Final Reflections: Mitchell Cottrell

My Self-Directed Learning

Since the beginning of this class, I’ve been trying to connect all that I learn to my field of study, business management with an emphasis in data analytics. I’m a very logical thinker and short to the point. I look for trends and watch for economic potential in every circumstance I find myself in.­­ Because of that, I became more fascinated with the class as the personal learning progressed.

I always began my studies of each period learning general information. This gave me a proper understanding of important themes of the time period. I then picked a handful of themes that were interconnected, and tried to look for society’s reaction to changes, especially economical ones. I kept this trend throughout the entire learning process in order to see trends and changes among all the consistency.

My favorite study was of the Industrial Revolution. Reading about the effects of Karl Mark on society, and his push to dethrone the bourgeoisie, made me realize how imperfect history is, just as we are presently. It finally made me realize that history is like a tornado, it keeps looping back to the beginning, just with new ideas and people in power. Marx wasn’t much different from Montesquieu or Lorenzo Valla. They all challenged what society told them was right. They just found themselves in different time periods surrounded by different societies. History is a large vortex though, and repeated patterns and trends can be tracked and recognized through our past and into our future.

My Evolving Project

Because of my constant learning connection to business and analytics, I felt like it was hard to come up with my original idea for my final project. A topic that kept coming back to me was the idea of globalization. Inter-connectivity. I felt like I wanted to talk about the enormous network that can be built throughout the world, and how we need to move forward within that network in order to build it correctly (this is my original post). My idea was shot down very bluntly by a few people during class, which was an indicator to me that I needed to relate it more to the topics decided upon in class. I was placed in the Identity group.

As I morphed my desire to talk about inter-connectivity, I attached it to the ideas of my group members Kotahi, Jolene, and Katelyn: determining who we are, and building appropriate identities online for others to see. My thought process changed every class, and every blog post was completely re-written, not just edited. But this process was amazing. I learned how to think differently, to tie my ideas to those of people with different backgrounds and areas of expertise. I feel like I was able to effectively collaborate on my post as well as their posts, and we built a unified project and video. We were pleased with the work we did. It was opinionated, had strong calls to action, but was done in a professional way that is informative and properly iterated.

My final post is found here.

Our group post is found here.

Communication and History

The value of communication in the history of the world should never be underestimated. When closely observed, it can be found in every aspect of life, from the social to the political, and economic to philosophical. Shifts and developments in communication have been and will continue to be blueprints for where history is headed. When society has been brave enough to voice their opinion, they’ve become a massive force to be reckoned with. The consensus of poor labor conditions during the Industrial Age led certain transcendent human rights to be put in place. The first official mass-recording of opinions (with the creation of the printing press) revolutionized education and the spread of ideologies that challenged authority. These are just some examples of how communication has led to change for the wellbeing of cultures and societies.

As I’ve studied these practices and trends across history, I’ve realized the lack of importance I’ve given to my own communication. I have a voice, and it can be powerful. I also have the responsibility to help lead others’ communication in the right direction. As we grow and morph in this new Digital Age, and with the amazingly connected social networks we’re a part of, I now have a high standard against ignorance. The power of the people, “the long tail”, the masses, the crowd, has such a lasting influence in history and the future, and I can’t ignore the responsibility I have to honor the past in order to develop the future.

I know that society must look to the words of Edmund Burke, ″A spirit of innovation is generally the result of a selfish temper and confined views. People will not look forward to posterity, who never look backward to their ancestors.″ As we communicate effectively, we can successfully choose our future.