Week 15 Review

For this weeks review I watched the video on the announcement page.  This video is a song "Fly to Paradise."  I picked this because first off it talks about paradise and there is nothing I wouldn't do to fly to my own personal paradise right now (aka the beach of course!).  Second off I love music. I was in the band for over 10 years and found a love for instruments and the different ways they can be produced.  Music is awesome because you can always find different songs for the mood you are in.  I had never heard this song before, but I really enjoyed it.  The vocals were awesome, and I love the way it was produced with the making of the pretty voice but also adding in a nice background beat to bring it all together.

Fly to Paradise by Eric Whitacre's Virtual Choir

(Source: Youtube) 

Famous last words - Week 15

This is the last week for this class so I though I would reflect on my work from the semester.  I definitely could have done better in the class, but I was too distracted by my other classes.  I am taking 18 hours this semester so it was hard to balance everything plus work.  I also was very busy with my major and research and that took a lot of my time.  None of this acts as excuses but as I talk it out I realize how much I had on my plate.  I still am pulling A's in both of my online classes so I see it as a success.  I also I am very proud to look back at all the work I put into this class.  I wish that I would have spent more time and gotten more creative with my blog.  I also would have liked to add more stories to my portfolio.

    

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Tech Tip- Google Timer

For my last tech tip I thought I would check out the Google timer.  I never realized that google actually had a timer until I saw checked out this tech tip.  This Google Timer would be useful in many ways. I could have used it for my learning challenge with the Comodoro Resource Learning Challenge, or to time project presentations for class.

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Learning Challenge: Pomodoro Challenge

This week for my learning challenge I watched the video about the pomodoro technique.  This was a pretty interesting technique to watch since I'm the biggest procrastinator that I know.  I hate that I procrastinate things because it sometimes never makes me feel accomplished, or I have to rush through something and then I don't get a good grade.  I tend to beat myself up after I wait so long to get an assignment done.   I tried this out with one of my assignments and it really sorta worked.  I only tool a 3-5 minute break but that really was all the time  I needed. I feel like if I took a longer break I would have gotten distracted.  After my break I was ready to get back to my work and finish it.  I think that this method works well with me because the worst part of an assignment is getting it started.  But if I know that I am going to get a break within 25 min that might motivate met o go ahead and just start.

(Tomato Timer) 

Growth Mindset- You are Capable

For this last Growth Mindset assignment I decided to talk about how capable you are.  With finals and big life decisions college can be very stressful.  This stress sometimes causes us to think that we can't do it, or that thing get to hard.  Well I'm here to tell you that you can do it!  The more you tell yourself you can do it, you will succeed.  I truly believe that we can do anything we set our minds to.

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SO next time you find yourself stress and felling down your confidence remember everyone goes through hard times and you just gotta find a way to fight through it.  

Storytelling Week 12: Ashley's Regret

Author's Note: This week's storybook post was inspired by one of the many tales of The Twenty Jatakas Tales.  I focused my story off of the different stories in reading A named “The Golden Feathers.” This story is about a family who is very poor and the father set out to find riches to return with.  While he was finding fortune to bring back to his family he was turned into a goose with golden feathers.  He went back to his house and gave his family one feather telling them to sell it and that he would be back.  Before he retuned one time the mother decided that they should take all the feathers in case he never returned.  When this happened all the feathers turned white and were worthless.  This is a good lesson about learning that you have enough and to not be greedy.  The mother also learns that it isn’t smart to take advantage of the help being received.  Read my story about Kate and Ashley.  Here Ashley learns how important it is to not take advantage of people when they offer to help. 

 Ashley's Regret 

Kate Maxwell has always been one of the smartest girls in school.  Not only was she smart but also she was extremely nice and loved helping people. Ashley on the other hand struggled with school but was extremely popular.  Kate and Ashley lived on the same street so they saw a lot of each other out of school as well as in school.  

They weren't much of friends expect maybe a wave here or there or a “Hello” while passing.  One day during school Kate found Ashley crying in the girls bathroom.  Kate being the nice person she asked her what was wrong.  Ashley explained to her that she was failing her algebra class, and that if she did fail she wouldn’t be able to cheer on the squad.  Kate knew that very upsetting to Ashley since she was cheer caption and all.  Kate offered to help Ashley in her math class every day after school.  

Every day Kate would walk down to Ashley’s house with her algebra homework.  At first Ashley was very interested in learning what Kate was trying to teach her.  She took notes and was very organized with all the information Kate was giving her.  It didn't take long for Ashley’s grades to start to rise.  Once this happened Ashley figured out that since she took her homework over to Kate’s house every day she could trick Kate into doing the problems for her.  Kate thought she was helping Ashley but really she was just doing the problems for Ashley.  Ashley started to take advantage of Kate and found sneaky ways to get Kate to do the problem for her as a demonstration for that type of math problem.  Ashley would make comments like “I just don’t understand” with the most confused and sad look on her face.  This would make Kate feel bad for so she would tell her not to worry and show her how to do the problem.  Ashley stopped taking notes and worked more on her sad puppy dogface instead of learning how to do the problems. 

Ashley’s final grade for algebra all depended on her final test for the class.  Since Ashley was making good grades on all her homework, she didn’t even stop to think that she would be on her own for the test.  The test day came and when Ashley received her test on her desk she quickly realized that she didn't know how to do any of the problems because she was having Kate do them all for her.  Ashley ended up failing the test and the class, resulting in her not being able to be a cheerleader anymore.  Ashley regretted not paying more attention to Kate while she was helping her, but has learned to never take advantage of help that was being offered. 

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 Bibliography: The Golden Feathers tale in the book The Twenty Jataka Tales by Noor InayatRetold by Noor Inayat.  
 

Storytelling, Week 3- 'Princess Isabella

Princess Isabella 

In a kingdom tucked away in the highest mountains lived a little princess named Isabella.  Princess Isabella lived with her parents, the King and Queen, on the tallest mountain overlooking the kingdom.  Isabella and her parents were the only ones that lived in the tallest mountain, alongside the trees and animals.  Her parents moved her away from the village when she was born, because they had heard story after story about princesses being harmed or taken, and they didn’t want to take a chance of that happening. 

((The Castle looking over the Village, Photo Source)

As Isabella grew older and older she grew lonelier and lonelier..

Isabella loved her parents, but those were the only real people that she ever came in contact with, unless it was time for the doctor to make his monthly trip to give the princess her check-up.  Not only was Isabella isolated from the village; her parents gave her certain boundaries, and she could only travel so far away from the castle.  Isabella loved to be outdoors climbing trees, feeling the grass between her toes, and smelling all the beautiful flowers, but she always wondered what went beyond her limit.  Isabella was never sure what would happen to her if she were to go past her boundaries. Her parents always just told her that there was nothing special about going any farther, and that it would be a waste of time for her.    

The closest thing to a best friend Isabella were her dolls and the animals that roamed the castle and the castle yard.  Every day she would take time to visit all of her animal friends.  The first stop of the day was the caterpillars and ladybugs.  She would always bring them a piece of lettuce for them to eat, and they would always compliment how beautiful they were.  Next she would visit her pet pigs and horses.  One of her favorite things to do was comb and braid her horses’ hair, and they loved her so much for that, they would tell her stories of what was beyond her boundaries of the kingdom. The pigs were one of her favorite animals because they would tell her funny jokes and she would roll around in the mud with them (even though her mother hated that).  Lastly she would bring carrots to all the bunnies and they would cuddle with her with their oh so soft fur.  The only animal she wasn’t allowed to be friends with were the birds.  Her father, the King, told her that they are evil and will trick you into danger.   She listened to her father and never listened to the birds until one day a yellow bird told the princess that he would take her beyond her boundaries and have her back before sun was down. 

 Because Isabella was lonely and dreamed of the land beyond her limits, she quickly agreed and ran off with the bird for an adventure.  The bird was showing her all sorts of new things she had never seen before.  She got to see a pond and talked to the fish about what it is like to swim she smelled new flowers and climbed new trees.  It was starting to get dark and the princess suggested that they head back to the castle, but the bird insisted on eating some berries before they headed back.  The bird told Isabella that he must fly to get the berries and that he would be back shortly. She was to wait for him in that exact spot.  As she waited, she started to hear the bush leaves crumble, so out of curiosity she looked in the bush to see what was making the noise.  As she pulled back the leaves she saw a little squirrel that told her that the bird was only planning on killing her with poisoned berries, and that she must follow him back to the castle.  Isabella was surprised to hear this because she had such a nice day with the bird she couldn't believe that he was evil.

The sun was almost down, and she remembered what her father said about the birds being evil, so she decided to follow the squirrel back home.  The squirrel rushed the princess back so that the bird couldn't stop them before she reached the castle.  Once they reached the front step of the castle Isabella thanked the trustworthy squirrel and told him to come back and that they could be friends. 

After the princess's adventure with the bird she realized that there is evil in the world, and understood why her parents brought her to the kingdom.  She became content with all of her animal friends and never wished to leave her boundaries again.      

Author Note:

This story is based off PDE Ramayna part C.  In my story the animals help Isabella, and even save her life.  There isn't much about my story that relates to PDE Ramayna and none of the characters are the same and the story line does not fit the theme of Ramayna.  One of the only resemblance is that some of the animals in Ramayana were helpful. A squirrel helped Rama and his army of monkeys and bears who were building a bridge.  The squirrel brought tiny pebbles and grains of sand to add to the bridge. I always find it fun when you can bring an animal to life with communication, and this is why I chose to create my story around helpful and evil animals. This is a similarity between my story and the Ramayana.  Jatayu and Sampati, the monkeys, the bears, were all animals who communicated.  The purpose of this story is to show and learn from Princess Isabella that rules are sometimes made for our safety, and that we should respect them even if we don't understand them. Princess Sita learned a terrible lesson when she stepped outside of the circle boundary that Lakshmana drew around her. Both Princess Sita and Isabella learn how important it is to follow rules. Learning to follow rules is an important lesson for a young child; this lesson is something that is carried throughout life, and once you learn this lesson life can get a little more organized. The image I chose is to represent the castle that Isabella and her family lived in looking over the village.  I picked this because I thought it offered a good setting to picture when reading about Isabella and her adventure.   

Bibliography:

 The source from this story, “Princess Isabella” is Public Domain Edition: Ramayana Part C. 

Reading Evaluation

What readings did you like best?
-My favorite reading was Ramayana.  I never thought I would say that because at first I really didn't get the story line at all. After reading it a few times and watching "Rita Sings the Blues" I started to understand the story and really enjoy it.

What reading diary strategies were most effective for you? 
-The best reading strategies for me is reading out loud. I have dyslexia and reading out loud helps me see where I have misspelled words.  Reading out loud also helps see where I have put extra words.  

What did you think of the overall balance between reading - writing - commenting in the class assignments?
-Once I got the schedule down of reading, and moving on to story tell, and then leaving feedback it was easy to balance.  Also with going to comment on others stories helped me in my story writing.  I believe that they all go hand in hand together.  

As you look back from the end of the semester, what advice about the reading do you have for students who will be getting started next semester? 
-The best advise I would give is to go into readings with an open mind.  I never expected to read some of these stories and truly start to like them.  If you aren't familiar with reading these type of stories it can be overwhelming at first. 

Relfections Post

When I first signed up for this class I read through different reviews over the course.  I read a lot of comments like "such a fun class" and "super interesting."  It was those comments that convinced me to take these courses.  Over Christmas break I was talking to one of my good friends and he told me that he had taken this class and that he really enjoyed it, so I was excited to get the course started.  I can't believe that the time has come and the course is already over.  This semester I realized that there are many more legends and stories to read out in the world than I thought.  My favorite stories were probably all the different Grimm Brothers stories that I read over the semester.  They were my favorite because they usually always read new facts about a fairy tale.  I found that I was a lot more creative than I thought I could be.  Storytelling was interesting once I realized that I could literally talk about anything.  Not only was it interesting but it was fun! The creation ass all in my control.  I think the most valuable take away would be the respect I have for other people’s cultures and stories.  I find it very cool that these types of stories are made by people who have a passion for storytelling.  For example the Ramayna.  The more I read about this the more I came to underatand the story line. One of the other things my friend told me about this course is that the instructor is great.  I couldn’t agree more, Dr. Gibbs was always so kind and very quick to respond to a question about an assignment.  

Week 14 Review

This week's item that stuck out to me was the video that I watched for Reading Diary. I thought this was a cool change from reading stories and little did I know that I would end up really liking it.  I was able to understand the Ramanya a little better.

Famous Last Words: Week 14

So for the past two week I have been talking about how I am challenging myself to get all my assignments done in both of the classes.  I have been doing a lot better than I was doing before I started challenging myself! I have gotten all of my assignments done plus all the extra credit points.  I am really trying to pull an A in this class so I need all the extra credit I can get.  I have had the worst motivation this semester. Senioritess is a real thing, and there should be some kind of medication for it! just kidding.. but for real these last two weeks before finals is killing me but also motivating me! Knowing that I am graduating in two weekends is the craziest thought.

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Famous Last Words: Week 13

Last week I talked about how I was going to complete every assignment on time for the last two weeks of class. Wellllll I almost completed all of my assignments but one. I didn't fully succeed but I did better than any of the other weeks.  I know I should have started caring about this class more towards the beginning of the class but I was just so distracted with my other classes.  Hopefully I am still pulling out a good grade! Hopefully I can get all my assignments in of for the next week. I am over working and getting all of the extra credit done. Tune in next week and see if I can get all of my assignments!!

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Tech Tip: Meme

This week I made my first meme at: Cheezburger

 

Tech Tip- Pinterest Widget

This week I learned how to add a Pinterest widget. This widget allows people to follow my board "Happiness." I love Pinterest and I ry to stay very organized with my boards. I can remember when Pinterest come out while I was in high school. It is fun for me to see what U posted back then and to compare it to what I pin now. I always love to see how I have changed over the years. So if you like photos of things that just give you smile follow my board "Happiness" on Pinterest!!

Learning Challenges: Health/happiness

I think for this learning challenge I am going to share one of my health/happiness tips--exercising daily. I know, I know no one has time or energy to exercise everyday. But I promise you do.  You don't always have to run 7 miles and do 40 min of weights to get a good exercise.  Change it up and just go for a walk or a slight jog.  One of my favorite ways to exercise is swimming! I swim almost everyday.  I promise working out can benefit you more than you think.  Exercising helps to destress and clear the mind.  Working out give you endorphins to help you feel better and results in a better mood and then a better attitude and before you know it you had a good day. So challenge yourself to walk up and down your stairs a few more times, or enjoy the evening weather and go for a nice stroll around campus or your neighborhood!

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Growth Mindset: Memes

This week for growth mindset I chose to use the challenge with the memes.  Memes are all over the internet these days.  You can see a meme in a matter of 5 seconds of being on social media.  I feel that memes can have a lot of different impacts of peoples.  Most of them are meant to be funny but sometimes having a picture in addition to meaningful words can help that thought stay with a person. When you associate yourself with things you tend to remember it better.

When looking through memes I found these two that I felt applied to my life right now.  With graduation close and finals are basically here I am pretty stressed.  Did I mention GRADUATION?! That has its own level of stress, and it's important that I remember to keep a good attitude even if I am stressed and grouchy from trying to figure out life.  The second meme is always a good reminder to be your own cheerleader! You gotta believe that you're awesome to be awesome!!

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Week 14 (Extra) Reading Diary: Lacknose

For my extra reading diary post I went with the story, Lacknose.  This story comes from one of my favorite books "The Giant Crab and other Tales from old India" retold by W.H.D Rouse.

Lacunose is about a lovely farmer who had an even lovelier garden.  I really like this story because first off it deals with a garden and LOVE gardens, and reading anything about them.  His garden was filled with all kinds of flowers with all the different types of colors you could imagine.  But the reason he was named Lacknose was because he had no nose.  When I first read this I was sad for the man. He could never smell how wonderful his flowers were.  There were three boys that wanted some his flowers.  The first two boys made comments about the farmers nose growing and the farmer didn't like this and thought that they were very foolish boys. The third boy was taught manners and respect of elders by his parents, and just asked politely if he could have some flowers.  The farmer was delighted at how polite the young boy was, and he decided to give him the nicest bunch of flowers that he had in his garden.

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