How to Survive Communications Ethics

I have learned that you must be very open to group work. I like group work and I think that it teaches you a lot about yourself and how you work with and relate to others. You must keep an open mind. A lot of issues and new technologies may be out of the norm. It is important not to write things off or typecast something before you explore it and fully understand it. This class was really an enjoyable one and I am so happy that I decided to minor in Communications. I think that the Project Report assignment was great because it exposed me to so many different organizations and issues in our surrounding community. This should definitely be continued. I think there should be more assignments such as a semester long project (in small groups) that examines a social justice issue. I think student should also become more involved in the world of Social Media possibly through following a blog or trending topic on the subject.

Civic Action

Saint Joe's primary goal as an educator is to encourage us to be "people with and for others". I have a real sense of civic action and firmly believe that each person is here to help one another and advance society as a whole. Humans by nature are communal. So why does this sense of justice and duty to others not really apply as well? I believe that we must step outside of the little bumps and bruises of our own lives and dedicate some of our time and effort into improving the lives of the oppressed and less fortunate. We have become too consumed in our blackberrys, facebooks, youtube videos, and twitters that we lose sight of reality. Little do many of us realize that these objects of our dearest affection could be the key to advancing justice. Our generation has the world at our fingertips. We should therefore put our resources to good use.

I have a challenge for myself and our generation. Instead of using our blackberrys to gossip via meaningless texts, let's use them to network in order to advance a cause. Let's text to donate to victims in Haiti. Rather than facebook stalking old boyfriends, let's unite people around a common cause. Become a fan of COde Pink: Women for Peace http://www.codepink4peace.org/ instead of The Hangover. Before you go to tweet that you're hitting up Main St tonight, tweet about the dangers of domestic violence. We have all the tools, the only peace our generation has yet to prove is if we have the heart.

Here is a link to Amnesty International and one of their causes of violence against women. Check it out. See what change you can make with the tools at your disposal.
http://www.amnesty.org/en/campaigns/stop-violence-against-women

My take on TED talks

I was so impressed with how one assignment can be taken in different directions. All of the talks were so unique and at the same time equally brilliant. The talks really let the class see what each person is passionate about. Topics varied from factory farming, to cyber bullying, to ethical issues with ad campaigns, to up and coming projects like Loveland. Every speaker took a different approach to their talks and I think that is what really made them all so interesting. I'm sure we were all equally nervous, but all the speakers were very captivating and really managed to maintain my interest (for a whole 5 minutes!). The assignment pushed everyone out of their comfort zone which allowed real growth for us as individuals, and as a class.

I think TED talks were a very positive experience for the class. I wish we could do more of them actually. If people got to sit in on those classes I'm sure everyone would be a Communications minor or at least take a class in it. Long live the TED talk!!