Art (14I)

The Statue located in Engleman is the first president , New HAven State Teachers College, 1937-1943.  This statue always stands out to me and I think it is very interesting, and this statue is there for the principles of the university that go a long way back.  Southern was actualy called the New Haven State Teachers College.

Investment -

• The action or process of investing money for a profit or result.

Investment is a huge part of college.  Yes the word investment is part of college, but this word also has other meanings to it.  You have to invest time in college, between work, family, and your time.  We definitely have to invest our time in college.

Other Vocab

Thwart-

• prevent, frustrate 

Brawny-

• muscular 

Thankful :) (14B)

This semester I am thankful for many things.  I am thankful for my parents for paying for my college and helping me get through the semester.  I am also thankful for all my teachers and how I can talk to them if I am having problems in the class.  I am thankful for the different things we learned in INQ with all the articles and especially certain ways to study.  I actually took some of those things and put them to use.  They actually helped me as well.

I am also thankful for my friends that I have made through out the first semester.  They are so nice and they are always there for me and we get along really well.  I am also thankful for my roommate as well.  We get along really well and she is one of my good friends.  I was really lucky to be put with a good roommate.  I am very thankful for that.

I am also thankful for all my friends from home too for supporting me and always being there for me as well.  They will always be there for me just like I will always be there for them.

Stress Relief (14A)

With finals coming up in the next 2 weeks, many of us are stressed about taking them and studying for them.  I always get stressed when I have big tests coming up because I just freak out.  I have made up and decided to do some things this week and the week after to keep my stress at an all time low.

One of the things I am going to do is go to the gym.  I always go to the gym.  I feel that it is an awesome stress reliever and working out will definitely get all the stress out.  Working out makes you feel good all around and if I am studying and doing homework it is always good to take a break and go to the gym.  In my opinion it's an awesome way to keep your mind off things and gets the stress all out. I always do it, & it always works for me.

Another stress reliever is to eat healthy.  I think eating healthy or even eating in general is a stress reliever to me.  Besides eating, sleep is good too.  I am going to take some quick naps these next weeks to keep me not as stressed if I have a lot of pages or papers to write for my finals.

Anybody can do anything to be stress free.  Every one is different and whatever works for you is what all that matters!

I hope everyone does well on their finals and find ways to not be as stressed.

Registration (13I)

This previous Monday Freshmen had to register for classes at 6:00 a.m.  It was so early to wake up.  I had many problems with registration and could not get into Banner Web until 7:00 a.m. To register we had to sign into banner web and click on registration and click add/drop classes.  You then typed in your CRN's for your classes that you should have had written down right next you so you could just type in all the numbers right away so you could get all the classes that you wanted.  When i typed my numbers in all my classes were closed.  I then had to make up a whole new schedule and I was really upset I didn't get the classes I wanted.  My schedule now is pretty okay, as of right now I do not have any friday classes which is exciting!

Vocabulary (13V)

Purpose -

• the reason for which something is done, created and why it exists.

The purpose of school.  This is to get an education and to major in the subject that you want to in order to get a good job when you are older so that you can support your family.  My goal is to have a lot of money when I am older so that I won't have to worry about anything.

Other Vocab

Credible - believable 

Enigma- puzzle mystery 

Creativity is Key (13B)

For the final exam video project , we are using the App IMovie, or Windows Media Movie Player.  I am using IMovie.  When I was assigned the first video project I had no idea what IMovie was and had no idea how to use it.  I went on youtube and they gave you specific directions on how to use it and it was very helpful.  The app has many different features such as the different animations and transitions you can add to and from each clip you have.  It also has a music button that you can add to whatever clips you want and for how long.  You can adjust how long it takes for the clip to be on the screen and how long it takes for it to go into the next one as well.  There are a lot of awesome features to IMovie and I enjoy using it.

My topic procrastination is creative because there are so many ways that you can prevent it and it is easy to put a skit together for it.  You can really do it however way you want to and still make it really interesting to watch.  Buy watching my video I think kids will actually take the advice on how to prevent it and actually try it.

With the IMovie app it is going to allow the video to look more creative and make it more enjoyable to watch instead of it being just a dull video with no features what so ever.  I think people are going to enjoy watching it and like the creativity that I am going to add and actually have a good time watching it.

Making it Perfect (13A)

We have been assigned our Final video Draft for the upcoming final that is coming up really soon since the Semester is already almost over.  On my Mid-term video I received a 78.  I was not happy with this grade at all and I felt that I did way better than that to receive that grade.  When I got back my rubric there were things on there that I could have done better or even worse, such as the timing.  My video was way too long and I got point taken off for that.  For the final video I figured out the way I am going to make it to a high level college critical thinking.

I am doing my video on procrastination, which is something that many college students struggle with.  To make my video a high level of critical thinking I feel that I need it to be easy to understand and that my video doesn't have certain parts somewhere and all over the place.  I will make sure that I keep my video interesting and that it has a beginning middle and an end.  This means making sure that my beginning is very catchy, I have a catchy title, an interesting opening and the same as the rest of the video goes on.  

I need to make sure when publishing this video that It is perfect and completely done with and that all the key points are touched.  I am going to have many of my friends in the skits and make sure that there is no laughing and that it is taken very seriously because it is for a grade.  I will have the names of the people who are in my video, just to make it known that they were in it and who they are.  

Procrastination can be an interesting thing to do a video on because many kids do it including me.  It should be really interesting doing this video because I am also going to include how you can prevent and fix procrastination for those who are doing it.  I think that it is going to be really interesting to watch and that people are going to enjoy it.

Majors! (12I)

You can visit the department that you are majoring in.  I went to the office and made an appointment for undeclared majors.  I feel I can talk to someone about what I can do for my major and what would be the best for me.  I went to the apartment and made an appointment and my appointment is coming up this week and I am looking forward to deciding what my major is going to be!

Vocabulary (12I)

Interdisciplinary Perspective -

• something that involves two areas of learning
• combining two or more academic disciplines 

Subjects that are interdisciplinary for example are science and math.  They both are subjects that work well together because they involve solving equations.  You need to know math to do science, just like you need science to do math.  

Enhance-

• to make better or more clear

Some college students enhance their learning and it becomes more clear to them

Pilable -

• flexible, not stubborn 

We can be pilable with homework and our school work.

Shorter is better (12B)

Questions:

1.  Why is a Liberal Arts program beneficial to a college student?
2.  Is it important for a college student to use creative thinking in everything that they do?
3. Would shorter school days with no tests or homework change students ways?
4. Do employers look at the qualities that each student has?

Coming up with questions last week was a struggle for me because it is sometimes hard to come up with college level questions that makes you think and go into depth.  This week it was a little bit easier and the readings helped me come up with really good questions.  The question that I decided to answer was number 2.  "Would shorter school days with no tests or homework change students ways?"

I feel that kids that do not have any tests and homework and just concentrate on the material being taught in the classroom would be perfectly fine.  Teachers sometimes spend too much time working on tests and deciding what to give for homework.  I always used to think that school day was always too long and the days used to drag on.  I would always remember even in middle school and high school, I would always look at the clock and see what time it was and if it was closer to the time we had to go home.  High school is a little different in a way, because there's periods throughout the day and you aren't in one classroom the whole time.

Students get bored.  No kid wants to sit down in a room for a very long time because they are obviously going to get bored.  The kids are not going to pay attention the whole time.  Some kids also have really bad attention spans and they would stop listening 2 hours into the class.  If the school days were shorter the kids would pay more attention and actually want to learn.  The kids are able to take in more information rather than  Memorizing just specific things for a test just to pass, i think is just unnecessary.  If the student just takes the time to comprehend and actually KNOW the material, I think that's more important for them doing good on tests because they NEED to.  Some kids don't have good standardized test taking schools, it's not fair to some kids who have good learning skills and can understand what is going on and they do poorly on tests.  If kids have no tests and homework and focusing on paying attention in class or even doing activities that it would be way more enjoyable and kids will actually want to go school.

I feel that memorizing material for a test is not part of learning. Kids do better listening and learning in class and do certain activities rather than taking tests and giving homework that is just getting graded on material that will never be used again.  A shorter school day will make kids pay attention the full time instead of dozing off.

I think a shorter school day and no test and no homework will actually make the students better. It is really good to learn things instead of giving material that you need memorize and not guaranteed to score well.

Meeting the Requirements(12A)

When I heard of the Liberal Arts program here at Southern I really didn't have any idea what it meant.  If someone asked me what it meant then I would not be able to give them an answer.  Now, being here for almost 3 months I came to a pretty good understanding on what it means.  Every college student has to take a certain amount of courses to be obtain the Liberal Art requirements.  Throughout this week we  had readings on Liberal Arts and my perspective on it has changed completely.

The most important thing and value of Liberal Arts is to try and make every student the most well rounded college student that they can be.  In one of the articles I have read called Liberal Arts education and the know-nothing bandwagon it states that getting an education is more training to getting a job.  You have to develop certain skills such as critical thinking, writing skills and communicating.  This is a good point because getting a job today, most of the employers are mostly well-rounded people who have developed all the communication skills.  Employers want someone who has a good understanding of the skills and also in their major.  Not just in the their majors.  Therefore they look for well-rounded people.

First year students, when they first come to college, some have no idea what they want to do.  Me for example.  I am still undeclared.  The Liberal Arts program allows you to have a basic knowledge of many subjects.  Chopp says Liberal Arts is founded on a whole person developing a person athletically and academically.  This is true because the liberal arts program lets students take classes that they have not chosen on their own, and some subjects that they end up loving.  Coming from a school with this program, will allow me to have basic knowledge and I will have an idea of every subject once I graduate.

Health ! (11I)

The Health Center is Located right here on Southern's campus.  Is is on Wintergreen Avenue right near the resident halls.  They are open Monday through Friday from 8 Am to 4:30 P.M.  There are staff members that are available for medical issues with students and also are advised to make appointments.  This is a place to help students all year round and after going there this past week, due to me being sick, I now know where to go when I am sick.

During this time of year is where everyone starts to get sick, either with a cold, the flu or the stomach bug.  It is important for college students especially to stay healthy because there are germs everywhere in the residents halls.  In the bathroom, doorknobs, on your hands.  I always try and stay healthy and the health center is definitely the place to go .

Stay HEALTHY! :)

Vocabulary (11V)

Innovation:  

• the act of introducing something new
• application of better solutions and new requirements

Innovation has a lot to do with creativity which is what our topic was this week in class.  You are getting introduced to something new, a change.  A change is where you start something new.  For example, when I moved into college.  That was a major change for me.  Change is what people become mature and makes as grow up to the young human beings that we are today.  I have changed many of my study habits from my transition from high school to college and it has been a great experience and so worth it.

Other Vocabulary 

Tedium:

• bordum

This can partake with many kids in college including myself

Abstruse:

• difficult to understand

This relates to some college work.  I sometimes find the work and questions abstruse.  

Exploring (11B)

As I was reading through some of my peers questions I came across some that I thought were college-level questions and really made me think into depth about some things.  After doing these exercises I now think that when I have to go take tests in my classes I will be way more prepared.  I learned how to break down test questions in college.  College questions are so much different than high school.  You have to know how to analyze each question and go into depth and deep thinking while answering them.  I know that now when I am reading not just only do I comprehend and write down the key points, but also making questions up as I go along.  That way it can be a question that will be on the test.

Some of my peers questions that I think were really well written and put into depth was from Paige's page, http://paige2017.blogspot.com/2013/11/11a-inquiry-based-questions.html, "what are some ways college students can cultivate creativity, and how it can important to their future.  I like this question because it allows students to actually think about it and you can really analyze this question.  I think it is also a good question because it has to do with the readings that we had this week and her answer to the question was her own opinion about the question and was put into her own words.

Another question I liked was from Stephanie's bloghttp://stepphhr7.blogspot.com  "How can being bored affect a college student positively"?  I like this question because it makes you think what a college student could be doing if they have free time on their hands.  It makes you think about and analyze the question.  I think that when college students are bored than they can get their work done faster and it could be better rather than rushing it.  It also can give students more creative ideas because their minds are at ease.

What the future holds (11A)

Questions:

1.  If a college student is bored, does this mean they have a higher rate of being creative?
2. What are a few ways that we can promote creativity within kids today and how would this affect them in their future?
3. If a student is not creative, does this mean you are not as smart as them?
4. Does creativity come from the parents of the children?

The question that I would like to answer is number 3.  I feel that there are many ways that we can improve creativity in students especially the young ones.  Therefore, in the future everything can be better.  I feel that in todays age, young students should be working on their creative thinking.  Not every student will be on the same level of critical thinking and how creative they really are, so they can always have a test to anticipate where the kids stand in their critical thinking.  Me as a college student, should know the basics of how to use a computer.  I am currently in a computer class here in my first semester and I am facing challenges with how to use technology.  Technology is never actually going to change, some students can be really creative with computers and others just don't find it as easy.  We can have certain classes based on how well students work with computers so kids don't have to struggle if they are having trouble with technology.

I feel like in todays age, teachers can challenge the small students more and can evaluate how creative the kids are.  They can have them work in groups and see which students are doing the most work and which ones are having trouble.  Working in groups can be a good or bad thing.  If students are working in a group, it is good because they can learn from one another.  If a student is in a a group and not participating with any of the material then it sometimes can be a bad thing.  Some students prefer to work independently and that's perfectly fine.

You can also improve creativity by having the kids work alone and see what ideas they come up with from the assignment the teacher assigns.  It is a good to work by yourself sometimes because you keep your thoughts to yourself and then write them down.  It also isn't as distracting rather than working in a 4 or 5 group of kids.  Being creative comes from how flexible you are with the new materials.  We don't know what the future may hold for the kids, but I know that we will improve on creativity and the kids will be more creative than ever.

What an adventure ! (10I)

Me and my friend Sam went on something that felt like an adventure but it was actually really scary and I wasn't actually intending for this to happen.  We wanted to go to the Edge which a gym that is located just 8 minutes away from campus.  Our friend could not drive us that day so we decided that we were going to take the bus from the upperclassmen Hall located lower than all the dorms.  I have never been a bus before so I didn't know that you have to get off certain bus stops to get to where you are actually going.  Sam and I got lost in New Haven when we got off the first bus stop we stopped at.  It was really scary and a really sketchy area to be in.

The cops thankfully came around the corner and we asked them for help because he automatically knew that we were lost and not in the correct area.  They walked us to a safer part of New Haven where we now had to wait for the correct bus to get on to get us to the Hamden gym.  We had to get off the bus a little bit further from the gym so we had to walk a little to get there when we were let off in Hamden.  We finally arrived at 6:30 when we left campus at 4:30.  When we were done working out we had to now find a bus stop so we can get home.  We found it after walking for a half hour.  The bus then brought us past Southern where we were sopposed to be going back to.  We then had to get off again and walk toward the way campus was.  We finally asked a cop and he told us where to stand for the bus stop and there was a lady who told us that it lead right to Southern.  I was so happy at this point because it is now 9:00 and I was't planning on being gone that long.

I would never recommend taking the bus!

Vocabulary ! (10V)

Creativity- 

• the ability to make new things or think of  new ideas

I think no matter what everyone is creative in their own way.  Even if it isn't art.  You can be creative with anything you do in your life.  I think being creative is a really good trait to have.  In the video I watched this week Ken says that it children are really creative and capable of a lot.  He says that some educational programs don't encourage creativity that much. 

Other Vocabulary 

Abstian-

• desist, go without, withdrawal

I feel that at this point in the semester, maybe even earlier, some students start abstain certain classes.  They either want to withdrawal or feel that they could go on without the class and have enough credits.

Tentative-

• not certain

I can be tentative sometimes when I'm taking quizzes and test.  I am sometimes not certain on the answer I chose or wrote down.

About me ?

Sometimes when you have to write a biography about yourself it can be challenging.  Even if it's about you it can still be hard at some times.  Looking at some of the questions I feel it's a little easier to write about me !

Does anyone in your life regularly inspire me?

My mom is a person that really truly inspires me.  I love my mom to the moon and back and she's always there for me when I need her.  My mom and I can fight a lot but always never stay mad each other.  She is an amazing mother to me and my two other siblings.  She works really well in taking care of us and how she raised us all to be.  It inspires me to be just like her when I become a mother.

How do you begin your day ?

I always begin my day with of course going to class.  I have class on Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays at 9:10 in the morning and 9:35 ams on Tuesdays and Thursdays.  I always eat breakfast after my classes and then that's the start of my day.  Sometimes I feel like my day doesn't officially start unless I eat breakfast, because I feel it gives me energy for the rest of my day.

What are your habits, and patterns that you repeat?

One of my habits is sleeping everyday.  I love taking naps and I usually take the longest naps on Tuesdays.  That I have realized became a very big habit.  I also feel that waiting until last minute to do some of my homework.  My patterns usually stay the same every day.  I usually go to class, go and eat, nap, go to the gym, and then get all of my work done.  I feel like all the days are starting to blend all together and I do the same routine everyday depending on which day it is.

Strive for the best (10B)

My Midterm Video was on how to stay fit on campus.  I love going to the gym and I knew I had many friends who participate in either a sport here on campus, or attend the gym as well.  I feel that I met all the requirements that were needed for this project.  I believe that I had a really interesting topic to get people's attention and keep them interested as they watch my video.  My interviews were also clear to understand and all of my friends answered in a positive way.

I have exciting music playing in the background throughout the whole video so that it didn't seem so boring as each slide passed.  I kept it as exciting as I could by throwing in clips of some of the machines that I do at the gym.  I also interviewed a staff member who works at the gym on campus and she said she loved working out.  Throughout the slides I added the animations as well.

My video was 9 minutes and 32 seconds long and I interviewed the correct amount of people I should have. I did meet requirements but feel that I passed the time limit by a little much.  I do feel that my video will grab teachers attention and maybe actually persuade people into going to the gym or participating in a sport if they don't do so at that time.  The technology I feel worked completely fine and there weren't any problems.  At first I was having trouble uploading my video to youtube and finalizing the video.  I live on campus so I think that it was my wifi connection because when I tried it in the classroom it worked right away.  I think that the process of finalizing my video was easy for the most part if you didn't have any uploading problems.  My video did have a beginning, middle, and end.  I opened it with what I was talking about and gave a brief description after all my videos that were played.  I worked really hard time on this project and put a lot of time for the interviews, and actually videoing the clips from the gym as well.  I think that I should get an A on this project because it does meet all the requirements and is really enjoyable and definitely grabs the audience's attention.

I think my video does tell a story because I gave clips of what are the things you can do at the gym and then the interviews explained the sport and what are some things they do to stay fit.  This was done as well with my friend talking about the gym.  She explained what she was doing at the gym, and that she enjoyed it a lot and it's good for your body. It keeps it really interesting and I feel the people who watch my video will like it a lot !  It can also actually make people want to stay fit.