This E-portfolio is intended to be viewed by close friends and family, and of course my English 34 professor. Because the audience is mostly non-academic, I do not have to be as concerned with impressing my audience through highfalutin diction and complex syntax. My tone will be proud of my personal accomplishments and encourage a friendly invitation to viewers to learn more about them. I think that I will be immediately sharing this E-portfolio to friends and long-distance relatives who have never had a chance to witness my athletic abilities. It is in this sense that the portfolio will mainly be appreciated by my peers because they are being exposed to something new, not me. However, in the future, I may view my portfolio as a means of self-reflection; an old timer’s glance into the past when he/she was young and fit. For this reason, I want to be sure that the medium and manner in which I choose to express my talents is not contemporary and emotional, but rather timeless and neutral. This way I can view my accomplishments more objectively in the future (without having to sift through contemporary terms and unusual connotations).
“This E-Portfolio is designed specifically for the purpose of showcasing Andreas Santucci’s athletic and academic achievements. A little background about myself before I become a diver: I was training to become a gymnast while simultaneously studying; this put a lot of pressure on me to efficiently manage my time, which also meant maturing and learning responsibilities. From second to ninth grade, I trained every weekday for several hours, leaving just enough time in the evenings for homework and dinner. Along my journey to becoming an Olympic Gymnast I unfortunately sustained an injury during freshman year of high school to my right foot; a result of repeated impacts and long term stress. My dreams of becoming an Olympian were seemingly extinguished. Fortunately, I discovered a new sport, similar to gymnastics in the sense that it involved breath-taking acrobatic maneuvers, in which I could excel and satisfy my drive for success: diving. Other than a few weeks of being trained by my gymnastics coach, I hadn’t been exposed to the techniques of this new sport. However, I picked it up very quickly and it soon became clear that I was excelling in yet another field. I became a part of the Los Altos High School Varsity boy’s diving team in my freshman year, and remained a part of it throughout the duration of High School. I have thoroughly enjoyed every dive!"
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Monday, June 2, 2008
Infomercial for the Honors Program
I think that my Infomercial would have similar characteristics to that of the SJSU (MTV approach), the Columbia College (Documentary Approach), as well as the JMU (Myth-buster approach). Individually, I thought each of the video’s were a little bit bland but if you combined all of the idea’s together into one it would make for a mildly entertaining video. The myth-buster’s approach is crucial because I think that a lot of students have preconceived notions about what is required of an Honors student. Informing the general Foothill population about what goes on in Honors classes, the amount of work involved, the benefits of such a program (on campus and in the future), etc would help clear up a lot of confusion. We could debunk these myths either by showing the audience documentation that supports this view (such as the quite short list of required honors classes that must be completed by the time you graduate) or interviews, which leads me to my next point. By incorporating the documentary approach, we could ask individual Honors students what their concerns were when they joined the Honors program, and also ask if those concerns ever materialized. We could also ask a series of various other questions that may be frequently recurring in potential honors students minds. This would give first hand experience of what it’s like to be in the Honors program. Professors would also be a good source, especially professors who teach honors classes in conjunction with normal classes. These professors could give valuable insight as to how they treat their various classes differently. Another good interview source would be the Foothill counselors, who might be able to testify that the Honors program ensures success. While we are doing these interviews and busting myths about the program, it would be nice to add in short clips of various songs to give the infomercial an upbeat feel. This would help break up the monotony and make it more interesting to watch and listen to.
Pre-Planning the ePortfolio
The ePortfolio that I will be creating for this class will be my first, and as such I am making it generalized (but I guess it will be catered towards athletic and academic achievements). My portfolio will be catered towards friends and peers who want to get to know a little bit more about me and what I have accomplished. This ePortfolio could also be a premature version of a portfolio that is designed for college admissions programs or private diving clubs who may require an admissions process. I will be presenting my portfolio via a website, which seems to be almost universally accessible. This will be the easiest I think because I will be able to design a simple layout that can accommodate the various aspects of my portfolio. My idea is to have a home page that describes a little bit about my background and maybe a few pictures so that the audience can put a face to it all. The webpage would contain tabs at the top, which would direct the audience to pages specific to certain subjects (one might link to a sports page, one would link to an academic page). These new pages would then be broken down further (sports: gymnastics and diving. Academic: Foothill, High School, etc). This would provide a simple and easy to navigate page for the audience.
The evidence I will be using will depend on which subject I am discussing. For athletics, such as diving, I am planning on compiling a quick video (note-also my video enhancement) showing a few of my dives from a one meter springboard. I could then post this video on you tube and link it to my website. This would be a good artifact, because video is one of the most compelling ways to convince an audience of your abilities. For school, I will definitely be incorporating transcripts themselves, to show my grades, as well as some of my most prized scholarly works (such as essays and projects). This would allow my audience to evaluate my work for themselves by reading it first hand, as well as seeing what my teachers thought about my work via transcripts.
Potential evaluators will obviously be Professor Lankford, possibly a college or diving team if I am trying to gain acceptance to a club. Other evaluators might be my peers, my family, and certain employers). I will evaluate my work by posting updates of evidence such that I can track my progress over time. For example, by comparing diving videos from two different seasons, I can visually see and interpret how much progress I have made in the past year. With academic records, I can compare GPA’s and the quality of work contained in essays etc.
For the timeline: I think I can put together a video and gather transcripts during week 9. I can then begin to design a website during week 10. Week eleven I will be compiling my evidence together onto the webpage as well as making finishing aesthetic touches.
The evidence I will be using will depend on which subject I am discussing. For athletics, such as diving, I am planning on compiling a quick video (note-also my video enhancement) showing a few of my dives from a one meter springboard. I could then post this video on you tube and link it to my website. This would be a good artifact, because video is one of the most compelling ways to convince an audience of your abilities. For school, I will definitely be incorporating transcripts themselves, to show my grades, as well as some of my most prized scholarly works (such as essays and projects). This would allow my audience to evaluate my work for themselves by reading it first hand, as well as seeing what my teachers thought about my work via transcripts.
Potential evaluators will obviously be Professor Lankford, possibly a college or diving team if I am trying to gain acceptance to a club. Other evaluators might be my peers, my family, and certain employers). I will evaluate my work by posting updates of evidence such that I can track my progress over time. For example, by comparing diving videos from two different seasons, I can visually see and interpret how much progress I have made in the past year. With academic records, I can compare GPA’s and the quality of work contained in essays etc.
For the timeline: I think I can put together a video and gather transcripts during week 9. I can then begin to design a website during week 10. Week eleven I will be compiling my evidence together onto the webpage as well as making finishing aesthetic touches.
Wednesday, May 28, 2008
Foothill Honors Program strengths and weaknesses
I think that there are several strengths and several weaknesses to the Foothill Honors program. I will start with the strengths: the Honors program is widely recognized and offers many excellent opportunities to students who are members. This can come in the form of a more certain college application process, professors who are more dedicated to the subject material, and other educational opportunities that may entail attending meetings and meeting new people. Also, the honors students are very dedicated to their coursework, and as such taking honors classes is much more intriguing because of the increased level of participation. Now for the downsides: I don’t think that the institution is very well organized. I always see last minute emails and frantic hurrying around for college applications to be reformatted and submitted. I know that this is not always Foothill’s fault, but it seems ridiculous to me when an email gets sent out at 11 am telling honors students last minute that an UCLA representative will be dropping by from 11 30 am until 12 30 pm, and that this is the only chance for them to ask questions. Another issue with the honors program: unclear guidelines. The honors program was laid out to me briefly for 5 minutes before I was accepted, and since my admission I haven’t learned much more about what I need to do to graduate. I hear that the requirements to graduate the program, as well as the requirements for transfer applicants to UC’s, has changed within the past year, and I would like to be informed and stay up to date on this kind of information since it will be pertinent to me this coming fall! I wish there was a website with up-to-date information pertaining to a variety of subjects that Honors students may be interested in (if there is a website, I’ve never heard of it!)
Steve Jobs Graduation Speech
I thought that Steve Jobs’s speech was definitely an interesting read. I think that his first part about connecting the dots directly applies to most every ambitious student. Personally, I do not always know where I am headed or why I am going there, but sometimes I just follow my gut intuition because that’s what feels good and right. I think that it’s very hard for adolescents to stray off the “beaten path” and to instead pave their own. Being individualistic and pursuing your own interests is definitely something that is easier said than done. Due to our ever changing society, there is no set “plug-and-chug” formula for financial and personal success, and this I believe is something that bothers a lot of younger students. They may feel lost because they haven’t discovered their purpose yet. Steve Jobs hits it right on the head of the nail when he says, “you can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards. So you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. You have to trust in something.” Steve Jobs admits that he dropped in on courses that he legitimately thought would have no practical impact on his life, and yet years later these courses allowed him to make a major technological innovation that has had a significant affect on computers. With this in mind, I think it’s important to be outgoing; do not limit yourself to what you are comfortable with!
Wednesday, May 21, 2008
non-procrastination weaknesses
I think that some of my other weaknesses would largely be related to stress. I get really stressed out when working on any kind of project because I always take everything so seriously. I always have to apply myself until I am spread too thin. There are rarely projects that I can simply “half-ass” in order to complete them up to satisfaction of the teacher. Rather, most projects I end up spending most of my time perfecting the product until I finally feel comfortable presenting it. Although this could be a potentially good trait, I think that it’s limiting in the sense that I could be accomplishing other tasks instead of perfecting the one that I’ve been working on already.
Another learning related issue would have to be my organization. I am fairly organized throughout the quarter, but when grades come out I have been known to dump my school work in the corner of a closet. For the past few years I have regretted this, and I think that a possible solution would be to upload some of my most favorite scholarly projects onto an eportfollio so that they can be saved timelessly, without damage to the original copy (ripped / missing pages etc). I think that this would be a great way to reflect on my past achievements.
Another learning related issue would have to be my organization. I am fairly organized throughout the quarter, but when grades come out I have been known to dump my school work in the corner of a closet. For the past few years I have regretted this, and I think that a possible solution would be to upload some of my most favorite scholarly projects onto an eportfollio so that they can be saved timelessly, without damage to the original copy (ripped / missing pages etc). I think that this would be a great way to reflect on my past achievements.
paul graham procrastination
http://paulgraham.com/procrastination.html
I really liked this article because it introduced the idea that a procrastinator could actually accomplish something more important when trying to put off tasks. The example of the absent minded professor clarified this concept. I had never before thought I would come across an efficient procrastinator. Arguably, these individuals are putting off trivial tasks that cannot be ultimately avoided; when they can be objectively completed they will take more time than they might have taken if they were completed earlier. However, this is the opportunity cost of pursuing much grander tasks that are also arguably more important. Because, as the author cites, large tasks often involve a time block as well as the right mood, these tasks have finite time frames in which they can be completed. With this in mind, I think that it’s much more important to accomplish the large tasks when the body is feeling capable, and to save the trivial stuff for later when you feel like procrastinating by doing something less important. Also, I’ve never thought about the concept that when you interrupt somebody from a large task, they lose not just the time spent running the errand, but also the time they could have spent working on their project (so the effects are seen 2x).
After reading the article I think I would organize type A, B, and C procrastinator’s differently. Type C procrastinators, those who do things that are more important, are the most efficient. Meanwhile, type A is the second best, because at least those people are relaxing instead of working on trivial tasks. Group B is the worst, because those people waste their time doing tasks that are unimportant, and they could either be relaxing or accomplishing something worth their while!
I really liked this article because it introduced the idea that a procrastinator could actually accomplish something more important when trying to put off tasks. The example of the absent minded professor clarified this concept. I had never before thought I would come across an efficient procrastinator. Arguably, these individuals are putting off trivial tasks that cannot be ultimately avoided; when they can be objectively completed they will take more time than they might have taken if they were completed earlier. However, this is the opportunity cost of pursuing much grander tasks that are also arguably more important. Because, as the author cites, large tasks often involve a time block as well as the right mood, these tasks have finite time frames in which they can be completed. With this in mind, I think that it’s much more important to accomplish the large tasks when the body is feeling capable, and to save the trivial stuff for later when you feel like procrastinating by doing something less important. Also, I’ve never thought about the concept that when you interrupt somebody from a large task, they lose not just the time spent running the errand, but also the time they could have spent working on their project (so the effects are seen 2x).
After reading the article I think I would organize type A, B, and C procrastinator’s differently. Type C procrastinators, those who do things that are more important, are the most efficient. Meanwhile, type A is the second best, because at least those people are relaxing instead of working on trivial tasks. Group B is the worst, because those people waste their time doing tasks that are unimportant, and they could either be relaxing or accomplishing something worth their while!
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