16A,B&I: My final post!

It’s so crazy to believe that my first semester as being a freshman has already come to a close.  I have had my ups and downs on my journey, and in the end I have learned a lot about myself.  It’s so weird to think that just a year ago I was still in high school.  I was just getting accepted into college at this time.  I had no idea what life had in store for me after I graduated Shelton High.

                Even though my first semester seemed to go by so quickly, I have learned a lot about myself as a college student along the way.  One very important thing that I have learned is that I am a great independent thinker.  In high school we didn’t have much of an opportunity to be independent.  We also worked in groups and we were told specifically what to do at all times.  Everything is high school seemed to have been already drawn out for me.  In college I learned to form my own ways of thinking.  I have learned to solve problems on my own and have my own opinions. I know I still have a long way to go in the learning process but I am proud of my progress so far.  Not only have I become more independent in school, but also in everyday life.  College has given me the opportunity to see what the real world is like, to make my own decisions.  I feel like I have taken on more responsibilities and I am becoming more of an adult.  I depend on myself now a lot more than I used to.

                To me, becoming more of an adult meant to take on more challenges.  This semester I took on the challenges of commuting to school five days a week, working three days during the week, and on weekends.  At first everything was so overwhelming and I can honestly say that at one point I hated the fact that I was commuter.  After some time I got used to it though.  I had to learn how to manage my time correctly.  Time management is huge in college.  In high school it wasn’t really something I had to be worried about.  In college, professors don’t give a lot of time to complete assignments.  They expect you to study and learn things on your own time.  I learned that in order to be successful you can’t procrastinate.  In class this semester we made a chart of how we spent our time for a whole week.  This activity really helped me realize that time management is key.  I learned from this activity that I did have extra hours in my days to put in more studying.

               

              Next semester I plan to manage my time just as I learned to do this semester.  My biggest goal is to get into the Education program here at Southern.  In order to do this I need to keep my GPA high.  I am going to do this by setting little goals for myself in each course I take.  If I do this it will encourage and challenge me to keep my grades up.  Next semester I want to continue getting good grades, and even better grades than I did this semester.  I know that I can accomplish this goal if I just put my mind to it and remember that if I do I will get into the Education Program. 

                My first semester here at Southern has been quite the experience.  I have made so many amazing friends and learned a lot about myself.  I am going to continue working hard to accomplish my goals of one day being a teacher.  When I first started my blog, 16 weeks seemed so far away.  But it has honesty flown by in the blink of an eye.  I thought that blogging every single week would be terrible, but I’ve actually grown to like it.  It has become such a habit to me now it’s going to feel weird not to blog every week! I hope everyone has a great winter break, and has another successful semester!

Final Video!

Here is my final draft video about college students being broke! Enjoy :)

16V: Last Vocab word!

free·dom  the power or right to act, speak, or think as one wants without hindrance or restraint.

When I think of the word freedom America is the first thing that comes to mind.  We are a free country where everyone has the right to have their own opinions.   Another thing I think of is winter break!  I can’t wait to be free from school for a whole month.  I get to do what I want and not think about anything school related for a while.  It’s a great time to relax and enjoy my freedom!

Two other important vocabulary words that I learned are immure and wherewithal. Immure means to enclose within, or to imprison something. Wherewithal is the means, resources, or money.  

15I: Study Time!

Since finals are next week I thought it would be a good idea to to study with friends and people in my classes.  I have found that even though I like studying alone, studying with a group can be very helpful in many ways as well. This week I have had multiple study groups with my friends in the library.  I even stayed on campus one of those nights to study with friends for a test that was the next morning.

Studying with other people helped motivate me more.  It helped me actually want to study and not to procrastinate.  When I didn't know something another person in the group was always willing to offer me help.  When someone else didn't know material that I knew, I stepped in and helped them too.

Studying in a group is a great idea for everyone and I recommend that everyone starts a study group with people from class.  You can all help each other out and learn better that way!  The library is also open extra late now for night time studying!  Good luck on finals everyone!

15V: Autonomy

au·ton·o·my the state of existing or acting separately from others

I have never heard of this word before, but now that I know the definition I think that it relates really well to college students.  In high school we were told what to do, everything was laid out clearly for us.  College is way different.  In college students are expected to think on their own and be independent.  I think college encourages individual autonomy.  Students need act individually and be an individual.

Some other vocabulary words for the week are volition and constrain.  The word volition relates to autonomy.  Volition means the power to make your own decisions and choices.  In other word it is to be an independent person and to think for yourself. The word constrain is control that limits or restricts someone's actions or behavior.

15B: Rest up!

               This semester has gone by so quickly I can hardly believe that it’s almost over.  With classes wrapping up finals are the only things separating me from my winter break!  To prepare for finals I plan to study just as I did for my midterms.  I was happy with those grades and I feel if I keep up the same habits that I will get good final grades too.  I am going to try to not overwhelm myself with studying.  I remember in a few of our readings this semester they said not to study all day, but to study in little chunks and take breaks.  I don’t want to ware myself out and not be able to remember anything at all!  I think that if I study a little at a time and only focus on one subject at a time I will do just fine!

                I am also preparing myself for finals by getting a lot of rest.  I haven’t been getting enough sleep lately with all my projects for school and with working.  During finals week I am planning to get a good night’s rest every night and to make that my number one priority.  I can study however much I want but still fail due to the lack of sleep.  That’s why getting enough rest this week is going to be very important for me!  I am going to try to take naps during the day between study or before work so that I will have enough energy to focus on the things that really matter!

                I with ensure success in wrapping up this semester by getting good grades on my finals.  I know that once I pass them all I will be stress free until the start of the second semester.  I want to finish the first semester off strong, giving me a solid start.  I am so excited for what future years to come will have in store for me here at Southern.

15A: Getting feedback

The past few weeks have been set aside to watch everyone’s rough draft of their video projects.  I think that doing this was such a good idea.  Having these viewing days helped me and other students to not procrastinate.  We all had a certain date that our video was due and everyone had to show it to the class for feedback.   I can honestly say that without this draft dead line I wouldn’t have gotten as much done on my video as I have.  I have been so busy with finals coming and projects and tests for my other classes that I know I would have tried to put making my video off.  I am so glad now that I did get a lot done because during finals week I can relax a little more knowing that I don’t have much to add.

                

       Watching everyone’s video really showed me how creative everyone is!  Almost everyone in my class had a funny skit idea that caught the viewer’s attention, and no two skits were alike!  I think it was very helpful that other students gave use advice on our videos.  I was able to then see my video in other people perspectives and use what they had said to my advantage.  Almost everyone gave me the same sort of feedback.  They loved my music and skit but they wanted to see more college level thinking!  As I finish my video project I am going to take their advice!  I am going to add more music since everyone liked it, and I am definitely going to add more actually facts to have more college level thinking.

                

       Watching everyone’s videos was a fun learning experience.  The feedback from other students about my video is going to help me polish my final draft and make it awesome!  I also learned from other peoples drafts too.  I listened to all the advice for others and can apply that to my video too.  Overall it was a great learning experience in will help me with my video in a positive way.

Rough draft video

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DccGZidJJhI&feature=youtu.be

14I: Explorers

Since I am a commuter finding time to video my skit was probably a little more difficult than for people who live on campus.  I rarely have time between classes and I can't stay later in the day because of my work schedule.  Even though it was a bit difficult for me to find time I think I can get everything done on time if I don't procrastinate!

During one of my hour breaks a few friends and I wanted to find interesting places to record parts of our skits.  We all had very different ideas for our videos and wanted to find cool places to act out a skit.  My friends and I searched all over Engleman Hall and found so many places that I didn't even know about!

The search for a place to shoot a video turned into more than just that.  It became an adventure.  We found hidden lounges and little nooks with benches in them.  Most of these areas I would have never even knew about!  On the bottom floor we found an area with comfy chairs and a table.  In the language lab hallway we found another area similar.  We did most of our recording in these places.  We even ventured all the way up to the third floor and ended up in a really fancy office hallway with comfy chairs.  We found out shortly after that it was the vice presidents office and we weren't allowed there.

Searching for a spot to record skits for our final videos was actually a fun adventure!  I got to explore all around Engelman and I found so many cool new places to study and rest between classes!

14V: Investing time

in·vest·ment  the act of putting money, effort, time, etc. into something to make a profit or get an advantage, or the money, effort, time, etc.

The word investment deals with a lot more than just money.  In college I would have to say that one of the biggest investments is time and effort.  In order to achieve goals and get good grades time would have to be put it.  Good things don’t just get handed to you, you have to work for them.  The most important thing I have learned about being successful in college is all the time you need to invest in order to achieve success.

Some other words I found important are nomenclature and protract. Nomenclature is a system or set of terms or symbols especially in a particular science, discipline, or art.  Protract means to lengthen in time or to cause to be or to last longer.

14B: I'm thankful for...

So many people love Thanksgiving because of the great food and forget to take the time to be thankful.  I have to admit, the food is awesome but it’s also an important time to reflect on the things in life that we are grateful for.  My first semester at Southern has been full of ups and downs, but I wouldn’t trade my experiences for anything.

Coming from a town so close to Southern, I knew that I would be surrounded by kids from my high school.   I was fine with that, but I didn’t want to stay sheltered and only stick close by the people I already knew.   One of the things I am most thankful for this semester is all the amazing people that I have met.  Making new friends wasn’t as hard as I expected it would be.  I was able to meet so many new people and not just stick with only my Shelton friends.  Since orientation in the summer I knew that Southern was a place I could feel as if I belonged.  During orientation I made many friends and I even starting carpooling with one that lives a town next to me.  Once the semester started I met even more people.  I have the same students in my Inquiry and Media class.  I love the idea of this learning community.  We have all gotten to know each other so well and it was a great way to feel comfortable.  I have made the most friends from these classes this semester and I am so thankful for all of them.  I know that if I need help in school or with just about anything I have people who will be there for me. 

Next semester I will not have this learning community anymore and I already know that I am going to miss it.  I feel the most comfortable in those two classes because of how well I know everyone.  It’s going to be so weird without being able to see them every day.  Even though I won’t have these classes anymore I know that I will stay in touch with quite a few people from them.  I am so thankful for everyone that I have met at Southern and I know that I will continue to meet more people in my next few years here at Southern.

"It is not happy people who are thankful, it is thankful people who are happy."

14A: eat, sleep, repeat

This Thursday is Thanksgiving day so we have a five day break off from school.  This break is perfect timing in my opinion.  Finals are right around the corner and this is the time students start to really get stressed out.  Hopefully these five days will allow everyone to catch up on sleep and come back on Monday ready to tackle the last few weeks of the semester!

I am so excited about break that I already have most of my week planned out.  On Wednesday I have to go to work, but not until later in the day.  On a normal week I usually have to wake up around 6:20 for my 8 am class.  When I get home from school I have just enough time to eat lunch and do some homework.  Then I go right to work and to sleep after.  This week will be different though without school.  I am planning on sleeping in as late as I can and just being lazy until I need to go to work.  The next day, Thursday, is thanksgiving!  Every single year since I can remember I have gone to my Nana and Papas house to spend the day with my huge family.  Unfortunately, this year is going to very different.  This past year both my Nana and Papa were diagnosed with cancer.  They have been going through treatment and just aren’t feeling up to having people over or going anywhere.  I am just going to have a thanksgiving meal with my parents and two brothers this year.  It’s going to be such a change for me.

On midnight of course I’ll be one of the people rushing around the mall trying to find the best sales!  Black Friday is one of my favorite days!  I love the excitement of staying up all night finding the best deals. After shopping I’m definitely going to sleep, sleep, sleep! That’s probably what I’m going to be doing on the weekend too!  I think that if I take a few days to rest, be lazy, and catch up with friends on Monday I’ll be extra focused.  I want to be able to come back to school and finish out the semester strong.  I am hoping that I will be able to do as good (or ever better) as I did on my midterms.  This upcoming break is definitely a good stress reliever to stop waking up early every day and to think of things other than school work.

13B: Stop Spending!

Being creative can be such a hard thing to do sometimes.  I am a naturally creative person but in certain situations it’s hard.  I think that being creative comes naturally to everyone, but some people are just afraid to express their ideas.  In my final video draft I am going to try and use my creativity as an advantage.

I think that without some form of creativity that all these videos would be boring to watch!  Hopefully mine will end up being interesting and catch the viewer’s attention.  I am going to try to do this by using skits.  My idea is to video a bunch of common situations that students are put it about spending money.  On a daily basis we are given the chose to either spend more money, or save some.  I am going to video people asking to go out and eat and just keep spending money.  I am always put into these situations myself and sometimes it’s hard to say no!  These little skits will be able to show real situations in a creative way and show why students are suffering this problem.

I am also going to use my creativity by coming up with not only solutions to the problem but also tips that students can use.  There are so many different solutions and ideas for me to explore about how students can go about saving their money instead of being broke.  I am going to use my own ideas as well as ones I research.  I want to be able to add a personal touch to my video.  I think that if I connect myself with it personally, that it will be easier to get my ideas across and make my video more meaningful.

My main goal for this video is to make it interesting to watch, but also to actually help students who are going through this problem.  My creative approach on this video will hopefully make it fun and will encourage students to stop wasting their money when they don’t need to.  

13A: Thinking harder than ever

I can’t even believe that it’s almost time for finals already!  This semester really flew by.  In inquiry instead of an actual final exam we are doing a video project instead.  In this video we are asked to use college level thinking and creativity to express a problem that students face at college, and come up with a solution.  

For my video topic I chose the problem of being broke.  I picked this topic because I can definitely relate to it.  You may be thinking how I’m going to use college level thinking on a simple topic like having no money.  I thought that at first too.  I didn’t really know where to start, but after a lot of thinking and planning I think I’ve finally figured it out.  I am going to go in depth with the problem, and show a lot of examples that show why most college kids don’t have money.  I really relate to my topic, so I will have an insight about that this problem actually feels like and what students are really going through.  I can use this connection that I have to really go in detail with my video.

I am also going to use college level thinking in my solutions for being broke.  I have already started doing some research and I am going to talk to multiple people to get different perspectives. Getting different perspectives on things for my video will be great so that it’s not just my ideas.  I will be able to hear different sides and what other people think students can do to save their money. 

I really hope that all the practice I’ve done in class with college level thinking will help me get a good grade on my video!  I am going to try and get a better grade than I did on my midterm video.  I hope with my college thinking skills I can turn this video into a success!

13I: my perfect schedule

To be totally honest I was super nervous to register for spring classes.  I know it probably doesn’t seem like a big deal, but for me it was.  All I could think about the whole night was sleeping through my alarm and missing registration!  I barely got any sleep, and at 5:40 I was ready to go.

I signed onto banner web extra early, and the site was already loading slowly because of all the students online.  I typed in my pin number and clicked submit at exactly 6:00 a.m.  The first time I tried it said I didn’t have access to the website.  It said this because the site couldn’t handle all of the people at once.  The second time I got right through and I put in all my classes.  I was so nervous as I hit submit.  I thought some of my classes would be full and I’d have to use one of my backup schedules, which I really didn’t want to do.  To my surprise it said that I was registered for all of my classes!  I was done registering by 6:05 and had my perfect schedule.  It was so much easier than I had expected!   Hopefully every semester it will be this easy!

13V: what is our purpose?

pur·pose the reason for which something is done or created or for which something exists.

Everything in life serves a purpose if you really think about it.  One thing that people have trying to figure out the purpose of is life.  Why were we specifically put here on earth, what is each of our exact purpose? No one really knows the exact answer because everyone serves a different purpose in life, but an article I read this week said a little bit more about it.  The article said that instead of living for the purpose of happiness we should live for the purpose of meaning.  We should go through life thinking of others and not our selves.  When we live for the purpose of meaning we will also find happiness.

Some other words that I came across this week are terminus and bias.  The word terminus means the end of something, like the end of a travel route or the station at the end of it.  The word bias is one that is frequently used in my Media and Everyday Life class.  A bias is a tendency to believe that some people, ideas, etc., are better than others that usually results in treating some people unfairly. 

12B: learning to learn

After all of the practice I had last week with coming up with inquiry questions and college level answers I feel so much more comfortable coming up with more!

A question I came up with to answer is: How would a shorter school day, no homework, and no tests change children?

If schools cared more about actually learning rather than wasting so much time preparing for tests and giving out homework children would value school a lot more.  Since I was in elementary school I have always thought that the school day was way too long!  Some of the day just seems to drag on and on.  These long school days just bore children!  A lot of kids don’t have a very long attention span, so after a while they start to daze off and stop listening.  If the school day was made shorter the kids would be able to take in more information because they would be paying attention.  If they didn’t have to sit in one chair for eight hours they would be able to focus and understand things better. 

 Without tests and homework children would learn for the actual sake of learning, instead of learning something just to pass a test.  I know that sometimes I just memorize something until the test comes, and then I forget all of the information after the test is over.  Without tests students would be more interested in learning for themselves instead of just to get good grades.  Without homework students will enjoy school more, and stop looking at it like it’s a chore.  Some people may argue that without tests and quizzes there is no way to see if a child is learning or not, but memorizing something just for a test isn’t learning either.   

With less hours of sitting in a classroom, having no tests, and no homework, students will actually enjoy learning things.  They will stop looking at school as a chore and will actually enjoy going to learn new things to better themselves. A shorter school day would change children for the better!

12V: Vocab Lesson

in·ter·dis·ci·pli·nar·y  per·spec·tive: involves two or more areas of learning, having more than one perspective on the same subject.

An Interdisciplinary Perspective refers to a comprehensive knowledge of skills which a student can use to find and evaluate information about two or more disciplines.  This is a very important aspect to learn.  This perspective allows a student to look at one subject with more than one perspective.   It helps students understand that there is more than one way to view something.

Some other important words that I came across this past week are dissertation and requisition.  The word dissertation refers to a long piece of writing about a particular subject that is done to earn an advanced degree at a university.  The word requisition is the act of formally requiring or calling upon someone to perform a specific action.

12I: Save the owls

This week while I was walking through the Engleman Hall lobby I noticed a group of girls sitting behind a table.  I’m not going to lie, the first thing that caught my eye were the m&m cookies!  The best way to draw attention is definitely free food!  After eating the cookies I then actually took a look at their project. 

They had a big colorful poster set up that said “Save the Owls!”  Their whole table was filled with flyers all about animal endangerment.  They even decorated the wall in Engleman with awesome animal pictures.  I thought it was so clever of them to name their project “Save the Owls”, since our mascot at Southern is an Owl! 

Even though at first I just stopped by to get free cookies, I really enjoyed everything that was set up at this table.  They used a catchy title and great pictures to make it more exciting!  I could tell they put a lot of effort into this project and really cared about helping save the animals!

12A: Well-rounded

          If you had asked me what the Liberal Arts Program at Southern was a few months ago, I wouldn’t even have an answer for you.  It sounded so complicated when I first heard the term.  Once I started college here at Southern I started to slowly understand what it meant.  I understood that all students had to take a set of required courses to fill the Liberal Arts requirement.  At first, I’m not going to lie; I thought it was a little stupid to waste a whole year on courses that have nothing to do with my major. Over the past week we have had some in depth discussions and readings about the program and my feelings towards it have changed.  Now that I have a better understanding I can see the true value of the Liberal Arts Program.

          The real value of a Liberal Arts education is to help make every student as well-rounded as possible.  In an article that I read called “Liberal Arts Education and the Know-nothing Bandwagon” it said that education is more than training and job creation, it is about developing critical thinking, writing, and communication skills.  I agree with what this article said because if you really think about it these abilities that the article refers to, can all be used in a number of careers, not just specific ones.  Employers these days want a well-rounded person not only skilled in their specific major, but also skilled in the ability to communicate and solve problems on their own. 

          The Liberal Arts Program here at Southern provides students with a basic knowledge of many subjects, not just one specifically.  I think that this program also helps students explore different paths.  Most students come into college thinking they know exactly what they want to do, but then they realize they don’t like the major they thought they would have.  The Liberal Arts program lets students take classes they would not have taken on their own, and sometimes students end up finding a subject that they really love.  I personally, am happy to be at a school with this program.  I know that when I graduate college I will not only be skilled in my specific major, but I will also have a little bit of knowledge in many other subjects.  I will have to ability to communicate and problem solve on my own because of my back ground knowledge.  

“Liberal arts is founded on a whole person, developing a person athletically and academically.  Liberal arts is going international.  The 21^st century is one of entrepreneurship and innovation.  There will not be fixed careers.  The liberal arts teaches you to think outside the box” –Rebecca Chopp President of Swarthmore College. 

11I: stress management

Flu season is approaching us quickly and it is super important to stay healthy this time of year!  Once the weather starts getting colder everyone seems to start catching something.  If you are feeling sick visit The Granoff Student Health Center on Wintergreen Avenue.  It is conveniently located near the residence halls and right across the street from Moore Fieldhouse.  To make an appointment all you have to do is call, it’s better to be safe than sorry!

When visiting the Health Center I found out that they are open Monday through Thursday 8am to 4:30pm and on Fridays 9am to 4:30pm. The Health center not only can help you with the flu but they also have tips for stress management and they take urgent walk ins!  If you are feeling over whelmed and stressed about school I highly recommend you visit the health center. They also have a very informative website that has many different links. I found the link about stress management very helpful to me! https://www.southernct.edu/student-life/health/healthservices/stressmanagement.html In these upcoming months remember to wash your hands, exercise, and get plenty of sleep!

11B: More questions

          Creating inquiry questions that require college level thinking to come up with an answer is somewhat difficult.  It is a concept that is very new to me because in high school we never really had to sit down and pick a question apart.  We just answered it straight forwardly.  I think I speak for other freshman too when I say that I never had to actually analyze, and evaluate a question.  As I was looking at my peers blogs I noticed that a lot of them have quickly gotten the hang of it already.

 

          I read through Kali Roger’s blog (http://anowlsmind.blogspot.com/) and noticed her four great Inquiry questions that she came up with.  Kali put thought into these questions.  They require a lot of thinking and not just a simple straight forward answer.  She asked questions that could be looked at in different ways and backed up with evidence and facts. I also think Franchesca Nowak (http://fnowak30.blogspot.com/ ) did a great job coming up with questions that required college level thinking.  All four of her question included different parts and things to think about.  They couldn't be answered with just a single sentence.

          My peers not only were able to come up with good questions but they also were able to come up with strong answers for them.  One answer that stood out to me was Paige Slack’s. (http://paige2017.blogspot.com/) She answered the question “What are ways college students can cultivate more creativity? How can this be important for their future?” Paige started off her answer with a clear thesis statement which was “College students can cultivate more creativity by stepping back and becoming an outsider.”  This statement set the tone for the rest of her answer.  She then gave specific examples to back up her answer and even included specific facts from articles we have read.

          I have definitely learned a lot from this week’s exercises in anticipating and answering questions.  I now know what exactly my professors going to be asking and how they want me to answer it.  I am going to apply these new skills into my studying habits.  Next time I have a test I am going to try to come up with a few inquiry questions of my own just like we did this week.  If I prepare myself for what kind of questions they might ask I will be more confident in answering them. I also have learned from this week’s exercises how I should be answering these questions.  I need to really start digging deep and not just give general answers like I am used to doing.

11A: think like a college student

This past week in class we have been focusing a lot on Inquiry questions and what makes a particular question a good inquiry question.  I have learned this semester that an inquiry question is not one that you would find on a multiple choice quiz.  It is a question that actually requires you to think rather than just having a straight forward answer.  These types of questions require you to analyze, evaluate, interpret, and synthesize in order to come up with a college level answer.  In class we came up with some questions and practiced how to answer them.  This practice will definitely help me in my other classes.  I can use these techniques on my tests in quizzes in the future.

I came up with four inquiry questions about this past week’s readings.  All of these questions require college level thinking and analyzing to come up with an answer.

Question 1: How can a nurturing and safe environment be important to creativity?

Question 2: How do difficulties and obstacles help the learning process?

Question 3: How can hiring a hard worker differ from hiring a creative thinker?

Question 4: How can being bored impact creativity in a positive way?

I chose question 4 to answer.  How can being bored impact creativity in a positive way?

Being bored can stimulate your brain in different ways than it would if you were actively thinking.  When you are bored your mind has the time to wonder and think about things that you wouldn't normally think about if you were busy.  Being bored is looked at as being a bad thing, and people do anything they can to occupy or entertain themselves.  They occupy themselves with day dreaming and just having their minds wonder in any direct it can.  When you are busy you don’t have time to do your own thinking and come up with creative ideas.  Even though sometimes people think being bored is bad, it can actually be looked at as a creativity booster.  Being bored can sometimes be a very good thing!  You can come up with some of your best ideas while being bored, just from letting your mind do what it wants to.

This question definitely made me use college level thinking and really put in detail and go into depth for my answer.  I think that practicing answering questions like this will only help me on my next quiz or test.  Now I know what kind of answers are expected in the college classroom and I can use that to  my advantage when studying. 

11V: Innovation

in·no·va·tion   a new idea, device, or method:The act or process of introducing new ideas, devices, or methods

Innovation can be describes as a new original idea that becomes important.  People are always coming up with new ideas and new technologies to better the world.  Innovation is translating an idea into a good or a service that customers will want to buy.  The key to this is for the idea to be one that will make life easier.  Everyone is always looking for ways to get things done faster and take the easiest route.  I’m not saying that everyone in America is lazy, but I think that we are to a certain extent.  A good example of this is online shopping.  No one wants to waste time to actually go out and shop when they can do it right inside their home with the touch of a button.  Innovation is about generating a new idea that will be successful in society today. 

Two other important words I learned this week are upheaval and officious.  An upheaval is a major change or period of change that causes a lot of conflict, confusion, or anger.  This word basically means a radical change, and usually relates to history. For example the civil rights movement marked a period of social upheaval in the U.S.  The word officious means when someone is trying to give advice when it is not wanted or needed.  It means to volunteer one’s services when not asked to do so. 

10B: My life in a nutshell

How do you begin your day?

I am the kind of person who has a very set routine, if anything goes wrong or differently in the morning I get very frustrated.  I begin my day by waking up to my alarm clock.  The noise is so loud and annoying so I never over sleep.  The first thing I do is get out of bed and wash my face.  When I get back into my room I start listening to the same playlist I always listen to.  I keep the songs in the same order for a reason.  I get ready to the songs.  When a certain song is playing I know I should be getting dressed.  When the third song comes on I start doing my makeup and hair.  I always know exactly when to start finishing up my getting ready so that I am never late.  I know it sounds so boring to listen to the same set of songs every single day but it helps me so much.  I know exactly what to do and when to do it. Once my playlist is over I go to the kitchen to eat breakfast.  I never leave my house without a class of cranberry juice.  Once I drink it I’m ready to start my day!

What is your greatest dream?

My greatest dream in life is to be successful but also be happy with my job.  I have heard of so many people who have good paying jobs but they aren't happy.  I want to be happy with my life.  My greatest dream is to be happy with what I do.  That is why I want to be a teacher.  I work with kids now at a local YMCA and I absolutely love it.  I know that teaching elementary school doesn't pay a lot of money but I think I’d rather be happy.  I want to be able to wake up every morning excited for a new day.  I want to always be happy with what I chose to do, and if I ever get to that point where I get sick of my job I hope I can find something different I can enjoy.

What is your greatest fear?

My biggest fear in life is losing my family.  My family is really close, especially my mom and I.  We talk about everything and she always talks to me and helps me through things.  The worst thing that could ever happen to me is losing my Mom, my best friend.  I can’t picture myself going through life without her.  She has been there for me through good and bad and I can always count on her.  My greatest fear is definitely losing her and having to still try to keep my life together. I know that everyone passes away at some point but I am really dreading that moment in my life.  I try to make the best memories with the ones I love now before it is too late.  

10I: Happy Halloween

On Wednesday October 10^th Lorraine Warren came the Lyman center.  I was so excited to go because I recently saw the movie “The Conjuring” in theaters.  I love scary movies and I am usually not scared to watch them, but the conjuring is a movie that actually freaked me out.  I was scared to drive home after I watched it; I can’t even imagine how Lorraine felt after being in that house.  She explained that she had never felt the type of fear she felt in that house.  She said that she will never in her life step foot in that house again.

Lorraine showed us pictures of ghosts and personal encounters that she had witnessed while ghost hunting with her husband Ed.   She later showed us a real exorcism that she helped with.  I couldn't help but get chills while watching it.  It’s so hard to believe that something like that can happen in real life and not just to people in the movies.  Lorraine is now 86 years old and goes all around sharing her stories and her experiences.  She is a very brave woman who spent her life  doing things that no one else will ever experience.

10A: Education Program

My midterm video project was about the Education Program here at SCSU.  I want to major in Early Childhood Education so I thought that this would be a great topic for me to choose.  While doing this project I found out useful information that I didn't know before about the program.

The length of my video came up a little bit short of five minutes.  I should have added more information or added a longer video interview.  Other than the length I hit all of the requirements for this assignment.   I interviewed many people and included three in my video, including one of my professors.  I am so glad I got to interview a professor and hear their point of view about the field of education.  I tried to interview some of my other professors but a lot of them didn't want to be on video.  That’s why I chose my interview with Mrs. DiMauro.  I think it made it much more effective with a live video rather than just using text.

The strongest point of my video in my opinion is my music and transitions.  I tried to grasp the attention of my audience with the music. I used something upbeat to start it off so that it was exciting.  At the end I slowed the music down and faded it out to make a clear ending to my video.  I also used many different slide transitions to help make my video flow together instead of looking choppy and unfinished.  I would probably give myself a B or B- for this video project because I could have added more information and longer interviews to fill up more time.  I had no problems with uploading or finishing my video on time. I made sure that I finished it a few days in advance so that my last couple of days was just spent on polishing and finishing it up.  I made sure I had a clear beginning, to catch the viewers’ attention, a middle portion, with lots of information and interviews, and an ending, which summed it up and had credits.

10V: creativity

cre·a·tiv·i·ty  the use of the imagination or original ideas, esp. in the production of an artistic work.

What creativity means to me is basically just thinking differently, having your own perspective on things and being able to go with the flow.  Sometimes it’s hard to have a creative mind especially in today’s society.  Schools don’t think it’s important to teach creativity to children, they just teach basic subjects and one way of learning things.  I don’t agree with the school systems at all about this.  Some children need to learn in their own ways, just because they sit down and focus on reading a book doesn't mean they won’t become a great story writer one day.

More people need to start to understand that creativity is a good thing!  Children should be taught at a young age to be their own person and use their creative minds.  Without creativity we are all merely the same, and what fun is a world full of the same type of people?

Some other words I came across in my media class this past week were Syllogism and Enthymeme.  The word Syllogism is a form of deductive reasoning that relates to artistic proof. There is a major premise, a minor premise, and then a conclusion. An example of a syllogism is:

Major: All reality shows are scripted

Minor: Jersey Shore is a reality show

Conclusion: The Jersey Shore is scripted.

An Enthymeme is quite similar, it is a sentence that includes a claim and reason, but it depends on the audience’s agreement with an assumption that is implied but not spoken. An example of this is the sentence “We better cancel the picnic because it is going to rain”

Claim: We better cancel the picnic

Reason: It’s going to rain

Cultural assumption: Rain is bad weather; we don’t spend time outside in the rain.

9B: Halfway there

It's so hard to believe that I am already done with half of my first college semester!  I still remember the first day, all the nerves and not knowing what to expect. Since the semester is halfway over already professors have posted midterm grades on Banner Web.  They do this so that students can see exactly where they are at and how they can improve or maintain their grade for the last half of the semester.

Signing into Banner Web, I was a little nervous to
find out what my grades were.  I saw that my midterm grades were A-, A-, B, C+, and C-.  I was definitely relieved when I saw that I was actually doing pretty well!  The only grade that I am upset about is my C-.  I received that grade in Spanish and that is the class I am having the most trouble with.  Iv'e never been good at Spanish, even when I took it in high school.  It just never has clicked with me. I'm not going to let that one grade upset me though.  In all my other classes I am doing very well.  I do all of my homework and so far I have been prepared for tests and quizzes.  I talked to my math professor about my C+ and she told me my average is a 79.  All I have to do is bring it up one point for it to be in the B range!

Overall , I am so happy with my grades except for Spanish.  My goal for the end of the semester is to finish with at least a C in this course.  I really need to keep up with all my homework.  Even if I know I won't do great on tests if I keep my homework and participation grades up that will boost my average. In order to raise my grade before the end of the semester I need to stop telling myself I can't.  My biggest problem with Spanish is that it doesn't come easily to me so I get discouraged.  I need to stop putting myself down about it.  I think if I have hope in myself I can bring up my grade.  I need to start believing that I can!

9V: Ways of thinking

Critical Thinking: the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.

I think critical thinking means to not only think outside the box but to dig deeper into something.  The answer to a question or problem sometimes needs some extra thinking.  Critical thinking also deals with judging the true value of a statement, and going in depth to seek errors. 

Another way of thinking is literal thinking. This means limited to the explicit meaning of a word or text; conforming or limited to the simplest or most obvious meaning of a word or words.  A person who is a literal thinker takes every single word for what it actually means. This week I also learned the definition of the word Anecdote.  I have heard the word used in my English classes before but I never actually knew the real meaning of it.  Now I know that an Anecdote is a short story about a specific event.  Most anecdotes are usually short narratives of an interesting, amusing, or biographical incident.

9I: Be like a sponge!

On Monday the 21^st I attended the Sonia Sotomayor event in the Lyman Center.  This was a very important event because Sonia wrote My Beloved World , which was our common read over the summer.  I will always look back and remember attending this event because Sonia is a very important figure and is the Supreme Court Justice.  Sonia answered some questions that students submitted to her.  I thought this was very interesting because it showed that she wanted to talk about what we wanted to hear, instead of just talking to us in general.

Sonia gave some great advice to all of the students in the audience.  She told everyone to follow their dreams and do what they want in life.  She made me really appreciate that I am attending Southern.  She said to use the resources around us to better ourselves.  Every professor at Southern is here to help us students be successful people and to pursue our dreams.   She mentioned to “be like a sponge.”  I thought about this for a while, and even after the event it entered my mind.  This statement really stuck with me.  Sonia’s advice is perfect.  To be successful in life you need to listen to the advice that is given to you.  Don’t just hear it, but let in sink in and really listen to people when they are trying to help you.  Sonia also said to take courses to broaden your horizon.  She said take classes that interest you or classes that will just overall better you as a person.  This is great advice to help students become well rounded successful people.

It was a really great thing for Southern to hold an event like this on campus for first year students.  Sonia uses her own experiences to help others live their dreams just like she is doing.  Through all her struggles in life she never gave up.  She explained that yes, she has doubted herself at certain times in life.  But the incredible thing about Sonia is that she didn’t let the negativity affect her in the long run. 

9A: The Real world

College is much different than high school in many ways.  It is a bigger atmosphere, there are all new people, and you are on your own and independent.  Teachers in high school often give you work to complete and directions on how to complete that work.  I have found that college is much different in this aspect.  Professors expect more out of you once you reach college, they don’t draw everything out for you like they used too in high school.  Professors now expect more critical thinking.

The real definition of critical thinking is the mental process of actively and skillfully conceptualizing, applying, analyzing, synthesizing, and evaluating information to reach an answer or conclusion.  This can also be understood as thinking outside the box.  In college, professors don’t lay it all out for you, and they do this on purpose.  They want students to actually think and analyze things on their own now.  I have noticed that all of my professors do most of the same things.  We take a lot of notes and when the test comes, I have to study all of it because they don’t tell me what specifically is going to be on it.  Back in high school all my teachers would give us study guides and problems to practice so we knew what exactly was going to be on the test.  I had no practice critically thinking because of this.  I didn't have to dig deeper and really learn the material.  I would just study and learn strictly what my teachers would say I would be tested on.

Now I have realized real life is not like that.  There is not always going to be someone there giving you the answers or telling you exactly what to focus on.  This is where critical thinking comes in.  Now that I am on my own I need to rely on my own thinking skills to study and learn.  It’s definitely a hard concept to grasp and I haven’t totally gotten the hang of it yet.  I need to do extra things at home, like read chapters before class, and question things I don’t understand.  Once I get my brain in the habit of critically thinking I know it will be an easier thing to do for me.   For now I am just trying my best.  My grades from my first few tests were a wake up call to me.  Not every answer is going to be there right in front of me anymore.  Thinking critically on my own to solve problems and doing extra work to help me understand things better will help me get those test scores up.

Education Program Video

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8Ss3noq6zZ8&feature=youtu.be

8I: Majors expo

         This past Wednesday I attended the Majors Expo taking place in the Adanti Student Center.  I went to go take a quick look around 1:30 that day.  The whole ball room was filled with tables.  There were so many people there!

          I found my way over to the Education Program table.  I have always known that I wanted to be a teacher and the ladies at the table made me want to even more.  Everyone in the education department is super nice and friendly!  They are willing to help with anything.  They explained to me how to get into the education program and that Southern, unlike many other schools, does not have a limit for how many students they accept into the program each year.  This information made me feel really good.  I couldn't imagine meeting all of the requirement and then not being accepted into the program of my dreams due to no more space! The Majors Expo was very informational and I ended up spending more time there than I thought I would.

8V: 10,000 rule

mas·ter·y comprehensive knowledge or skill in a subject or accomplishment

          When I was younger my whole life revolved around gymnastics.  I always wanted to learn and perfect new skills.  My coach would hand out purple ribbons when she thought we had “mastered” a skill.  The best feeling in the world was bringing one of those purple ribbons home. I would be super excited to show my mom that I mastered a new skill.  It didn’t mean that I just learned the skill; the ribbon meant that I had learned it perfectly.

          In order to master something completely a lot of work has to be put into it, 10,000 hours, or 10 years to be exact. According to studies it takes someone ten years to be perfect at what they do.  It can be a job, a sport, or even playing a musical instrument. In an article we read "How to be Great: Rising Above the Talent Myth" it explains that you’re not born with all the talent you can achieve.  If you deliberately practice you can become great at something.  If you do this for about ten years, you can even master it!

          Some other words that are important are expertise and moxie. Expertise means a special skill or knowledge: the skill or knowledge an expert has.  This word closely relates to mastery.  In order to be an expert at something you have to master it first. Moxie is courage and determination, the ability to be active.  You need to show moxie as you are practicing.  Moxie is what separates practice from deliberate practice. Practice is just going through the motions.  When you deliberately practice something you are showing moxie. You have determination and you’re actively fixing and working on errors.

          

8B: six words will never be enough

          My Beloved World by Sonia Sotomayor was assigned as common read this past summer.  Everyone who attends Southern had to read this book and come up with their own six word memoir.  My six word memoir is very simple and self-explanatory.  Six Words Will Never Be Enough. It means that there is so much to see and do in life it can’t be concluded into six short words.  I think that everyone should live life to the fullest and just take chances.  When an opportunity comes your way, take it.  When a door closes, open a new one.  You should live life now because later in life you will only regret the things you didn't do.  When I am older and asked to sum up my life, all I can hope is that my answer will be “Six words will never be enough”.  All I can hope is that I live my life how I want to, and that I take opportunities before it is too late.

          Sonia definitely was able to live her life the way she wanted to.  She ended up being very successful in life even though she faced a rough childhood.  Sonia was very poor growing up and had to work for her family.  She also had diabetes and lost her father and her grandmother at a very young age.   Even though she faced all of these terrible things, she never gave up on herself. I think that this is why My Beloved World was chosen for the common read.  She never gave up on who she was as a person.  She was the first to attend college in her family and now she is the Supreme Court Justice of the United States.

          First year, or any year, college students can learn from Sonia’s memoir.  She teaches us that no matter what challenge you may face in life if you keep pushing you can get through it.  College is definitely difficult, especially the first year.  Instead of breaking down and giving up, which seems like the easier option, Sonia teaches us to stand tall and keep moving on.  The next time I feel as if I should give up, I am going to think about Sonia’s childhood.  If she could get through all the hardships in life I could succeed too.

8A: Mastery of blogging

          I think in the beginning of this semester blogging was definitely a challenge for most people.  I know it was for me.  I had never had a blog before so I didn't even know what to expect.  Now that it is already week 8 and almost everyone has a good grip on blogging. When I blog I usually look at what other people write too, I find it enjoyable to see what their personal opinions are and sometimes it also helps me get my own ideas.  Two blogs that really stand out to me and show A+ work in my opinion are Briana Quintiliano and Paige Slack’s blogs.

          I think Paige’s blog shows mastery in blogging.  Her blog (http://paige2017.blogspot.com/ ) is very colorful and draws you in before you even read anything!  Her text is easy to read with a white background so it’s not distracting to your eye.  Paige usually writes a lot for each her blogs.  Sometimes this can make the reader not want to read the whole thing but I don’t think this is a problem in her case.  She is great at using detail to make the reader want to read on.  I noticed that she adds a concluding paragraph to most of her blog posts.  She sums up what she has already said and ends the post in a clear way that really flows.

          Briana’s blog also is A+ material in my opinion. (http://brianaq.blogspot.com/)  Brie’s blog is very colorful, and she uses a very creative font.  I've noticed that Brie really puts in a lot of detail in her blog.  Just by reading them you can tell that she doesn't rush through them or do them just to get them done.  She puts a lot of effort into each post by using quotes, adding more than one picture, and putting in her own opinions.  She often asks questions to the reader, which really makes them think and connect to her writing.  The things I like most on Briana’s blog are her vocabulary posts.  She first puts her own understanding of the word, then the real dictionary definition, and she explains in detail what the word means.  I can tell she puts a lot of time into her vocab posts every week.

          These two blogs definitely show A+ work and mastery of blogging.  They are full of color to grab the reader’s attention, they are clear and easy to read, they include pictures to go along, and they also show a lot of effort and detail in every post.  I think everyone should work towards the goal of mastery of blogging!

Midterm video draft

This is the link to my midterm video draft... I am planning on uploading a few more interviews then adding more facts about the education program itself. (what specific majors are offered etc)

http://youtu.be/qBeZq2obcxk

7V: Learn from failure

fail·ure The lack of success. The condition or fact of not achieving the desired end or ends.

Failure, by definition means to not succeed or get the results that you wanted.  I think that failure is much more than just not achieving the desired outcome.  I think that failure can be used as a form of motivation.  If we never failed in life we wouldn't know how good it feels to succeed.  Without failure there is nothing to strive for.  Of course as it is happening failure is not fun, but in the long run it can teach you valuable lessons.  We can all learn from our mistakes and things we have failed at.  Failing should make you try even harder the next time.

Other words that are important are desire and improvement. Desire is a strong feeling of wanting to have something or wishing for something to happen.  I think that it is very important to have desire for success; if you don’t then that means you are okay with just settling with failure.  It’s always important to want to succeed and have a desire to chase your goals. Improvement means to better something. There is always room improvement.  I think that it is very important to work hard at everything in life, especially when it comes to school.