Blog 6: Multimodal Project Proposal

My original critical question was about how one’s first week of college or first college experiences set them up for the rest of their time in college and their future.  I would like to explore the idea of learning more.  Specifically the changes in learning over a lifetime and what you learn about in different stages and ages in life.  I also questioned how athletes could be better set up for college than the rest of the student population, but I think for this project I want to talk about the learning idea.  I want to get across that even though you may be graduated college or high school you will never stop learning and it learning is not all about books and studying.  You need to learn about yourself and figure out if you are happy with your life and you need to learn about skills in your job and learn how to adapt to a family or moving or death.  There is always something to learn about that will be useful.  The audience for my writing will be people who just graduated and are going out into their jobs and continuing their lives.  I see these people as optimistic and seeking a big opportunity and wanting to put their college degree to work.  They are studious and manage their time like it was their job along with having excellent organization skills.  Physically they have glasses and maybe the college gaining a few pounds hit them but they dress to impress.  They have nicer clothes and look put together and sophisticated.  They wear their heart on the outside to show the world now they matter and with a degree they can now impact the world.  I want to write a blog post from my genre.  I think that it could be something that could be possibility attached to the university home page or incorporated into an information booklet somewhere.  But I want to write a blog post on the importance of learning and going beyond the typical books and papers.  For modes in my blog I plan to obviously have text but also, but the tone can be noticed by the size of my text or if it is bold or not.  Also for modes I could color my text to represent different important topics.  I not really sure on the conventions but I think they will be a typical blog with a title at the top with the author’s name in a smaller font below the title and then the writing to follow.  Also for conventions I could maybe find a way to do comments at the bottom so I could get some feedback on my ideas in my blog and see what others think about learning also.  Also I could have quotes from people that just got out of school and see what they think about life long learning and I have some quotes already that would work perfectly for this project from Angela, who I already interviewed from project 2.  To be honest for a model text I might just use stuff off of the blogger website we use for class.  I could model what the page looks like with the different font and sizes of the text and see how the writing is broken down.  Also I will be able to see if comments are an option.  I don’t really know if all this is a good idea or even following what we are supposed to me doing for this project 3 so some feedback on my proposal would be greatly appreciated!

Blog 5: Project Prosal and Preparing for Interview/Observatoin

My critical question is about how someone’s first week or first experiences in college affect their overall time in college and after.  In my first project I talked about my experiences in the first week through the eyes of my backpack, stepping back and looking at the bigger picture. 

For this project I want to study Morgan who is a swimmer here at Nebraska.  I think that she would be good to observe because she does a different sport than I do so I will get new answers.  Also, I can look at how being in a sport either makes the first week easier or more difficult with the schedule, along with the interaction differences between her and her teammates in study hall compared to on the deck and competing. 

I kind of already explained this earlier but I just want to see basically from a different sports perspective on how the first experiences are going, along with comparing it to maybe a counselor here in the academic center.  It’s really rough and I’m not sure yet, but I might even talk to an counselor in athletics and get their opinion on students going through the first week, especially when most are from out of state. 

This will go with my critical question will since my question is about being new to everything and going through all lot in the first week and when I observe and talk to Morgan I can compare her experiences with my own as well as those thoughts of a counselor either speaking about her in specific or all the new athletes in general.

I am going to specifically study the interaction between teammates and what that looks like in an academic setting compared to an athletic environment. 

I don’t really know Morgan very well since she is from Ohio.  She just moved here and for swimming and summer classes and since I’m from Lincoln about a week ago was the first time I met here.  I see her around occasionally but I don’t know anything about her family or her past experiences in school.  

I am going to talk to Morgan when I see her at study hall sometimes and talk to her about this project.  We can either talk there or later at the Union or somewhere else.  I don’t know when I will watch her but it will probably be later in the day at the night study hall session since that’s when she has it, been I will make sure that she is ok with it first.  

Interview Questions:

What was your favorite experience from the first week of college?

What was the worse thing you did in your first week?

How did you first college swimming practice go?

Were you nervous coming to a big school and traveling away from your home state?

Why did you pick Nebraska?

How many times do you practice now and how does that compare with your old practice schedule?

What does your schedule look like for a week?

Do you have time to do anything social or relaxing?

Did you get lost or forget something during the first week?

How many new people are on the swimming team?

What is the number one thing you miss from home?

What do you not miss from home?

Are you adjusting to the busy schedule quickly or is it still a rush?

Tell me about your past school experiences and how do they compare to what you are going through right now.

 Have you caused any problems or got in trouble yet?

How is time management different than it used to be?

* I will be using my cell phone or computer to record to create an audio recording of my interview.

Blog 4: Responding to Podcasts and Brainstorming

In the summer camp podcast they are talking to the people that attend summer camp, work there, and also oversee the whole site.  The people there are sharing what their experiences were and are like going to summer camp.  Also people explain what they remember when they used to go.  Through them telling us about their pasts at camp they are trying to convey a bigger picture and help us understand concepts that we could apply in our own lives, which is what project two is supposed to be about.  A profile is like the podcast “Becoming Batman” because they are only focused on one person and that is also what our project two will be about.  They talk about what they see and their times from younger years.  A quote from “Summer Camp” would be like when he says that every camp he has been “he was been apart of a team”.  He talks about a boy scouts they would together to survive and help others and at other camps you just help others find their way and make new friends.  In the “Becoming Batman” when she says “blindness is a social construction”.  He goes out and interviews a lot of people until he had an awe ha moment.  He talked to a homeless blind guy and asked him for his story.  It turns out that the blind guy went to an organization and they told him that he couldn’t work anymore and had to do mindless chores for others.  I thought this was a crazy story and I was wondering how a bling organization could even have those thoughts and tell the blind people that basically their futures and careers were over.  The meaning of the summer camp podcast is basically talking about how kids spent their summers with their friends and what lessons they learned when they were there.  The Becoming Batman podcast was about how everyone is a different person and you can spend your time how you want to.  You choose this texts to listen to because in our next project will are going to observe and group of people like the first podcast and more specifically one person in detail like the second listening.  You hear more information on the subjects to get their stories but the journalist also fills in some of the gaps with background thoughts with the questions.  Also in these podcasts you hear others noises that have to do with the summer camp and other people talking about that person, so it’s just not one person talking about themselves the whole time.  The podcast go in order of what happened and what the subject wants to talk about the most.  Although the questions should be typed out ahead of time with thought already put into creating them.  I really liked how they had other people talking in the podcasts, just to mix it up a little and get different perspectives.  I also liked how there was music to break up some of the sections and topics. 

For my project I really want to study a group of people from a sport, because I like sports and I have an easier access to observing and talking to them. I’m not really sure on what sport I am going to do yet but, I think I am going to do the Swimming team just because I see some of them in the morning when I go to study hall.  I am going to study basically their study habits and how they interact with each other as teammates in an academic setting.  I want to see if they communicate differently in study hall and studying with each other than in the pool or working out in the weight room.  This will go into my critical question well because I can look at how being teammates affects your overall time in college or just getting through the first week, which is what my question is about. 

Blog 3: Question Draft 2 and Artifact Free Write

My revised critical question after todays group comparing and suggesting changed a lot.  I am even more excited about it and think that it will fit in better to the projects.  My new question is why should teenagers value their future more? When I think about this question I always just feel that “kids” these days are always only focused on what’s happening right now and they don’t think about how these behaviors and choices now will affect them later in life.  This is huge because the world and the future of earth depend on how the old finish it and how the youth invent and carry on and expand what we have right now.   My question fits all of the requirements.  The first is meaningful to me and I honestly do care about the future and it does intrigue me on how the world will changed based on how the younger generations right now are learning and some ruining what has already been created.  This question does affect others and the larger society because we all live here and until you die you will have to function with what is happening around you.  This question does have multiple answers because you can look at it any way you want.  Some possible answers may include because if they don’t care about their future they might not have one or if teens want to change something right now or are working toward something to make the their future better then they should care about it.  Sub-questions about my question may include:  Do some teens care more about their future than other?  What makes a teen not become interested in the future anymore?  How do you get someone more passionate about his or her own possibilities?  This question is not too broad or too narrow so it’s good on the size.  Lastly, this question does not include my personal thoughts on a teenagers future I am simply asking about it. 

My potential artifacts for this project are:  a crystal ball, a chair, food, cell phone, computer, clothing, shoes, a letter of personal goals, car, passport, elevator. 

I am going to pick a cell phone for my artifact because I believe that it will go with my question perfectly.  When I think about a cell phone and how much time people oftentimes waste right now then it makes me wonder about how the future will be when technology gets better and even more accessible if it isn’t all ready enough right now.  A cell phone can bring someone closer to someone far away but it can work against you also if someone you don’t want to have your number is bothering you a lot.  In the future could it be possible for you to delete your number automatically from their contacts if you don’t want the to have it?  I wonder also about how else will cell phones be used in the future?  Is there even going to be paper or pencils?  Will we even have to leave our houses to do anything?  If we can talk to people that we want to talk to from a cell phone and we could order anything or have technology do everything for us then what is the point of wasting gas and going to class, to get food, or to the store.  A cell phone could be new or old pink or blue or with stickers and a fancy ring tone or just always on silent but they will always be changing the future because of how we communicate and what we learn form using them.  Cell phones could also not even exist if computers and other devices like tablets keep improving.  Then what would happen?  If cell phones connect so many people and everyone has billions of followers then why can’t people talk face to face anymore?  It’s weird that some of the shyest people know so many people online but when it comes to actually talking then it gets hard.  What I’m getting at is will cell phones take the world to become mute.  Will nobody ever talk to each other?  I feel like you never are who you are online or through a text so how will anyone know if it is really you or not?

Blog 2: Critical Question Draft 1 and Free Write

What happens if there is no more access to technology?  Can humans still function without something that has evolved to be necessary and found almost everywhere? Are the younger generations already having social problems because of social media and technology already?  I don’t even think that anyone can imagine the world we live in today without the technology that is still developing and seems to never end with new breakthroughs.  Just think about all of the people that met through the Internet and media that you otherwise wouldn’t have.  On the flip side think about the people that you didn’t have to meet or all of the problems that the Internet has cause you and how without it life would be a lot more simple.  With the computer invention would I even be working on this assignment of going to college?  If life is so simple then would it be worth paying for more knowledge that wouldn’t be necessary for you to live a successful life? 

Well, looking around in the room that I am in there are many chairs.  Currently empty chairs.  Chairs that could have been filled with enemies, friends, professors, or coaches.  Chairs that help gain knowledge and at the same time distract with their great mobility as wheels.  All the chairs are the same color, but that doesn’t mean the people they can contain have to be the same.  These chairs that I see could be the only thing that some of the people that use them have in common.  Black seat with gray on the back and designer wheels attached to the bottom meant for navigation through the roads in college will take you.   When I showered last night I didn’t think about anything, and by nothing I mean everything.  But seriously I have so much going on in my life right now and I don’t have any spare time so when I shower I don’t think about anything.  Sometimes when I shower I am so tired from the whole days activities that I almost fall asleep.  The hot water keeps me awake along with the thought of how much time that I am wasting by not getting the tasks done given to me by the world.  When I fell asleep last night my thoughts kind of tied right in with my shower thoughts.  Whenever I go to bed I make sure all work is done so I don’t have any more unnecessary stresses.  I lay my heavy cranium upon the softest of pillows and gaze upon the darkness of the back of my eyelids until I doze. Mostly thoughts stop when I hit the pillow and the day is ceased.  My favorite class in high school would have to be anatomy.  I just really like how the body works and what’s inside all of us.  The fact that we can essentially learn about ourselves through history and facts and systems put together just fascinates me.   You live in your body for a lifetime and it’s probably to our benefit to learn how to get the most out of it.  I don’t really tend to get into to many arguments I’m usually the most civil of my family.  When I do get frustrated though I sure do go off.  I think the last time that I argued with a family member would be when I was mad about my dad going on a vacation with my brother and not me.  Even though he had a valid point of me having college class to attend and work on assignments, I still thought that I wasn’t right for my brother to go.  I thought that the options should be either I go on the trip or neither of us goes on the vacations with dad.  I obviously lost because I am typing this right now and going to class and my dad and brother as gone for a while.   Honestly right now I just want to get this assignment done and move on, as I have other commitments.  I also think about how I will/am having so much more homework and studying than high school.  I went to a fairly good high school around here in Lincoln and I don’t think that it prepares you for anything.  I live here in Lincoln and when I think about my house I think about all of the summer that I enjoyed with hobbies, friends, and sports and even some of the summers that I wasted for the good.  I think about my room and how messy it always is to my mother, but when I walk in and look at it everything is just how I like it.  I see the ugly dark green chipped paint on the outside of the house and the small garage to the side of it.  Writing is good for the soul and it relaxes you as you reflex upon the day that is expired and contemplate the changes for tomorrow. 

My critical question is how does thoughts about the future engage the teenage mind right now?  I choose this question because it relates to me.  The teenage mind is fascinating as it is in the middle of the world and changes are happening everyday.  Also teenagers have a different time clock and they operate differently compared to any other of the age groups.  Teens are most prone to issues but at the same time it is the best time to take advantage of your life and make the best of it at a young age.  The teenage brain is learning and building itself and preparing for the future of adventures that college and life and jobs take you to.  I am always thinking about the future and how things will change over time.  I am always questioning how has the world came to be so evolved already and where did we start and if it will ever end.  I have always been intrigued in how everyone affects each other and where does technology jump in the equation.  I think that my question involved everyone because if you are still going to be living on this planet its only going to get more sophisticated from here and wouldn’t you like to see or even plan how your future may turn out.  This question could honestly go with any subject for a project.  In the first project it talks about how the question relates to a cultural artifact and the future would work for that well.  For the next project it talks about how a group or an individual’s story relates to others and I could tie that in on how you can learn from the past and make the future better.  The third project is perfect for this question because it talks about a real-world audience, and people are always asking about the future and how the change it so the future is the best that it could be for them and their children.  I really don’t know if my question is a good question to do all of the projects on and if I need to modify it.  The topic is general so I was thinking that it would work for most projects but I just want to make sure before I turn it in for a grade and do the project wrong.  Also I’m a little confused on the projects and I hope that you could explain them a little more thoroughly in class or I could come in during your office hours and talk about he projects.  I am guessing that there would be more information then what you can get on the syllabus on the blackboard information tabs.  Any information more that you can provide on the projects and/or my critical question will be highly appreciated.  Thanks for any advise.