Week 8: Progress Review

Looking back:

I'm happy with my progress so far- I've completed every assignment so far, and I'm on track for the grade I want to end the course with. I have a decent weekly routine. That routine seems to change every week based on the demands of my other classes. I've taken those demands in stride and managed to make it work. I haven't needed to do any of the extra credit assignments just yet, but I am comfortable with that fact.

Looking forward:

I want to take advantage of spring break. If I can get two or three weeks ahead in this class, the rest of my semester will be so much easier. After that week, I want to avoid completing any of the assignments the same day they're due- I want them done well in advance.

My inspirational picture:

Success isn't something that you're owed. Greatness is taking success and claiming it as your own.

Apply this to your GPA, a really hard class, or the semester as a whole.

Source

Week 8: Comments and Feedback

Feedback in:
I feel that feedback I've received is too polite. I don't know if people are trying to avoid hurting my feelings or if my writing legitimately has few errors. Looking at my comment wall, almost everything is focused on what I'm doing well. Then there are multiple comments that cover the same topic- I had a weird * sentence at the end of my introduction for a while, and once I fixed it, I had re-written one sentence terribly. Numerous people focused on these two elements, said polite things, and moved on. However, this tends to be better than the story feedback I receive. Almost all of those comments are about liking the story and the creativity. I wish more of my classmates gave feedback that focuses on what they don't like or what I'm not doing well.

I want feedback to tell me where I failed. Why? For this reason.

Source

Feedback out:
I'd like to believe that I'm giving good feedback to others. I know that I want feedback that tells me where I need to improve- that's what I try to give others, especially on their projects. I've found that my feedback comments are often much longer than the word requirement; I don't bother counting the words. I try to give specific areas in which the person can improve- grammar, run-on sentences, undeveloped ideas, or things that I don't understand.

Blog Comments:
Commenting on different blogs has given me an idea of who I'm talking to. I like when I can am assigned a story to comment on and I can go "Oh! This is the person who said xyz." I especially enjoy reading responses people have to my introduction.

Looking Forward:
I think I need to correct some of my obvious mistakes more quickly to ensure that I only receive a few comments about the same issue. If I make corrections quickly, then others may have to look a little harder at my writing in order to give me decent feedback.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

My current thoughts on my position in the class-

• I enjoy the reading and writing assignments. I started off the semester almost two weeks ahead of schedule in this class. Shortly after classes started, I was only one week ahead. Now I'm doing things the day they're due. That's not to say that I'm irresponsible or struggling. I'm simply having to put more effort into my ChE classes than I originally thought I needed to- I am SO glad I had given myself that buffer of almost two full weeks of work.
• I plan to get a bunch of work done for this class over spring break. With five weeks of this class (according to the class calendar) after spring break, I think I can work very hard during that time to make the rest of the school year much easier on myself.
• I'm happy with my blog. I've enjoyed blogging more than I thought I would. I actually improved the layout of my blog specifically for this assignment! I changed the color scheme and picked a better background. 

I had not reviewed the design/layout of my blog since I created it almost two months ago. This image pertains to Magic, a hobby I enjoy. I wanted to make it my blog's background image, but I really disliked the appearance of the tiled background, so I chose to not use it.

Source

• I have found that my reading notes are somewhat useful when writing my stories. They provide a starting point and little else. I certainly go back through and look at them for inspiration, but once an idea comes to me, I just write about that idea without any further inspiration.
• I enjoyed the Ramayana more than the Mahabharata. I believe this is because there was one main character in the Ramayana whereas two families and all of their children were the main characters in the Mahabharata. There were so many characters to try to keep straight!
• I've found that I like to read multiple sections of the reading at once and then decide what the vital details/events are that I want to write about. I think this process has worked well so far.

• Moving forward, I want to give myself more time to complete the readings. I can do this by completing them early! Spring break should give me that chance to get ahead. When I read the readings the day they're due, I find myself missing important details or not fully understanding what occurred during the reading.
• I have tailored my reading notes to focus on my project, seemingly forgetting that they can also be used to write the weekly stories. I want to broaden my view and include interesting things in my reading notes, even if they don't directly apply to my project.