Blogging to Infinity and BEYOND!

I think blogging is a fantastic way for people of all ages to communicate with anyone. I think it's quite possible for kids even in Kindergarden to experience this vast world. In terms of Media Literacy a teacher could definitely incorporate this into their lesson plan as far as story telling. Obviously a little kindergardener may not be able to write responses but they could definitely begin to interact with the internet in a safe manner. Many people don't take advantage of the many privacy settings that are offered on bloggers such as blogspot. For instance, a person can disable comments and make their blogs only viewable to specific people.

As the children begin to grow intellectually they can begin to branch out and start writing more. For instance, kids as young as first grade on up can put their vocabulary words to use and write those dreaded sentences. The downside to doing this is that we want kids at a lower level to get used to writing (the physical aspect). Typing everything might take away from this if we don't approach it correctly. However, blogs are very useful in the upper grade levels. I'll use the theory professor... (I don't remember his name) has his students respond to their reading in blog format. This enables the students to come to class more prepared. If they don't get something before class, maybe their classmate has already answered the prompt in a more comprehensive manner. The student can take in different perspectives before class.

I personally have always been a fan of blogs. I do a combination of writing in a journal and writing on a blog. Whichever is more convenient at the time. I actually keep two blogs. One which is public where people can get into my head a little and another that is completely private. My journal is completely private as well. Many times teachers have their students keep a journal. This is a good way to keep a public journal and for some is more convenient.

Fun with Work

Okay... This here is a clip that has nothing to do with anything school related. I work at the Disneyland Resort. I have many different roles within the resort; one being a part of the Labor Systems Resort Operations Training Team. As part of a team building exercise we were to go on a scavenger hunt throughout the park. It was fun to test our knowledge of the resort as a team.

My team members were Soldihah and Patrick. Believe it or not Patrick was very happy! He seems like he's in an extraordinary amount of pain but it was all an act! Little bugger! It was an awesome time! This team building exercise was great and shockingly enough carried many characteristics of what we learned in 495! We had to have technological/photographical evidence that we made it to each location. Good thing I had my nifty FLIP!

Writing Fiction vs. Writing about Fiction

Similar to my thoughts on Poetry, I really enjoyed writing fiction. I thought writing would be a bit more difficult than it actually was. The hardest part for me is getting started. I used "under what circumstances" to get my creative juices flowing. I went ahead and answered all the questions. I wanted to see which question would spark something. At first, nothing sparked my interest. Then I wondered... I could combine all the questions into one unified story. It would be magnificent! I was able to contribute some comedic elements and very random things as well. I found it much easier writing the fiction than writing about it because I could just write what came to my crazy mind. Writing about fiction takes patience, background/research, and analysis. When writing fiction creatively, you don't have to worry about all of that. Sure you can consider the research and analysis aspect and also the form but you don't necessarily have to. I really enjoyed this project. I had a lot of fun with it!

Keeping Secrets

I actually had a really hard time trying to think of something that hasn't really been thought of already (in terms of a myth). As far as formatting a website, I haven't decided which program I will use.... If I'll use the google site, or iWeb, or even Dreamweaver. Though Dreamweaver tends to be a bit more complicated, I think I might want to take up the challenge just so I can actually work with the program. :D So my idea for a Myth is this... I really enjoy reading the postsecret site. For those who are unfamiliar with this site.. I'll tell you a little bit more about it.

First of all here is the link...

In case this "link" doesn't work... http://postsecret.blogspot.com

As you can see it is a blogger website ;D I have been looking at this site for a long time now. It intrigues me! It's a site that started off as an art project that turned into a website that's talked about worldwide. People send anonymous postcards to the site containing a creative way to tell their secret. A selection of the post cards are posted weekly. They have something like 5 books and even have touring museums. The people who created this actually tour to different college campuses as well.
So all this got me thinking... I'd love to submit one of these cards but I have one problem. I really don't have any secrets. I have things that I share privately to those I consider close enough to know or I feel I can trust. But really... I don't have ANY "secrets". I wondered to myself "Why?"... "Why don't I keep secrets?" I think it's because I've always been taught to not to keep it in. At the very least I write out what bothers me. I don't see the point to keep secrets.... but that's just me. What people choose to do with their thoughts or actions are beyond me... secrets usually end up being people's little (or Big) lies anyway. I just don't see the need to keep secrets.

SO... My Myth idea... People who keep secrets are more prone to lie. This ties in with the "white lie".
**Disclaimer... This is not to say whether I actually agree/disagree with this statement... It's just something I've thought about

Differences

There are many differences between actually writing poetry and analyzing poetry. Before I would say that I prefer to analyze a piece of poetry rather than write poetry. After doing a few of the exercises I realized that I actually enjoy writing poetry. It's a way for me to get in touch with my creative side. I love to be creative but it's the trouble in finding the ways in which to be creative. Analyzing poetry takes some work but it's sometimes easier to think of different meanings rather than trying to place the meanings in your self.

The found poem was one of my favorites. I picked a topic that hit home to me. This made this activity interesting and worth while to me. I like that we were able to pick what we wanted to write about. In my past experiences, writing poetry was always dictated. The teacher always told me to write specifically on a topic and sometimes that topic just didn’t intrigue me. Here I chose something important and representative to my life. I also enjoyed the Found Poem because I enjoyed reading and hearing what others had to say. I learned more about different topics and I also learned more about people. Even if people aren’t writing about something personal to them, it’s nice to see everyone’s creative mind churning.

I found that the Wrecking the First Person Poem was more fun than I originally thought. I liked how I could take three different things, people, or events and make them become one. Or sound like one ;)

Overall, my initial fears or anxieties were put to shame once I found a way to actually write a poem. Now I think I’d rather write a poem than analyze a poem!

Presenting... CYNDI! TA-DAAA!!!

Hey, Howdy-ho there neighbors! My name is Cyndi. I am 25 years old. I'm simplistic yet particular. I love coffee and animals. I have 1 dog named Zoe, 1 cat named Lucifer, 1 chinchilla named Harmony, and 2 parrots named Spike and Robyn. I work at the Disneyland Resort... so I have a mouse as my boss. I am my parent’s only child. Unlike most kids I get along with both parents very well. My mom works at See's Candies (the one on Tampa and Vanowen [drop by and say hi to Patty :D]) and my Dad is unfortunately very sick at home. He's currently on a list for a lung transplant from UCLA and I hope everyday that he gets one... (and no, he doesn't smoke... in case you were wondering... we get that question a lot). I am presently engaged and getting married on November 7th, 2009 to a wonderful (that word doesn't even begin to describe) man named David whom I adore! :D

I am in my final semester here at Cal State Northridge! ;D Woot-woot! I have had a very interesting scholastic journey. I graduated from Notre Dame H.S. in Sherman Oaks. I received a full-ride scholarship to Cal State Fullerton to become a music major with my primary instrument being the flute. I have played the flute now for 17 years. Unfortunately, given some financial circumstances I had to make a choice that would inevitably set me back two years in college. I chose to change my major and school. I moved back home to Sherman Oaks and attended College of the Canyons. Within my two years at COC I played on the Women's Water Polo team and also received my AA in English. I then moved back to Fullerton and attended Fullerton College. After a year, I decided to go to the school I told my parents and friends I would never go to. ;) (I know... you're thinking... 'wouldn't it be easier if she went to Cal State Fullerton again?!' - Well, the fact that I gave up my music was still very difficult to get over and CSUF would remind me of it frequently) I happy to say that I've met many friends here at CSUN and I love the environment. I'll be proud to have CSUN on my diploma!

I'm a little scared right now. I know that I want to teach and I'm excited to get out there and do it. What scares me is, taking that first step and getting everything together and interviewing. I don't know how to approach a school/principle and ask for a position. I know this sounds stupid but I'm uncomfortable with the getting the teaching position part. Not so much, the ACTUAL teaching aspect of it all. Sounds silly right? I love teaching and fortunately I get to teach for Disney (but it’s not the same teaching adults as it is Jr. High kids). So that leads to the next part... I want to teach Jr. High. I love that age and the attitude the kids have. They make me laugh most times. I was inspired to teach English because I had one teacher who made me admire a subject I previously hated. This teacher taught me to appreciate the art of language. I hope as a teacher I could do the same for the students. I don't think anyone should give up on a subject just because they had non-supportive teachers in the past.

But aside from everything... DUDE! Most of us are GRADUATING!!!! OMGoodness!

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