Good and Bad Procrastination

Paul Graham's take on procrastination takes a different view than John Perry's, since Graham clearly states that to-do lists of what's more important and what's not don't really work out in the end. Graham says to do what you want, even if they are small, do-nothing errands, at least you will get some pleasure out of doing them and seeing them be done. I like how right away, Graham says that there are plenty of other sources that try to "cure" procrastination (like the CalPoly article) but it is impossible and I totally agree. I have no shame in saying that procrastination will stay with me probably throughout my adult life. I've always wondered why I procrastinate when it comes to school work and why I even started. Graham takes note of this issue in students and it's a fairly simple and agreeable argument. He says that students just don't enjoy the work that they are told to do, so of course they'll find something else to do that they enjoy more (TV, video games, internet, etc.).

We live in a world where time if of the essence and if people feel as if they've wasted even 2 mintues of their time, they're pissed. Graham notes that some procrastinators might feel as if they wasted their time if they end up failing the assignment they were supposed to do. I don't really feel that this particular concept applies to me really because I wouldn't think of my time being wasted unless I really DID get a bad grade. Otherwise, it would be time well-spent. Some tricks that Graham gives that I think could actually work (more so than the CalPoly suggestions) was to work on somewhat smaller projects that could eventually turn into big projects, like doing just bits and pieces of a big project over time or to split the work evenly with a partner(s). I agree with Graham that some of the best work can be done through these methods and the best part is that nobody has to know that you used them.

CalPoly Procrastination

After reading just the first paragraph of the procrastination characteristics section, it felt like I was reading an article that described me to a T. I TOTALLY take advantage of my time, as the article notes that if something is due in two weeks, you start to think that two weeks is more than enough time. I also strongly identify (and agree with) the part where it says that if you procrastinate on an assignment yet still get a pretty good/decent grade, it's almost encouraging the behavior to procrastinate again in the future. After all, you got a pretty good grade when you procrastinated, so why not do it again? The article at times felt like a psychological evaluation of procrastinators, even using the term, "A Frustrated Victim," to describe anther characteristic of procrastinators. However, I really liked the part where the article listed four reasons for procrastination and also listed some suggestions to help change those habits.

I can see how an article like this might help some kids who are struggling to turn their work in on time; however some kids just might be so used to procrastinating that it would be really hard to break the cycle. The article seems to be just focusing their attention on students, who are famous for procrastinating the worse, even though I'm sure adults in professional fields procrastinate as well. And even though some of the suggestions listed do sound pretty useful and insightful, the lure of procrastination also lingers in the back of student's minds that's sometimes just too strong to resist. Instead of just making me feel stupid and lazy like some articles on procrastination do, I think this one almost empathized more with students as to what causes them to procrastinate.

"Structured Procrastination" by John Perry

In some ways, I understand John Perry's theory of structured procrastination, but I feel as if he's maybe trying a little too hard to look at procrastination in a positive light. By no means do I think that procrastination is a bad thing (because I do it all the time-look at the time of these posts), but it seems like he's trying to apply this logic to an area where I don't think it really applies. Procrastination affects everyone at some point--from the total lazy kids who couldn't care less to even the smart, 4.0 kids who get stuck doing an assigment or two last minute. According to Perry, structured procrastination allows someone to accomplish lots of lower-importance tasks or even difficult tasks, just as long as something else looms to be finished as well, we always do something else instead. I feel like I do this sometimes with school work based on the class; if I find the work in a class a bit easier, I might do that before something else that I might find a bit harder. However, this could work in the reverse too, since an assignment could be so relatively easy that you just blow it off to the last minute because it won't take that long anyways.

Basically, Perry seems to state that procrastinators are good, accomplished people which is somewhat true, but as always, there are horrible procrastinators that never get anything done. But I do like the ending of Perry's article, where he states, "And what could be more noble than using one character flaw to offset the bad effects of another?" I guess that's just what's so powerful about procrastination; use some of your other academic skills and you just may pull everything off without a hitch.

Extra Credit Review: Ohio University Second Life Campus

Overall, I think the YouTube video on the Ohio University Second Life Campus pretty much summed up what Second Life is all about and the various things you can do while on the Second Life Campus. Just from viewing the video, the Second Life Campus looks like a Sims game, with various characters walking around campus and interacting with other characters. Thus, it can make Second Life appear to be more of a fun game than just an interactive site which may or may not disappoint people. But I generally do like the concept of Second Life because it allows students to meet (online) other students at Ohio University, so it may help some of the shyer folks to get out there and interact with other fellow students. And, judging by the comments section, the makers of Second Life seem to also accurately portray the school's campus, which also might be useful in getting new students to get almost a virtual tour of their new surroundings.

One particular aspect of Second Life that I liked is the Art and Music Center which boasts music, film and art not only from well-known famous faces, but also Ohio University students. I think this can be a great way to encourage students to show off other skills and interests besides their academic ones. Of course, as with any internet program, there can be several cons to Second Life, as I saw listed on Wikipedia. Some people who still may get overwhelmed just by going online probably will not benefit from a Second Life experience as the video explanation of all there is to do might easily freak-out a less-than-savvy computer person. However, it seems most likely that hard-core, Ohio University students may totally love the idea and would do anything to further show their school pride. I think any way that schools try to incorporate the internet into student's academic lives can only be positive for both the student and the school.

The Journey

I think it would be easiest for someone my age to consider my academics as my "journey." Being in school since kindergarten, I think I have already had plenty of experiences, yet I still have (what feels like) a ways to go. Currently, as of spring quarter 2008, I think I am in "The road of trials" chapter of my academic success. I am still in school and plan in staying in school for a while until I finish getting all the degrees necessary to finally go out into the workforce and sustain a well-paying job. But with school, "the call" really wasn't due to my own planning or will; I, like every other kid, was technically forced to go by law. So even as un-heroic or impassionate that may seem, I think the experiences that I had were very valuable, from all the roadblocks that I've overcome to the friends that I've made to the great teachers that I've had. It sometimes feels like I learned just as much, if not more, from the experiences and people that I met outside of the classroom than the curriculum I studied in the classroom.

Some phases of the journey seem to still apply to me, such as "the ogres" that I still face everyday (and probably will) throughout my academic career. I still deal with hard classes, schedule confusions, and such on an almost-daily basis. The phase of "the ogres" seems to be one that occurs before the actual journey, "the road of trials", begins but I still think that "the ogres" can still occur even during the actual journey. Being on my academic journey, it's much easier to look back than it is to look forward into the future because I still feel like I am evolving and whatever new-found passions come my way will probably greatly affect the goals I have set for myself (such as my major/minor). I know that I will be on this "road of trials" for the next couple of years and I can only imagine what the next two phases, "the return guardians" and "the homecoming" will be like for me, but I can only wish that they are as beneficial and meaningful to me as other phases of my academic life have been.

Exploring Digital Storytelling

I must say that this aspect of the ePortfolio gets me totally excited. Digital storytelling seems like just a more educational approach to making movies and after watching some examples, it seems like it would be a lot of fun to actually make one. I've only made one short film before for a film class in high school and as soon as I started watching the clips on Dr. Barrett's site, I immediately thought of my film and the process I went through of adding sound, images, voice-overs, and music. All of those components seem to fit into what digital storytelling is basically comprised of, but you get to tweak it to represent more of who you are as an individual. I can imagine myself using digital storytelling in so many different ways. The most obvious way would be using digital storytelling to describe myself and using my narration and various images of myself that would hopefully give the viewer a better understanding of who I am.

One example that I watched was titled "Jonathan" and it described a young mother's love and journey with her new son Jonathan. I think it was wonderfully done and that digital storytelling example gave me an idea of another digital storytelling video I could do. I figured that I could also do a digital storytelling of important people, places, and events in my life that have helped in changing/shaping who I have become. I think even people who do not consider themselves very creative would have a really fun time coming up with ideas of what pictures and music to add because in the end, it's really all about the person that is actually making the video and, really, what's more fun/interesting than describing yourself? I could really go all out with digital storytelling and since I already have some experience in filmmaking, I think it could make digital storytelling even just a little more sophisticated and would give me tons of much-needed confidence.

Exploring Cloud Computing and Web 2.0

While looking around Dr. Helen Barrett's site on Google Apps, I must admit that at first I was really confused. I've always considered myself an internet-savvy person, judging by the fact that I'm on it almost every day and kind of grew up with it, but maybe it was all the words or the little diagram that was at the top of the page, but I was totally lost. But after reading up on it for a short time, I think I finally got the jist of what Google Apps are all about. The YouTube video was also pretty informative and basically made Google Apps seem like the newer, technological way to send and edit documents. First off, a big benefit is that the Google Apps list is long, therefore giving students and teachers more options on not only how to upload work, but also on how to comment on it. Google Groups seems like a great area is share ideas between teachers and students about the work being submitted. I'm sure I'd love using Google Apps just because it'd make the process a whole lot easier since there are so many different applications with specific purposes, that it would seem really hard to forget where you put something or where to go to find something.

I was really all for the benefits of Google Apps because I could see so many right off the bat. However, I can understand some people could get easily confused (like I was in the beginning, but just stay that way). Something could easily go wrong in the uploading/sharing process and either not get uploaded or get uploaded totally weird or whatnot. Also, I'm not sure if this is exactly true or not, but if it is, I think some students in particular might feel kind of embarrassed to let other kids see the comments teacher make to them about their work and make it totally public. It's like posting your grade for all to see, which I'm sure a lot of kids would not appreciate very much. Also, if people for some odd reason absolutely hate Google I'm sure then that they would not be very excited to use all Google applications in helping to create their ePortfolio.