LL #12- Tying Up Loose Ends

Well, wow. Where to even begin? So this is going to be my last learning log, which is pretty insane. 

The exam is written, projects are pretty much done, we just have a few loose ends to tie up and we're finished. 

So now to sum up this experience. I know this class has been mostly trial and error and a lot of experimentation, but I can honestly say I'm very glad I got to be a part of it. I know at the beginning of the semester I thought having a six person LA class was going to be weird and kinda awkward. It really wasn't though. And I definitely had my doubts about how things would go when the idea of blogs and self-made projects were brought up, but I think they turned out quite successful. 

As we've mentioned, we said we'd accomplish some things in this class that we didn't and accomplished some things we had no intention of doing, but I think that was all part of the fun. This class was new, unexpected and fresh and I think one that will stick in my memory for years to come. I truly believe that I have come away from this class and learned something, (Which to be honest, I can't say for every class) and I am grateful for that. So yes! Thank you Mr. Hazeu for this really cool experience, I'm really glad I got to be apart of it!

LL #11- Project Is Done!

So I'm feeling decently accomplished today (even though this learning log is a tad late...whoops.) because I AM DONE MY PROJECT! It's definitely a nice relief to be finished. I mean, I still have stuff to finish for this class but the biggest part of my work is done.

Basically what my project ended up being was a tumblr blog dedicated to Myers Briggs personality types. I broke down each of the sixteen personality types, did some research on each type and made a short summary of all sixteen types on the blog. This really allowed my to get a sense of each individual type and the  similarities and differences between each. I also got some of my friends and classmates to take the Myers Briggs personality test, so it was really cool to learn their type and test how accurate their summary was.

This project has also given me an appreciation for how in depth this test really is as well. From the people I know who have taken the test, the results have been pretty much completely accurate and when I read about their personality type there have been quite a few things for each of them that I've read that make me go "Oh yay, that's totally something they do" or "That totally reminds me of them."

So overall, really glad I picked this topic for my project. It was one that kept me interested the whole time and the information I learned from this is not something I'm going to forget anytime soon.

Also if you're interested, here's my Myers Briggs blog:
(http://myers-briggs.tumblr.com)

LL #10- Crunch Time

So reality kinda hit me today when I realized we only have like 3 and a half weeks (18 school days) left of this year. And there's actually a ton that we have to get done, which is a bit overwhelming at times. Not only in Comp class, with our provincial exam coming up in two weeks, but in other classes, as well as preparation for grad. 

I wrote my last learning log on this, but I've been majorly procrastinating with stuff lately. Part of it is the fact that I have very little motivation with it being the end of the year and all and part of it is the fact that I feel like I have so much to do that I don't even want to think about it and I just continue to put it off. And that is not good because it just makes my work pile up even more. 

I haven't really come up with a solution to my procrastination besides just pushing through it and getting my work done. I think understanding why I procrastinate and the motives behind it (which is kinda what I researched last week) is helpful in overcoming my procrastination tendencies but it's something I have to continually work on. 

LL #9- I'll Do It Tomorrow...

Procrastination. We all do it. I mean, I've been putting off this learning log all week.

Lately, I feel like my procrastination tendencies have gotten even worse. Maybe because its getting closer to summer, as well as graduation, school work has felt like such a chore to me.

Since I'm decently interested in psychology and why people do the things they do, I decided to do a little bit of research about why we procrastination and here are some reasons I found.

1. Fear of Failure: 
If you're not particularity skilled at what your procrastinating, its easy to put it off and avoid it in fear of failure.

2. Fear of Success:
Complete opposite of fear of failure, but it is a definite reason as well. Some people avoid doing their best to avoid high expectations of them and in turn, greater responsibilities.

3. Perfectionism:
Some people become fixated on the idea that they want whatever they do to be perfect, but in turn cant live up to those standards because nobody is perfect, so they end up not accomplishing whatever it is they are supposed to get done.

I can definitely relate to the fear of failure. There has been many times where I've just avoided doing an assignment because I felt like I didn't have a good enough idea for it or I just wasn't good at what I had to do.

Also, if you're interested in reading the article I got this info from click here.

LL #8- Assessments

This week we've been discussing how to assess our projects. We've brainstormed and discussed a couple ideas but I don't think we're still sure how exactly to mark our projects.

Pretty much everything you do in school is for a mark and that's usually the main motivation. The point of this project however is to be motivated by the fact that you want to learn about the topic you've selected. Of course, I think we should still be marked the project, but I'm still stumped as to how.

There are also other things we've been marked on this class that can make up our final grade. These blog posts, our poetry presentation, assignments for Fahrenheit 451 and our provincial exam all result in our grade for this class. The main focus on this class doesn't really seem to be the grade we get, which is nice. Of course we have to get credit and a mark somehow but I like that not being the main focus.

LL #7- Halfway Point

So this week marks the halfway mark of the semester! That's actually so crazy, I can't believe how fast this school year is flying by.

Since its the halfway point, I took a bit and time and just thought about what we've really done and learned this semester.

I think the biggest thing I've learned is that the way school is traditionally done maybe isn't the best. This class is definitely different than any class I've ever been in before. The idea of having a project where we could research really anything we wanted and that didn't have very strict rules was kinda overwhelming at first, but it's something I've really enjoyed. To be honest, a lot of the stuff I learn in school, I learn to pass an exam and finish the class. A majority of the information doesn't stick with me and I pretty much forget it once I've stepped out of the exam room.

However, with an project like this, I'm learning about stuff I already had an interest in, so I pay more attention and really immerse myself in the details of it. There's really no pressure to memorize information for a test, I'm motivated to learn this information because I want to, not because I have to.

I think that's the major thing I've learned this semester. Of course, we've read Fahrenheit 451 and learned quite a bit about poetry, and those things have actually been pretty interesting. But I think the thing I'll really take away from this class is that maybe traditional education isn't always the most practical way to do things, and it might be time to switch things up a bit. I think that's something a lot of people are starting to realize, which is pretty cool.

I've thoroughly enjoyed the first semester of this class, and I'm excited to see what's in store for the next one.

LL #6- Poem Friends

This week has pretty much been immersed in poetry! Both in Lit and Comp class, we've been studying poetry and it's really given me a new appreciation for poems.

This week in Comp, our assignment was to make a new "poem friend." Basically we spent time researching and reading different poetry and picked a poem to present to the class. In our presentation we were supposed to read the poem and point out the different literary devices the author used.

The poem I picked was "Do Not Stand at my Grave and Weep." (which you can read here if you want) I really liked this poem a lot because it takes a serious and sad thing like grief, but really sheds hope on the whole situation.
I also really liked how the words in the poem flow. The poem does rhyme, which to be honest I didn't even realize at first because it's done in such a subtle way, and that was something I really liked.

In Lit, we've been doing something a little different. Rather than reading poetry, we've been trying to write our own and been learning different techniques on how to do that. Writing poetry is something that I found kinda intimidating, and I've never really been good at but the techniques we are learning in this class are definitely a big help. To give a quick summary, what we did was write out a list of emotions and then pick out one to just list a bunch of situations that would make you feel that emotion. From there we picked out two or three and wrote a couple paragraphs about them. We then picked our favourite and just eliminated words and put it into the form of a poem. I found this exercise actually pretty fun and it was something way less intimidating then just being told to write a poem from scratch.

So yay, with all the poetry we've studied this week, I've actually really developed a new appreciation and interest for poems and I'm looking forward to studying them even more!

LL #5- Myers Briggs

Well it's been a while! In the last little while we've started on our individual projects. As I mentioned in my previous learning log, I'm really interested in psychology so I decided to do some research on it. Specifically, about the different Myers Briggs personality types. 

Basically for those who don't know, the concept of the Myers Briggs personality types were started by Katherine Cook Briggs and her daughter Isabel Briggs Myers, in the 1960s. It's basically a really in depth personality test that at the end gives you a series of four letters that indicate your personality type. There are 16 possible combinations and types and I'm really interested in studying each personality type in depth. Right now I'm just trying to learn the differences between 8 different letters and what each of them mean. 

So basically people are either:
-An extrovert or an introvert
-Sensing or intuitive
-A feeler or a thinker
-A perceiver or a judger

It's definitely possible to be in the middle of both categories, but most often people usually lean a little more to one than the other. I know for myself when I took the test, I had about a 2% preference between being a Sensor and an Intuitive, so it's definitely possible to have a bit of the characteristics of both categories. 

This chart I found has actually been super helpful in really laying out the differences between each letter:

So yay, I'm pretty excited to really find out more about each personality type and just see how accurate this test really is!

LL #4- 10,000 Hours

So this week we've got a bit of a handle on the individual projects we'll be doing. I haven't mentioned this on my blog yet, but basically what's happening is that everyone in the class is taking on a project of their choice, where they either try learning a new skill or research a topic they're interested in. I'm really interested in psychology, so I'm going to be learning some stuff about that, but I'll probably go more in depth with that in another learning log.

This week, I wanted to talk a bit about Dr. Anders Ericsson's/Malcolm Gladwell's theory of 10,000 hours. This theory was brought up in class, and I instantly wanted to find out more about it. Basically all it is, is the theory that the amount of time it takes to master something is 10,000 hours of practice. Now that's a LONG time! I had to go and use the good old Google, and I found that 10,000 hours would be exactly 1 year, 56 days and 16 days. That's without doing anything else, and I mean humans have to eat, sleep, work, etc.
So it definitely takes a good amount of time to reach that 10,000 hour mark!

I found this cool visual presentation (http://prezi.com/jy2s8jsopl4k/10000-hours-theory/) and like I've talked about in a past learning log, I am a visual learner so this was especially interesting to me.

I just find idea of the 10,000 hour theory so interesting because it just makes me wonder if there is anything I would actually have the patience and passion to spend 10,000 hours doing. Like I said before, 10,000 hours is an extremely long time and takes a ton of dedication to accomplish, so I definitely give props to anyone who reaches that goal. 

LL #3- Fahrenheit 451

In class we have been reading the book called Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury. The main character of the book, Guy Montag is a fireman, who starts fires. Kinda twisted right? Even more twisted is the fact that fireman burn books and houses that contain them.

Fahrenheit 451 is an example of dystopian literature, in which the author takes a problem that they see happening in the future, and exaggerates that problem to help us see the error of our ways and inspire change.

The book has several different conflicts going on so far. (The tension between Montag and his wife, the fact that he has been taking books from the fires he has been at, etc.) I'm still not sure as to why books are illegal and need to be burned, but I'm sure that's something I will find out as I continue to read.

I did find this really interesting video by John Green, who is one of my favorite authors and vlogger. In it, he reviews the first section of Fahrenheit 451 and even gives a bit of background and history about Ray Bradbury and when the book was written.

I really like the part in the video where he talks about all the problems that Ray Bradbury had predicted that have come true. It's actually a little scary how accurate some stuff he predicted is. No, we don't burn books but things like the fact most households have more TVs then people are things that Bradbury wrote about in Fahrenheit 451 and predicted might happen in the future, and he was right. That kinda blows my mind a little.

John Green also poses some really thought-provoking questions at the end of his video. Especially, "Have we replaced intellectual engagement with superficial browsing?" That question really stuck out to me. I don't really have a good answer for it, to be honest but it's definitely really made me think. We use so much technology on a daily basis; texting, facebooking, tweeting, etc, and is it replacing actual human interaction for us? That's kind of a scary thought.

LL #2- Learning Styles

I am definitely a visual learner. I usually need to be shown how to do something before I can actually do it.

I've actually used YouTube a ton of times to learn stuff. For example, if I want to cook or bake something, watching a video on how to make it is way more effective for me then just reading a recipe.

Because I am a visual learner, it's super hard for me just to listen and pay attention without getting distracted. Lessons in school that have me actively participating in something are usually best for me or that have visual elements are usually best for me!

LL #1- Technology In The Classroom

Alright, hello! So here goes my first learning log.

LA Comp is definitely way different than I thought it would be, and probably way different than any other LA class I've had. I thought it'd be the standard LA class where we would read some books, have some discussions, answer some questions, etc. But it's pretty different and actually pretty enjoyable! The use of technology definitely keeps things different and fresh. Instead of taking notes with pen and paper, we all share one Google document. We post these Learning Logs on a blog instead of handing them in. The use of technology in this class is a different way of doing things then I'm used to but it's really nice to switch things up a bit. A little change is good!