Module 7: Assignment 3: Course Reflection Blog Post

            

ICM 505 Reflection

ICM 505 has been my most enjoyable class this semester.  When I first enrolled in the course, I DREADED the thought of taking any form of a web course. I personally have always struggled with the concept of coding. Freshman year my Web I Professor taught me close to nothing. I spent countless hours stressed out due to my confusion, and lack of instruction. When I met with the professor for extra help, she would only confuse me more.  Thus, the semester was a nightmare.

            Rather than teaching to help her students, my professor would teach to the way she enjoyed hearing herself speak: “I do it this way because I like ___” Once I discovered that I was receiving zero help from my professor, I attempted to move onward with my tutoring via the Learning Commons. Unfortunately, since Graphic + Interactive Design is such a small major, there are no tutors working in the Learning Commons.

            Since my coding class during Freshman Year, I then had no coding practice until I entered Web II in the fall of my Junior Year. Thank God my Web II professor is an angel, because she taught me every aspect of coding that a beginner needs to know. Majority of the professors at Quinnipiac are top notch. Thus, I am very glad that I did not give up entirely on coding, due to my horrible first experience.

            Reflecting on how there were no tutors in the Learning Commons to help GID students made me appreciate how truly thankful I am for the window open for questions on BlackBoard. ICM 505 is the first class I have had in college where I have the opportunity to directly post about what is troubling me. I wish other professors would open submission windows for questions. Because odds are, multiple students have the same question.

            In this course alone, I have learned about more Web Techniques than I ever even knew existed! Rather than reading from a textbook and hoping to remember the code, Professor Akselsen challenged us each week with interactive assignments. From our first blog post to our final website enhancement, ICM 505 has been an interconnected process. Rather than learning something and never using it again, each week we would enhance our skills by building on the previous week’s topic. Professor Akselsen’s teaching method worked very well for me because he emphasizes how important open communication is. If you have an issue, ask for help! There is no shame in asking for assistance.

            Being a Graphic + Interactive Design Major, web design plays a large role in the field. Although I do not have a passion to pursue coding, I have in fact obtained a new appreciation for how much work goes into web design. An entire site cannot run due to a few minor errors. That idea runs parallel to other aspects of my world, too. Similarly, just a few bad decisions can offset the success one’s life. Every choice we make has an outcome. Thus, we must be aware of our actions. Above all else, ICM 505 has taught me to pay attention to fine detail, and that patience is incredibly important!