The Know Your
Audience discussion board was an interesting and enjoyable experience for
me. I can’t think of a better way to get a glimpse into each others lives,
considering the learning environment we are in. This being an online course, we
don’t have the opportunity to all sit in the same room and discuss our
thoughts, ideas, passions, or desires week after week. The Internet is our classroom.
Collectively, we all managed to come up with
questions that, when combined, would teach us something about one another's
past, present, and future. We all wrote fondly about our favorite childhood
cartoon; of which Scooby-Doo shone above all others of equal entertainment value. I
thought this was a great question, because I have no doubt that while each of
us sat at our computers, pondering the question, we each had a smile on our faces
and thoughts of simpler times running through our heads. Speaking of laughing,
there was another question about what makes each of us laugh. It was a pretty
even split where half of us identified a specific person, or people, in our
lives and the other half detailed something on television. It would have been
nice to see more people associate their laughter coming from those around them,
because I think it is important to have people in your life who truly make you
laugh. I have been blessed with three children who all make me laugh in their
own way, and a special man in our lives whose smile and laugh is completely
infectious.
How we spend our free time was also an even split.
Half of us spend that time with our friends and family, while the other half
enjoy some sort of entertainment such as movies, video games, and music. I
imagine that those who answered with “things” rather than people also share
their pastimes with important people in their lives.
I was not surprised, being that our school in
Missouri, that the St. Louis Cardinals received the most votes for a favorite
sports team and found it interesting that after college half of our class plans
to stay in this area, while the other half is open to or is planning to move on
in all different directions.
Going into this exercise, I expected to see a lot of
different answers, and I was not disappointed. I believe if you walk into a
room and ask each person what song best represents them, what their major
course of study is, or what their lifelong dream is, you will get a room-full
of varying answers. Overall, most of our answers were vastly different. It made
perfect sense. We are all individuals cut from a different cloth. Where we have
been, where we are now, and where we are headed is a culmination of our entire
lives up until this point. It is wonderful to see so many people, all from
different backgrounds and having different life experiences, come together and
actively participate in this class, and overall in our education. We could have
chosen to simply answer the question to get the grade and move on to the next
question. That isn't what happened. We expanded our answers and provided explanations
where they weren’t required. This showed me that we don’t have to be just like one
another to be able to relate to each other for purposes of communication. We
have shared pieces of ourselves with one another, showed support, encouragement, and given advice to each other.
I had much lower expectations about online classes as a whole. I didn't expect to get to know anyone. In fact, reality is the opposite. I have better insight into the people that make up ENG-101-W05 than I have had in any other SEATED class in my four semesters at OTC. I am proud to say that I am a part of this fine group of
people and I look forward to seeing where this class takes us.
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