Week 8 Progress

Looking Back

I am really proud of my progress so far. I've never taken an online class before so this is all new too me. I had a weekly routine that was getting me into trouble so I'm working on going back to the schedule that I had set at the beginning of the semester. Something that surprised me was how much I like the blog comments! They are actually fun, especially when you go to comment on a blog and realize that they commented on yours and left a really nice comment. Its a great way to get to know people too! I probably know more about the people in this class than I know about the people in any other class I've taken. It's really refreshing. I actually have not been taking advantage of the extra credit opportunities as much as should have, but moving forward I'm going to be doing more extra credit.

Looking Forward

I'm really going to try and stay more on schedule or even get ahead in the second half of the semester. I've gotten better about moving things around when I don't have time for them instead of just waiting until I get the time and letting everything pile up behind it. I'm also going to work on remembering that there is extra credit so if I just really don't have time that week to do Reading B, then I won't do it. I'm also going to try and do extra credit more regularly so that I don't have to worry about not getting to something in a later week.

My golf coach in high school was always telling us this, so one of my
teammates ripped up an old rules sheet and stuck the note
into the 18th tee box so we all could see it
(Personal Photo taken April, 2014)

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

Feedback In

I think everyone is doing a really good job with the feedback! Nobody has been mean or unhelpful and it's nice to see that people are enjoying my stories. I think the feedback on my Comment Wall is the most helpful because people are giving me suggestions instead of just saying what they liked about the story. Don't get me wrong I love the ego boost that comes along with people telling you they like your work, but the Comment Wall is nice because then I actually get to edit my work based on that feedback. 

Feedback Out

I'd like to think I'm doing a good job of leaving people feedback. I don't read through the other comments before I write my comment but sometimes I worry that I might be mentioning something that the author has heard a lot already. I think reading other people's stories is very helpful because you can see different styles or perspectives that you didn't even consider using. I also like seeing the different ways other people retold a story that you had read that week.

Blog Comments

I feel like I am getting to know people when I visit their blogs. I mean, obviously, through

the introduction, but everyone has also designed their blog in their own unique style and you learn little bits of information through comments they leave on your posts and author's notes at the end of their stories. I love my introduction and blog style because I think they really do give people a sense of who I am and what I'm all about. Most of the pictures I use on my posts are because I think they're funny and gives people an idea of what my sense of humor is like.

Looking Forward

A good way for me to use feedback is to try not to focus so much on meeting the word requirement and focus more on making meaningful comments. I think I do that most of the time but sometimes there is something in there because I don't have enough words. Also I could spend a little bit more time really analyzing what I just read so that my comments are more meaningful. I don't want to change my blog at all though. I love it just the way it is.

Image

(Photo from Feedback Cats)

I picked this picture because I think an important part of feedback is making sure it's being done in the right environment. If people feel like the feedback they are getting is mean and unconstructive then they won't fix their mistakes. Feedback needs to be given in a way that doesn't make the person receiving it feel attacked and unsafe.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

Looking Back

Overall, I'm pretty satisfied with my reading notes and stories. I can see how my reading notes have evolved from basically a summary of what I just read into more of my thoughts on certain parts of the story and different ways I can retell it. I do think I can do a better job of writing out my thoughts in my reading notes, though. Even though they have gotten better at helping me write my stories, my reading notes still aren't the most helpful and I don't often find myself consulting them when I go to write. I do like my stories, though, and I think they are good but I also think that I could be a little more creative with them. I want to try some new storytelling styles and maybe even use a style that I've never used before that pushes me out of my comfort zone.
I've liked quite a lot of the stories I've read for class, so I don't know if I have a favorite. If I had to choose I'd probably say The Fox and the Stork from Aesop's Fables (Jacob). I seriously did not see the ending coming! I also thought the message was a pretty good one. 
My Storybook is coming along nicely and I'm really proud of it. I have been getting lots of good feedback on it and it's helping me come up with some really good ideas. I think being open to people's feedback and actually listening to it has been my biggest accomplishment. Its hard to put yourself out there but everyone has such great suggestions that I don't feel the need to shut them down or ignore them.

Image

(photo from imgur)

This image is from my Topic Brainstorming blog post and it just makes me laugh every time I see it. I was thinking about doing a Storybook about moon stories which immediately made me think of when Sokka says, "my first girlfriend turned into the moon" and Zuko just replies with, "that's rough buddy." Instead I found this gif and thought it was more fitting. I've actually used another Avatar gif on a story post because they are just so applicable!

Looking Forward

To get more out of the readings and writings in this class, I think I just need to make sure I'm helping myself with my reading notes. I'll start working on writing notes that have ideas about the story I am going to write later in the week and use them more as a brainstorming session. I think that will help me out with some of the writers block I've been getting when I sit down to write my weekly story.