTCHAS will evolve and become more and more effective!

Reflecting on this assignment, I always think it is valuable when an assignment tells us to read through all of the other posts from our section. Because I tend to finish most of my assignments before most other students, there are not many there when I publish my post, and I generally don’t check the discussion board after I make my post for an assignment. Reading through all of the other posts allows me to learn about the material better, and in this case allowed me to interact with some material that I did not read about for this assignment. It also allows me to get to know the other students better, including what they are interested in and ideas they have about various topics.

Additionally, I always like when we get the choice to respond to one student who explored a similar topic and one who explored a different topic. Responding to a student who explored a similar topic is good because allows me to take in the information one more time, leading to longer retention of it in the future. Responding to someone from a different topic is important because it allows me to learn something new.

These assignments are always nice because they are fairly simple yet effective. There are not many steps we have to follow in this assignment, however, it allows me to learn more about material I had already learned about, material I didn’t learn about, and new ideas from various people in the same section.

This assignment started out by reading a variety of news articles reporting a false claim that goldfish have a longer attention span than humans.Following this, I had to look at a page from the 2015 study by Microsoft that first promoted the claim. After this, we had to read some reports that debunked the claim. Finally, we had to make a discussion board post, describing whether we had previously heard of the claim, which news cite that reported the claim surprised me most, which surprised me least, why I think it was supported so widely, and if I heard the claim in the future would I believe it.

Essentially, all of the news sites that reported the false claim said the same thing. They said that the human attention span has shortened from 12 seconds to 8 seconds, which is shorter than the 9 second attention span of a goldfish. Most of them blamed this on the use of technology, and they either failed to report sources, or reported poor sources that are just links to other articles. They fail to provide adequate evidence, and wont respond to emails from people like professor Gernsbacher.

Personally, I actually have heard the false claim before that human beings have a shorter attention span than goldfish. I don’t remember where I heard it from, but I remember it was circulating through the media, so I had stumbled upon it at some point.

I was most surprised that The New York Times reported the false claim. I generally see them as a very reliable, well-respected, trustworthy source. So, seeing that they reported on this claim, and didn’t even provide a link to the study, makes me very surprised, and a bit disappointed in them if I am being honest. 

I am least surprised that Yahoo News reported the false claim. Generally, when I think of Yahoo News, I don’t think of it as very popular or respected, so it doesn’t surprise me to see a false claim reported on from them. I have a Yahoo email, so when I go to access my email, I see a bunch of headlines that try to grab my attention. They must have reported on the goldfish story because they thought it would bring them activity and popularity on their news site.

I think it was reported on so widely because it is like a “moral panic”. Goldfish are incorrectly identified as dumb and mindless, so findings that suggest that our attention span is shorter would definitely concern a lot of people, leading them to report the findings, even if they are not accurate. Additionally, I think this also combines with the fact that people are already afraid of the internet as a technology and think that it will lead to many negative consequences, when in reality this is not true from what we have learned in this course. 

If I heard this false claim in the future, I would not believe it, because from this class, I have learned that many of the negative portrayals of the internet are not true, and I now challenge many ideas about the internet that circulate in the media. Additionally, doing an assignment that specifically addresses how this claim has no basis in its references leads me to have no faith in the claim. Psychologists and scientists have said there is no evidence that the human attention span has changed in hundreds of years, so I will believe them over a few news articles with poor sources. 

Reflecting on this assignment, it was really interesting to explore a claim that was so widely reported on, yet so wrong. Everyone seemed to just keep writing articles about it because other news sites were. They must have been caught up in their fears of the internet and technology, and really believed that it was shortening the attention span, when it really hasn’t.

It was also interesting to reflect on my surprise or lack of surprise with different news cites. It allowed me to critically think about different sites, and figure out who I really trust. Not all news is real or accurate, so it is important to have that at the back of my mind, and to be on the lookout for news that is fake or unreliable.

Also, this was a fairly quick assignment, but I actually found it really interesting. Since I was interested in it, I did not mind reading the articles or posting abut it, because I was engaged. I think this is very important, and more courses need to provide assignments that are more meaningful and engaging, so students don’t see it as much of a burden.

This assignment was focused on answering the question “Is the internet shortening our attention?”. It started off by reading 11 articles on our brain, multitasking, improving focus, effects of the internet, and much more. Following this, we watched a lecture video by professor Gernsbacher, titled “How Is The Internet Affecting Our Attention”. Finally, we had to make a discussion board post in which we discussed one of the main points from the lecture video, referring to different articles or videos from the assignment that are relevant to that specific point.

Rather than explaining all of the separate articles, I think it is more important to reveal the 12 main points of the lecture video we watched. The first few points are that every technological invention has been feared to distract our attention and ruin our memories, everything we do affects our brains but it’s unlikely that the Internet is rewiring our brains, there’s no evidence that our attentional spans have decreased or increased over the past several decades, because specific efforts to train attention usually result in only specific gains on the specific skill being trained, and because other human inventions, such as reading, which have been around a lot longer, have not rewired the human brain.

Adding on to this, millennials are no better at multi-tasking than Baby Boomers, millennials are better at many single tasks, but they are not proportionally better at multitasking, people who think they are better at multi-tasking usually aren’t, the more similar two tasks are, the more difficult they are to do together, so texting, which requires visual attention, and walking, which also requires visual attention are not good candidates for multi-tasking, and texting and driving are even worse. Finally, taking short, controlled breaks on the internet improves attention.

For my discussion board post, the point from Professor Gernsbacher’s lecture video that I chose to expand upon was “While it’s true that everything we do affects our brains, it’s unlikely that the Internet is rewiring our brains”. In the video, she explains that even though humans have been reading for hundreds of years, it has not rewired the human brain. There are not any reading specific circuits that have been created to handle reading. In turn, the internet, which is much more recent, has likely not rewired our brains, and probably never will.

However, it is important to note that everything we do affects our brains, and there are three relevant articles that relate to this point. Muhunthan’s article describes the concept of neuroplasticity, and how everything makes an impact on our neural circuitry. Stafford’s article touches on the same concept, echoing that everything we do changes our brain, even something as simple as just having a cup of tea. Kane’s article takes an approach to apply this concept, explaining that by the time we finish reading his article, our brains will never be the same. 

So, thinking about this overall point, it is somewhat fascinating to think about. Every thing we think about or do in everyday life affects our brain, which is kind of mind blowing to really consider. However, even though everything impacts the brain, most things don’t rewire the brain. They are minor changes that take place over time, so we don’t have to worry that one tiny decision will change everything in our brain.

Reflecting on this assignment, there were a ton of different articles to read, which was a bit annoying. However, at least different topics were covered in different articles, for the most part. Reading this many articles allowed me to obtain a holistic perspective on how the internet effects us and our attention. Although there were many articles, it was nice that most of them were shorter and to the point.

Additionally, I really liked how professor Gernsbacher’s video explained all of her points in depth at first, and then ended with a list of those main points. I always enjoy her stories about the past, and what things were like when she was growing up, and then she relates it to today and to the course material. The list of points at the end is significant because while hearing about a bunch of different topics, some can be easily forgotten, so the list at the end provides another chance to take in each piece of information.

Also, I liked how we got to choose 1 of the points from the video to reflect on in depth, rather than having to touch on multiple. This allowed me to go back and survey the articles to find relevant information, and relate it to things that were explained in the lecture video. It also allowed me to really feel confident on that specific point, so I will be also able to retain that information further into the future.

This assignment started out by reading an article about perception. Following this, we had to choose one out of 7 provided questions, and complete all of its associated activities. I chose the question “What are CAPTCHAS and How Do They Work?”, which came with reading 6 different articles and one YouTube video giving insight into answering the question. After this, I had to create a discussion board post, identifying which of the seven questions I chose to learn the answer to, why I chose that question, and answer the question by referring to the articles and videos associated with the question.

The article on perception was brief, and started out by explaining that perception allows us to experience the world around us. It tells us that it involves recognition of stimuli as well as response to those stimuli. It explains that perception involves the five senses, as well as other cognitive processes.

Moving on to the question I identified, I chose to learn the answer to “What Are CAPTCHAS and How Do They Work?” because I had no idea what the acronym stood for. I had never heard of something referred to as a CAPTCHA before, even though I now know what they are, and I have certainly experienced them on the internet.

To answer the first part of the question , the science ABC article by Ashish described CAPTCHAS as “Completely Automated Public Turing test to tell Computers and Humans Apart”. According to the Bruce article, there are many forms of this, including scrambling forms of text, simple math problems, deciphering images, and logic-based questions. According to the Wilson article, a more recent form involves clicking on a check box that says “I’m not a robot”. 

These are based on what is called the Turing test which CNet’s YouTube video described, where there are 3 players, 1 is a human investigator, and the other 2 are a human and a robot. The investigator asks questions to both in order to figure out which one is the computer, as it is a test of the computer’s intelligence. So, essentially, CAPTCHAS are based of off this test, and want to distinguish real people online from bots. 

I learned that CAPTCHA’s work in a couple of different ways. For example, the Prusty article explains that for the check box CAPTCHA, it describes that it isn’t actually a check box, but is a div inside an iframe, and most bots don’t run JavaScript, so the box doesn’t show up at all or is just a graphic. For the other types of CAPTCHAS, the Ashish Science ABC article describes that keystroke patterns and small movements are examined to tell people apart from bots. They also describe that for the word CAPTCHAS, if people can make out difficult patterns and words, then they are likely human.

Reflecting on this assignment, my main takeaway is that I now understand the Turing test, CAPTCHA’s, and how they work. I had never heard of either of these things before, so reading the articles and watching the video was informative for me. It was valuable to explore a subject I was pretty unfamiliar with going in, because now I feel confident discussing these topics and build off my knowledge if I hear more about them in the future.

Additionally, this is another example of Professor Gernsbacher giving us a large amount of choice for an assignment, which I am very thankful for. There were 7 questions that included their own sets of activities, and being able to choose was important because I was able to learn about something new, as well as something I was sincerely interested in learning about. If she would have just given us 1 option, there wouldn’t be any choice, and I could have been stuck with something that I am not interested in. Luckily, I didn’t have to worry about this!

Also, I thought it was a good idea to make us refer to all of the articles and videos that related to our question. This ensured that we understood the main points of each one, and made us go back and reread and rewatch. Having multiple interactions with the material will allow me to remember it better going forward.

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.

The first point of this assignment was to construct new chat groups that will last the rest of the semester. Since my last name was not last alphabetically, I was recruited by a member from another chat group who’s last name was last alphabetically. After being recruited, I was appointed as the member of the new group that would set up the new chat group. So, I followed the directions from the “Course How To” and set up the chat group.

After this I had to take a screenshot of the chat group document, and then make a discussion board post in which I embedded the screenshot. The second part of the assignment allowed me to review goals and strategies I had discussed in unit 1 assignment 5. I had to read through them, assess my progress, and follow up with the person I talked with about these goals and strategies previously. I then had to make a reply to my screenshot post, and report my progress, as well as how the person I talked with responded to my progress.

In my discussion board post, I started out by noting that the 6 skills I initially chose were creativity, computer skills, self-confidence, problem-solving, asking questions, and taking risks.

In terms of progress I have made, I think I have made progress in almost all of these skills. For creativity, I have been challenged in many ways to make discussion board posts, chat with others about various topics, and make a daily blog, among other things, which all together have made a me a more creative person. For computer skills, I have had to navigate the course website, an online blog, online search engines, and more, which have increased my computer skills as a whole. For self-confidence, working hard and earning good grades on all of the assignments have increased my confidence in myself and my abilities.

For problem solving, I have ran into different issues with the discussion board and chat groups, and I have used different ideas from myself and Professor Gernsbacher to resolve the issues and end up with proper solutions. For asking questions, I have definitely grown, and have not been afraid to email Professor Gernsbacher when I have a pressing issue. She has helped me a lot on a few different assignments throughout the semester. Finally, for taking risks, trying new things such as a daily blog have helped me improve this skill, by trying new things and expanding my horizons. 

The 3 strategies I chose were taking initiative by making sure all of my assignments are fully completed and submitted on time and asking for help from the professor if need be, working ahead by completing assignments well before their due dates, and paying attention to details by copying all assignment instructions into a word document and highlighting steps as I complete them.  

For progress with these strategies, I have definitely taken initiative, as I have never submitted an assignment late, and have asked the professor when I have needed help. For working ahead, I have improved with this, as often times I submit assignments 2 or 3 days before they are due. For paying attention to details, I will admit I have been somewhat inconsistent in copying the assignment instructions into a word document and highlighting steps, but I have still been very careful with paying attention to details during each assignment. 

I initially told one of my best friends at school, his initials are DC, about the skills and strategies I have chosen. When I told him about my progress, he told me that he was impressed, and that he was glad that I have been able to improve on the skills and strategies. He said he initially was not sure if an online class could truly improve these skills, but now he has more faith in online courses!

Reflecting on this assignment, I think it was a good idea to switch up chat groups. I really did enjoy my old chat group with Weiyan, however, talking to new people will allow me to experience new perspectives, and get to know a greater proportion of the section I am in. This is especially true because I am moving from a 2 person discussion board group to a 3 person discussion board group. I am now with 2 girls, named Erin and Seraph.

Although the first part of the assignment was more organizational rather than learning-based, it still gave me some problems. My google accounts were having difficulty, and no matter what I did, even if I followed the instructions, it would not work. However, this gave me an opportunity to problem solve, including reaching out for help from Professor Gernsbacher, and discussing ideas with my new chat group. So, although this was frustrating, it allowed me to work on some important skills.

In terms of the later part of the assignment, I thought this was a great idea because it reminded me of goals and strategies I had identified earlier in the course. Even though I have followed and built upon most of these throughout the semester, I had pretty much forgot about them and that assignment we had completed. So, this was a nice reminder, and a way to make sure I stay on course in the last couple of months!

Additionally, following up with the person we had talked to previously was cool. It was great to see my friend acknowledge my growth, and to verify that he saw some promise with online courses. This was good because I do think people can get a lot out of online courses, as long as they are structured in the right way. So, having others acknowledge this is great to hear!

The main focus of this assignment was to record and complete my internet motivation diary, that was referenced in unit 8 assignment 1. Following this, I had to create a discussion board post, discussing if my motivations varied or do I see some patterns in my motivations, if any of my motivations seem more prominent than others, and do any of my motivations seem to be associated with being in a certain place, using a certain device, or it being a certain time of day.

My discussion board post was an excellent representation of my internet motivation diary. I started by breaking down the motivations I logged, which included 6 stimulus-response, 10 social, 1 biological, 5 cognitive, 10 affective, 6 conative, and 2 spiritual. So, although there are a couple of motivations that were present more or less frequently, for the most part, my motivations were varied.

I noted that there were some motivations that were more prominent than others. For me, social and affective were most common, each appearing 10 different times on my internet motivation diary. So, basically, half of my internet choices are motivated by each of those 2 factors! On the contrary, biological only appeared once, and spiritual only appeared twice, so they did not usually influence my internet choices.

In terms of being in a certain place, when I was outside, this is where both of my spiritual motivations occurred. Listening to music while walking to classes blocks out the rest of the world and allowed me to think more about my own life. However, besides this, I did not notice any patterns based on place. 

In terms of using different devices, there is definitely a trend in my motivations. When I am on my laptop, I am almost always doing schoolwork, which is generally associated with a conative motivation. On the other side, when I am on my phone, I am often motivated socially and affectively, because it is where I access social media, keep up with friends, and spend my free time on. 

In terms of certain times of day, the only thing I really notice is that I have most of my conative motivations later in the day since this is generally when I do homework, study, and keep up with other academic things. The other motivations seem to be spread out throughout different times of the day. 

Reflecting on this assignment, I enjoyed it because I do not usually keep track of my internet usage, and it is even rarer that I think of my motivations behind my usage. It was interesting to experience and to learn about my own choices. Since most internet uses are brief, I only think about them in the moment, and I do not tend to reflect on them later, but this gave me the chance to do just that.

Additionally, it was nice to learn about the different types of motivation, because I had never really learned specifically about Huitt’s 7 forms of motivation. As listed before, these include stimulus-response, social, biological, cognitive, affective, conative, and spiritual. I had heard about all of these before, but putting them all together in one document that summed everything up was very helpful for me.

In general, the internet motivation diary was cool because it was another example of the varied activities that this course brings. We had only done something once before, when we did the news diary a couple units back. It allowed me to track something throughout my day, which differed from the usual method of doing an assignment all in one sitting. This was a good switch up! I hope that future assignments continue to challenge me in new and different ways.