REFLECTION #1
This first week of online critical reading was definitely a challenge. Part of my struggle was the website. I have only taken one online class before a few years ago, and it didn’t go very well. So far, my experience with this class has been really good. To start off, I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the website, and making sure I was reading the instructions correctly. I’ve learned that a dictionary is your best friend, and communication is definitely the key with online classes, especially a critical reading class.
Chapter one is a great base for the rest of the book by explaining the importance of vocabulary, annotating, paraphrasing, and summarizing. These are tools that will not only help our education grow in college, but in the world outside of school. There are lot of work fields that use tools such as these listed above. For example, doctor’s, lawyers, teachers, journalists, and even the Just Brakes down the street. All of these skills will stay with us for a long time.
One skill in particular that I focused on was summarizing. A summary is a shortened version of what you’re reading and it is a great tool for any type of readings. When summarizing, you want to make sure that all the important information is being given, such as, “…the writer’s thesis, the supporting ideas, and the conclusion.” (Spears pg.41) Also when writing a summary, you are to use facts from the readings and not your opinion. You’re not summarizing what you think of the book, but how the author wants you to perceive it. When writing a summary, you want to make sure you read through the readings at least twice to get a full understanding of what the author is saying. While reading, circle words you’re not familiar with and annotate main ideas or key information. Make sure you don’t confuse main ideas with supporting details when writing your summary. Paraphrasing is also an important skill that you will use when summarizing. You will use this throughout your reading to make sure you’re capturing the author’s ideas. It’s necessary to show the relationship between the ideas, so use transitional words that will help with the summary. Finally you’re writing your final draft. This is the time to go back and make sure that all statements and/or facts are true and show no sign of your own opinion or ideas. This is a skill that I will be using for probably a lifetime, because I would like to be a journalist someday.
For my service learning I contacted the school that I would like to volunteer with, and they gave me the number to their school district office. I spoke with Bea Sweet, who is the woman in charge of service learning. She emailed me the application to fill out and return to here, and then hopefully I will be placed soon. I do have experience in volunteering with 2nd grade students, which led me to change my mind about being an elementary teacher ha-ha. It was still a lot of fun, and a great learning experience. I’m excited to get started with this project.
This first week of online critical reading was definitely a challenge. Part of my struggle was the website. I have only taken one online class before a few years ago, and it didn’t go very well. So far, my experience with this class has been really good. To start off, I spent a lot of time familiarizing myself with the website, and making sure I was reading the instructions correctly. I’ve learned that a dictionary is your best friend, and communication is definitely the key with online classes, especially a critical reading class.
Chapter one is a great base for the rest of the book by explaining the importance of vocabulary, annotating, paraphrasing, and summarizing. These are tools that will not only help our education grow in college, but in the world outside of school. There are lot of work fields that use tools such as these listed above. For example, doctor’s, lawyers, teachers, journalists, and even the Just Brakes down the street. All of these skills will stay with us for a long time.
One skill in particular that I focused on was summarizing. A summary is a shortened version of what you’re reading and it is a great tool for any type of readings. When summarizing, you want to make sure that all the important information is being given, such as, “…the writer’s thesis, the supporting ideas, and the conclusion.” (Spears pg.41) Also when writing a summary, you are to use facts from the readings and not your opinion. You’re not summarizing what you think of the book, but how the author wants you to perceive it. When writing a summary, you want to make sure you read through the readings at least twice to get a full understanding of what the author is saying. While reading, circle words you’re not familiar with and annotate main ideas or key information. Make sure you don’t confuse main ideas with supporting details when writing your summary. Paraphrasing is also an important skill that you will use when summarizing. You will use this throughout your reading to make sure you’re capturing the author’s ideas. It’s necessary to show the relationship between the ideas, so use transitional words that will help with the summary. Finally you’re writing your final draft. This is the time to go back and make sure that all statements and/or facts are true and show no sign of your own opinion or ideas. This is a skill that I will be using for probably a lifetime, because I would like to be a journalist someday.
For my service learning I contacted the school that I would like to volunteer with, and they gave me the number to their school district office. I spoke with Bea Sweet, who is the woman in charge of service learning. She emailed me the application to fill out and return to here, and then hopefully I will be placed soon. I do have experience in volunteering with 2nd grade students, which led me to change my mind about being an elementary teacher ha-ha. It was still a lot of fun, and a great learning experience. I’m excited to get started with this project.
Reflection #2
This week was a tough one, but not because of the class. I’ve been sick with the flu and haven’t had the energy to do anything. Normally I try to do a little bit of work at a time, but this week, I waited until the last minute to do my work. I hate waiting until the last minute, but unfortunately this week it just needed to happen. What I would’ve liked to accomplish this week was turning in my paperwork for my service learning so I could be placed in the school of my choice. This upcoming week’s goal is to definitely get my paperwork sent and getting the ball rolling on my service learning hours. For this week’s assignments, I read the chapter along with the power point. This definitely helped me see what the focus was for this chapter and it also gave me a better understanding of the information. To be honest, I wasn’t on top of my game this past week. Being sick really put a damper on my school work and I feel I can’t write a proper reflection because I wasn’t on schedule with my assignments. I’m still not feeling 100% better, but I’m going to do much better this week.
This week was a tough one, but not because of the class. I’ve been sick with the flu and haven’t had the energy to do anything. Normally I try to do a little bit of work at a time, but this week, I waited until the last minute to do my work. I hate waiting until the last minute, but unfortunately this week it just needed to happen. What I would’ve liked to accomplish this week was turning in my paperwork for my service learning so I could be placed in the school of my choice. This upcoming week’s goal is to definitely get my paperwork sent and getting the ball rolling on my service learning hours. For this week’s assignments, I read the chapter along with the power point. This definitely helped me see what the focus was for this chapter and it also gave me a better understanding of the information. To be honest, I wasn’t on top of my game this past week. Being sick really put a damper on my school work and I feel I can’t write a proper reflection because I wasn’t on schedule with my assignments. I’m still not feeling 100% better, but I’m going to do much better this week.
REFLECTION #3
Media is not something that can easily be ignored. It’s around us all the time, whether it be the news on television, a newspaper, or by just hearing information from a friend. The media can give both positive and negative information when covering an issue or topic. With the information given, we can’t help but keep it in the back of our head.
I believe that the media has some impact on things that we read. I know that when I’m reading the newspaper and there is an article about a law that is being passed, I may relate it to a trial that has been aired on television. Being that the newspaper is part of the media, the author of the article may have a certain opinion about the law, and if all the facts and evidence are shown, I may side with the author of the article due to his research. Another way media affects what we read is during the Presidential elections. We see campaigns on television, signs in our community, and we read about it in our newspapers. When we read the different types of Bills or promises that the candidates support, our votes are swayed by what we have read or heard.
Media comes into play with education and its struggles simply by reading statistics that have been shown. We see the rates of high school students that graduate and go onto college compared to those who dropout and end up in jail. Arizona is definitely a target for educational issues because our percentages are usually lower than other states. Arizona is at a 59% graduation rate from high school, there are only 2 other states that are at the same percentage and 2 states that are below 59%. (http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo_t1.htm) Arizona is constantly being challenged and attacked for ways to improve these ratings, therefore the media definitely affects the way we feel about the education system.
Media is not something that can easily be ignored. It’s around us all the time, whether it be the news on television, a newspaper, or by just hearing information from a friend. The media can give both positive and negative information when covering an issue or topic. With the information given, we can’t help but keep it in the back of our head.
I believe that the media has some impact on things that we read. I know that when I’m reading the newspaper and there is an article about a law that is being passed, I may relate it to a trial that has been aired on television. Being that the newspaper is part of the media, the author of the article may have a certain opinion about the law, and if all the facts and evidence are shown, I may side with the author of the article due to his research. Another way media affects what we read is during the Presidential elections. We see campaigns on television, signs in our community, and we read about it in our newspapers. When we read the different types of Bills or promises that the candidates support, our votes are swayed by what we have read or heard.
Media comes into play with education and its struggles simply by reading statistics that have been shown. We see the rates of high school students that graduate and go onto college compared to those who dropout and end up in jail. Arizona is definitely a target for educational issues because our percentages are usually lower than other states. Arizona is at a 59% graduation rate from high school, there are only 2 other states that are at the same percentage and 2 states that are below 59%. (http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/cr_baeo_t1.htm) Arizona is constantly being challenged and attacked for ways to improve these ratings, therefore the media definitely affects the way we feel about the education system.
