What I have learned.

After sitting back and reflecting on what I have learned this semester - trying to find that one conclusion that encompasses it all - I came up with this: the impact of new literacies on society has been more profound than I had imagined.

The concept of spaces, and communication within those spaces, has been altered; membership within communities has been altered; and even the many spheres of our lives have all been altered.  These concepts are truly revolutionary, yet much of society is still not fully aware of the extent of these changes.

  

I am by no means "fully aware" of these changes, but I have had an "ah ha!" moment.  This moment came while following the primary elections and considering the impact of social media and civic engagement on those elections.  Bernie Sanders, whose grassroots campaign would not have gotten thus far in an era sans digital media, has benefited from participatory culture in a way that few politicians have.  Donald Trump, and his excessive use of twitter, has taken "trending" to new heights.  I followed all of this, and continue to do so, with a degree of shock and awe.  New media and new literacies have transformed politics and elections, which are both inherently American.  Institutions and concepts that have been relatively unaltered for centuries have now been drastically transformed.  In this regard, new medias are in full effect and society needs to become fluent in digital literacies to progress as a whole (that was the "ah ha").

I'm not completely sure how this course will impact the work I intend to do in this program.  It might impact it greatly or perhaps not at all.  If anything, it has made me aware of the digital world around me.  I won't be able to go on a social media site without considering participatory culture.  I won't be able to read/write fanfiction without reflecting on it as an affinity space and an educational activity.  Perhaps these awarenesses are impacts in and of themselves.