I personally came into this class with what’s probably an unhealthy amount of experience with the internet and digital mediums. Growing up, I was really fascinated with media production, so I’ve always been messing around with these types of tools.
That being said, Intro to Digital Studies really broadened my understanding of these tools, specifically how other people approach and use them. It’s easy to get tunnel vision when working with digital tools, since they’re usually not inherently collaborative– you don’t really get to see how other people approach them. I also usually only use digital tools to make personal art and projects, so making stuff with the intent of showing them off professionally was a change of pace.
I also learned pointers on how to handle and navigate these different mediums more effectively. I’m already a video editor, but I’ve never done a video essay, so that was really interesting in that I was able to learn what works and what doesn’t. Same for the audio– I didn’t know using the equipment would be that much of a hassle, so now I have more of an understanding of the work that goes into podcasts, and how people approach them.
It was also really interesting seeing everyone’s presentations. It really gave me a greater understanding of how technology effects different facets of our lives– from mental health to global governance. It’s easy to not really think about all the implications of the apps we use, such as its effect on our brains, as well as the exchange of data behind the scenes, so now I feel a lot more confident when navigating the wild space of the internet.
While I started with a level of digital fluency, I feel as though Intro to Digital Studies rounded out my knowledge, and now I’m a lot more informed on the inner workings of the internet and its interplay with our culture.