Part one: 

Being able to efficiently and meticulously summarize larger bodies of work is one of the most important skills that a college student should posses. It is pertinent not only due to the fact that it is essential to note taking, but additionally because if you can summarize a piece of work that means that you have analyzed the information and have obtained a thorough understanding. Summarizing helps me condense the information and put it into a more straightforward interpretation. If you can think critically you can easily become more of an independent writer. It is crucial to be able to think critically as a writer in social situations as well, due to the fact that along with the ever-growing use of technology on a daily basis, you need to be able to analyze information and integrate the knowledge you obtain into solving issues. These skills are very much needed in our fast-paced lifestyles. Learning to view text in various styles/forms has significantly benefited my understanding of writing and authorship. It makes it possible for me to see a different approach to evaluating the information given. Viewing text as an advertisement, tweet, or blog lets you interpret in a more complex way. It has made it possible for me to see what is put forth in another perspective. Advertisements usually stick with me with the most, due to the fact that the image/video used depicts the message in a powerful way. For example, a visual is used with the intention of the reader to feel empowered by the specific cause put forth. Some of the appeals that individuals are drawn to are fear, humor, sex, etc. They portray various emotions, and are all made to spark an interest in the product/message. Advertisements either evoke an appeal of Logos, Pathos, or Ethos. 

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This advertisement is specifically an example of Pathos, which is referred to as the emotional appeal. Pathos appeals to the audiences emotion. This image above uses the appeal of fear. It depicts a pregnant women carrying a child that seems to be multiple months old. The mother is smoking a cigarette, and you can see the smoke sitting inside of the womb, encircling the child. The words used at the bottom are exceptionally powerful, “Portable gas chamber.” Those three words along with the image don't take up too much space on the page, but are meant to emotionally concern people in hopes that pregnant women will not smoke. On the other hand, creating a tweet forces you to condense your opinion on a very small scale (140 character limit). Blogging is beneficial because it helps you to improve your writing deeply, as well as it aids to helping you becoming better at critically thinking. For our first unofficial blog post, I chose to analyze bumper stickers in two different parking lots, and summarize what I found. This form of writing (blogging) helped me significantly to summarize & condense my thoughts and findings, and portray the common theme of bumper stickers in Fort Collins to my audience. 

Part 2:

Todd Gilman is a librarian at Yale University, as well an online course instructor since 2002. Gilman discusses the common view of the effectiveness of online courses. Many people have an extremely negative outlook on them, and don’t consider the instructors of online courses, real teachers. One of his main arguments is that problems can arise face to face as well as easily as they can online. The factors that determine the effectiveness of a course depends on the level of the students participation as well as the instructors methods of teaching. An important key to success is the quality of the online course. He states his findings from his years of experience, and explains how to exactly to give online course students the full potential to learn and succeed. A crucial factor for an online course is the organization of the course design, or in other words the presentation of the material given. Without it students could miss dates or assignments, due to the fact that it was not clearly presented. The right course-management software makes a big difference for the students while navigating the virtual classrooms. Lastly, Gilman claims that being friendly and welcoming is pertinent to instructing an online course, and in the end is once of the biggest factors contributing to the students success. 

Gilman, Todd.”Combating Myths about Distance Education". 2002. Ethics in Higher Education. 1st ed. eD. Nancy Henke, Lisa Lanstraat, Adam Mackie, and Emily Morgan. Southlake, TX: Fountainhead, 2013. 99-104. Print.