Major Assignment 3: Digital Media Paper

While brainstorming a topic for Major Assignment 3 I needed to make sure I chose a topic with which I could meet all of the assigned requirements. I began thinking about a purpose. I really struggled to find a purpose for about a week or so. I fell behind because I couldn’t find exigency in anything I was experienced with or interested in. I couldn’t decide on something to argue for or against. I finally decided to meet with my professor and see if she could give me any advice or spark any ideas. After talking it over with her, I decided that I wanted to educate and inform students and families who are inexperienced with or uneducated about the college lifestyle.

The primary reason I chose this topic was because I am the first in my immediate family to attend college. I was unaware of what to expect when I got there. Unlike many students, I didn’t have parents to tell me how to act in new situations that would arise as a result of the college lifestyle. My parents didn’t have access to this information and therefore were illiterate in it. I believe that this illiteracy possibly contributed to some of the choices I made (and didn’t make) while attending college. I wanted to create something that would inform, educate, and entertain students who were excited yet nervous for college. I decided that I was going to create a blog to document my thoughts, experiences, and pieces of advice regarding this topic.

As the first in my family to attend college I think I was a little reluctant to travel too far away. This was something else I wanted to try to address through my blog. I named my blog 80 Miles from Home because I thought it reflected the fact that I was a first time college student living somewhat close to home. I wanted to illustrate that my parents had influence on me even though I was gone to college. I chose to use a blog template with a “highway” background because I felt it went along with the traveling theme that comes with the subject of college life.

My primary audience was originally supposed to be students who had been the first in their family to attend college. I soon realized that many of the things I included in my project could apply to all incoming college students. Some of my blog posts seem to be aimed towards first time families while others could be taken as good advice for any incoming college student. When I was deciding on which topics to include I had to think about my audience and ponder which topics would be important to them and which would capture their interest. I believe that part of the class audience will be made up of students who are either first year or will be first year students in the fall so I think it is important to consider what they think is important and reflect and remember how I felt as a first year and the types of things I wish I would have known back then.

I felt that context was important. I wanted my audience to be college students at any university. The problem was that I was only experienced with Michigan Tech University. I tried not to limit my audience by using too many examples in the context of Michigan Tech. I attempted to write each piece in a general, unbiased way so that any student would understand my references and points.

I think that my piece turned out pretty good. I was extremely nervous about it when it was first assigned. When I fell behind I was sure that I wasn’t going to be able to produce a quality piece. I am fairly satisfied with the work I have done. I wish that I had gotten more feedback on it, however. I am not sure what others in the class think of it because I wasn’t able to test it in class and no one gave me feedback outside of class. I have shown it to a few friends who aren’t in the class but I can’t help but feel that their feedback isn’t as valuable as feedback from those who truly understand the assignment.