MIDTERM REFLECTIONS: Half-Way to Culture Jamming

So far from this Fall 2010 Contemporary Media Issues class, I have...

1. Majorly learned how media is reflected upon us, how we perceive it, and scientifically how our brain is affected by media. How the development of our brain and various segments of it are affected differently by various structures of the media industry. Also with this influence on our selves, I learned how to analyze media effectively. To step back and not be persuaded by media, but to understand it, and to critically analyze its use and origins.

2. I learned that I am able to think and perform critically as an intellectual, by honing my neo-cortex's abilities by forcing to think critically about a text. This practice in class has made me learn about being an efficient critical reader, writer, and thinker.

3. I would study the course resources to widen my research and knowledge of the elements in place, and also I would try to cover more of the readings, to develop a heightened critical understanding of the given texts if I could do anything differently this first half of the semester, if I were to take this class again.

4. I would shorten the readings to specific components and segments, this way I could take in, intellectualize, and understand key concepts of the texts. Reading everything is good, but with so many great texts, maybe one thing I'd like you (Rob) to do differently is to limit the readings more concisely. This may enable me to be more engaged with the books. Maybe reading fewer texts in their entirety will enable deep level of comprehension to specific texts.

5. The usefulness of the course elements were clearly seen. The power tools break down the structure of media, its power, and ways to evaluate media. The power tools are very clear in their layout to understand the media machine. Quizzes train us to remember this information, useful in its own way. The blogs document this learning and progress, for worldwide viewing. The films and books in class act as useful texts to analyze and utilize examples of media to evaluate it, and learn about tis power, influence, and structure.