After reading the article Digital Ghosts in the Classroom by Ashley Hinck, I chose to complete an infographic to outline the main takeaways from this paper. In this article, Hinck describes how remnants of previous (older) forms of digital media are currently impacting the way in which student’s creativity and individuality are manifested in the present. More specifically, Hinck describes how students have come to expect that there is a “right answer” for every question or situation that is presented to them, rather than than taking an individualistic or creative approach to arrive at their own solution. After studying the article, I felt as though this tendency to look for one specific answer proved very detrimental to the students, as they were so focused on being correct that they actually lost the majority of their ability to be creative and find novel solutions. This feeling of requiring a “right answer” is something I can personally relate to after completing this assignment, as I am very much a linear learner. Therefore, I found it difficult at times to stay on task and keep in mind where my infographic was ultimately going. As someone who has grown up utilizing various forms of social media such as Facebook and Instagram, I can see in my own work how these forms of digital media ghosts have influenced my own work and creative abilities. More specifically, this assignment and the readings that accompanied it made me realize that my level of creativity and comfort bubble when using these more open forms of digital media (such as the attached infographic) have been heavily impacted by my relatively frequent use of “drag-and-drop” and structured media forms. When I began reading this article, I thought of how detrimental this decrease in creativity and ingenuity could be on students effected by it; but never realized that I may be one of them. However, in my critical analysis of the article, I came to realize that I was very much one of the students who had been influenced by these digital ghosts of structured media forms, without even being aware of it. This ultimately struct me as concerning, as it made me realize that every day we can be negatively impacted by forms of media that many of us include in the “required” section of our daily lives. Overall, I was forced to step out of my comfort zone in creating this infographic, and thus faced a number of challenges in utilizing an entirely new form of media. That being said, I feel as though I have produced a product of digital media that has proven useful for both myself, as well as the people who will be viewing the finished product.
