Reflective Post

This unit has been very interesting for me because it has almost been a continuation and an in depth study of topics and issues I have briefly come across in some of my Communication Studies units. It has definitely opened my eyes and made me a lot more critical in the way I view and use technology, more so than I had previously been. Donna Haraway’s Cyborg theory was probably the one I had the most difficulty with simply because I did not want to accept the fact that I am so deeply imbedded in technology, that I have basically lost my “humanity” and become a mechanical organism. Unfortunately this idea has been reinforced the whole semester, and my dependency on technology to function normally has increased significantly. And now I can finally admit that I am a Cyborg!

A few weeks prior to starting this unit I had accidently discovered blogs and ventured into the world of online interactivity and found some that were very relevant to my interests and offered a new way of sharing information and trends. The simple and concise writing manner, hearing from “normal” everyday people like myself also made blogs a lot more relatable and enjoyable than magazines or academic journals. This is the second time I’ve used a blog like structure at UWA, and I think it’s a really good way of letting people express their ideas and thoughts in “safe” environment. Firstly because there isn’t that pressure of public speaking, which hinders some of us shy ones, and secondly because you have time to think about what you want to say, your ideas are usually slightly more coherent and relevant to the discussion (well you’d hope so). I found the blog was a great continuation of the tutorial and was really helpful with some of the readings; the summaries and main points was an excellent way of getting some sense out of some of those readings and was also really useful as a recap. In terms of interacting with others, I didn’t feel very connected for instance after doing my presentation and posting it on the blog two people responded to my questions but I completely forgot to check the blog and by the time I did and answered back I never got a response simply because something new had been posted. And when I responded to a presentation I didn’t get a response either, I think this is one of the problems with a blog is that there is always new information and it is difficult to keep up with it, especially if you don’t check it everyday.

And just to finish off at first I was a bit confused and daunted by this unit because of some of the terminology and issues involved, but after a few weeks I started to see connections to things I had previously learnt which made me feel a bit more confident but also made things a lot more enjoyable. So thanks for a technologically mind opening unit! :)