I had the best experience taking DCI 180 my first year here at W&L so when I saw that this class was being offered, I was very excited. It has been over three years since I took the first-year seminar class, so I thought what better way to end my time at W&L than to take a class with the same themes as the class I started with the fall of my freshman year. I learnt so much that I would never have anticipated in DCI 180, and I am still able to draw connections from the topics we covered in that class to the rest of my classes that I have taken throughout my time at W&L. One vivid example of this was my spring term literature class that I took last year called “the World of Tomorrow”. This class had a large focus on technology, and while taking it I could not help but draw connections between things we talked about in DCI 180 since they were so relevant to the material we were covering. I think this is and will continue to be a common theme among the classes I have left here and future experiences.
I hope that with this class this term I will continue to develop an understanding for digital culture and information and continue to be able to draw such connections throughout my future life. I have already found that having an awareness for digital culture and understanding the pros and cons of it has been incredibly important to my own life thus far. I think being aware of the digital world around us and staying on top of new ideas concerning it, will only make us better learners and citizens of society. Not everyone in this world or even in this school will have the opportunity to take a class that revolves completely around digital culture, but I think it is important that a large part of society is educated and able to share such ideas with those that may not have the same chance to gain such knowledge. I find it so interesting that there is so much out there that can be missed, whether good or bad, so I hope that with more educated individuals on the topic, we will be able to prevent avoidable situations. I also hope that with this class I will be able to expand my knowledge of DCI even further and remind myself of the numerous different themes that came up in DCI 180. It is important to me that I graduate W&L with a solid understanding of the topic and be able to put it to use when I go out and begin a new chapter of my life.
