What I Learned About Writing in Digital Environments

Going into “Writing in Digital Environments” at UCF, I had some preconceived notions about what the class might be like, since I’ve taken plenty of online classes and plenty of writing classes in my college career so far. I enjoy writing, but I’ve learned that to be good writer I must accrue knowledge and experience in many areas of education that most people don’t readily associate with writing. Through this class, my understanding of writing for the digital age has been significantly broadened, and my ideas about what it means to be a successful writer in the world of digital environments have been challenged. Here are two significant learning experiences from my time in ENC 4416.

1. Being a successful writer means understanding your digital environment.

Prior to this class, I had no experience with HTML or CSS, and if you would have asked me about web design, I would have told you that I don’t do that. The reality is that in order to be able to compete in this digital age of online writing and interaction, a fundamental understanding of the basic elements of websites is indispensable. As a student of writing, I am expected to know how to manipulate code, design and frame content for the web, and understand how digital environments operate on a fundamental level. Writing code isn’t just for hardcore programmers or people with exceptional computer skills. It’s for anyone who wants to take the developing world of online writing seriously and find their place in it. Working on an addition to the course website may not seem like much, but for me it was a moment in my education when I could honestly say to myself “this is what professionals do. This is what I will be doing professionally. I can do this.” That experience, and the lessons I learned by being open to new concepts, will prove invaluable as I progress further into my career.     

2. Culture, society, and social activities are all being shaped by our digital environments.

Nothing exists in a vacuum, but the ways in which our constantly connected world is shaped, shook up, and changed by the Internet has become vivid to me thanks to this class. Reading Rheingold, I came to a more developed understanding that the way we interact with the online world directly affects every other aspect of life. Social norms and group behavior online, technological literacy, and personal well being in a digital age are just some of the broad and vitally important concepts I explored in this class. Being able to use tools on the Internet effectively and knowing how to distinguish the good from the bad online are skills that everyone needs to master, but so few even think about. As I learn more about what the future of digital media might look like, I'm grateful that through this class I have been given the insights to be a conscious contributor to the field of digital writing. The reality of a constantly interconnected world can seem overwhelming to me at times, but knowing some of the disciplines I have read about and discussed because of this class, I'm looking forward to finding my place in the connected global village.