Personal view
I actually enjoyed the freedom of creativity of the exercises more than the actual assignment sadly. I believe collage in the physical format of paper and glue is an art form, with little or no interaction with photography. For even where photographs are used, appropriation has occurred which makes the photographer and the artist totally different in all aspects. Putting this bluntly I believe for the first time, this assignment was in the incorrect degree course. However I feel there is justification for its involvement but in a much smaller format than currently exists.
Computer based image manipulation is a massive frame work for photography and is developing at an amazing speed, drawing people of a none photographic background to create professional looking work. It is also an incredibly creative format, changing almost monthly as more software techniques are developed and become readily available. For example the background blurring would only occur after the purchase of an expensive f2.8 lens or faster, now it is completed on a mobile phone.
The coverage of subjects such as appropriation was interesting, however required a great deal more detail in my unimportant opinion. It is a subject of consequence and importance to all photographers and artists, now and even more in the future. Jeff Koon's is a prime example of the difficulty and technicalities of this legal minefield. Giving a single view of a complicated and emotive subject.
The use of college to demonstrate the overlay system was also interesting. Though I was surprised whilst covering the history, we did not view the overlay system within commercial printing as it was used in all formats of print up to and including the late 1990's. Firstly in a physical paper format and then the development of ISDN systems and eventually via Macs, when artwork eventually became totally digital, at a point when it could be delivered on disk.
The creativity of the exercises were really enjoyable (if my choices are correct) and artists like Helen Sear brought the digital and artistic worlds much closer for my taste of art.