For a long time, my dream was to become a professional teacher in computer science, but for some reason I did not achieve this dream, and I have remained an amateur. However, enrolling in the Digital Composition, Literature, and Pedagogy course has enabled me to develop my skills and become more professional in my computer use. I will never forget the moment when my professor taught us how to create an HTML website. It was as if I were in a dream because of the way that my professor use to teach us about HTML was brilliant. He wrote the code on “Stackedit” and then “Stackedit” showed us the image of the code. I have never thought about the idea of coding becoming an image or text. Moreover, this course has developed my skills in digital writing, taught me how to teach an online literature class, and changed my point of view toward computers.
In digital writing, I have become familiar with code programs such as <h>, <p> and how to close them like </h>, </p>, and when to use them. In other words, I can now create my own website. In the past, I used websites that provide you with styles, and the only thing I had to do was choose; now, I can write code by myself through Github. Moreover, “Stackedit” has been the most beneficial website for me because it helps me to check my code and makes it easy to edit it and save it in case I want to finish it later.
This course has also provided me with two different ways of writing: multilinear (Twine) and interpretation (Voyant). Multilinear-text is “a function of several variables that is linear separately in each variable” (Wikipedia). This method has presented a new challenge because it gives me more views in presenting, for instance, a story. More deeply, creating a background for each passage has been the biggest challenge for me. However, this experience has made me more knowledgeable about creating CSS and attaching sound tracks to the passages. Ultimately, Twine is a tool that I will use not only in my future classes, but also for my sons because it appeals to their attention. Through using Voyant for a project, I increased my interpretation skills. I learned that Voyant can help me to skim many texts, see the differences between them, and give an initial interpretation. Moreover, I learned the importance of studying the most frequently repeated words because it tells or helps me to predict what the major theme of the text is. Generally, my digital writing has sharply improved, and my critical thinking has too. Also, it has changes my perspective about computer as an instrumental into a “philosophical discourse”. According to Ted Underwood in “Digital Humanities: Theorizing Research Practices”; an expert professor in Digital Humanities and how it changes the new paradigm shift of learning, research, and scholarship, we as humanist scholars think about a computer as a machine instead of “philosophical discourse” because “data mining” gives us different collections or “tools” (Underwood 1375). Therefore, this course particularly Voyant has changed my thoughts about computer and see it as what Underwood told us “philosophical discourse”.
Through Omeka, I have learned new concepts about computers, including exhibits and metadata. As I mentioned above, I used to create websites easily through free websites, but with Omeka, I learned how to collect items for specific objects like mine—Cinderella. Through the materials that my professor provided to us, I learned to avoid using illegal materials and how to differentiate between public domain, fair use, and so forth because a digital scholar must be serious about his/her sources. I now know how to establish a useful exhibit that has a logical interpretation. For example, with Cinderella, I realized that I can have a historical one. Metadata also was a challenge for me because I was not sure about the differences between the creator and publisher. However, my professor’s priceless feedback helped me to work through this problem successfully. All in all, Omeka has provided me with a new method of creating website or personal archive that I can choose whether or not to make it private or personal.
The pedagogy project was a significant experience for me because I am a lecturer at a new institution. There, we used to get the syllabus from the university. In this course, I gained more knowledge about how to create a lesson plan, teach an online course with depth, and distribute each activity with suitable time for completion. Therefore, when I come back home, I will teach my colleagues to use this kind of technology, and how much is it important to use them in classrooms. Basically, we have technology equipment in Bisha University, but we do not have professional users. What I mean is that teachers there do not think about the necessity of using it. They should think that this time is the suitable time to teach lessons by using technology because it appeals new generations and makes it easy for them to understand.
In short, this course has sated my desire to become a professional computer teacher even though I am literature major. I will translate this knowledge to the reality of Bisha University and develop the education technology there. It has prepared me well and encouraged me to register for a Video Games course next fall.
Works Cited
“Multilinear Map-Wikipedia.” Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia, Wikimedia Foundation, Inc, en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Multilinear_map. Accessed 1 May 2017.
Ted, Underwood. “Digital Humanities: Theorizing Research Practices.” Literary Theology an Anthology, edited by Julie Rivkin and Michael Ryan, 3rd ed., Wiley Blackwell, 1998, pp. 1373-1379. Print.
Life In Bloom 