Internet Culture in the Information Society - what does that mean?? Before entering the classroom at the beginning of the quarter, I had no idea what to expect from this unique class. The title of the course does not give much away, as both the terms "internet culture" and "information society" are ambiguous and applicable to every aspect of our lives in the United States. Throughout the course of the ten week quarter, I learned much more than the vague course title hints. Having not previously immersed myself - both for voluntary and involuntary reasons - in the "internet culture and information society," I gained a new perspective into a technical world to which I would not otherwise have access. The minimal classroom time also required me to work independently and reach to different sources for additional help, as I had never before worked with any of the computer programs we used. Finally, I acquired technical skills in powerful tools, such as building a website and working with a group to create and produce a film.

The first, over-arching piece I learned was this perspective into an increasingly growing and influential technical world. I was introduced to the idea of online communities, where people can interact in a virtual world or simply in a space where they share common ground. Before this class, I had heard the term "Second Life" and was vaguely aware of an island owned by the university, but had no idea why anyone would want to "hang out" in a world where people could pretend to be someone they are not in a place that mildly resembles our Real world. Though my days as Rocky Garfunkel are over, my experiences in this virtual world certainly gave me a new perspective. I interacted with others who, allegedly, live in all different parts of the world, giving me the opportunity to discuss different ideas with those who were willing. Additionally, our class discussions about possible pros and cons of these online communities and virtual worlds helped me to understand my own biases and to appreciate others' perspectives. Another online community, the blogging community, similarly enlightened me. Not only can one learn about other people's lives to politics to cooking recipes from blogs, one can also find support and like-minded people with whom to share ideas and communicate.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the "citizen media" unit this quarter. Many people, including myself before this course, do not realize the significant influence they can have in the political, social, or technical spheres through their participation in citizen media and other virtual - and often consequently real - communities. Sometimes it is difficult to believe that a single individual can change the world, and perhaps this is true, but when that single individual unites a community of equally passionate individuals, together they can make a difference. "Citizen Media" has the potential to unite people to influence real change. The notion of "participation as a form of communication" succinctly suggests how one's participation in a community, virtual or real, translates into communication that can reach the levels where change occurs.

Due to the nature of the class, I was forced to work independently on projects I would previously have feared to even begin. I am most proud of my new ability to navigate through the fundamental tools in Dreamweaver in order to create a website. These new skills are incredibly powerful as we enter into a new age where one truly can project one's voice into a virtual world in order to influence positive change. This new voice often comes in the form of a website. The final project enabled (and forced) me to combine my passion for a specific topic, writing skills, research, appreciation for how one can most effectively reach an audience, and my new web-design skills. I used the Dreamweaver software to create my own "citizen media" in an online world.

My final project includes a site exploring a topic about which I am passionate and to which I am deeply invested. It includes over 3,500 words of my own writing in 14 webpages, three interviews with health care professionals, my own testimony as a health care ethics intern, and a review of scholarly literature. Each page incorporates in-text links to other pages and links to external sites for additional reading, sources, organizations, and information regarding the relevant topic. Most pages feature images that support the text. Finally, the multi-media component on the "My Testimony" page demonstrates my first attempt at creating a "video blog" to share my thoughts in a different media.