Until next time,
Rachel.
Friday, May 24, 2013
Curation Progress (Week 1/Blog 7)
A couple of weeks ago, we had our first blog post due on our progress with our curations. However, my original curation idea was shot down on the Friday before the post was due and my teacher told me to think of a new idea over the weekend. Over the weekend I tried to think of what kind of curation project I could do that still involved my main theme, plants. I tried but I could not come up with a curation that I would be excited about doing, and thus not do a good job on. On Tuesday or Wednesday I went to my teacher, and I told him of my situation, (the blog post was due on Wednesday for our first progress report). After a few minutes we came up with a curation that I was satisfied with doing. Unfortunately because it took me longer than most to come up with a curation, I did not get the first Curation Progress Report Blog Post done by the due date because I had not yet started working. This was for Blog 7.
Tuesday, May 21, 2013
Curation Progress Report
This week I have made a few new boards on my Pinterest to organize the pins a little better, but I'm having trouble coming up with different categories. I've pinned many helpful links that I believe will be helpful to anyone, whether they are an experienced plant caretaker or a beginner.
I've found a lot of interesting websites that talk about caring about specific types of flowers is strange ways. For instance, there was one that I found that suggested milk and water to be poured on roses to cure the black spots on their leaves and stems. Crazy!
One thing I'm noticing is that it's difficult to stay within my topic and not include things that are just on the outside of my specific curation. This week I'll have to try and get organized a little better and plan out even more what boards I should have, what kind of pins should go in them, and how many pins I should have per board.
Until next time,
Rachel.
I've found a lot of interesting websites that talk about caring about specific types of flowers is strange ways. For instance, there was one that I found that suggested milk and water to be poured on roses to cure the black spots on their leaves and stems. Crazy!
One thing I'm noticing is that it's difficult to stay within my topic and not include things that are just on the outside of my specific curation. This week I'll have to try and get organized a little better and plan out even more what boards I should have, what kind of pins should go in them, and how many pins I should have per board.
Until next time,
Rachel.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Curation Progress Report
This week I do not have any progress to report for my curation. I've been a little bit occupied with getting ready for prom all week, AP tests, and final projects, and I still have a lot left to do. I will however have much progress to report for the next blog post. Have a nice week!
Until next time,
Rachel.
Until next time,
Rachel.
Monday, April 22, 2013
Metacognition: the Mashup Process
This week we worked on a mashup in Humanities. A mashup is, "a collage of elements brought together in a meaningful way."
This mashup was definitely a challenging one. To be honest, I was completely clueless for the longest time how certain requirements for the project would fit together. But I think my work all flows together pretty well. It was definitely one of the more thought-provoking assignments we had this whole year. The first thing I decided to do was come up with my theme considering everything would be based around that. I decided that my theme would be solidarity/solitude and integrated patience in with the subtitle. The hardest part by far was having to go back to previous readings to find quotes and passages. I had no idea where to look but I eventually got it straightened out. After I got all the quotes, I looked at each of them and tried to connect it to things outside of the Humanities class. It wasn't hard to find motivational quotes about patience or solitude at ALL. Those things are everywhere. I found a lot of interesting pieces of media and pictures and songs, but I decided to include only a few pictures and a few song lyrics. I chose those pieces based on their connection to my theme and sub theme which was patience.
Once I got the class literature requirements out of the way, I decided to make this presentation unique and not just a PowerPoint or a word doc. I went to Prezi.com and I created sort of an interactive presentation that helps you organize your ideas and present them in a more fun way. Although the majority of my presentation was words quotes and my response to passages in the book, I really like all of the aspects I integrated into the mashup.However, it may take some going back through the presentation to understand some connections.
In the end I was fairly happy with my presentation, and extremely relieved when it was done.
Until next time,
Rachel.
This mashup was definitely a challenging one. To be honest, I was completely clueless for the longest time how certain requirements for the project would fit together. But I think my work all flows together pretty well. It was definitely one of the more thought-provoking assignments we had this whole year. The first thing I decided to do was come up with my theme considering everything would be based around that. I decided that my theme would be solidarity/solitude and integrated patience in with the subtitle. The hardest part by far was having to go back to previous readings to find quotes and passages. I had no idea where to look but I eventually got it straightened out. After I got all the quotes, I looked at each of them and tried to connect it to things outside of the Humanities class. It wasn't hard to find motivational quotes about patience or solitude at ALL. Those things are everywhere. I found a lot of interesting pieces of media and pictures and songs, but I decided to include only a few pictures and a few song lyrics. I chose those pieces based on their connection to my theme and sub theme which was patience.
Once I got the class literature requirements out of the way, I decided to make this presentation unique and not just a PowerPoint or a word doc. I went to Prezi.com and I created sort of an interactive presentation that helps you organize your ideas and present them in a more fun way. Although the majority of my presentation was words quotes and my response to passages in the book, I really like all of the aspects I integrated into the mashup.However, it may take some going back through the presentation to understand some connections.
In the end I was fairly happy with my presentation, and extremely relieved when it was done.
Until next time,
Rachel.
Monday, February 18, 2013
Blogging Around: Tina G., and Brittany B.
Tina G.
In Tina's blog post, "Tenacity Matters", she talks about how kids these days are taught that their value comes from their grades. But then she talks about the kids that don't have good grades and yet they accomplish amazing things everyday, just because they have the tenacity to go after what they want. I responded,
"Tina! it seems like every time I turn around, I always want to comment on your awesome blog posts! Once again everything you said hit the nail right on the head with everything I believe. I love how you described report cards too; they're so dehumanizing its maddening! keep it up girlfraaand"
Brittany B.
In Brittany's blog post, "Captured Thought: Saying Good-Bye", she talks about how in a few short months, us seniors will all be going our separate ways, and saying good-bye to our friends. But she vows that instead of saying good-bye, she'll say 'until next time', so that she'll never forget the people who touched her life. I commented,
"Yay Brittany! I loved this post because that is exactly what I have done since the beginning of my blog. After each post I end with the words 'until next time' because I believe that saying good-bye would mean the end of that post, and that's not what I want! I want it to live on and continue with people that post comments and ponder the meaning of my words! you rocked this :)"
In Tina's blog post, "Tenacity Matters", she talks about how kids these days are taught that their value comes from their grades. But then she talks about the kids that don't have good grades and yet they accomplish amazing things everyday, just because they have the tenacity to go after what they want. I responded,
"Tina! it seems like every time I turn around, I always want to comment on your awesome blog posts! Once again everything you said hit the nail right on the head with everything I believe. I love how you described report cards too; they're so dehumanizing its maddening! keep it up girlfraaand"
Brittany B.
In Brittany's blog post, "Captured Thought: Saying Good-Bye", she talks about how in a few short months, us seniors will all be going our separate ways, and saying good-bye to our friends. But she vows that instead of saying good-bye, she'll say 'until next time', so that she'll never forget the people who touched her life. I commented,
"Yay Brittany! I loved this post because that is exactly what I have done since the beginning of my blog. After each post I end with the words 'until next time' because I believe that saying good-bye would mean the end of that post, and that's not what I want! I want it to live on and continue with people that post comments and ponder the meaning of my words! you rocked this :)"
Monday, February 11, 2013
An Inconvenient Truth: Technology
Technology.
It's all around us.
It powers our world.
It consumes our everyday lives.
Technology has certainly evolved greatly over the ages, however the line between the right amount of technology and more than enough technology has become blurred. This is not to say that technology has not helped our nation immensly over the past decades, however recently technology seems to have become more of an osession than a helper.
After our discussion in class, I realized that I'm not sure I could ever get rid of my iPhone. I had always thought that my phone was not important to me and that it wouldnt matter if I got a different one. But then I started to think about the games on my phone...and how they need my constant attention...and how I put so much effort into them so far and it would be a waste to end them when I haven't reached the end yet...even though I know that the games technically don't have endings...
You see what I mean? I've become obsessed with my phone and I barely use it for the purpose that it was originally created!
In our society technology has become a must. It has become more of a need than a want. And
nowadays, if you don't have it, you're not worth squat. What we need to do is get back to the old things that our ancestors valued like conversation, books, and outdoor activities.
Let's try to choose books over technology once a week, put our cell phones away when we're with loved ones, and spend some time outdoors instead of inside watching tv.
Until next time,
Rachel.
It's all around us.
It powers our world.
It consumes our everyday lives.
Technology has certainly evolved greatly over the ages, however the line between the right amount of technology and more than enough technology has become blurred. This is not to say that technology has not helped our nation immensly over the past decades, however recently technology seems to have become more of an osession than a helper.
After our discussion in class, I realized that I'm not sure I could ever get rid of my iPhone. I had always thought that my phone was not important to me and that it wouldnt matter if I got a different one. But then I started to think about the games on my phone...and how they need my constant attention...and how I put so much effort into them so far and it would be a waste to end them when I haven't reached the end yet...even though I know that the games technically don't have endings...
You see what I mean? I've become obsessed with my phone and I barely use it for the purpose that it was originally created!
In our society technology has become a must. It has become more of a need than a want. And
nowadays, if you don't have it, you're not worth squat. What we need to do is get back to the old things that our ancestors valued like conversation, books, and outdoor activities.
Let's try to choose books over technology once a week, put our cell phones away when we're with loved ones, and spend some time outdoors instead of inside watching tv.
Until next time,
Rachel.
Monday, January 28, 2013
Connection: Einstein's Dreams and The Life of a Teenager
Over the weekend, our class started to read Einstein's Dreams by Alan Lightman. This novel is a collection of Albert Einsteins dreams from when he worked in a patent office in Switzerland. Normally I would be excited to start reading a new book, however I have been continually disappointed with the mandatory literature presented in each English class over the years. For Einstein's Dreams this is not the case.
This book is amazing. I have only read 32 pages of it and already I am convinced that this is one of the greatest novels ever written.
This novel is centered around the ideas of time represented in each of Einstein's Dreams. In each dream something new and imaginative happens that keeps me wanting to read more. The stories are relateable, things and events that happen in every day life, and because of that, it's easier to pay attention to the content within the story and the concepts of time that the story (within the dream) follows.
Time is something that is all around us at all times, and it is not a subject that the average teenager (I believe) thinks about as deeply as this book does. Although we are constantly aware of time, we seem to be aware of only one kind of time, the end of time. Now I'm not saying the end of time as in the physical end of time or the end of the world but more as an idea.
For example, when a project is due, that date and time is the end of time for that specific project, or Friday is the end of time in school for that week, or the day of one of your finals is the end of preparing for that final and that information ends after the final has ended. Do you see what I'm getting at?
We wait for endings.
Our lives revolve around the idea of deadlines and 'the finish' and the end of anything in school really. We go through high school even just to get to the end of it. And then what? We wait for the end of college. When will we stop waiting for endings? When will we learn to live in a different time, a different world, where endings do not exist?
In that idea, Einstein was right in his first dream, how time is a circle that continually bends back and repeats itself over and over again. But why live by that one dream? Sometimes we don't have a choice. We teenagers have to live by that idea almost automatically when we enter the world. But it is our decision whether or not we will choose another idea, another dream, another world.
Another time.
Until next time,
Rachel.
This book is amazing. I have only read 32 pages of it and already I am convinced that this is one of the greatest novels ever written.
This novel is centered around the ideas of time represented in each of Einstein's Dreams. In each dream something new and imaginative happens that keeps me wanting to read more. The stories are relateable, things and events that happen in every day life, and because of that, it's easier to pay attention to the content within the story and the concepts of time that the story (within the dream) follows.
Time is something that is all around us at all times, and it is not a subject that the average teenager (I believe) thinks about as deeply as this book does. Although we are constantly aware of time, we seem to be aware of only one kind of time, the end of time. Now I'm not saying the end of time as in the physical end of time or the end of the world but more as an idea.
For example, when a project is due, that date and time is the end of time for that specific project, or Friday is the end of time in school for that week, or the day of one of your finals is the end of preparing for that final and that information ends after the final has ended. Do you see what I'm getting at?
We wait for endings.
Our lives revolve around the idea of deadlines and 'the finish' and the end of anything in school really. We go through high school even just to get to the end of it. And then what? We wait for the end of college. When will we stop waiting for endings? When will we learn to live in a different time, a different world, where endings do not exist?
In that idea, Einstein was right in his first dream, how time is a circle that continually bends back and repeats itself over and over again. But why live by that one dream? Sometimes we don't have a choice. We teenagers have to live by that idea almost automatically when we enter the world. But it is our decision whether or not we will choose another idea, another dream, another world.
Another time.
Until next time,
Rachel.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)