To tell a story

To tell a story means different things to different people. stories can create an image for a doctor through medical reports or help a small child fall asleep with thoughts of candid adventures of some magical hero or quirky cartoon animal. Stories can invoke fear or sadness, happiness or want. Each of us tells stories in different ways and for different reasons and for me writing stories is about painting pictures. I have always wanted to be able to draw or paint and found that with words I can do just that but in peoples minds. That means that each person will see my mental illustrations in a different way so my image is never fixed as it would be if it were a picture on a canvas. For example think of saying this statement. "Her hair is blonde" OR "Her hair looks like the golden strands of an orb weavers web" I think that the latter sounds cooler. I mean we can't always speak like that but adding color to otherwise drab every day statements makes writing and listening more fun. Basically what i'm saying is that the use of imagery is forever important in writing no matter what the purpose of that writing is. Draw in your readers at work or as a scholar by adding vivid pictures in the minds of your readers while at the same time stimulating an often unused tool in the modern age..Imagination.

On a starry winter night in Portugal

Where the ocean kissed the southern shore

There a dream I never thought would come to pass

Came and went like time spent through an hourglass

-Teena Marie, “Portuguese Love”

The flipped classroom

 I have been reading some of the statistics of the flipped classroom and one thing I really liked from the website I've been reading is that it provides more teacher student interaction. Instead of standing at the front of the class and hoping that the students get it by asking "any questions?" the teacher can individually spend time with a student if that student is having trouble understanding a topic. I think that is a better way of teaching simply because many students just don't want to raise their hands and say I don't understand. If anyone is interested this article is informative and pretty cool. I enjoyed reading it.




http://www.ascd.org/publications/educational-leadership/mar13/vol70/num06/Evidence-on-Flipped-Classrooms-Is-Still-Coming-In.aspx

I have stated that I prefer a flipped classroom in the past and I would like to reiterate that statement because I like the idea of most of the work being completed before we begin class. I think that for outside the box thinkers it works well because traditional classrooms tend to be boring and there is a lot of room to goof off. Flipped classrooms you can still goof off and not do the work at home but if that happens your going to fall behind for the rest of the week. I also like the amount of confusion involved thus far with the flipped classroom because I get it and it makes me feel smart!

writing in a group. What works and what dosnt

I find that when I am writing in a group I tend to take the assignment less seriously because I know that there will be either one or a group of people there to do their small pieces of the assignment. I find that when working in a group I also find it difficult to get my own opinion across because there are several opinions being stated that can sometimes conflict and no one wants to argue over a school project so maybe everyone compromises when they normally would have stated something different. This being said I think it is beneficial to work with others because you have more than one set of eyes proof reading your work before it is turned in giving you higher probability of getting a good. The best way to find out if your writing makes sense is to have others read it and if your group has your back then your paper will almost certainly make sense. I think that working in groups really works as well as it doesn't and in my opinion an assignment is difficult either way but there's one facet that is important about working with groups vs. not working in them and that's that once your employed most things will be group oriented or team oriented so we all should get used to it and succeed while doing so.

The flipped classroom technique

I personally have never been very good at doing homework but the flipped classroom approach seems to make sure that students like myself stay on track and complete all the work assigned in a more timely fashion. It also seems to eliminate some of the procrastination I constantly struggle with. How can I not procrastinate on homework and studying when there is a whole world of plants, bugs, weird people, waves, pavement to skate and amazing things out there to be observed or messed with that always seem to pull my attention away from my studies! I also like the flipped classroom because if i have any questions about things I don't understand I can always have help from my instructor. Especially when it comes to writing documents and adhering to APA format which I understand but sometimes don't follow. I will be interested to see how much the flipped classroom increases in popularity in the future as I watch my own son go through school.

Doc 1 blog

I am enjoying this assignment very much because before this class I never payed attention to my online identity and did not care what the internet had to say about me because in my opinion at the time it wasn't real. I am learning that in most cases in this day and age what the internet says about you is actually more important that what you have to say about yourself. This project has shown me how critical it is to create a positive online image and keep up with it. I find that strange but interesting from a psycological stand point because employers are more interested with what an individual can do according to his resume or online identity rather than taking the time to see what he can do in person. This allows businesses to cut training time and cost by matching individuals to a job opening but much like dating there has to be some merit, no matter the times and technological advances, to actually meeting a job candidate and allowing personality and speach/connection coupled with a good resume in deciding if a person is right for the job.

Writing to learn

Writing to learn is important in understanding material and for pushing the material into the longterm memory. Writing to learn also shows that once you are able to put your thoughts on a topic on paper you have at least a base level of understanding about that topic. When I think of writing to learn I think of classes where there is a lot of material to cover and I write all the important things down so I remember them better. The connection with handwriting notes and memory retention is pretty cool.

My name is William, I am a teller of stories and a student of the old arts. Computers, phones, and internet have little value to me and while I aprreciate the speed and ease of communication I have found that with most things in life going as fast as you can is not always a good thing. As much or as little about a person can be said in an introduction done by ones self. The length and depth has merit but the nature of that person once you speak to them and find out what makes them unique is what makes you want to know them or not. I am not a blog post, google search, facebook identity, or marketing statistic.