Final Reflection

My favorite assignment was a small quick assignment which we were asked to come up with a one page story. I liked it because it was he only assignment that I felt was exactly why I took the course. I took this course to improve my skills as a writer to the point where I could write something that is high enough in quality for me to want to read. Although I have learned many skills over the semester this fundamental reason why I took the class still eludes me.

My least favorite assignment was probably the micro biography. I'm not a fan of biographical writing and I certainly don't consider myself interesting unless your taste is for soap operas.

I still like to do read on Fridays. I look forward to it because I find it relaxing and fun plus it gives me valuable reading practice that I may not get to during the week. I find the written reflection to be a valuable tool in honing my critical thinking skills and allowing me to better understand what I'm reading. the only issue with the reflections is having to interrupt the flow of reading the book to write down personnel predictions and comments.

I found blogging to be a fun exercise. The most engrossing part was probably watching the views pile up. The only draw back I found with the blog was actually having to put assignments on it. It beats losing the paper. I found the use of the blog to be valuable tool and an asset to this creative writing class because it allows people to put out their drafts and their work and see what people think of it.

I found the tweeting part of the class irritating for multiple reasons. The first is the 140 characters limit. I'm personally a fan of long words and detailed descriptions not mention my personnel habit of long winded explanations being stifled by the 140 character cap.The other senior issue with twitter is the fact that it is blocked on school computers. you can't access it without a smart phone or teachers computer.

I found the technology aspect invaded the course. When I signed up for it last year I was looking forward to a creative writing course not a how to use a computer to distinguish yourself with a creative writing element tacked on course.So, my statement for this is don't change the course itself just change the course description and name.

I learned that I have improved significantly in my reading skills and that my writing skills are still not up to par for what I want.This is the reason I took the course and based on that assessment i didn't accomplish what i wanted to do. In terms of critical thinking I have progressed since the beginning of the semester although not really as a result from the class. 

My personnel suggestion for improving the class is : A. To rename it writing technologies or something similar.
B: To rewrite the course syllabus to better emphasize the classes technological aspect. 


The one statement I can make to future students of this class is if you know how to write or at least like what you write , this class will teach you new and creative ways of expressing that ability. If you are a relative novice or have problems putting together stories that makes sense much less writing them this is not the class for you.


Marc Vallee