blog#22

This blog is about articles we read in class. The first article I will touch base on is "Myspace v. Facebook: competing addictions.This article tells us how addicted to these sites we really are. I for one can say I am addicted. I log on to my myspace and update it daily. As a matter a fact when I am done withthis blog I plan to go to the cyber cafe and log on to my myspace.
This article talks about how Facebook is coming up in an already Mysapce dominated world. Myspace growth is slowing down while Facebook continues to grow. According to hitwise the article discusses that Myspace domain is one of the most visited domain among U.S Internet users, accounting for 4.92% of all Internet visits. Meanwhile Facebook has been coming up slowly. The article also discusses how are income level also affects most people use. lower income families then to use myspace as people with households that earn more then 60,000 per year tend to be Facebook users.
The second article that I would like to summarize is the one on "Facebook and Divorce: airing the Dirty Laundry" This article explains how pictures and comments made on this site are now being used a evidence in court for divorce. There is a wall on two Facebook groups- I hate my ex-husband and I hate my ex-wife, which together had been joined by 236 Facebook users as of early June. People are using this site to bash their ex. Is that really good? do we always have to have some sort of drama? Divorce is ugly all the way around. Do we really need to make it uglier by making our dirty laundry public? And What of the children involved with these divorces do they really need to be subjected to this immature behavior? And is it right for courts to use these publications in their trials? Well the answer for me is right there. PUBLIC if you do not want people to see this and judge you by what you put out there then keep it personal. These website have created a whole new drama for all of us in life. We already have enough to worry about but now we have to worry bout these sites. On the other hand we are doing it to ourselves. So maybe that is the prices we be for being involved in a cypher world.

blog # 21 Dana Boyd

Today I saw the Dana Boyd Handheld Learning Conference 2008. This conference is actually very lengthy, but very real in it's depth. Dana is touching base in her lecture on my space and face book or actually her lecture is how technology plays such a part in today's world. In the beginning she begins with how we tend to see technology as the devil or the uppity of evil. Its how we relate to these web sites.How we post ourselves on these sites is closely relates to bedroom culture. We put ourselves out there for an audience. On these sites we make and put up what we want. We only accept only the friends we choose to. Which is not the same in real life. In life we are polite to a person even if we do not like them, but on these sites we deny or block those we do not want regardless of their feelings.
She also discusses the reason so many teens are on theses sites and most responses were because there mom or parents did not let them out of the house. Yet this technology is giving them an open door to the world. When you really look further though you can also see that technology also helps us keep an eye and find everything our children do. So if we try it can go hand in hand.

Blog #19

Today in class we worked in the computer lab. We started work on our my space page and our facebook page. This is to help us for our compare and contrast essay.
I already have a my space page so I did not have to work on that. I did have to work on my facebook though. I had to create my facebook page. I sent out friend request from both my space and facebook to the writing center. I realize that I really do not like facebook. I prefer to stick with my my space, but then again I am a creature of habit. I am a very loyal creature so I have had a my space for about four and I just do not see my self even giving facebook a chance.
I logged on to Facebook and created a page. I put up a few pictures and edited my information. This is pretty much all I did in todays classroom exprience.

Blog #18 videos and articles on dove

Today I saw both video on Dove and wow.. These videos have the ability to make a person think.
The first video on Dove is a view of an average girl sitting in front of the camera. As the time is forwarded you see make up artist fix the girl to a flawless beauty. Then the digitally enhance the image to an even high standard of perfection. At the end the video tells us that our view on beauty is distorted. It seems like a very real video. It is true anybody can be turned into a model looking beauty with the right touch. With the right make up and artist, a little air brush, and computer and you have a flawless beauty. Which starts the ever so old debate, are our standards of beauty just flat out unreachable. Men see these models and suddenly girlfriend is not as pretty as they thought. They are looking for a girl that looks like a model. Are young girls starve themselves so that they are that much closers to looking like this image that is not even real. Women spend hundreds and even thousands on make up to try there hardest to get this flawless look. When will people realize that beauty is found within.
So Dove sponsors an ad supporting the thoughts of beauty being distorted, yet they themselves are killing the beauty of our world. Beautiful Forest being annihilated for the soul purpose of selling a product for beauty. Is this not the pot calling the kettle black? Is the cost of beauty just way to expensive? I think so. You can spend millions trying to be that perfect beauty and still be the ugliest person on the inside. So is it really worth it. I say let the idiots kill themselves trying to be perfect. As for me I will just live life and be happy. In the end we are all just turn to dust and where will be are beauty then? In our souls where it should have been the whole time.
We also read an article about Bazillion Obesity Where there surgeries to fix the problem have increased by 500%. Yes that is no typo it is true 500%. There we go again focusing on beauty and looks. Then again who the hell are we to judge another country. We are just as fat. So when we fix are own problems then maybe we can point the finger.

blog #17 summerize articles about facebook

I write after reading the articles on Facebook. These articles actually intrigued me very much. If there is ever a blog in which I can easily write four hundred words this one.
The article that got my attention the most was "Facebook sparks suspicion" I love this article because of the truth it has to it. Its EXACTLY like My Space and yes it does spark suspicion. Of course it starts trouble! Anybody that is in a committed relationship and is actually being real and has good intentions for it would agree. You only put out there what you want people to see and you only want people to see what you are proud of. So yes it will spark suspicion. The thing is you can manage your page.. So if somebody writes on your wall and you chose not to take it down then you proud of it. With that your partner has every right to suspect. You also have the ability to block users. So if there is something being said that you don't like, block the user. So I think that spark of suspicion has merit.
The other article "Colleges scanning Facebook During Admissions" goes back to my first paragraph you put out there what you are proud of. Do I think it is a step to far?," YES!!" A persons personal life should not have say to how far they can go academically. At the same time these pages are made public because you chose to make them so. This might make it just for a college to factor in the kind of person they are allowing to sport their school name proudly. So if they chose to go on you facebook there should be nothing there that you are not proud of. If there is things you are ashamed of and they get seen that is to your discretion. The article also states that the colleges might just be using this as a excuse to turn away people they might be judging. I agree with this.
Another article "Jury Out on Facebook's Impact on Grades" . This article is about studies done on students in which students with a facebook page have lower grades. But after more studies the low grades were do to poor study habits.

Blog # 16 todays exp...

I' am sorry to say that writing this blog is actually going to be very hard for me if not impossible. I was not in class that day and I do not know what to write about. So I post this blog to keep up my count but also to be honest.

Blog # 15 our class room exprience

This blog is to be about our experience in the writing center when working with a tutor to finish our essays. I think this is an awesome ideal, but it adds the realization of college life. There is a lot more to keep with then I have realized. I was not able to attend these sessions this time around due to all the little curves that life has thrown me. I can simply talk on my previous experience. Working with the tutors and going to the writing center makes it real. It gives us one on one experience. It goes back to what I have said previously, sometimes students will not shine in front of everybody but, with a one on one experience it helps the student to shine bright. When I took the exam to get into college I scored well in the English section , but I scored a five on my essay part when I needed a six. These one on one tutoring session are exactly what I need to get up to par. It is these real tutoring sessions that insure us to get a passing grade. There is ABSOLUTELY no reason for us to get a failing grade. But sometimes it is also easier said then done.
When I work with the tutors I sometimes feel intimated when I first walk in, but the tutors make it easy to feel comfortable. I 'am a loyal creature so when I do go back I will stick to the same tutor. Going to a different tutor each time just might it difficult. Each tutor has a different way of teaching. So by me going to the same tutor I might be able to make better progress.
When you do go in to the writing center to get help you have to let the tutor know exactly what is expected from the assignment by the teacher. Because if you do not they might give you the wrong thing to do. The tutor will then focus on the wrong point of the assignment. This will make your time useless and pointless. So my advice so everybody that goes into the writing center is, to be crystal clear when you go to work with the tutor.
What I wish I could get out of it is actually not having to go so much. I feel that maybe students that need the help the most should be made to go. At the same time as I have previously wrote I understand this is only the teacher trying to help us do our very best. I guess this is to ensure we reach our full potential. This is a great ideal for beginning students

Blog #14 commenting on other people blogs.

Today in class we had to comment on two other students blogs. I had never really read anybody elses blog. Sometimes they are not easy to write. I find myself bull shitting on these blog just to make them long enough to reach my three hundred or two hundred goal word goal. But when I focus and try really hard the words just flow out. I find I 'am no longer trying to reach my goal, but I 'am then expressing how I feel.
I was actually impressed with the blogs I did read. I can see the potential of some of the students. See we joke in class a lot. Since I 'am A bit older then most students I sometimes see there goofing off and lack of focus as a sign that they don't care much for the class. I have heard it put best my a few of my teachers. We are the ones paying for the classes so get what you can out of them. After I read two blogs I saw passion in the writing. The blogs were actually very good. I have not read any others since then, but I can only assume they get better as I feel mine are. So I guess it is true that you can not judge a book by its cover.
Commenting on the blogs was another thing. How can you come up with two hundred words to tell a person what you think about their blog. I mean who are we to criticize. But at the same time you might get good support from your peers. The experience if anything helped me see the motivation of other students.

Blog # 13 Todays exprience

Today in class we worked with team members to create a time line for our descriptive essay. This was and is actually a big help. It helps us be more specific and gets us started and in order. The time line helps put detail in on essay, without losing good timing. What I mean by that is, I wrote a blog giving a brief description of the vlog I' am writing about. When I wrote it, as you can read. It was very unorganized. It goes back and fourth between describing the girl to the intro to what she is talking about. But with this time line, it helps keep it organized and more detailed. I can have a beginning, middle, and an end. Then between those I will also have mini paragraphs adding more descriptive detail. also with this essay, we are giving more detail. We are trying to make the person see and feel the vlog as we do, but without them seeing for themselves. With the last essay we only had to write a very proper email to our fake teacher and properly ask them to fix it. We also have to explain why and use very little emotion. We were trying to be professional. I would think with this essay we will be putting a lot more emotion to help us give a better feel for the vlog we are writing about. I also liked the fact that we are all given a chance to ask one question in class. Sometimes the questions the other students ask, are questions that you yourself do not realize you have. At time the questions asked are questions that we might of be embarrassed to ask ourselves. I think these in class workshops are great. They give us a great opportunity to improve. They also help other students become leaders. Sometimes you just have to be given the chance to shine in order to do so. I think it is a great thing that we are allowed to give our fellow students help. I think that that helps some students feel less intimidated. So it seems more like help instead of criticism.

Blog# 12 brief descritption of vlog.

Today I watched a vlog on You Tube. I search through a lot of different video vlogs. I finally got tired of looking and stopped on Jolene's first car vlog. It was posted a year ago. You can find at at Jolene Sugar Baker's 1st automobile vlog. Honk Honk!. The words scrolling across the screen say trailer park trash. When Jolene finally comes in the picture, you see a woman badly dressed and with horrific make up. It is the ideal look of trailer park trash. Once you look closer you can clearly see she is a drag queen. He/she is driving in her/his car. You can see in the background cars passing by, people, stores and houses. She also keeps turning. It is a bright sun shinny day. She keeps talking with this bright red lipstick on. Her eye shadow is a Bright blue. Like that girl from the Drew Carey show. You know that big one named Mimi. She has a blond wig on and very large earrings that look like a bundle of grapes hanging from her ear. She talks with a southern ac sent. She keep rambling on and on about her days and other vlogs. She says she is on her way to work. She seems very friendly and homely. She is dressed like an older woman. That grandmother look. She has sun glasses on her head. Her make up at times looks like the joker from batman. She has a white sweater on over her flowered blouse. The blouse is a dark blue with a colorful flowered print. The into to the vlog is a badly animated carton of a silver shiny round trailer. The song says she is the trailer park queen. She has her seat belt on and a small pin that says you tube. She also has a flower on one side of her hair.. She is clearly over accessorized. The whole time you are watching the vlog there are pop up advertisements of novelty shirts of plumbers. She is talking about the plumbing going bad in the trailer park. She also says her water heater is busted. This is a brief unorganized description of the vlog I have chosen.

Blog #11 anthropological intro to you tube.

I'm writing my opinion on the Anthropological Introduction to You Tube by Mike Wesch. I'm part of a dying breed of people myself. You know the old fashion type who is not very computer savvy. The most I have used on the Internet is my space. On some occasions I have used you tube. The reason I have steered away from You Tube is because of the many controversial video they allow to be posted. I have never been able to understand the reason people watch it. I don't know what it is I 'am more disgusted with, the people that put these horrific things on You Tube or the millions of viewers that subject themselves to watching these videos over and over. On the contrary, I' am also impressed with how far we have come from picture tubes and mystery theatre. These videos allow us to express ourselves. Even if we express ourselves to a very small audience. You Tube now gives us the ability to watch movies we can't buy or soap operas episodes that have not yet come to network television. We can also see dance moves we don't know or sadly, even learn how to make a bomb. So then the debate begins is You Tube a convenience or a beginning to an end of morals and conscience??Think about it..If we watch the movies on You Tube,then we don't buy them. So would that mean we are stealing from the very people who are trying to earn a living by producing these videos on counter shelves. There are also such videos as people getting beat to death or the tragic death of the crocodile hunter. Why post such sadness. Is You Tube good or bad?

blog # 9 Essay dicussion

Today in class we worked with our team members on our email etiquette essay. The point to this exercise was to share with our team members our progress. Also to see where we need the most help and what we could do to improve our essay. We were also able to help team members with their essays. I found that I was not as behind as I thought I was. Though I did need improvement I was not far from being on track. I also found that though we were not to put emotion into our essay, that was what everybody seem to have the most trouble with.

Internet Dating Blog #8

Today we dicussed four articles on Internet dating. I myself can not say that i have'nt tried it, but my exprience was a good learning exprience. There are alot more cons then pros to internet dating. It is my exprience that Internet datig may be more for people that have something to hide. or have a stong lack of self confidence.
I would like to start with the article by John Cloud "Is eHarmony Biased Against Gays?" This article got my attention the most. It has been said because eHarmony has no collum for males reaching males or female reaching females, that is a reason they are biased against gays. I feel that this could be true. But at the same time we do live in a country were we have freedom of religon and speech and so forth. so if the creator of eHarmony does not wish to do so they dont have to and should not feel bad about it. If the people do not agree with eHarmony thoughts then dont go on it.. Everybody has the freedom of choice.. nobody is making them subject themselves to this.
Back to the internet dating. People fear Internet dating because they feel that it is to dangerous. You do not know who you are truelly meeting. But youhave to think.. Do we no anybody any better when we meet them in a bar or club. You are just as likely to meet a serilr in a resturant or a bar or on the street. The fact is in todays world dating is sometimes a scarey dangerous thing. You can know somebody since high school and you may not really know them at all. everything is a risk... but with out risk then you may not everfind the adventure.. Meow meow!!

Blog #7 email etiquette essay exercise

We are now preparing for our first essay assignment. It will be an email to our teacher complaining about a recent grade that we do not agree with.
This is the first essay I have to write since I was in high school. It is a little intimidating for me, but I have yet to find a challenge that I could not over come. Its is like riding a bike, once you learn how to ride, you never forget. I was very impressed with the example Mrs. Crawford used to help prepare us for the essay. It caught ever bodies attention, but at the same time helped us to learn. This essay should not be very difficult for the class. Mrs. Crawford gave us a step by step guide to help us prepare. She also discussed it in class. There should be no reason for me or any other college student to have problems with this assignment. I also learned today what the CC and BCC means when emailing. I now know what thesis means which I'm sad to say I didn't know. I must say that English is the one class that grabs my attention. The teaching method is perfect for me. We all read out loud from our email etiquette exercise. That helped us participate and get the information in our head.
The only thing I feel I might have trouble with is the rough draft. We have to get tutoring to turn in our paper. That means somebody else will have to review my work. It is always hard to have somebody point out your mistakes. Although the criticism will be a great learning experience. It will also insure we are on the right track with our paper. Which means there is no reason to fail. MEOW

blog # 6 article discussion

Today in class we discussed new articles. Most were still touching base on the last discussion. Basically on iphones and Internet in schools. The first article I would like to write about is, Ipod rules touch off heated debate.
Missouri journalism freshmen required to have iphones, ipod touches, or similar devices-- raising concern about corporate influence. At first during our last discussion I was very opposed to the ideal, but I have to say that this article made me take a step back and think. I thought that this was a bad ideal because it seemed to me to just be a gimmick. A way of trying to recruit students. I also thought it was a way for cell phone companies to make money and put students more in debt with another added expense. After thinking outside the box tho, I can now see a little more clear the benefits. Students can download classroom lectures or confirm facts on the web while reporting from a scene of a plane crash or town council meeting, says eCampus news. That right there makes sense to me and makes me wonder what other benefits there are to people with busy schedules. Maybe a single mom at home with a new born can still receive all classroom information. Also maybe a student that is ill or in the hospital. so I now see that there are benefits to having these accessories.
The next article is Al Gore: should schools be wired to the Internet? My opinion on this one is strong.. I think with the right supervision and monitoring, the Internet is a very powerful tool for schools. I tend to look at it as a library. We would not forbid students access to those. Well to me the Internet is just another resource and help our generation evolve. So I say yes our schools should be wired to the Internet as long as we don't lose sight of our roots and old fashion values.

Are dicussion blog # 5

.Today in class we discussed four articles. All were pretty much on the same issue. Technology and how are writing is effected by it. The first discussion I would like to focus on is Clive Thompsom on the New Literacy. When I first read and discussed this article I just saw the pros. After we discussed it i saw more in depth to what the article was trying to say. Lunsford says, technology isn't killing our ability to write. It's reviving it-and pushing our literacy in bold new directions. She collected 14,672 writing samples from students. After studying and reviewing she found that this generation is writing far more then any other. People only use to write to finish for a classroom assignment. Now with the Internet, twitter, my space, texting, and so forth we do write and express ourselves more and more. It is our way of adapting and evolving. I don't think it is a bad thing that we change with the times. Change is inedible and it will happen whether we like it or not. Sometimes I think it doesn't boil down to how or where you write but the fact that you do write and express yourself.
Another article I found debatable is one found in Forbes on reading writing, iphoning. This article tell use how some school and universities are now offering iphones or an ipod touch as part of their orientation packets. These things are suppose to help students pep up class discussions and give students quick access to important information. They are also a handy recruiting tool. I think it is a bad ideal. I feel that most school already offer enough access to what we need. I think it would be just a distraction. After discussing this with my classmates I found that most would much rather a lap top. It seems to me for just another way for cell phone companies to make more money.

What I think about are class?

Coming back to School was very intimidating for me. I didn't think I would be able to handle it. Yet, here I'm and still going strong. Today in class we discussed, what is to come and what is expected from us for this semester. I had always heard on television and movies about syllabus and itineraries and other big college words. I'm proud of the fact that I can now use those word and know what they actually mean.. I also see now, why we have such things as itineraries. All these things, at least that I can see, help us set goals and help us to know our deadlines. There is alot of dicussions, group points, exams, homework, and a couple of other things that helps achieve our grade point average.

OMG my grade!!!!!

Hey girl what's up? As for me, well not much just sitting here. I'm so freakin pist!!! I had this paper due for my English class and I worked so hard on it.. You know how hard it is for me, with the kids and work. But still I find time to sit and study and put my best forward.. WELL apparently that is not enough! I studied for about two weeks. Then I took about another two weeks to write and perfect the paper. I even used graphs and photos. Well the morning the paper was due, Erik my youngest, decided to spill orange juice all over my papers. You can guess where this is going.. I tried my hardest to dry them, but they still look horrible! I had to take the kids to school and go straight to school. I didn't have time to print another one up. So I Had to turn it in like that. I was so embarrassed and I tried to explain, but my teacher didn't want to hear any excuses. So I did the best that I could. Well that was three weeks ago and I just got my grade. Lets just say it isn't very pretty. I got a D! I mean you can tell how hard I worked on it. I don't understand people and the way they think sometimes. Common sense would have let anybody see it was not my fault.. A person with a heart would have understood. I mean my presentation was perfect. It was just the papers that were a mess. I at least deserved a B. Minus the mess that was a sure A. I could have just slacked off if that was the case. I guess you learn from your mistakes. I won't be letting Erik drink without a sippy cup from now on. SOOO how is your boyfriend?? lol

My writting process

My writing process is not that complicated at all, at least to me it's not. I love to write and I have a lot in my head. I'm the kind of person that knows how to word things perfectly. I'm very passionate about what I write. I have to really think about what it is I'm writing and make sure I find a way to relate it to the person or people that will be reading it.
If I can control it at all, when I write, I like to be in a quiet place with my headphones listening to heart beats. I don't want to have to get up or be distracted in any way. I have children so I usually do my writing at night. That way I make sure they are in bed and that is one less distraction. I love to use examples and metaphors to help express how I feel. As I write I will read what it is I'm writing about over and over and over again. This is because I have to make sure it sounds perfect. Although there are many times I get lost in the story or my feelings. I forget that the person/people reading it may not see it as I do and may not understand it. I tend not to hold anything back. When I'm done I will check for misspelling and see if I can revise it. One thing about my writing, that I can not stress enough, is my need to read it over. That to me is the most important part. I always want to be proud of what I write.

Technology in my life

Technology in my life has not reached its potential. I myself have just begun to crack the surface. I'm a single mother of three beautiful children who at this point, probably no more about today's technology then I do. Technology makes things easier, but learning to use it is the hard part for me. The only technology in my life would be my phone, even then it is a simple phone. Instead of having to call somebody I just text. I plan to get a lab top and I believe that will make things easier as well. With computers we are able to communicate with others at records speeds. We are also able to express how we feel, for example my space. Technology in my life helps me know what to expect from the weather. It also lets me know if there is a problem with my car. For example if I take it to Autozone they can hook a computer to the lighter jack and run a diagnostic. So I know how important technology is, but still have a lot to learn from it.. The truth is I'm and old fashion girl who needs to get up to date in today's world of technology.