My academic journey has definitely been a rollercoaster ride throughout the years. I've gone from being a high of being overly excited about school to an all-time low of slacking off and letting my grades suffer. I've never been consistent throughout my school years and while some years are painful to remember due to less-than-stellar grades and a lack of achievements, I have never been ashamed of my past and am still willing to share my story with anyone willing to listen. Everyone has experienced the highs and lows of school and probably have a mountain of stories to tell about them, no matter how embarrassing they might be.
I've been all over the spectrum when it comes to grades-from A pluses to a pathetic F-and yet here I am, at 19 years old, still standing on my own two feet with my whole life ahead of me. I want people to see how I've changed and developed throughout my years to being the college-bound student that I am today. Grades can be superficial; just by looking at my high school transcipt, I'm sure most people would assume that I would have totally blown off college and given up on school completely. But I would like people to see that even after my lowest of lows in school, I perservered and never gave up hope of achieving my goals or believing that I couldn't overcome past failures. My school years began when I was in kindergarten and I'm sure I've got many more to go in college. I will treat my highs just as I treat my lows in this ePortfolio-as points my life that signify who I was at the time and where I was headed in life. This isn't meant to be a shameful story, but rather a strengthening and even enlightening story for those who usually don't hear me say a whole lot. Hopefully, this story speaks for itself.
Wednesday, June 11, 2008
Wednesday, June 4, 2008
Online Honors Institute Infomercial
Having taken a film class in high school before and actually being required to produce my own film, it's already pretty easy for me to lay out an idea in my mind of what an ideal infomercial for the Honors program should look like. The first thing that I would take into account is my audience, which would be prospective or current Foothill students. So I would have to direct my film to these students and make it interesting for them. I think the best way that this can be done is by showing other students talking about the program, such as the Slippery Rock College did. Students would want to see other students talking about the program, rather than adults like the faculty, who they may not really relate to. I noticed that with the films made in high school, the more successful and popular ones that students enjoyed were the ones that featured students the most. This wouldn't mean that I wouldn't interview some faculty of the honors program, it's just that I wouldn't make them my main focus, but rather the students that benefit so much from the program.
I'd probably start off the film by showing video of the Foothill Campus, the Honors Institute office, and in the classroom of different honors classes. I don't think I'd have a narrator, as that can give a less-personal feel to the film. The students interviewed would be asked what their majors are, how long they have been at Foothill, where they want to transfer, etc. I'd also want to make clear some facts about the Honors Program and clear any myths or worries that some students might have about the program. I basically would like the students to describe the program and what it is doing for them. After watching the infomercial, the goal should be that students should be well-informed of everything about the Honors Program, as well as getting a good idea of how other students feel about the program.
I'd probably start off the film by showing video of the Foothill Campus, the Honors Institute office, and in the classroom of different honors classes. I don't think I'd have a narrator, as that can give a less-personal feel to the film. The students interviewed would be asked what their majors are, how long they have been at Foothill, where they want to transfer, etc. I'd also want to make clear some facts about the Honors Program and clear any myths or worries that some students might have about the program. I basically would like the students to describe the program and what it is doing for them. After watching the infomercial, the goal should be that students should be well-informed of everything about the Honors Program, as well as getting a good idea of how other students feel about the program.
Pre-Planning My ePortfolio
I definitely think that I am going to focus on my academics for my ePortfolio because it is really the only area of my life that I can really reflect on. I don't want to go overboard with my exact platform for my ePortfolio, so I do think that I will keep it simple and maybe go for a blog. The digital stories I viewed online did look really fun to make, however, I just don't think that I would have the time to make one. As for my evidence that I will show, that is a bit trickier for me but I have kept some old essays that I wrote over the past couple of years that I am proud of, so those could be a part of it. My evaluators will most likely either be a friend (if I can persuade one to do this) or a family member and a teacher. I know for sure that someone like my mom will have no problem evaluating my ePortfolio for me and teacher-wise, I will most likely go to a teacher who I have a class with this quarter. Specifically, though, I haven't made up my mind although I do have the following choices: Dr. Barkley, Ms. Huerta, etc.
A video enhancement to my ePortfolio would be ideal, but again, if time becomes an issue than I will resort to doing audio instead. During week 9, I should focus directly on my topic and start to gather the evidence that I will use. During week 10, I will get my platform set up (blog), as well as recording either my video or audio portions; basically just finish my rough draft of my ePortfolio. Week 11 will probably be spent looking for evaluators to look at my ePortfolio, specifically teachers. Lastly, Week 12 will consist of just fixing anything that has been brought to my attention and just cleaning up my ePortfolio. I would want to use my work (such as the essays) to show my evolution as a writer, student, and thinker and how I have developed into the student that I am today.
A video enhancement to my ePortfolio would be ideal, but again, if time becomes an issue than I will resort to doing audio instead. During week 9, I should focus directly on my topic and start to gather the evidence that I will use. During week 10, I will get my platform set up (blog), as well as recording either my video or audio portions; basically just finish my rough draft of my ePortfolio. Week 11 will probably be spent looking for evaluators to look at my ePortfolio, specifically teachers. Lastly, Week 12 will consist of just fixing anything that has been brought to my attention and just cleaning up my ePortfolio. I would want to use my work (such as the essays) to show my evolution as a writer, student, and thinker and how I have developed into the student that I am today.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Re-Assessing the Honors Institute
Overall, I think I am pretty happy with the Honors Institute and the benefits it offers, such as the popular UCLA Tap program. I'm pretty sure that without that agreement, I definitely would not have been accepted to UCLA. However, I do have some issues with the program, but it's one in particular that bothers me the most. I think that there needs to be a bigger variety of classes available each quarter or at least a repetition of classes. For example, I wanted to add a particular seminar class that was being offered in the fall quarter. Yet, of course, when I went online and tried to add it, the class was already full and there was a waitlist. I thought that wouldn't be a problem, only to find out that that class was only being offered that quarter, one time, for the rest of the year. I just think it's not fair, especially to the people who are already in their 2nd year and are likely leaving at the end of the spring quarter. We are basically given only one chance to take a particular class and after that, it's too bad too sad.
More and more people seem to be joining the Honors Program so I just think that out of a matter of fairness and equal opportunity to all, there should be either a bigger selections of classes in general or at least have some of the same classes be offered during different quarters. So at least there is an opportunity to take a particular class another quarter. Of course, I might just feel this way because I have had a bad experience with signing up for classes, while others who have had no problem with getting the classes they want might not see it as being a big deal. Even with that little issue, I still think the strengths of the program (UCLA Tap, Honors Scholar) greatly outweigh the weaknesses.
More and more people seem to be joining the Honors Program so I just think that out of a matter of fairness and equal opportunity to all, there should be either a bigger selections of classes in general or at least have some of the same classes be offered during different quarters. So at least there is an opportunity to take a particular class another quarter. Of course, I might just feel this way because I have had a bad experience with signing up for classes, while others who have had no problem with getting the classes they want might not see it as being a big deal. Even with that little issue, I still think the strengths of the program (UCLA Tap, Honors Scholar) greatly outweigh the weaknesses.
Steve Jobs' Stanford Graduation Speech 2005
The part that I identified most with Steve Jobs was the fact that his parents always pushed him to go to college. My entire life my parent's have been saving up for me to go to college and not going ever really didn't seem like an option. And even though I'm not really at that point of actually being in a university, I do worry about some things that eventually made Jobs drop out, such as money. I worry that, as is stated in the article, I'm just draining all of the money that my parents have moved aside for me. And not only that, but I'm considering going to a private university as well, which would be double the cost. Although, in the end, I can't imagine that I would ever drop out of college as Jobs did, but I'm sure that Jobs never would have imagined that he'd drop out either. It would just seem like too much work has been put into getting accepted, attending, and graduating college just to throw it all away at the drop of a hat.
Jobs mentions in his speech how he was fired from his job at Apple but actually looks back at it as a good thing. He says that you can really only connect the dots in your life when you look back at them, not while you're in them, which I think is really what an ePortfolio is all about. You're reflecting on your past work and achievements, which is literally impossible to do while you are in the present. In the present-time, Jobs must have thought that his dropping out of school would just lead him down a path of total failure, completely unaware of what was to lie ahead of him. It's only that by looking back, he can see how he maybe strengthened as a person and was able to focus more on what he really enjoyed doing. In this case, an ePortfolio would be really helpful for Jobs to look back and see how his life choices regarding his education changed his path in life.
Jobs mentions in his speech how he was fired from his job at Apple but actually looks back at it as a good thing. He says that you can really only connect the dots in your life when you look back at them, not while you're in them, which I think is really what an ePortfolio is all about. You're reflecting on your past work and achievements, which is literally impossible to do while you are in the present. In the present-time, Jobs must have thought that his dropping out of school would just lead him down a path of total failure, completely unaware of what was to lie ahead of him. It's only that by looking back, he can see how he maybe strengthened as a person and was able to focus more on what he really enjoyed doing. In this case, an ePortfolio would be really helpful for Jobs to look back and see how his life choices regarding his education changed his path in life.
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
Weaknesses as a Learner
Besides procrastination, I still have a few other weaknesses as a learner that I need to work on. First, I would say that I am easily distracted when I am working on school work. Whether I'm doing homework on the computer or not, I always find myself losing focus on my work and eventually doing something else entirely. When I'm on the computer, I always tell myself that I am going to work on my assignment right away, however, I usually get distracted by some form of entertainment to me like Facebook or Perez Hilton. This in turn causes me to take even longer to do an assignment that might really not take very long if I had just started it right away and not stopped in the middle to look at something else.
Anther weakness that I have as a learner is probably going to school not prepared enough to learn, such as not getting enough sleep. No matter how much sleep I do get, though, I always find that I am the worst when I get up early. It doesn't matter if I get 12 hours of sleep the night before, I am always going to be exhausted if I have to get up at 6 or 7 in the morning. The easiest solution for this problem of course is to maybe choose classes that start later in the day. However, the one gripe I have with the Honors Program is that certain classes are offered only at a certain time and there is no way around it. My Music 8 class starts at 8 o'clock in the morning and I wanted to take it later but, alas, they don't only it later, it's either 8 o'clock or nothing. Hopefully in college, where I've heard there's fewer/almost no classes offered in the morning, I'll be able to focus better in class and not be so groggy.
Anther weakness that I have as a learner is probably going to school not prepared enough to learn, such as not getting enough sleep. No matter how much sleep I do get, though, I always find that I am the worst when I get up early. It doesn't matter if I get 12 hours of sleep the night before, I am always going to be exhausted if I have to get up at 6 or 7 in the morning. The easiest solution for this problem of course is to maybe choose classes that start later in the day. However, the one gripe I have with the Honors Program is that certain classes are offered only at a certain time and there is no way around it. My Music 8 class starts at 8 o'clock in the morning and I wanted to take it later but, alas, they don't only it later, it's either 8 o'clock or nothing. Hopefully in college, where I've heard there's fewer/almost no classes offered in the morning, I'll be able to focus better in class and not be so groggy.
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.
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.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
