Wednesday, September 12, 2007

Media: An Academic Tool

I walk into my dorm after returning from class. As I plop myself down in front of my laptop I focus my eyes on its entrancing screen. I log into myUMBC webmail to check if my professors have sent out any e-mails that may be of importance to me. Then I log into Blackboard to see any assignments that I may have to complete or if there are any notes posted for my classes. If I have time I may briefly check out my facebook page. In the future I may even use it to contact classmates in order to study together. I turn on the news to see what is going on around the world so I will be prepared for a current events discussion in AMST. I call up a friend to see if he can assist me with my math homework that I so dreadfully don’t understand. While I wait on him to arrive I begin reading the next chapter in my Sociology textbook, McDonaldization. This is a typical day at college for me.

After entering college, media has become mostly a tool to help me succeed in my academic career. Before I entered college I used media more as a source of entertainment. I actually had the free time to follow numerous programs on television, go to the movie theatre to see the latest movie craze, listen to the newest songs on the radio, and talk to family and friends on my cell phone for hours. Media as an academic tool began increasing during my junior and senior years of high school when I checked my grades online at Blackboard, researched possible colleges to attend, and read enormous textbooks for my AP classes. During my junior and senior year I pushed myself to get straight “A’s” and do well on the AP exams by taking advantage of the available tools I had, such as my textbooks and the internet. By using the internet to research colleges, I knew I would have to get outstanding grades those two years to get into the college of my choice.

Now that I am attending my college of choice, I will continue to use media as a tool for academic achievement. In the future I envision using the media as a tool in pursuing my teaching career once I graduate. The media may assist me in informing others of my availability for a job and it may also assist me in finding a job opening.


Media is constantly evolving and will continue to do so. In just my 18 years of life I have experienced significant changes in media such as the popularity of the cell phone, the invention of the ipod, and the increasing use of the World Wide Web. I can only imagine how significantly media will change within my lifespan.

4 comments:

Josh Weilert said...

Your opening was very interesting it made me want to read more. it is also very interesting how your media habits have change since you entered college.

Eric Piccirelli said...

I really liked the academic spin you put on media. Everyone, including myself, is so interested in the recreational aspect, that the educational aspect is lost. I think that my laptop and the internet are playing an integral towards me becoming a successful student.

Kelly said...

I prefer using technology-based media for my academics. I love that we have assignments due via a blog. The use of the internet has been so ingrained in my life that it only makes sense that my academic life transfer to it as well. Of course it does have its pitfalls, like when Blackboard goes down when I'm trying to turn in an assignment for one of my classes, but it is a convenient and wonderful experience, overall.

Anonymous said...

The internet is all there is to life now, It's kinda sad but it doesn't makes sense for me to complain since I am a junkie myself. But now that I'm in college its being put into better use than back when it was just for leisure, so atleast the habit is evolving into something more solid.