ENGL 2003: Introduction to Poetry

This week, I went to a History of Immigration, Ethnicity & Nativism course blog. I searched the course list for a blog I thought I find interesting and this particular history course caught my eye. The experience itself was fun because I got a decent slether of iformation from this post. The topic automatically caught my attention and before I knew it I was typing a paragraph expressing how I felt though I hadn’t even seen the film shown in this class. Though, no one has replied to my post particularly, I did like the assignment.

I like the open lab way better than blackboard mainly because if I want to, I can just jump into a class dicussion. It seem like Blackboard neglects to remember that knowledge doesn’t end with the 20-30 students in a course. In order to truly learn, questions have to asked, points must be proven, theories have to battled and I feel like Blackboard doesn’t let us do that. Everyone is so consumed with their own work and their warden like teaching system that we don’t even know our classmates. We don’t even look at what their posting. It’s no longer a discussion board but a pile of electronic homework sheets. I love how I can get a glimpse of courses before I jump into them by registering. Just off this assignment, I do plan to get into the History of Immigration, Ethnicity & Nativism course in a future semester.

Overall, at first I was leery in doing this assignment but I liked it.

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/his3208s6757f11/2012/03/28/eat-a-bowl-of-tea-assignment/

^^^^ Here’s the link ^^^^

For this week’s assignment, I participated in a discussion in an art history course. I read a post about the life of monks during the medieval times. I was interested in this course because I am also taking an art history class during this semester. Two of my classmates participated in this discussion and asked questions; I participated by answering their questions and stating why this discussion held my interest. The teacher of the course eventually responded to our post and welcomed our discussion. I was initially hesitant of this assignment because some courses require knowledge of the topics in order to participate. I was also unsure as to if the professor would be welcoming towards us. This experience was interesting and a step away from my other partially online classes. It is definitely worth a try with several other classes on open lab.

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/arth11036410s12/2012/03/24/medieval-monastery-life-h/#comments

Open Lab is more of a personal social website that provides, or has greater potential to give students more educational support. Personally this can and will help out students if the proper material that can be posted for students at City Tech; interesting educational material or issues that might be able to clear out doubts on a subject or give inspiration to students, and further expand their education. Those who remain persistent in their education carrier will appreciate this support, many students at City Tech have a very hectic schedule that does not leave them much time during the day to focus on their class material; Open Lab is 24hrs and as the name says its “OPEN”. Students can and would be able to attain the further information, insight, instructions or how to; instead of the “why? or what?” that some come across throughout each semester. This kind of material should be posted by professors or students that feel they have come across a better or more of a simple solution to the subject being discussed.

Just an idea, things might get interesting if students from similar classes or subjects can compete with each other through out each term. Maybe the poetry courses compete to create a poem of one common theme, or each student has the opportunity make a poem with the help and guidance of the professor and maybe perform it in a poetry class competition. Also maybe the best student work can be posted online, and put to a vote or maybe rated for its quality by others, making it more interactive for students. This same kind of concept that maybe other online classes can follow. Competition with in City Tech would bring out the best in students, and build confidence among them.

This was a great experience because I learned something new and I’m also taking Bio II this semester. It was about a plant called Gaint Hogweed. It has a toxic compound that can cause severe skin and eye irritation, blistering, and blindness. The organic chemical toxic compound it releases is used as a defense mechanism against various predators. It can also be found in Central Park and other parts of New York.

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/bio1201-montes/2012/02/28/a-very-dangerous-flowering-plant/

For this assignment, I’ve traveled to another poetry class and commented on a member’s posting. I learned that not many of the other classes are as interactive on Openlab as we are but there was a poem that stuck out to me on this poetry class site. The poem that i commented on was called “Mother-to-son” and i really related to it and i expressed on the post how much i related to the poem. No one replied to my post as of yet but I realized that one of our class members commented after me. This just helps me realize how people much other members interact on Openlab. I enjoyed this assignment because I liked exploring other classes and I see how attached I am to poetry now because I ended up commented on another poetry class. I interpreting the poem as being based on a mother encouraging a son to keep pushing towards his goals and never give up I life. I related to this poem because the mother reminded me of my friends and family who pushes me in the same way. There were two comments before mine and they seemed to have a similar outlook on the poem as I did. This experience was very interesting and I am still waiting on any replies to my post.

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/groups/eng-2003-introduction-to-poetry/forum/topic/mother-to-son/

This week’s assignment was very different. I like that we are allowed to express our thoughts and ideas regarding the course and other courses. It’s not all just memorize and repeat in different words, so I find that welcoming. I posted a comment in the course, Survey of Art, regarding Medieval Monastery. What I found mind numbing was the way the blog poster referred to the actions of the Monks. They expressed their actions quite exaggerated and I found that provoking, but deceiving at the same time. I’ve always seen human recorded history as quite exaggerated. We live through it quite simply, but record it quite dramatically. I question if it’s the boredom of reading such simple writing that makes history more appealing if it’s approached in a more entertaining form.

The experience of going to another course’s blog and posting a comment I find is a great way to unify individuals. People sometimes get so occupied with their own thoughts and ideas that they forget to appreciate the thoughts of others. Commenting on other people’s thoughts is a great way to make others see their perspective and even change the way they see life. To those who seek deeper revelations, they will will be found in places you never looked, like the thoughts of others.

https://openlab.citytech.cuny.edu/arth11036410s12/2012/03/24/medieval-monastery-life-h/