Week 4: Session 2 Response

I think the YouTube educational assignment was both a challenging but fun and interesting experience. At first, I had trouble trying to think of a subject matter than I enjoyed and could write about. I had first thought about writing advice from one of my favorite authors, Stephen King. The search to find videos with him was simple, but the content matter was the problem. It really didn’t hold any academic value for me, and therefore had made it difficult for me to write the assignment on. So I changed my subject matter into something that sparked my interest: Creative Non-Fiction. I have already written two pieces (one from class (268) and other on my own time and critiqued in 468) and hope to accomplish more in the future. Also, as I had mentioned in the YouTube video assignment, I own the Philip Lopate novel and take his writing advice and use it to my advantage.


This week also I learned a lot about my different learning styles and how I am able to incorporate those specialized skills to help me tap in to my strengths and weaknesses when it comes to lectures, note taking and studying material. I was amazed by the descriptions of the learning styles and how many of the things mentioned were just like my types of school habits – both good and bad. Still though, I am going to take these and the other study skills and methods I have learned from this class for granted and use them to my full advantage to become not only a better student, but a better learned overall.

Educational Video -- Creative Non-Fiction # 2 – with Lee Zacharias

Creative Non-Fiction # 2 – with Lee Zacharias



This video is an interview with Lee Zacharias, who is a author and instructor of creative non-fiction workshops. Zacharias discusses about the differences between a memoir and personal essay. These are the two main types of writing that are composed of in the creative non-fiction realm. She also talks about how potential and current writers often confuse the two pieces. Zacharias also states that the authors (in the workshops) are often not open to wanting to write their stories from a different perspective, hence just in the workshop to have written the story in other to have it become an archive for their future generations. She mentions the writer’s anthology, The Art of the Personal Essay, by Phillip Lopate, which is a useful tool for writer’s to reference to and strengthen their writing talents.


I have taken two creative non-fiction courses in my college career, along with a poetry writing course, and by taking these they were able to rekindle my love for writing. Something I haven’t done since my early days in high school, writing dreadful, violent and vulgar poetry. I actually own Lopate’s novel, which I had bought for my English 468 course (Intermediate Creative Non-Fiction). Writing has always been a passion of mine, and by listening to Zacharias’ advice, they remind me about some of the discussions we had covered in my 468 classes. I would love to write more about of my personal experiences and turn them into short stories or even if I was able to collect enough of them, it would be cool to make a novel of my personal endeavors. This video is a very informational one for people who want to jump into the writing game, especially non-fiction, which though can be a difficult subject matter to write about, is a fun and learning experience as well.

Week 4: Session 1 Response

I have learned that there’s a lot more to Wikipedia than just a “quick fix” answer webpage. By becoming introduced to the multiple sub-categories that Wikipedia has to offer as well. I had never realized that the “Wiki” company was a user-based webpage and that most of the information is based from “fans” and “experts” of the trade. What had really shocked me that some of the pages that the “wikis” have were that some of that pages that I thought would be beneficial for research purposes and so forth aren’t reliable at all! I hate to break it to last-minute study students who believe that sites like “wikiveristy” will be any scholarly help because it won’t! I was really disappointed with that link, I was under the impression that this would be a semi-scholarly research tool but alas, it was a dud. I did like the wikiquote sub-site though. It was really cool how it contained many quotes from multiple Medias – books, history, music, movies and much more. I could see myself using this site for random and scholarly ideas in the near future. I now understand why many of my professors frown upon using Wikipedia as a website resource – because the information available on the site in question may not be 100% reliable! Despite it is a slow and steady process, the portfolio is coming along rather nicely. Alas, (yes, I like quoting Shakespeare), the Refworks website never did work for me (cursed technology!) but I have completed the assignment to the best of my ability. I am really excited to wonder what the completion of my portfolio and this class shall be like.

Week 3: Session 2 Response -- Frustration

This week has been a quite interesting but frustrating one in the same sense. I learned what useful tools are out there via Google (such as Google Scholar) and how some of the online tools via the University library (i.e. important reference tools like Refworks, which has become my frustration), can help aid in the long and exhausting process of research. As I mentioned, Refworks has been the death of me this week. I watched all the tutorials like we were supposed to and even did the practices! I followed all the directions and still no success. I tried everything to export my articles over to Refworks and I keep getting error messages and an empty Refworks folder. My folder remains empty no matter what methods that Lauren has told me, STILL NOTHING!! This has been the most difficult assignment in the course, and I am not sure whether or not Refworks will ever work for me. Working on the website is easier, now that I realize that I was doing it all wrong (and making it harder for me!) but it’s crazy to realize that this course is almost over – in less than 2 weeks! Despite it’s been only 3 weeks in this course, I have learned many new things that I can take and use for future courses and hopefully after college as well into my major, possibly when I find a job in my field! Because right now, I don’t see myself using many of these strategies in my current job of working in my hectic, fast-paced restaurant manager position on campus!! (Any clues to where that could be ?! – Let’s just say it’s a large facility and it has Buckeye pride!)

Week 3: Session 1 Response

Hmm…what have I learned in the last 2 ½ weeks? I have definitively learned that I am a major slacker and that my lacks of good sleeping habits have been making for not so great performance in my school work. With mapping out my week as to how I spent it, I slack off WAY TOO MUCH!! Yes, I do admit, there are times when my book should be in my Anthropology book studying about (yawn) the evolution of humans and whatnot, but I also believe that’s what makes me so sleepy! Plus, I cannot always use the excuse “the kids kept me up all night” or “there distracting me from doing my homework” even though they truly are. I know that time management skills have always been my weak point since high school, with adding a full-time job on top of an already over-stacked full-time motherly duties and full-course load student role, but I have tended to procrastinate and not get to my homework until the wee hours of the morning – like 1-2 am. I am going to continue to try to work more homework time into my hellish schedule and less “wasted time” spending watching silly YouTube videos and reading random Face book posts. Yes, it is a weakness but I must learn to fight those urges. Still something that is a challenge for me is to get that quiet area that I need to concentrate on my studies in order to do well on my homework and study for tests since there is no where safe for me to converge for my studies. I am trying to “train” my kids to leave mom (me) alone when I’m trying to work on homework but with pre-school age kids, it’s a major work-in-progress. They are getting better as in only “bugging” me when it’s to do minor things, but it’s when I’m in the middle of a important essay or quiz that it’s aggravates me, but hey, that’s kids for you.

Week 2: Session 2 Response

Well, I can certainly say that these first two weeks of this class have been an eye-opener for me. I have never thought about people wanting to know more about my business (i.e. every one's little tidbit. status messages via Facebook, alas I am just as addicted to posting them as everyone is!) but yet, I do not write a 2,000-word long message about my hellish life nor the same old drama I deal with. I have also learned that there is a lot more to Google (in the sense that there are many, useful tools to get addicted to as well as use to expand and enhance our technology capabilities) then just to search for a research topic or to find tonight's new dinner dish. Yet also, the readings about what study skills (for college students and everyone in general), that we believe we have mastered as well as need to improve on have been goals that I have been trying to work on but of course are still a work in progress. Of course, these skills are not going to be succeeded overnight, they take time and practicing before a new skill is mastered.