Weekly Task 13 - Reflection

1. Please offer your suggestions as how we can grade your performance better.　

My suggestions:

1) Turning in the assignments on time: assessing whether one is self-disciplined and responsible.

2) Interacting with the key pal: assessing the process of sharing different opinions and perspectives with each other.

3) Whether the contents are to the point or connect to weekly topics: to make sure that students meet the teacher’s expectations—Quality is better than quantity.

4) The accuracy of word choice and English grammar: to have a good command of English is an important requirement for students who major in English.


2. Based on the criteria you suggested in Q1, please give a score to yourself and explain how you’ve earned it.

According to the criteria I suggested above, I give myself 8 points.

1) I make it a rule to finish the assignments and turn in them on time every week.

2) My key pal and I have a nice interaction, but sometimes we reply to each other late. I think we have already noticed this problem and we are willing to improve it.

3) In general, my composition and key pal’s responses connect to weekly topics.

Sometimes, we have deeper insight and discuss some interesting things. I love to read and express different opinions on the blog with my key pal.

4) In terms of word choice and grammar, when I am confused about some words or phrases, I immediately look them up in dictionaries to learn or review the usage. Even so, there are still many problems in my compositions. Hope teachers can point out my downside and I will rethink and revise my compositions. Thank you!


3. Based on the criteria you suggested in Q1, please give a score to your partner and explain how she has earned it.

According to the criteria I suggested above, I give my key pal 8 points.

She often replies to my articles in a short time. Moreover, she reads my articles and topics carefully; thus, her comments usually connect to the subjects. After reading her comments, I find some unfamiliar terms and I also see different perspectives. For me, this is a good way of learning. Great! ：）

Weekly Task 11 - Learning Activities

1. Based on your preference, what kind of classroom activity do you like most and which one do you like the least?

　　I prefer activities which are concerning “watching”. Sometimes, it is relaxing and refreshing to learn by watching related videos, movies, etc. On the other hand, I am not good at communicating with others and voicing my opinions; thus, I like “discussion” the least.

2. Can you recall some very fun activity you experienced recently in class? Please describe it.

　　Last month, Dr. Gina gave our class a task in the computer classroom: choosing a funny video and cooperating with group members to create intriguing lines which correspond to the video. Through this activity, I first learned how to operate the software “Movie Maker”. Although it is not easy to finish the task, I really enjoyed this fun activity.

3. When encountering some kind of difficult knowledge, do you have any strategies to process it?
　　
　　First, I usually try to find out my problems of learning, including my attitude toward learning and methods of learning. Then, I ask teachers and classmates for help. Moreover, some reference books help me a lot when I have difficulties understanding and absorbing new information.

4. Based on your responses to Q1, Q2, and Q3, can you tell the type of learner you are? Why?

　　Sometimes, I think I am studious. I usually spare no effort to perfect all the assignments, although the results or the scores are not necessarily good or excellent as I expect. I think I will keep improving my drawbacks and maintain a positive attitude.

Weekly Task 10 - Self Evaluation & Peer Review

1。 From 1~10 (with 10 as the highest score), how well are you two doing?
Please grade yourselves and give a suggestive score.
　
2。How and why did you two decide the score?

3。What kind of improvement are you two making in the remaining weeks of the semester?

　　My key pal and I decide to give ourselves 7.
　　The score is based on good interaction, communication styles, writing styles and different viewpoints.　

Evaluation

1. Advantages of our pair work:
　　a. Good interaction
　　b. Responding to each other’s thoughts regularly
　　c. Expressing similar or different opinions properly

2. Disadvantages of our pair work:
　　a. Times of discussion are not enough
　　b. Sometimes, we reply to each other late

　　We think we can search for related information and share it with each other on the blog. Moreover, we should notice the time limit of each task. All in all, in the long run, we should improve our writing quality as well as quantity. We believe that we will do a better job in the remaining weeks of this semester.

Weekly Task 9 - The Strawberry Generation

Weekly Task 9

1. What do you think about this stigma? 　　

　　For me, it is interesting to understand the origin and different meanings of “the strawberry generation” as time goes by from the essay. From the author’s perspective, she mentions that “the strawberry generation” not merely exists in youngster’s generation, but other generations as well. I cannot agree with her more. In my opinion, what kinds of traits some people have cannot represent the whole generation. More specifically, it is unfair for those who have characteristics that differ from the stereotype to be labeled “the strawberry generation.” Therefore, viewing someone as “the strawberry” by his or her year of birth is inappropriate.

2. Does the description match your self-identity or -realization?
　If not, offer a counter claim.

　　Frankly speaking, sometimes I am egoistic. Although I seldom consider group interest my top priority, I have no intention of damaging the interests of others. As for the aspect of material living, I don’t want to follow the trend blindly; therefore, I live a life without too much temptation. Moreover, I have seen several pieces of news regarding a hot issue: highly-educated people take jobs that require few professional skills. So far, I have no idea about this condition. Perhaps, there is something wrong with our labor market and even the whole society.

　　When it comes to the ability of resisting great pressure and frustration tolerance, I think these mental conditions vary from person to person. As for me, I usually find ways to overcome the difficulties, consider failure a stepping stone to success, seldom giving up halfway. Thus, I don’t want to be called “the strawberry generation” owing to such reasons. Last but not least, we young people should strive to redefine the meaning of our generation or “the strawberry generation” instead of being mocked or looked down on.

Weekly Task 6 - Making Mistakes

Weekly Task 6


1. How do you usually look at your mistakes?

　　I usually take my mistakes very seriously. To tell the truth, I want to be a perfectionist since I think finishing what I have to do and doing a good job are my responsibilities. Moreover, I usually feel a sense of achievement and relief after accomplishing my goals. However, there is a disadvantage of being perfect: I do not dare to try new things or what I am not good at because being afraid of making mistakes.

2. How do you define mistakes?

　　“We all make mistakes.” I think this saying is true at times, but it can be an excuse as well. As a student, it is not uncommon for me to make mistakes in my studies. Take an experience of Show-and-Tell for example. I made every effort to prepare, trying to feel comfortable on the platform since I believe “Practice makes perfect.”

　　Nevertheless, the audience found that I was nervous, lacking confidence. Actually, those comments are my drawbacks and also my mistakes. Therefore, my definition of mistakes is that I do something wrong and I do not try my best to avoid putting a foot wrong. Last but not least, a great attitude toward mistakes is that people should learn from mistakes and not be careless or absurd next time.

3. After listening to Prof. Pausch, do you still see mistakes in the same way?

　　Prof. Pausch’s speech is thought-provoking, which helps me see mistakes from another angle. A quotation from his speech is impressive: “Brick walls are there for a reason: they let us how badly we want things.” I usually feel depressed when failing to attain my objectives, but I never give up. In my opinion, if I cannot overcome difficulties, I will not have a chance to challenge myself and prove that I can succeed. To sum up, never give up whenever you encounter difficulties.

Running Race

Weekly Task 5 - Collaborative Learning

Weekly Task 5

1. Can you explain what this picture is showing about collaborative learning (or group learning)?
　　
　　This picture shows a complete process of group communication: a group should think deeply first, collect others’ deliberation; crystallize the outcome of group discussion, and make an assessment. I think a group of people can share their inner thoughts with others by effective communication. Also, people will omit irrelevant ideas or change their mind after group discussion.

2. What is your favorite part of this type of learning?
　　
　　“Learning through reflection” is my favorite part because I usually lack various ideas. Therefore, I will take others’ opinions for reference and come up with another idea by following this step.

3. What would be the part that usually bothers you when working with others?

　　“Generating multiple perspectives” is the most difficult part for me. The reason why I choose this part is that I often think about a topic in the first person. If I can do a good job on this part, it will help me see one thing in several different aspects.

4. Give an example from your personal experience and elaborate on it.

　　In the past few weeks, each group in our class was asked to write an essay and revise it twice. My learning buddy and I learned a lot from each other’s writing style and peer editing. I saw her work in the second person; thus, my perspective may differ from her notion. When I got confused about some sentences of my buddy’s composition, I tried to guess, and then ask her if my thoughts corresponded to hers. In the final part of our discussion, we pointed out the problems respectively and made a meaningful assessment as possible as we can. I am unsure that whether our process and the outcome of this communication are proper. Maybe our discussion will get better and better after accumulating abundant experiences of group talk. All in all, I consider it good to have a complete and deep talk with my buddy on this assignment.

Weekly Task 4 - Networked Students

Weekly Task 4

1. This is how American college students learn. Are you learning in a similar way?

　　Being networked students is a new idea of learning. As the importance and convenience of the Internet is stressed, many people advocate “E-learning.” Even some people predict that “E-books” will replace printed publications.

　　Websites provide abundant information which can broaden students’ horizons and help them connect the global village. From my point of view, the way American students learn is really cool. For instance, I am curious about the websites mentioned in the video, such as Google Scholar and Skype. I think it is time for me to search for useful online resources and take advantage of them. I am learning in a similar way as the way American College students learn. As a freshman, I find that many assignments have to be done and uploaded through “E-course system.” Furthermore, more and more teachers adopt the creative idea “E-learning”, so students have chances to learn from online resources. It is obvious that “Networked Students” will become the mainstream of education and learning.

2. What does it mean by “Networked Students”? Is it a good or a bad change, and why?

　“Networked Students” is an interesting new concept. Those students are good at making use of rich resources on the Internet. In addition, they can learn anytime and anywhere online instead of being limited by time and space.

　　I consider “Networked Students” a good change since the Internet makes it easier and faster to get information from all over the world. Moreover, discussing with international students is a chance to know the way they think and even their cultures.
Last but not least, people can benefit from the Internet; however, they should be careful not to be “Internet addicts.”

Weekly Task 3 - Britney Spears

Weekly Task 3 - Britney Spears

1. What do you think of her change?

　　Public figures are always under the spotlight; Britney Spears is no exception. During the last months, I have known countless negative news about Britney Spears. Thus, I once considered her a disreputable performer at that time due to her uncommon and improper behavior.

　　Surprisingly, Britney Spears turns over a new leaf soon. She confessed that she was lost in the past time, then overcoming great difficulties that she had encountered. It seems that she really repents and tries hard to leave a good impression on the multitude. In my opinion, she should be given a chance to change herself and come back on stage. After all, it is good to see that she conquers fear of loss.

2. What do you believe or not believe?

　　I believe that she was lost over the last few months, which was caused by numerous reasons. By the way, she lets me know that changing herself needs not only others’ assistance, but the help from herself as well.

3. What is your judgment based on?

　　In the beginning, I merely read what mentioned concerning Britney Spears on a newspaper. However, I set off to judge her from another angle due to her obvious change. I no longer view her as a dishonorable person. Furthermore, I expect to see her performance after she changes herself and hope that she will not repeat the same mistake.

4. Would you change your view if she were your best friend or family?
　
　　I am not quite sure. Perhaps, I will persuade her to do or not to do something and give a hand to her timely if she were my best friend or family.

Weekly Task 2

Weekly Task 2

　　"I ask you to eat health food and some supplements, but you don’t seem to bear my words in your mind!” My mother always stresses the importance of health, and reminds me to eat some particular things every day. In the beginning, I almost refuse or ignore what she said about eating something. At that time, I dislike being asked to do what I don’t have interests in. Therefore, I sometimes have a quarrel with my mother on this issue.

　　As I grow up, I try to calm down when hearing “I am doing this for YOU!” or “I meant well. You will understand when you grow up”. Then, I will rethink and voice my opinions or express my inner feelings with my parents in a proper way after hearing those words.

　　Now, I know what my parents say is out of their love and care. Nevertheless, due to the different generation gap, my parents and I often think in different angles. That’s why we have some quarrels at times. In my opinion, if parents and their offspring can discuss about controversial domestic issues in a peaceful way, they will listen to each other’s thoughts and finally come to a compromise.

Weekly Task 1

Weekly Task 1
　　
　　Yes, I have said, “I have my principles and a positive attitude toward my life”. I consider myself a self-disciplined person. In my opinion, people who do not have any value or principle will lead an aimless life. Therefore, I think one should find out some personal values as well as principles, and keep sticking to it.

　　I will think one who laughs at me for never skipping classes is ludicrous. From my point of view, students have an obligation to show up for every class. One reason is that this is a basic respect for teachers. The other reason is that this is a chance to learn being responsible.

　　The importance of critical thinking is stressed greatly nowadays. When I get information from people or mass media, I do not totally believe it. I sometimes do double check to make sure what I heard or saw is true when I have time. If my friend tells me that working as a part-time waiter in a fancy restaurant will get lots of money, I will seek others’ advice, take it for reference and finally make a decision.