Reflection - Week of 3/25

The projector was working this week, so Ali and I were able to present our lesson to the class. But first, we got to make new groups for our next presentation. I got paired with Evelyn and Jovana, which I think is awesome. They both did very well with their myth presentations so I think we'll put together a great presentation. The only bad part is...we don't have class until the presentation. I live so far away so it's very hard for me to meet up in Northridge. I also work every day of the week so I can't meet up early/late.Hopefully though, we can get together sometime during the week in between our other classes and at least go over what we have. And of course, there's always email and texting.

I think our myth presentation went well. I don't think we hit the 30 minute mark, but there were only two of us presenting versus the other groups of three. I think we did very well relating Sacred Places to current times and pop culture. For me, when I can relate something to myself or something I've experienced, it makes it much easier to grasp, so I hope that's what we did. Professor Wexler seemed to like that aspect of it, so that was great.

Well... we have the next two weeks off! See ya later!

Reflection - Week of 3/18

Ali and I were supposed to present this week but unfortunately the projector was not working, so we couldn't go. When I say unfortunately, I really mean it. I was ready to go and get it over with. Presenting is not my favorite thing to do--at school and also at work--so I was just ready to be done. However, I guess it's also good to have some more time to fine tune the presentation. I'm sure it will go fine next week.

We briefly went over New Media by looking at Professor Wexler's PowerPoint on our own computers. I think new media is a very relevant and interesting topic. It's great that we have all these ways of learning and sharing information, however, I feel like it's almost too easy. When I younger I had to learn how to go to a library and find the information. It really was a skill. Now you can just google whatever you want. Google has even become a verb know. Don't know something? Google it. Another issue new media brings up is the way in which we interpret the information. I feel like the internet conditions us to skim read. Typically to understand an article you need to read the first two paragraphs and the last. The stuff in the middle is extra information, but to get a quick idea, that's all you need. There are debates if this is transferring over to books. I find myself skim reading most of everything I read. I really have to train myself to stop skimming. I wonder if this is an effect of the internet. I've been using it since I was about 8 years old, whereas my older siblings didn't use it as young and don't seem to have the same problem. Who knows!

Reflection - Week of 3/11

This week in class we had the first group presentations. I thought they did really well, so I'm definitely nervous for mine. Everyone had a lot of useful information in their presentations. I also liked the stories they chose. They really helped outline the myth and why it fit into certain categories. Ali and I were supposed to go but there was not enough time, so now we have another week to do our presentation.

I thought the activities were actually fun. I'm not much a "on the spot" creative thinker but it's not impossible. Having a group with me to make up the stories is definitely what made it easier. Ali is hilarious with her ideas sometimes!

I would say my favorite type of myth so far are the Trickster myths. The stories are a little more fun and clever, which is why I enjoy them.

Hopefully when we go next week it will go well!

Reflection - Week of 3/4

This week in class we were able to start working on our Myth presentations. Ali and I were assigned sacred places. Sacred places was not our first choice, but it doesn't seem to be a bad choice. My only concern with this is I'm not sure how exactly we are going to make our presentation 30 minutes. By only focusing on one myth, it doesn't give us much to work with. I think we will figure it out though.

I hope our presentation will go well. I haven't had much time to work on it this week. With work and three midterms next week, it's definitely been a busy week for me. Luckily though, I've made some headway on my portion of the presentation today, and we will be able to go over it tomorrow before class.

I know this is a short reflection, but I don't really have much else to write about...more to come next week! :)

Reflection - Week of 2/25

This week in class we had to turn in our poems. I was so glad to finally get this finished and over with. I was also very excited that I did not have to present my poems to the class. I'm a very outgoing person normally, but for some reason when it comes to school/class I prefer not to be...outgoing. I can't really explain why. Maybe I don't want to be wrong. Maybe I have nothing to say. Maybe I feel like I have nothing useful to contribute...I'm not sure. In this class, I do feel a little more confident because I've gotten to know some of my classmates. But sharing poetry? Bah...that's hard! It's already on my blog :)

I really enjoyed the poems that we did hear in class. I'm glad some people are much braver than I am when it comes to that. Their poems were very well written and captivating. I loved the messages they had, and I still can't believe how well done they were. They seemed professional!

We also moved onto our myth group presentations/picked our groups. I'm working with Ali on Sacred Places. I'm very excited to work with her! She always seems so happy and excited for class, so I know our presentation is going to be awesome.