Itunes #4

A lot of universities and colleges are going this route probably because it’s less time consuming than going through stacks of paper. I also believe that they may use this technique so that it’s accessible to all students and if they have any sorts of questions they can just look online. It’s so much easier than tracking down the professor or other classmates in that class. 

One of the best advantages is that because universities and colleges are starting to use more and more technology students are always up to date. Being up to date is a great advantage mostly for the students, and because they are fully aware of the technology that is being used they are prepared to encounter the technology out in the workforce. 

An advantage for the professors is probably the fact that they are getting to learn something new along with the students. It is true that the stuff that these professors put online is free, but a lot of people are learning new things from them. 

I feel that there is kind of a catch to these online courses. I mean yes they are free, but I feel that there is some sort of an advantage for the professors. Maybe they get paid a certain amount of money depending on how many views they get. If this is the case (or something like this) then it is an advantage for both students and professors.

Post #3: Intro to Sociology

The online course that I chose to do is introduction to Sociology. The reason why I chose this course is because this is what I will be studying next year in university. This course is taught by Harvey Molotch a professor at New York University.

The very first lecture, Harvey begins by telling his students all these areas of learning and how they emerged and or are born from sociology. Areas include communications, demography and various versions of history. 

Due to all these areas emerging and or being born from sociology a philosopher by the name of August Comte expressed sociology to be the queen of social sciences.

Harvey later gets into C.Wright Mills who is a professor at Columbia University and his idea of sociology. Harvey introduces us with a term “Sociological Imagination” which is an idea that it matters who is around, and he begins his lesson from there.

He asks his students a simple question, why are we here? He explains how there are various ways of answering this questions and how each answer differs from another. He says that we have to look beyond the individual and their own sense of how they got to be where they are. He then goes into how all factors and forces shape our choices.

 An example he gives is of a motor boat. He says that we don’t move forward like a motor boat, however as we go forward all of these other forces are shaping, buffering, and determining that course of our existence, and only getting a handle of those forces will we understand where we are and why we are there.

He then goes into how society has been emerged and he gives us an example of doctors. Doctors from one specific country of which majority are women get paid less than doctors in countries of which majority are men and he explains that this is how the society has been emerged and shaped.

Harvey also tells us that if sociologists nowadays follows sociological imaginations than they would have full force. Sociological imagination calls for political action and it’s about being engaged in the world not just understand the world but change it.

His second lecture pretty much continues with the previous lecture and he introduces us with Max Weber’s famous phrase “what we need is a value free social science”. What he was basically trying to say was that if we manage to do this (what Weber said) is the only time when we will successfully  know what is going on around the world. Then he goes into how sociologist do surveys and samples and what they end up doing is manipulating those statistically so that we can see some sort of a connection/a cause and effect relationship. An example he gives us is the early death of children and the high rate of poverty.

Later he gets to a critical point in sociology which is the fact that sociologists do for society what medicine does for human health. They protect society and solve their problems by knowing the social body.

iTunes U: Blog Post #2

Over the past years technology has grown so much it is unbelievable. I believe this way of learning to be a really great technique, especially for kids in this generation. 

The reason being is because kids nowadays are constantly using technology and are always up to date therefore this way of learning seems highly appropriate. 

I have personally only become familiar with this type of learning through this English upgrade course otherwise before that, I never knew it existed. It’s honestly such a great way to learn for the student and teacher. 

It saves paper and any opportunities to lose or misplace assignments by bother the student and teacher. It’s also a lot easier to go through notes and refer back to them rather than going through a binder full of papers. 

The main advantage to this kind of learning would probably be the fact that it’s accessible at ANY time, it’s free, and most of all its unlimited. 

I don’t believe there can be cost reductions because if everything you learn is online it causes you to access the internet a lot and consistently. 

Post #1: Khan Academy

I think learning off YouTube and Khan Academy is really effective. I have personally used Khan Academy myself and I found it to be a life saver. I used this academy for Data Management during first semester. What happened was that I was having a hard time with one of the units, near the very beginning of the course. My teacher did have much time half the time and when he did, I could barely understand his way of learning.

I tried getting a tutor but she ended up teaching me the wrong stuff which I probably would not have figured out until my teacher pointed out to me I was doing the stuff wrong.

Anyways, I went to my teacher and again I was unable to fully understand what he was trying to teach me, so he told me about Khan Academy and what they do and lucky I had already heard about it in my grade 11 math class. So he told me to go there if I had any more questions and that is what I ended up doing. I found it to be really helpful and really easy to learn from. I ended up acing that entire unit.

I eventually ended up dropping the course but while I was in it, I would use that website often. I love the fact that I have the ability to go back and fast forward just in case I miss something/don’t get it or I want to skip to something else. 

Shakespeare Blog Post #4

1954 Version:

                The 1954 version is extremely slow and takes a very long time to get to the point. There is nothing exciting or engaging in this version of the scene that attracts the viewer. Even the background music is fairly dull. There is a very minimum amount of dialogue and absolutely no action. The audience would most likely not prefer this version especially due to the fact that it is a very old version and is not modernized.

1968 Version:

                Although this version does not have much dialogue, it has a lot more action and music which makes up for the loss. It engages the audience and gets them hooked a lot more than the previous version.  It is a lot more modernized as well therefore attracts a great deal of people.

1996 Version:

                This version has a lot more action and dialogue going on. It is very engaging and is much modernized therefore attracts the audience a lot more. The mass majority of the audience is most likely high school students. This is perfect in terms of setting, actors, and visualisation because this version of the play is probably the one that the youth would enjoy watching.

Overall, in my opinion, the reason why one version of Romeo and Juliet is better than the other is simply due to the fact of the film being more modernized. Like I mentioned above, the mass majority of the audience are young high school students therefore they do not want to sit there and watch something that is “boring”. It is more likely that they will be more engaged and paying attention if they were to watch the 1996 version vs. the 1954. 

Much Ado About Nothing Prezi

Much Ado About Nothing on Prezi

Shakespeare Blog Post #3

Centering around the comments that were on the twitter feed on March 21^st, there were a lot I found myself agreeing with. What I did not agree with however was the fact that his writing is very bad. It is true that it is hard to understand and fully comprehend, however, Shakespeare is one of the best writers in history, and therefore his writing is not and should not be defined as “very bad”.

I somewhat agree in terms of the writing style but about the time period I find a little questionable. Speaking for myself, I do not like studying Shakespeare because of the time period it was written in. For me, I do not care as to what time period it was written in as long as I can understand it or I can somewhat depict what he is trying to say. This is where the writing style comes in. I feel as though it is not because of the writing style per say, it is more of the language that is used that is hard to understand. This is the reason as to why I found this comment to be a little questionable. In terms of language though, because it evolves so much on a day to day bases,  it is hard for people like us, in this day and age to read a piece of literature all the way back from the sixteenth/seventeenth century. I am not saying it is entirely non-understandable, but that because of the language that is used, it is very challenging. Another thing in which I agree with and find challenging is that there are significant amounts of double meanings and mixed motives. I feel as though maybe because of our generation when we read something we do not actually sit there and analyze it. We read something to enjoy it or because we are told to. Therefore because Shakespeare has a significant amount of double meanings and mixed motives its hardtop comprehend. Sometimes what also happens is that because it is so hard to understand, I end up reading it over and over again which ultimately frustrates me and I lose complete interest.

            The only possible way I overcome reading a play by Shakespeare is just telling myself that I HAVE to read it and finish it matter how long or how much time it takes me to understand. Recently what I found myself doing is finding a modern day version of the play that translates the actual version of the play exactly. This way I spend less time sitting there and frustrating myself over the dialogue and can finish it in a short period of time.

Tweets I agreed with:

#ndns2012 shakespeare is hard and confusing to read

#ndns2012 Shakespeare is difficult do to the fact that language is evolving everyday, whether it is beneficial or not, it is always changing

#ndns2012 its too hard to understand so my short attention span loses interest

#NDNS2012 Shakespeare has too many double meanings and mixed motives. Gets muddled half the time.

Tweet I disagree with:

#ndns2012 shakespeares writing is very baddd and hard to understand

Tweet I somewhat agreed with:

#NDNS2012 Students don't like studying Shakespeare because of the writing style used and because of the time period it was written in.

10 Skills Students Should Have - Response

According to the article “10 Tech Skills Every Student Should Have” there are a few skills in which I lack in. These tasks are self-learning of tech and where to go for help, and hardware basics and troubleshooting. Usually when I need help technology related, I just end up trying to figure it out for myself. I do not read the manual whatsoever or go to search a help menu which is mainly the reason why I lack in these areas. For the most part I usually just fix whatever it is that I needed help with, but there have been certain incidents where I did not know, and I had to ask my neighbor. In terms of hardware basics and troubleshooting, I lack in the hardware department. I sometimes have difficulties trying to figure out which piece of hardware is called what. Basic troubleshooting such as for WiFi, networks, and things along those lines, I have no problem figuring out.

Skills in which I can do very well include typing, office suite skills, social media, security and safety, and backing up data. Typing is a skill that was taught to me since I was little. Overtime I have progressed in my typing skills and have become a lot faster and quicker. One of the main reasons as to why I got so much practice when I was younger was because of instant messaging (MSN). During that time MSN was something a lot of people had (although they still do, but I have personally seen less and less people use it nowadays). It was a great way that improved my typing skills. I can also type without looking down at my keyboard which is a great skill to have. The reason being is such that it helps me to write notes in class without constantly looking at my keyboard and then back at the board. This not only saves time but also gives me less of a headache.

For the most part I have decently efficient office suite skills. I am very familiar with all programs of Microsoft Office, along with Google Docs. I have done many assignments in which I have used all these therefore I have a lot of experience with them. Google Docs I find to be a very good and time efficient office suite. I have used it numerous times whether it was with a couple of group members doing an assignment to having a shared document with my teacher, in which he would edit, mark, and comment on my work. In terms of Microsoft Office, I have used majority if not all programs various times.

Social media and security and safety are two things in which I find kind of go hand in hand. The reason being is such that on a social media site like Facebook, you need to be careful of what you share with your fellow peers. Not only that but also on the media site itself, because you never know when or how someone may hack you. This is where safety and security comes in. You need to be careful of not putting too much information on your Facebook. This is not only for safety reasons but for reasons for your employers so that they do not come across something which you do not want them to see. I feel that I have done a fairly good job so far in terms of keeping my personal, work, and social life separate. I always try to be careful of what goes on any of my social media pages, especially when it comes to pictures or anything of the sort. I never post or give out too much information in fact I keep my information to a very minimum as much as I can.

Backing up information is something I have been doing for a very long time only because of the fact that I am paranoid of losing it. What I do is either email it to myself, put it on a USB drive, or print it so that way I have a hard copy of what I need. So far I feel as though I have done a fairly well job of backing up my information and getting access to it whenever I need. I hope to improve on the skills in which I lack and even improve if I can on the skills that I already have. 

Shakespeare Blog Post #2

Wikipedia is a great website to visit in terms of starting off research and getting the basis of what the topic is, but it is not entirely accurate. I learnt this by going through Wikipedia and other websites that relate to my play by William Shakespeare, Much Ado About Nothing. I saw a various amount of information that was either incorrect or misleading. Some of the pieces of information that I came across was:

Wikipedia’s information: “However, Dogberry, a Constable who is a master of malapropisms, discovers the evil trickery of the villain, Don John.”

It is true that Dogberry was the constable that discovered the “evil plan” and proved Hero’s innocence, but it was through Borachio and Conrad which lead to Don John but it was not directly through Don John himself. I found that to be slightly misleading.

Wikipedia’s information: “The earliest printed text states that  Much Ado About Nothing was prior to 1600”

The date of which Much Ado About Nothing was first printed may not have much importance however this piece of information is very slightly inaccurate in terms of just one word. That one word is “prior”. This play was not prior to 1600 but in fact was first printed in 1600.

Wikipedia’s information: “Shakespeare’s immediate source could have been one of the Novelle (“Tales”) by Matteo Bandello of Mantua, dealing with the tribulations of Sir Timbreo and his betrothed Fenice in Messina after King Piero’s defeart of Charles of Anjou…”

This is very inaccurate especially because of the fact that Shakespeare’s immediate source was not Novelle. He originally found the story of Much Ado About Nothing in Orlando Furioso, which was an epic poem by Ludovico Ariosto.

In terms of characters, there was not that that was misleading or inaccurate but still was a couple things that I found to be off. Things such as:

Wikipedia’s information: Benedick, of Padua;  He is said to be very good in battle and there is hinting at a past relationship with Beatrice, though they do nothing but fight when the story opens

First thing that is off is the fact that nowhere in the play does it say where exactly Benedick is from. All that is said is Don Pedro and his men have come back from a successful war. Second was the fact that it says that there was a hint at a past relationship with Beatrice. Again there is no mention of Benedick and Beatrice having any sort of relationship aside from their constant quarrels between one another. They do nothing but humiliate each other and make horrible remarks. It makes absolutely no sense to say that there was any sort of a “past relationship”.

Wikipedia’s information: Claudio, of Florence; 

Again just as it was with Benedick, it is the fact that there was no mention of Claudio being from Florence in the play.

Wikipedia’s information: Borachio, who is in a relationship with Margaret, gets her into Hero's clothes and makes love to her on the balcony window.

Borachio and Margaret were not in any sort of a relationship. Borachio did however know Margaret fancied him but there was no actual relationship between them. That being said, Margaret did not get into Hero’s clothes. She was mistaken to be Hero because one, she was in her room, two Borachio was yelling out Hero’s name, and three it was very dark to see anything clearly. The fact that she was in her clothes is inaccurate.

Wikipedia’s information: Margaret, . It is not known if she was tricked or was in on the ploy.

It was known because in the play it mentioned near the end of the play I believe possibly in act 5 that she was confronted and in fact was concluded that she was not in on the plan. She did not even know there was any sort of a plan, she just happened to go along with it, which therefore concluded that she was tricked.

            Under the synopsis there was a couple of things that did not seem entirely accurate to me such as: “a Spanish prince from Aragon”, “Margaret, who is attending the wedding, does not speak up in Hero's defense”, “Benedick is horrified and denies her request”, and lastly “during Claudio’s second wedding as the dancers enter”. I personally read the play and listened to an audio while reading it, and from my understanding the play never mentioned Don Pedro’s nationality. This was why I was thrown off slightly when it said “a Spanish Prince from Aragon”. In terms of Margaret being or not being at the wedding I am not entirely sure, but I do know that she was not aware of the fact that her lady was being falsely accused and or set up. Therefore it would not have made sense for her to speak of something of which she has no knowledge of. When it is talking about Benedick being horrified and denying a request it is talking about when Beatrice asks him to kill Claudio. Yes he was horrified but he did not deny her request,  in fact he agreed and challenged him to a duel. Lastly, I believe that there is a misunderstanding with whom entered. There was no mention of dancers entering Claudio’s wedding. When they say dancers what is meant to be said is women who are masked.

According to Wikipedia, noting was a slang word for the Elizabethans which somehow had to do with the female genitals. According to them, it was derived from the pun of a woman having “nothing” between her legs. Websites outside of Wikipedia however perceive noting to be where the characters seen to be listening, and writing, and therefore were seen to note one another constantly. For an example Beatrice listening in on Hero’s conversation whilst hiding. What she was doing was noting them. Another example would be near the end where Hero and Claudio prove Beatrice and Benedick’s love for one another simply by pulling out a piece of paper which expressed their undying love. Both of these are examples of noting, which clearly Wikipedia failed to convey. 

Post #1 for Shakespeare

Due to the fact that everyone has their very own play it is harder for an individual to rely on discussions that go on during the reading of the play in class. Given that this is my first time working on a play by Shakespeare independently; it will lead me to deciphering and or understanding the play for myself. In a way this is a better way of learning the material in my point of view. The reason being is such that this experience will give me the chance to create my own perspective and opinions about the play rather than letting other people’s opinions affect mine. Sometimes what I have seen in my classes that happen is that because the play is read out loud in class, the teacher stops at points and explains what is happening. This tends to lead into discussions and other classmates always have opinions about the characters and their actions or other things along those lines. For people such as me, who are quiet and more observant rather than the ones who participate in discussions, for the most part let others opinions and or point of view affect their own which makes everything bias and does not teach us anything. Therefore, I feel that having my own play to untangle will be a better way of learning without bias and relying on others.

Having my own play will also make me turn to more resources such as movies, modern day English novels of the play, audio readings, and of course the internet. The movies will help me to visualize the setting, the characters, the atmosphere, and evidently what is going on. While watching the movie however, I can also have the novel of the play in front of me so I can read along while visually see what is happening. Another way of deciphering the play is to find an electronic version which is in modern day English so that this way I can completely absorb the material in a language that is more familiar to me. I used this way of learning in my English class first semester when we were studying Hamlet and I found that it helped me out significantly and was a great source and technique. Finally the internet – it is a great way of doing research on the play and or background of it so that you have a clear understanding of what Shakespeare is trying to portray in our minds whilst reading it. Therefore I feel that if I use these methods and techniques I will successfully discover my play.

Personal Learning Network Questions

1. A Personal Learning Network is informal learning network where a learner gains knowledge and is made up of the individuals a learner interacts with.  Usually a PLN includes visuals in the blog rather than just posting text just so it’s not seen as “boring”. PLN also includes links that are embedded on the PLN that are helpful in terms of doing research.
   
2. Three possible elements of a good PLN in my opinion are things like having someone on the other end, posting things such as stuff you are interested in, and make sure it looks “attractive” and not boring.
   
3. In my chosen field of post-secondary, having a PLN would give me access to current professors, students who are either graduating or who have at least finished first year of sociology at my chosen university so that I have access to their notes and or purchase the required books that I need for that class for cheaper prices.
   
4. I think potential employers would most likely like the idea of having an online portfolio rather than on paper. The reason being is because even when a portfolio is on paper, employers still access the internet to “creep” you to see what kind of person you are and what sort of stuff is on the internet with your name attached to it. Having an online portfolio gives them less work to do, view all your work and or research, and also have direct links to specific sites.
   
5. Currently, I believe my online footprint is decently friendly and this is because I keep a very close eye to my privacy settings and even the pictures I post as well. I rarely get tagged in pictures and the ones that I already am tagged in are nothing “bad”. 

Afua Cooper Presentation

Afua Cooper

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