Op doc learning moment

Posted on

When watching these videos in class, I learned what I wanted and didn’t want in my project. Things that I know I want to include is a variety of colors and simple typeface. I want it to look like a classroom to further express the topic and it’s environment. In contrast, I don’t want my video to go to fast. I did not like the last op-doc because I found myself trying to look at the pictures rather than listening to the message. In addition, I want to have plenty of negative space in order to keep the visuals and audience in focus. Overall, I learned a lot about how I want my video to look like.


Learning from others voiceovers

Posted on

I learned a lot today listening to my peer’s voiceovers. In particular, I understand the value of clear organization and appropriate tone. One of my group members had a strong sense of voice in his recording. He had peeks in his voice accompanied by many questions asked periodically. It kept my attention and allowed me to continue to think along with him. Also, I learned from another member the importance of having a clear and concise flow to the recording. All the evidence and points were good, but by not having them in a easy to listen order made the story confusing. Overall, I learned a lot from my groups voiceovers.



Argumentative Unit Reflection

Posted on
  1. Through out this project, I learned many things about editing, information on my topic and composing an argumentative paper. The most valuable thing that I learned was how to edit my paper in a more efficient and beneficial way. Looking at each sentence and deleting the unnecessary words really helped improve my paper. I feel that I become repetitive and extremely wordy at some points in my paper. I plan to use this technique of editing a sentence one at a time in my future papers. Another learning moment was when reading the other forums in the debate. I tend to be a closed minded thinker on controversial topics I’m passionate about. This paper really forced me to listen and take into account other perspectives and experiences on a particular topic. For example, my topic was based around whether or not standardized testing was a good measurement of our education system. I have always been against testing, but when researching the benefits of these tests for some individuals, I was more open minded. In opposition, some of the arguments proposed further pushed my perspective of the story and helped me expand my original stance on the debate. Lastly, I learned a lot about how to organize and compose an argumentative paper. In the past, I wrote argumentative papers that were scattered and unorganized. I was never aware that there was a certain structure to the paper. I used to think that every paragraph looked at both the positives and negatives of the situation. Therefore, I have never written a rebuttal paragraph. I found that learning the layout of the paper really helped me in developing my thoughts and ideas. Overall, this project was very full of numerous learning opportunities.

 

  1. After completing the paper, I had several questions that remained unanswered. One question is how do I add more personality to my paper? I feel that I make good points supported by effective evidence, but it lacks in voice and personality. When referring back to the example paper on excelsior OWL, I admired the way his paper flowed and was filled with personality. While I feel I am improving on adding voice, I still would like some more tips on how to add voice effectively. In addition to this, I had a question in regards to the topic itself. As a future educator, I want nothing more than to know that my students will be successful in everything they do under my supervision. With this being said, I wonder what will become of standardized testing by the time I become a teacher. Will the government take away some test and add others? Will they get rid of testing all together? Will states continue to add more testing requirements in addition to those of the nation? I understand the point of view of the students because I personally experienced the tests first hand. I am very curious and optimistic about what will happen to my future students and if they will endure the test like me or if they will have new standards.

 

  1. I think my opinion after completing this project is about how important argumentative writing will be in the future. As much as I hate to say it, we will need the knowledge of this particular writing style no matter what profession we chose. In the business world, one may need it with proposing new ideas and changes to major corporations. Educators will need it when fighting for something for their students whether its within their school or district. Lawyers and politicians will constantly be using argumentative writing for various ways of completing their jobs. In conclusion, argumentative writing techniques was a very important and valuable thing to learn for the future.

Mistakes This Semester

Posted on

This semester I have made several mistakes in writing as well as in other classes. In writing, I found that I procrastinated the drafting stages of my paper. Therefore, I had more work through the revising and editing stages of my papers. I have tried to space out my writing which has helped a lot on the current assignment. In addition to this, I have realized that I procrastinate in other classes. For example, I didn’t make the grades I wanted to on my tests because I only studied for tests the night before. I learned that if I study in small amounts over a week before the test, my score increases. Overall, I have learned many valuable lessons from the mistakes I have made this semester.


What do you love to learn?

Posted on

One of my favorite things to do in my spare time is dance. I always find it fun and exciting to learn a new technique or skill with dance. I have been dancing since I was two, so I always look for new things to be taught. In addition, I have always loved learning new crafts, decorations and bulletin boards I can use when I have my own classroom one day. I have come to really enjoying Pinterest and all it’s creative tips to decorating a classroom. I have an entire board with things I will use to make my Kindergarten classroom come alive in the future. Overall, I find pleasure in learning new things in regards to dance and classroom decorations.


Op- Doc Analysis Unit Reflection

Posted on

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 10.11.56 AMThis picture represents the scene where his parents receive the phone call from the school saying that his son was being suspended for hitting another child then lying about it. In reality, he never hit the boy and the school failed to research into the report more. They assumed that because the confrontation happened between both white and African American boys, Idris had done it. The reason I think this scene had the largest impact on my paper is because it was the first time the viewer understood in reality what his personal struggles were. At this point in the story the viewer is able to see a specific example and better understand the purpose of this video. I was able to really expand on this particular example in my analysis because it was the first time I personally experienced emotion by the film. When watching the video for the first time, this was the scene that caught my attention and helped me decide how to analysis the rest of the film. Overall, I felt this initial scene that depicts his personal struggled helped me put into perspective the rest of my analysis.

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 10.14.45 AM

I feel this picture best describes the activity that helped me the most in writing my paper. During my conference, I had good body paragraphs but failed to have a clear and organized introduction, thesis and conclusion. When we discussed that I could rearrange the last part of my thesis into the conclusion, I was able to clarify my purpose of the introduction.  When I left the conference, I moved the “so what” piece of my thesis into the topic sentence of the conclusion. In addition, I went back and added a few sentences in my body paragraphs to help build up to my conclusion’s purpose. Another helpful organization tip I gained from my conference was how to show the complexity of my video’s issue. Being too broad about the racial tension in the education system was hindering my flow of the paper. I found myself bouncing back and forth between the different pieces of the complex issue. I was advised in my conference to look at all the issues I discussed in my paper and move them around within the paragraph so the overall message was more concise. This reorganization of my middle paragraphs helped the fluency of my concluding paragraph. In conclusion, I found my conference to be the activity that impacted my final paper.

Screen Shot 2015-10-09 at 10.13.43 AM

The image above really pin points the complex issues that my Op-Doc Video depicts. The image above shows a typical school building but with a large set of diverse kids within it. Generally speaking, the range of ethnicities in the education system is the main topic of both the paper and the video. Where I found the real issues of the racial struggles in the picture was by how the school is being stretched. I thought of this as representing the elements of my thesis that articulate the social issues piling up within the education system. In my thesis I talk about the complexity of race and how it effected Idris over time. When I think of how his life was portrayed in the film, I thought of each struggle as something that was piling up on him and personally affecting him to the point where he may “pop”. In total, I feel the picture above expresses the complexity of my thesis.


#UsingExamples

Posted on

When reflecting on this past week I was able to work and improve on many skills used to writing a analysis paper. More specifically, I learned the importance of using direct examples from the text to accompany the points of analysis. This allows the reader to not only better understand the actual text but to have a better idea of where my thoughts are coming from. It also improves the credibility of my ideas and interpretations throughout my paper. Overall, the use of the specific and direct examples has improved my writing and enriches the ideas within the paper.


Previous Analysis

Posted on

In the past, I have used analysis in multiple ways but never thought in depth about it. When reflecting on how I use analysis, I thought of times when I receive a grade back in a class. I use many skills of analysis to decode the meaning of that particular grade such as what the comments reflected, the percentage of my grade, how I could have prepared better, and figuring out my professors grading style. In return, I use the concluding analysis to understand my academic progress better. Overall, I realized that I use analysis in many ways throughout my life.


Collaborative Thinking and Writing Response

Posted on

I think collaborative thinking and writing is very useful when analyzing something. Most of the time, the ideas others have will spark something I personally had not thought about. In addition to this, I think the more perspective and unique thoughts of other people enrich the material of your analysis. Overall, I like working together when it comes to understanding a piece of text.