Caleb R's Blog

As this wonderful year draws to a sudden end it is time to look back at the knowledge gained and the process of learning it. I would have to say that this has been the best English class that I have ever had. I learned how to write pieces that were more directed for public audiences and that were also appealing to them. Also, I learned how to work collaboratively on a writing assignment with a partner to create a great piece of writing. And another thing that I learned was how big of an impact technology has on your writing. All of which are helpful skills that I will take with me for the future.

In the beginning of this what seemed to be only three months year, I had slight difficulty when writing for a public audience. But as the year has progressed I have become more familiar with the public writing customs, along with the Do’s and Don’ts. It really is different when you write something that just one person will read than when you write something for others to read. And throughout the year I have really improved my skills in public writing which will help me greatly in my high school future as well as my future career. And when I work with others there are creative juices, so to speak, that I have yet not seen that start to flow.

I really enjoyed working on our living histories projects. When writing with others it seems to me that everything you collaboratively write is better quality than when you would have wrote it alone. Another thing is that your partner and you will see each others mistakes that you may have not noticed and that it one reason why collaborative writing is of better quality. Also when you work together on something like a wiki you can both work on it from home, because of the wonderful world of technology.

Technology has such a large impact on writing now days. Before what was written with pen and paper can now be typed and printed on paper with ink. Writing on the computer is much easier to correct and edit and also to get what you have on your mind written down faster. Also when working with another person or persons on a project you can check each others progress online and you can e-mail or chat to see how everyone is doing. Using technology and the internet can be a blessing when doing projects and online resources can be very helpful.

All in all there is so much more that I have learned than I can write. The information I learned I will keep with me and carry it always, into the future.

I believe that report cards say some things about a person. Yes they tell you that a person does well or bad in school, but what they don’t say is the person’s true character. Are they, nice, funny, rude,  and disruptive; those are things that you cannot get from a report card. I have learned so many things this year in CyberEnglish. Things my report card would not show are how much I have improved my writing for a public audience and how well I can work with a partner, while collaboratively writing for a project. The knowledge that has been gained throughout the year will help me very much so in my future and I plan on taking all of my newly founded knowledge and carrying it with me for many years to come.

Working with another person can be challenging, but writing with another person can sometimes be even harder. Yet that is not the case for Meg and me. When two are writing it may not be as quick, but the end result is wonderful. We work collaboratively and well together.  When we write we both contribute our ideas and then from that we determine what and how to write, using both of our ideas. We both contribut our own little lacking touches that the other doesn’t quite posses. Our ideas come especially in handy when we work on our Living Histories Project together. What Meg contributes to our writing is a certain little professional and loving touch. Together we work well together and there have never been any issues. If we can’t decide on whose idea to use, we either use them both or we omit that idea all together. We as a team write wonderful things together, because you know what they say, “Two heads are always better than one”.

Reading text online is slightly different from reading it on paper. First, you can’t write/ highlight anything on the “paper” (screen), for obvious reasons. Second, text online is not always available for instance, if you go to the park, you most likely don’t have access to the internet and therefore can’t read online. Third, in some instances it is easier save your spot when reading something online than when reading something on paper. I think it is easier for me to read something off of paper. As for being a hypertext reader, I would have to say that I am a combination of two of the three main types of hypertext readers, the User and the Co-Author.