Semester end review

Now comes the time for review. As the semester comes to an end, it is now time to look back and reflect on the material I learned and read, mainly from Friedman’s book, The World is Flat. First off, I really enjoyed this class from Professor Jensen. I have never written a blog, nor have I ever shared my personal views in this type of format. I was not sure if I would enjoy blogging and for the whole world to see what I wrote. I knew hardly anyone else would read these entries, but it still was something I always thought about. Now that this class is over, I have looked back and read my old blog posts, and actually enjoyed reading what I wrote. It was also nice to review what I learned throughout this semester. I have already forgot many things from my other classes with no way to ever review the material. These assignments will be on the web forever, and I will always have access.

I enjoyed reading Friedman’s book, for the most part, as he did tend to ramble and jump around quite a bit. I felt at times he just liked to hear himself speak. However the points he touched on were things I had never really thought about. I enjoyed how he spoke about each flattener of the world and how each of these played out and the impact they have had on us today. It has really made me think about how much we let technology control our lives, how dependent we are on it, and how we take it all for granted. He talks about the subtle changes that can occur, such as his Jet Blue story and checking in online and how easy technology can pass us if we don’t stay current. I really wish there was a new updated version, at least something only 2-3 years old. This book was written 8 years ago, and in technology time, is forever ago. Things have already advanced beyond what he predicted. I could only imagine his face if he knew I was able to check and review his citing’s on the web, read and search for specific entries without having to re-read his book using the find function on my Mac.

If I could offer a suggestion for this class, it would be to read specific chapters from his book, and to then read more short stories, such as The Logic Named Joe, The Future Doesn’t Need Us. When I was reading this story, I had no idea how old it was. I loved the predictions the author had of the future and some were right on where others were a little off. I really enjoyed switching it up and watching a sci-fi movie and writing a review. I laughed when I first saw the assignment, but it really made me watch the movie and analyze it rather than just watch it with a bowl of popcorn.

Overall this course was interesting and was easily one of my favorite courses to take. Having to read and write a blog post each week was definitely welcomed. Many of my other courses had me reading everyday, with multiple quizzes each week, along with an exam thrown in for fun! Thank you, Professor Jensen!