Categories
Portfolio & Reflection Weekly Assignments

Final reflection

The Final Reflection

Firstly having started late wasnā€™t really a bonus, I was quite worried that I might not be able to catch up or do the work properly which is why my first main assignment ā€œunit 1 – educationā€ kind of stressed me out A little bit because it required for me to reflect on past memories ,events and my views on education and as I mentioned in the essay ā€œMy education experience was all over the placeā€, I moved around a lot and had different experiences and I had to pin it all down to one particular event that made me change my mind about school and link it to now , how it help me become the person I am today , at the beginning I was struggling a little bit as I was mostly just explaining my process rather than to focus on one main event that impacted my education view but after making the first draft and getting peer reviews and feedback from the teacher this help me focus back on the essay purpose and do well.

The first few assignments in my English class really tested my reading and writing skills as Iā€™m normally a very quick reader more like skimming through but in English it requires you to actually read fully to be able understand it properly , annotate and write an essay about it which is also good as a help me to read better between the lines and with structuring and formingĀ  my own writing. Essays like ā€œread as a writerā€ and ā€œshitty draftā€ really helped me in this class as I used to just straight write the final product instead of making a rough draft and brainstorming ideasĀ  overthinking the meant to be rough draft which now I find it way more helpful to have a summarized paragraph and then develop them into the final essays. This also will help me with my other subjects in college and all the upcoming assignments I have is mostly all about writing and reading.

For this final reflection I had to revise all my previous assignment and reflect on everything I did for the first main assignment ā€œUnit 1ā€ I wasnā€™t really attentive to the process but rather more into the topic and writing a good essay and I believe that if I had focused more on one specific event and structured more it wouldā€™ve made it better but in unit 2 I was more attentive as it required more research , I also got to choose my own topic,Ā  I actually liked this assignment as I did enjoy doing research and it was something similar to what I was doing in my marketing class, an annotated bibliography itā€™s something I would definitely re-do. Unit 2 also helped with apa citation which I lost points for before in my fashion class but this time I knew how to do it.

However the unitĀ  that I liked the most was ā€œunit 3ā€ most of the work was already done in unit 2 as it is the same topic and kind of just passing down information putting it to plan while explaining the process , this required to make an artist statement about the process itself which actually helped me make the final product as I could so itā€™s kind of like the brainstorming ,I loved making the brochure as it involves graphic designing and less written work.

My favorite assignment was definitely the Unit 3 as as I mentioned before ā€œMy happiest hour of this whole project was definitely doing the booklet/brochure cover and editing itā€ this was about making a creative way to basically communicate the information of your genre ,and I really liked it because I feel like it was the easiest process and I got to make a brochure as when you think of English class itā€™s more of essay after essay and reading based on my experience in London but I guess this is college so itā€™s different and it includes of helping with different skills as much as showing you new ones .

In conclusion for overall each assignment, discussion and essay Iā€™ve read has contributed one way or another to this class and other classes Iā€™ve had Ā in a good way as it either has given me some type knowledge on a topic , better my skills specially in writing and reading and given me more practice it also even helped me better my skills on hobbies outside of college like graphic designing and taught my self more about online retailing in the process of making the annotated Ā bibliography .

 

Categories
Portfolio & Reflection

Portfolio and Final Reflection

Unit 1 Education narrative

I decided that I wouldnā€™t change anything. I had done the revision before and established then that there wasnā€™t anything that I figured needed to be added/removed. I feel like I adequately expressed myself and my views as I needed to. It also took the kind of tone that I wanted to see in it as I would reminisce about my time throughout school. Thinking about it was kind of bittersweet. Also, the time I did revise something for the final draft, I did really only change a single word which I thought was a bit funny if you ask me.

Is mediocrity a bad thing? Is accepting mediocrity a bad thing? Throughout our lives we are always trying to do our best to get something that we want. I feel like this was especially true for many when it came to their time in school. To me I feel that generally you do not need to go out of your way though, especially with school (unless of course you have some really big career plans down the line). I believe it is acceptable because I have been in the same position before, and to me, keeping in the middle ground is not such a bad thing. Above all that, I also learned that there are some things you canā€™t change no matter how hard you try.

I have been on both sides of the equation and it has let me understand what both sides offer you at the very least. From as early as 1st grade up until 8th grade I had held the top position of the class for the sake of making my parents and myself proud. I was always on top of my assignments and while my friends goofed around in class I was attentive and ignorant of the kind of distractions that would either get me in trouble or hinder my progress. Years in and by around 6th grade I had noticed that I wasnā€™t even trying to do well yet I was still just a model student. I began to notice how much freedom I truly had to do what I wanted. Things got a little complicated going forward especially in 8th grade, but thatā€™s another point to be made. After a while of me easing up it began to be a normal thing and I subconsciously dropped myself down in standing as it is still to be expected. It included my lowest point academically and my climb back to an acceptable level with me emerging as I am today. In it all I have learned a few things. From my years of trying my best, I would only impress the teachers, other students on an academic level, and my parents. To anyone that exists out of that spectrum they see me as just me, unless of course the me they see is some sort of doctor, engineer, rocket scientist, etc. I never had those intentions with a career anyway so it was pointless to go beyond what Iā€™m capable of at a comfortable level.

My biggest take away in all my academic years so far has been how much not trying as hard made part of my life that much better. I was aware of positions like honor roll and Valedictorian/Salutatorian, but those things kind of fell away from me. Instead of working my way (at least I still got honor roll) towards the higher positions, Instead I used my time to hang out with friends and generally mess around. I have so many fond memories in high school from playing sports with my friends, walking around Manhattan, playing video games with them, and generally just living in the moment. My father always used to say to live the present too and though it is a one track mindset I can agree. For what it is that I want to be (a programmer to make video games) studying and focusing on work primarily would have meant I didnā€™t have the kinds of experiences that I had in the past few years. Trying to do your best kind of makes you miss out on some of the simpler things at the moment. Of course for some people they canā€™t afford to do that and itā€™s understandable, but for those who can, I see no reason why if you can help it.

The thing is, it isn’t an innate lack of motivation to try that alone led me the path that I have traveled to reach this point. A lot of it was circumstantial and has led me to my third point. You just canā€™t change some things. My lowest points came in the period of 8th to 9th grade. For that I have to blame my home situation. It pretty much became such a toxic environment for me and I couldnā€™t simply focus on school, I had given myself an escape in video games at first mostly as 8th grade didnā€™t give me many other options than go to school then go home since it was a few blocks away. It wasnā€™t until 9th grade that I could just roam Manhattan with a friend of mine if I didnā€™t just cut school to stay in my room and play games feigning sickness. By 10th I moved out to my eldest sister in Long Island where I could start anew. I actually tried again contrary to what I have been saying, sitting with a 3.5 gpa. I even got a part time job and still I had time for things like video games. It was great until due to unfortunate circumstances I found myself back in the apartment that I had moved from initially to escape and it was somehow worse. I had to transfer back to my old high school and all, but something had happened that just shattered my state of being. My hard work was all washed away to just show transfer credits, in fact I got to take back my old GPA with attendance and all from 9th grade (the beauty that is the New York City DOE). It was a huge blow, but at that point I became numb to it because I realized then that it didnā€™t matter because I could do nothing about it. From there on I simply went with the motions of normality where in my last 2 and a half years (I transferred halfway into 10th grade) it ended up being some of the best years I have consciously had. Sometimes life is just unfair and you canā€™t do anything about it. The best you can do is tough it out and make the most of things. In my case, the friends and the time that I had on hand was what I made the most of and I donā€™t regret the attention I gave towards them rather than my academic life.

Accepting mediocrity rather than going out of your way for being exceptional is acceptable. Having experienced all spectrums of what you could be academically I have realized that mediocre stands to be my favored point and even the most desirable if life has it out for you. Because nothing stings more than to lose what you worked so hard for to something you had no control over. So what is it to take away from this? If you want to be known by many and achieve your biggest of dreams then ignore this. This wouldnā€™t apply to you rather than just give you the satisfaction of having read this. For everyone else, you canā€™t win everything. If you know what you want and you are prepared and able to do what you need to do, then just do that. Nothing more and nothing less.

Unit 2 Annotated bibliography

For this one I will be changing one somewhat small thing. However, Iā€™d like to say that this time itā€™s due to time constraints and thatā€™s me being brutally honest. Getting the research and putting it together in a manner that doesnā€™t just feel slapped together was already a task in itself given the time that I had to finish it. With this being said, Iā€™m changing up my question to include that of space exploration. It was something that I realized and wasnā€™t sure I wanted to adjust when I got into the research. Space exploration is a big precursor to space colonization by quite a huge margin. It is also the case since I happen to mention space exploration a lot more.

Question: ā€œis it responsible for the US to pour a significant amount of money into space exploration/colonization?ā€

Introduction:

As we move forward, we advance in technology and as a civilization. This progression involves us in trying to achieve even greater feats than what we have already accomplished as a society. One of the things heavily considered to be an amazing feat of humanity is achieving space travel. It was and still is considered to be humanityā€™s next step in advancing. There are scientists who work really hard to help bring humanity to new heights by bringing us closer to understanding outer space and finding ways to reach even further out from our planet. An idea that has intrigued me and one that Iā€™m confident is an objective for many of those scientists whom I referred to is the idea of space colonization. It seems like such a Sci-Fi like concept, but it is something that would bring humanity to a much more advanced point then it is now and it would solve our problems regarding the planetā€™s ability to sustain 7 billion of us. I wonder why it is that we havenā€™t heard nearly as much about getting closer to that goal besides maybe the recent rover landing on Mars. It then makes me wonder how much effort is actually given to the purpose of furthering our advancement into space. Now we already know that the U.S has its own space program NASA that is responsible for the countryā€™s space expenditures. Like all of the United Statesā€™ assets, everything has a budget and I wonder how much of government spending goes towards NASA. Now Iā€™m not saying that I think that the U.S isnā€™t pouring as much money as they should be into NASA, but rather what if they would pour more money into NASA for the purpose of furthering space exploration and in turn reaching the point of space colonization. That is my question, ā€œwould it be responsible for the U.S to pour a significant amount of money into space exploration/colonization?ā€ While searching for a reasonable answer to this I expect to find things such as the U.Sā€™ budgeting and how much goes towards NASA, and how far we currently are in the ways of space exploration. Iā€™m quite curious how far we truly have gotten to spreading humanity past just this planet.

Source 1: Richard S. Conley and Wendy Whitman Cobb (September 2010) ā€œThe Perils of Presidential Leadership on Space Policy: The Politics of Congressional Budgeting for NASA, 1958-2008ā€

https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=1642810

In this research paper, they explore what it is that limits NASAā€™s budgeting and their space policies. Multiple factors go into the budget for NASA such as the presidentā€™s position on space programs, members of congress and their positions, and NASAā€™s own history of endeavors. Though there was a lot of support for NASA during the APOLLO era, since then it has essentially become a side objective compared to pretty much every political standpoint. While the coming presidentā€™s continue to put objectives of space exploration to the side, it lessens the attention that the people give to it as well while letting those in congress want to cut the government budget at points to target NASA. Other reasons include the nature of NASA as an agency being almost stand alone with no major group of interest behind them. Because of these kinds of circumstances, NASA has been cut billions out of their annual financial requests.

In all honesty, I pretty much expected the case to be a lot like this. At least, I had pictured that part of the reason why they probably donā€™t get as much of a budget for various endeavors of space exploration. However, I wouldnā€™t think that they would have billions cut out of what they would normally receive. This paper opened my eyes a bit to the larger issue at hand. I figured that more domestic issues might find themselves center and drawing funds, but the capacity by which it affects the presidentā€™s actions, that of congressā€™, and the peopleā€™s view is interesting to say the least. When you really consider it, it does make perfect sense that this is the way that things are.

This paper was written in conjunction by an Associate Professor and PHD candidate from the University of Florida. According to a caption also present at the start, this was prepared for the American Political Science Association Conference in Washington D.C. For that reason their presentation was very formal. This conference is meant to support scholars by presenting an environment by which they can present their work. For this case a paper breaking down the issue of presidential influence on space policy with each main case and point sectioned off accomplishes their objective quite directly. These 2 handled the paper in a very informative and explicit manner even in small things such as citing every quote verbatim that comes up during their analysis.

Source 2: Stephen Petranek (March 2015) ā€œYour kids might live on Mars. Hereā€™s how theyā€™ll survive.ā€ https://www.ted.com/talks/stephen_petranek_your_kids_might_live_on_mars_here_s_how_they_ll_survive?language=en

In this presentation, Journalist Stephen Petranek explains how life on Mars would be possible and how soon we may actually be able to accomplish living there. Thanks to various tools and theories created by the likes of NASA and many other individuals, we solve some of the issues that we thought may be impossible for us to overcome on a planet such as Mars. These issues include our basic necessities required for Living. As it turns out our needs for food, water, clothing, shelter, and air are all covered to some large extent by those tools and theories that I mentioned. There is a CO2 to O2 converter created by a scientist at MIT, a dehumidifier tool to turn the extremely yet surprisingly humid atmosphere of Mars into drinkable water, a space suit created by another MIT scientist to block radiation and keep you warm enough for Mars like temperatures, shelter in the form of pressurized buildings and landers (I assume they mean the space shuttles to carry people there initially) or underground settlements, and dried food plus whatever crops to be planted during the process of terraforming/making Mars more like Earth. On that note terraforming according to what is mentioned is possible with all the ice that was actually found underneath the surface. The biggest issue in it all is the means by which we would get to Mars as that has been the biggest issue thus far. However, with the likes of Elon Musk with his company SpaceX we may be seeing a breakthrough (Elon Musk says people will be on Mars by 2025 according to Petranek).

I was so pleasantly surprised to see that this much was done in the way of preparing for colonization on Mars, especially since that is our target for creating sustainable life on another planet. This particular presentation was one I decided to use as a source for the added proof that there is viability to colonizing another planet and as it would show, it is more than likely possible. It seems that the big thing to worry about now is how an individual would be able to make it to Mars. That is why there is still time and money to be invested into the likes of NASA and SpaceX.

Stephen Petranek is a lead editor of the Breakthrough Technology Alert, a newsletter that introduces scientific breakthroughs and investment opportunities in them. He has also had a book ā€œHow Weā€™ll Live on Marsā€ published through TED books the same year as well as having given another TED Talk presentation 12 years before. He is obviously experienced enough on the matter to speak on it and it shows in the presentation. He does well to prove his point that it is more than possible for humans to be on Mars by covering each point of viability with extreme detail. He even says that he has spoken with Elon Musk for the purpose of showing how ambitious he is and how confident our progress will be. It is executed in such a light yet informative matter that would keep both the average viewer and endowed scientist/researcher entertained.

Source 3: Michael D. Griffin ā€œSpace Exploration: Real Reasons and Acceptable Reasonsā€

https://www.nasa.gov/pdf/168084main_griffin_quasar_award.pdf

This was a speech given by Micheal D. Griffin, an administrator at NASA after receiving the Quasar award. He speaks on the urgent matter of why the people still support NASA and endeavors in space. These reasons as he explains them are either ā€œacceptable reasonsā€ or ā€œreal reasonsā€. As far as the acceptable reasons go, there is what he quotes from President George W. Bush, ā€œThe President, quite correctly said that we do it for purposes of scientific discovery, economic benefit, and national security.ā€ He also brings up what was said by Presidential Science Advisor Jack Marburger which is that space exploration comes down to ā€œā€¦whether or not we want to bring the solar system within mankindā€™s sphere of economic influenceā€. These ā€œacceptable reasonsā€ are the more logical ones to bring up when considering the reasons for space exploration. The ā€œreal reasonsā€ are those by which we would want to see advancements in space exploration. Reasons such as seeing an actual person rather than a drone sent out to experience something out there in space as a representative for all of humankind. These kinds of reasons can be described as those of competitiveness, curiosity, and monument building. There is also the point that in addressing the real reasons, we actually satisfy the acceptable reasons in the process. One great example being those that built the cathedrals hundreds of years ago. They did it for accomplishment yet it made way for things of engineering and societal benefits. NASA according to Griffin would accomplish more than just advancing technologies of space exploration and satisfying human curiosity/accomplishment.

In all of the research so far finding reasons for why space exploration is necessary was key to bring it all together. After searching and finding this I have to say, it is far less than I would imagine. While there is a list of reasons you can make the case of needing to expand our progress of space exploration, they would be somewhat redundant and avoid the reason like Griffin explains, because it would satisfy our curiosities and senses of accomplishment. It makes sense though. It is what I was thinking before I started this research. I resonated a lot with what Griffin was saying in this speech. I feel like we all support NASA without knowing much of what theyā€™re even doing and who knows how much that will actually hold up. This is especially when you consider it includes those that have to make the decisions on how much is focused on NASA as far as funding goes. Overall, this was quite the satisfying piece to come across in my research.

As far as credentials go, it speaks for itself that he is both an administrator at NASA and receiving an award. This speech, then is done for the purpose of uplifting those gathered for this occasion. While everyone is gathered like that he takes it as an opportunity to address NASAā€™s purpose to the people and why they support it. The points that he makes about the reasons they continue to work towards advancing technologies for the purpose of space exploration are interesting in content. It is especially interesting and effective how he uses pathos as both an appeal to his audience in the moment as well as the major point of his speech.

Conclusion:

This research has been quite the experience. It was difficult finding exactly what I thought I needed to fully explore my question and I am satisfied with the results of it. Through it I have gotten an idea of what kind of process goes when the U.S government wants to budget their agencies and the scenario that NASA finds itself in. From the second source I learned how viable colonization is at this point to prove whether or not it is still reasonable to point a substantial amount of effort towards pushing space exploration technology. Surprisingly, we are a lot closer to the point where it could actually happen then I thought that we would be. And from the last source I was searching for concrete reasoning as to why it was necessary to back these efforts. While it isnā€™t some heavy research piece on those reasons, I find it to be just as effective in doing so. It touches base with logical reasons as to why, but finds the true reason for it to be on a more emotional level. I think thatā€™s perfect though because when you trace the logic behind supporting efforts such as NASA back to the core, it has to do with what satisfies the people of this country. They influence the political climate and therefore would affect how much the government puts towards an agency like NASA. With all this being said, who should be the ones that receive this information? To that I believe that it should be your average person. It could have been something that I directed in a more statistical and informative way, but it would change my intention and audience. My question is one that I formulated with the intention of satisfying the curiosity of the matter. To that extent I feel that your average person going about their life could scroll through their social media and come across this showing mutual interest. After all, if this were to go beyond just being something people see and forget about immediately, it could be something that influences (like I mentioned) the political climate as something the people want. I think overall that what I found was more than sufficient to answer my question.

Unit 3 Writing in a new genre

First off, If something were to change for this unitā€™s piece it would have to be me actually making the commentary video. Iā€™ve come really far into the semester and it feels unfortunate to trip up here at the end, but the framework is what Iā€™ll put out to show that I have still given thought to the process. In the video, I was considering what I would have in the background while I speak. In the videos I watch, I normally see a video game being played. That is mostly because of the people that I watch specifically, but it could be random clips and gifs on top of I guess a game that could be universally appealing. Something that you would just look at mindlessly while you actually pay attention to the argument, so not a flashy kind of game. Of course I would keep the tone a lot more light as to keep it casual. When writing out a script or some sort of general guideline for myself, I would probably try to leave parts in where I could go on a mini rant based off of something that I brought up that wasnā€™t immediately present in the research I did. Lastly, I was thinking it would go exactly in order with my sources because I figured explaining the logistics of budgeting for a space program like NASA, the viability of actually colonizing Mars, and why we would actually want to do it, all in that order. It seems like it would flow well for a continuous rant from the way I see.

Before I began:

I tend to watch a lot of commentary videos on youtube and I like to be pretty open minded. I remember hearing someone talk about how interesting it would be if we actually managed to colonize Mars. These kinds of videos are always nice to listen to because itā€™s almost relaxing. I would imagine itā€™s like the lesser version of a podcast where the rant is isolated to just one topic rather than the speaker going on tangents. I honestly do that instead of podcasts for the sake of time, but I digress. I always had a fascination for space though, and listening to the video I wondered why we havenā€™t already gotten further in the ways of space travel. There could be any amount of things holding us back from actually making any breakthroughs, I just never went out of my way to figure out what those kinds of things are.

When we began unit 2 I was already aware of the kind of question that I wanted to ask. If I was going to research something, it had to be about space colonization and whether or not it was actually possible. At least if I didnā€™t ask that directly it would be something that allowed me to still find the answer to that. For this project I would want to hold peopleā€™s interests. I want to give people something to think about when they hear the points that I make. People could agree, disagree, question me, and be shocked with the things that I bring up. That is why the target audience in this case would be your average person/viewer. They could be on Youtube or on social media and see my case being made. And just like me before, they could click on the video and see what it is I have to say. Then they can take that information with them however they want, but I just want it to be interesting and to make people wonder. If it wasnā€™t clear, I would like to make a commentary video of my own for people to see. I envision it being somewhere around the 5-6 minute mark, maybe even longer depending on any particular rant I would come to. Based on the research that Iā€™ve done, the video would touch bases with ethos, pathos, and logos with almost each of my sources resonating with one of them respectively (interestingly enough). Given my intention I see no better way to cover my topic than in a short commentary video, especially with how familiar I am with them. I would honestly just want to get people to think about the wonder of space and how close we are to it.

Doing the project: N/A

Now that itā€™s done: N/A

The Final Reflection

This has probably been my toughest semester out of the two that Iā€™ve gone through thus far. I had a lot on my plate compared to last semester and time was a lot harder to manage than I could have ever imagined it to be. It was comparably easy at the start of the semester as I wasnā€™t as occupied with anything besides my other classes at the time. I made it an effort to stay on top of everything as it came, but exhaustion hit really soon, about halfway into the semester and I was just struggling to keep up. I wouldnā€™t say that I am regretful of anything that I put out (besides the lack of a finished unit 3 assignment).

In terms of content over the semester there are a few things to mention. I honestly found just two assignments particularly interesting. There was the ā€œLike vs Loveā€ assignment and the time we had to watch the norwegian prison video plus the video essay on abandoned facilities and their documentation. The first one was really something else because I found myself actually getting a bit worked up over it for the strangest reason. Well Iā€™m sure it was whatever mood I found myself in when I was doing it, but I just did not agree with what I was reading at all. I remembered thinking, funny enough, that this writer was not fit to be writing opinion pieces like that. I know I definitely got a bit cynical in my response, but Iā€™m not sure if it really came off like that. Looking back at it, I just think that it was sort of funny. As for the other case, I was just dumbfounded by the excerpt of the documentary covering Norwegian prisons. I couldnā€™t imagine that prison could be anything different than what it is like here in the U.S. In fact, I thought that the video was satire and that we were looking at it as an example of something you could do as a statement for an argument you were trying to make. Other than those the content was average, the kind that I expected to read and respond to.

Our interactions in class however I actually enjoyed in its entirety. I didnā€™t speak up as much as I would as the conversations were very guided by the questions at times and I personally think it took away from what I guess I would see as a thorough discussion. Speaking with other students was interesting to say the least though. Since we are in an online environment I can see why people feel like they donā€™t really need to get involved because they arenā€™t really ā€œthereā€ for class. The breakout rooms were usually just a conversation between two or three of us while everyone else sat silent. Peer review on the other hand was something that I basically did not get to experience. My first partner did not follow up to review my Education Narrative and Iā€™m not sure I remember them posting theirs either. I also didnā€™t get my Annotated Bibliography in before anyone would be able to review it themselves. Overall, I canā€™t say that the online environment is really thriving with interaction, but the time I did have to do so was enjoyable.

I would have to say that over the course of this semester that my thought process that goes into writing has not really changed at all. Like I mentioned in ā€œResponse to ā€˜Shitty First Draftsā€™ ā€, I Usually only think a sentence or two ahead when Iā€™m writing something one note and paragraph by paragraph for an essay like piece of writing (kind of like this). Other than that, the research paper was me treading in unmarked territory. I have done research for writing and presenting before, but this time I was using the library functions with City tech and Google Scholar. It was definitely difficult to find a source that I was actually fond of while trying to stick to the general format of answering my question by covering multiple bases. In fact, I feel pretty lucky finding 2 of my sources, 1 and 3. For the TED Talk, I chose it because I actually looked and saw that someone else used one and I thought about the credibility of using one. It actually works out just fine considering a lot more research goes into what they create than the section that I allot to them. Then of course, I wasnā€™t able to make a commentary video like I would have wanted, but I know it would have been more than fun to do especially since itā€™s something in the genre of what I would normally watch.

The genres by which we wrote each unit definitely made me try to be more flexible and fit the tone. For the Education Narrative, I feel like I was writing in my normal style and as such was able to put in a lot more of my voice like I would normally want to into my writing. Something like in the conclusion of it where I say ā€œSo what is it to take away from thisā€¦then just do that. Nothing more and nothing lessā€. I liked putting that in because it really kept that mild and nonchalant tone that I feel like I normally keep about myself when I speak with others. There are plenty of other times in it too where I write as I feel I would be speaking with someone normally. Though whenever I actually speak there is a distinct lack of sophistication in my language compared to when I write because I actually have more than enough time to formulate what I want to say. Whenever I write out of my comfort zone, I feel like I am more linear and robotic in an attempt to write in a formulaic sense. This was an issue in my introduction for my Educational Narrative and I found myself thinking that with my first paragraph for my first source in the Annotated Bibliography. For example, I listed reasons for why NASA gets budget cuts and then later said ā€œOther reasons include the nature ofā€¦ā€ It didnā€™t really flow well for me, but Iā€™m not sure I have it in me to figure out how to fix it.

Overall, this semester has been a trip. Probably the hardest couple of months in my life besides all of 2020 (though I think that Covid has that effect overall even after itā€™s initial rise). Iā€™m glad to put it all behind me though and emerge with the knowledge that I gained in a much more persevering manner. It would have been a bigger statement to myself if I could get the video in too, and Iā€™m sure people have as much stress to deal with as I do. If anything though, that just means that I have to try harder. I suppose that is growth especially with my point from the Education Narrative. Getting by is actually a lot harder when everything is crashing down on you. Iā€™m relieved now to say that it is over and I wish the best to all of my peers who have got through with me and especially to you who are reading this all the way into the end. Take care!

Categories
Portfolio & Reflection Weekly Assignments

Final reflection revision

Unit 1 Revision:

For unit 1 I struggled a little bit at the beginning but after a good feedback from the teacher which was to focus more on my introduction and thesis I change it up found a way to make a kind of a focus on one main events while still including different experiences Looking back I shouldā€™ve probably narrowed down a little bit more but the pizza paper method actually helped refining my essay specially my introduction and thesis.

UNIT 1 – Education

Education is confusing or maybe it isn’t, maybe I just have hard time adapting to it. I could pass the exams, do well in class, be the best student, but does all that benefit me outside of school ?

I mean I can still succeed another way.

There is many other alternatives to education, the question is how far can they really get me , I went from not understanding the benefits of education to not liking it all to enjoying education and actually benefiting from it.

Having a good teacher and doing a subject I liked changed my whole experience in school because I felt motivated to learn.

My education experience was all over the place but Iā€™m glad to say that at this present day I believe in education and that my experience has helped shape me into the person that I am today and all thanks to my college experience which is what shaped my relationship with education.

Learning new languages, adapting to a new curriculum was not always as easy, which was what caused my confusion with school over the years.

My emotions in middle school were feeling scared of embarrassing myself or frustrated because I was doing something simpler than other kids.

Being someone that doesnā€™t like asking for help or even asking twice when I didnā€™t understand made me work harder but also more difficult as this caused me to learn myself in the context of when I didnā€™t understand instead of asking and get an answer straightaway I will wait till I get home and find out by myself but when I was studying in Switzerland ,I realize that itā€™s easier and faster to learn languages when your communicating and letting yourself make mistakes

As I was growing up I started adapting quicker enabling me to fully learn and feel more comfortable even though I was still very shy, specially back in Spain, one of the things teacher would always say that I would never put my hand up despite knowing the answer or needing help as I barely talked but it did not help that I could sit in class all day no teacher would make sure Iā€™m updated with all the work or anything as I started in the middle of school.

To be honest when I was young I loved learning but when I moved high schools to the UK I started falling behind ,at first I always kept to myself and tried to adapt but in high school everything was different.

Between lack of motivation and being distracted I limited myself to learning and it did not help that I didnā€™t like the school at that point I was only looking forward to the fun at lunch time and after school rather than how to get good grades. I left with 3 Gcse which according to my school I wouldnā€™t be able to ā€œmove forwardā€ and that didnā€™t help at all as it just made me not care rather than motivating me.

My college experience itā€™s what made me focus back in school, this one particular teacher really helped me ,she made sure me and my friends always completed our work at the best possible ,she would tell us to stay over and review what we done so far to help us even though we wasnā€™t the best students but she always looked out for us and kept us from getting in trouble and excluded as schools in UK are very strict,as well the course I was doing was art and travel and tourism, getting to go out and travel every now and then was a nice experience which made us enjoy the course more and kept us motivated to pass the class. Before this I was really unmotivated and didnā€™t see the point in school. The only thing kept in there was because of my parents and friends. The qualification from this school and my high school is what brought me here today as this is what got me into this university/college and opened many opportunities for me which is why Iā€™m not able to do the major of my choice and pursue my career.

In conclusion my college (high school in the US) experience is what benefited me the most ,it taught me that if your good with your teachers and is interested in the course you have higher chances of passing it ,this is also where I had my first work experience which was made by the school and this benefited me outside of education and I am very grateful as this the reason Iā€™m still in school today ,I am also at a more mature age to know what my priorities are and how to move forward.

Unit 2 Revision :

For this unit I kind of just went straight into the final draft this was kind of like an easier assignment as it was with research and backing up my hypothesis , one I mightā€™ve done maybe narrow down my hypothesis but I feel like I did quite well on this assignment and finding the right the resources ,and choosing my own genre/ topic really helped me.

UNIT 2- annotated bibliography

Why is social media and online retailing important for businesses today and what are the benefits?

The reason why Iā€™m interested in this topic is because I plan to launch my own business and was researching on the methods that made other familiar businesses successful also as why others weren’t. Due to the growth of social media and technology in our generation I wanted to see how important social media is for a business success, specifically the fashion industry. This is a topic Iā€™ve come across in my marketing class and also while searching for what topic to research for this annotated bibliography, it was the one that intrigued me the most. As there are a lot of successful businesses that arenā€™t using social media to promote themselves such as Primark but are they as successful as the one who are online and using social media Or have they dropped down?

In this research I expect to find the benefits of social media/ online retailing and how it can increase and plays a part in a business success as much as why it is better than other traditional methods that were used before the growth of social media and online retail, and a clear example of business who have been more successful due to social media and being online also how beneficial it is specially considering the pandemic we are still going on.

If I find answer that does not match my hypothesis while doing my research, I will firstly reevaluate the answers Iā€™ve found and do further research then re-evaluate my question as well as re-write it then lastly if that doesnā€™t work out Iā€™ll explain how it contradicts my hypothesis and add the new information Iā€™ve found and write a new hypothesis taking into consideration the new information Iā€™ve found.

Social media marketing

Newberry, C. (2021, January 12). ā€œ23 Benefits of Social Media for Businessā€. Social Media Marketing & Management Dashboard. https://blog.hootsuite.com/social-media-for-business/

This article was written by Christine Newberry, it states ā€œ23 Benefits of Social Media for Business” which is also the title, this supports my hypothesis and gave me the answer I was looking for as itā€™s basically persuasive and gives people 23 reasons to choose social media for their businesses. The first benefit mentioned is ā€œIncrease brand awarenessā€ and this is the biggest advantage a company using online marketing could have on a business who is not using social media as they would gets 2x exposure, this article also states that ā€œ60 percent of Instagram users say they discover new products on the platform.ā€ This is entirely true social media has become very influential specially for most of us young adults. It is the number one source of research and buying decisions specially for products like clothing and shoes.

Another good point that was said in this article was ā€œSocial media posts and ads are key ways to drive traffic to your website.ā€ This again supports my hypothesis that using social media marketing overall can increase website traffic just by posting content on social media which is at the same time promoting your brand and product as well as every now and then doing ads which you can modify to reach your target audience.

The importance of social media today.

Smith, K. (2021, March 9). The Importance of Social Media in Business for Entrepreneurial Success. Digital Marketing Blog. https://www.lyfemarketing.com/blog/importance-social-media-business/

This source was written recently and it perfectly explains the importance of social media and how it contributes to a company’s success. First starting with the statement that social media ā€œ Itā€™s booming like never before.ā€ At this point we all know that the majority of people are using social media or are familiar with it, as this has become a number 1 source for everything whether itā€™s for jobs to meeting new friends to simply posting yourself. This source states that ā€œ71% of consumers are more likely to recommend a brand to others if they have a positive experience with it on social media.ā€ I find this statement to be true not only because it was from an infographic but also because I myself and many other people are like this when we are checking out a company, we like to see from their reviews to social media status as thatā€™s where we get more information from and better understanding of the brand.social media allows you connect better with your customers as much as growth,as it helps your other potential customers see your customer service, look through your brand and products easily and more thoroughly.

Online retailing/ e-commerce

Hudson, M. (2018, December 26). ā€œWhat Are the Pros and Cons of eCommerce and Selling Online?ā€ The Balance Small Business. https://www.thebalancesmb.com/selling-online-retailing-storefront-alternatives-2890252

This online article was written by Matthew Hudson, it states ā€œ the pros and cons of e-commerceā€ the first 4 paragraphs supports my hypothesis as to the advantages of putting your business online , overall it bring you more profits as it allows you to be open 24 hours a day and have access to a wider range of customers geographically as the internet is international aso allows your product to be bought from anywhere especially now with COVID 19 ,this a choice a lot of business should consider as many people preferences has switched to online shopping.

In this article it also speaks about ā€œ Disadvantages of Selling Onlineā€ such as security issues due to it being a globally accessible platform ,there might be risk and some cost to keep it secure and this applies to everything online but that still doesnā€™t override the advantages as technology is getting more updated and secure by the days and itā€™s definitely not as expensive as running a store in fact itā€™s small monthly fee which most companies are comfortable paying and itā€™s worth it.

Why should you use social media for your business ?

Popovic, K. (2015, May 13). 7 Reasons You Should Not Use Social Media For Business. Online Marketing Institute. https://www.onlinemarketinginstitute.org/blog/2015/05/7-reasons-you-should-not-use-social-media-for-business/

This particular article mostly contradicts my hypothesis as it encourages people not to use online marketing / social media for their business by giving 7 reasons , the first reason of this audience is that ā€œ Your audience isn’t there.ā€ This might be slightly true but using social media boosts up your chances of finding and reaching more customers with social media than without, as it opens up a wide international platform with every type of customer.I would say your audience is most likely there just need to find the right platform and strategy. This brings us to their next reason ā€œSocial media doesnā€™t work for every business.ā€ which I definitely agree with social media marketing might not work for every type of business specially among does who arenā€™t selling products or who target audience is older people however companies who sell services can definitely make it work such as nails services spa and more simply by posting your work and promoting your services and could even gain international customers such as people who are go on holidays often look online or on social media platforms and if your business happens to be the perfect match then there goes your first international customer as well if your content goes viral online you will gain a lot of customers especially with new platforms such as TikTok.

Another reason was ā€œSocial media is not freeā€ most marketing strategies arenā€™t free and online might be one of the cheapest ways of marketing besides social media is free such as Instagram and Facebook these are platforms with millions of people who could be your potential buyers.

Also this article is from 2015 were social media wasnā€™t as popular so their data is based on a whole different time were technology wasnā€™t so updated and the current pandemic isnā€™t taken into consideration but the reason why I chose to use because this articles because it was popular and came up few times during my research.

Conclusion

Although I learnt that social media might not be for all business however most of my finding supported my hypothesis and answered my questions ,social media definitely has very strong presence in this modern day and itā€™s a easier and effective way for business to grow, itā€™s important for companies to take this into consideration especially with the current pandemic going on, as even though I found some articles who mostly contradicted my hypothesis, they were from a different time and taking in that technology updates every year and new method come to light everyday even I might have a different hypothesis by next year but as of right now knowledge and information itā€™s clear that social media and online retailing itā€™s important for business today.

Unit 3 Revision :

For unit 3 I didnā€™t really change any major things as I didnā€™t really have a lot of time except for changing it up some visual ideas I had for brochure and made it bit more a simple and also added bit more information about the brochure itself based on the teachers feedback , If I had more time I wouldā€™ve had a more information or more information and emphasizing how it reaches my audience best.

UNIT 3 – Genre

Before I began this project I did some research on what type of genre was used for my topic related topics while taking into consideration the accessibility and the time consumption of it , the topic being the importance of social media and online retail today which I did a research on and find out that was really effective in a business growth and how more businesses need to use this method or includes method in their marketing plans as it is is a easier cheaper and efficient way than other marketing methods

The reason why I chose this topic and genre is due to my interest in business as social media has grown immensely these past few years and I believe itā€™s important to communicate that with businesses and upcoming entrepreneurs that arenā€™t aware of how much of an impact online retailing / social media has in the successfulness of a company specially today or business owners that are struggling to further success . Also I did a lot of research on the best way to communicate information to business, looked at some examples and find the most convenient way was by e-booklet or brochure as most business owners donā€™t have lot of time and they need something quick ,easy specially since this is a idea thats being presented to them.

For the background of the booklet/Brochure I decided to use simple business related pictures mixed with a bit of digital marketing and success pictures to relate it to the outcome if the step in the process is followed, I also tried keeping the colors simple that were more on the brighter side to give it off happy and excited energy touch while also keeping simple and professional as this is related to social media and business and communityā€™s picture was added on the front page to give off the idea of business connecting with customers and I decided to make a brochure form inside of a booklet as this was the best way I could fit all the information.

The purpose of making this project is to help business to find more efficient not money consuming ways to succeed , I chose to make a booklet/brochure because I felt like is the one that best fits my audience considering that my audience is business owners and entrepreneurs I believe the e-book/brochure would be more convenient to them and less time consuming, this a good way to present my idea as I could use colors, choice of words ,and persuading methods that would keep my audience interested and even convince them to try it out.

Distribution wise I originally thought getting distributed into the stores but then I thought more about it and found that it will be more effective if I sent it to the marketing department as if the idea is validated by the owner is the marketing department that would execute it this is for larger companies , for a smaller companies who do not have marketing department it would be sent straight to them or physically sent to them.

While doing the project I first started looking at examples for some inspiration on how to make it look professional, what colors should I use . My original idea was a brochure but I started seeing booklets and thought out of booklet or brochure form which would be more effective and which one would could contain more information at the same time keeping it simple so I tried both and ended up choosing to do both combined because I was really stressing myself on which one to do as a brochure looked more simple but a booklet looked more informative also I was choosing between which editing apps to use watched some YouTube videos to see which apps are best for this project then ended going with Canva as Iā€™ve used the app before and seems to get the work done.

Now that itā€™s done the booklet/brochure actually turned out good, I didnā€™t really do anything different from what I said before I actually enjoyed putting all together , I would say the only part that I found a bit long would be writing the information down which is the main reason of this project but Iā€™m more of a creative person, only thing I would change differently itā€™s given myself more time and spreaded through the week instead of last minute.

My happiest hour of this whole project was definitely doing the booklet/brochure cover and editing it , I also did enjoy doing the research and putting all my ideas together. It wasnā€™t as hard as I thought it would be to be honest. I wouldnā€™t mind another college project like this after all I did find some tools and articles that Iā€™ll definitely be using for future projects and making the booklet/brochure helped me better my skills in graphic designing so thatā€™s a bonus.