Well it's now that time of year where the semester is close to an end, the holidays are in arms reach, and finals have consumed my life completely. I must say, I have learned more this semester than any other semester in all my years of schooling, and a large portion is due to my course in social networking.
It's easy to learn in subjects that you enjoy (which is why my grades for my art courses are significantly higher than in my math courses), and I have enjoyed wasting time on social networks since the age of Myspace. Even though I was no stranger to Twitter, I did not fully comprehend why we use it. I used to think the purpose of Twitter was to tweet comical posts with an end goal of having more followers than your friends. It turns out I was almost right. The end goal is to have more followers, but in a way that improves your PLN in a likable and socially acceptable manner. I believe in this class I have learned how to do just that.
Of course Twitter etiquette was not the only thing I will take with me from this course. We had the opportunity to video chat with educators and professionals all over the world and discuss new and interesting ways to move forward in our particular fields. The video chat that resonated the most with me was when we chatted with European artist Kyle Lambert. Lambert gained notoriety in the art world when he started posting beautifully detailed works of art he created from scratch on just his iPad and the app "Brushes." I got to chat with him and pick his brain face to face. Later on I downloaded the same app and started making my own works of art. That leads me to another of my favorite aspects of this course: the bi-monthly "App Smackdown." Never before this class have I participated in a presentation about using apps to better your major or everyday life. One student Brittany started using a site called Statigr.am that I discussed during one of my presentations, and through the site she ended up winning a contest!
I have never considered my self a "tech savvy" guy, but it did feel good showing my friends a few of the things I've learned from this course. Above all, this class has helped me find better ways to get my art out to the world, and for that I am forever thankful.
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