I didn’t have any prior experience with journalism prior to entering university. If anything, I was studying to become an engineer. There weren’t any journalism classes in my school so I couldn’t learn even if I wanted too. There were a lot of skills I didn’t know about and I thought they were really interesting.
I enjoyed learning about the digital aspect of journalism the most. I spend a lot of time on social media, especially Twitter, so having that as an assignment was great. My Twitter account is mostly following my friends so I don’t really notice the News section. It made me pay more attention instead of being distracted by other accounts.
I definitely mastered the skills with Twitter. I got a good score on the assignment and a nice comment from the professor. Social media is something I’m very used too so it was something natural for me. I also mastered searching for verified information online with the treasure hunt activity. It was difficult at first, but it got easier as time went by.
I had a problem with interviewing. I like talking with people, but I still have a tendency to stutter when I talk. It was also hard to get my point across even though I planned questions beforehand. I need to think of more complicated questions instead of simple ones.
I also had trouble with the subjectivity part of journalism. I forgot that we needed to be subjective during the interview assignment. I thought it would be good to make my interviewee look good. I still need to get better at making things less objective in my writing.
I learned AP style writing through the modules given and the textbook. Professor Saatsaz gives us the material and helps the class understand it. I asked my classmates for help when I didn’t understand things. I wrote articles for a club I’m in and they helped me practice.
I think I should keep practicing AP style writing. I have a good concept on parts of it, but I think I need some practice. I had good scores on some of the quizzes, but I think I should get better on those skills.
I can still practice the skills I learned after this semester. While I may be distracted during my breaks, I can still use them in future classes and clubs. I’m taking more writing and journalism classes so I can practice using those. I can practice then when my club starts again in the spring.
Self-reflecting can help me improve my work so I can get better at it. If I know what I’m doing wrong or right, I can see what I can do better and make sure I’m doing things correctly. If I do self-reflection more often, it can be easier for me to do it myself instead of relying on others myself.
