Unit 7

This has been an interesting unit because we get to read samples of everyone else's paper.  I'm pretty confident about mine.  I think that most of what we are doing in this class is repeating what we did in college composition 1.  Most of the readings we've had to do from the book are the same pages we read last term. It's a little aggravating but at the same time I see why we have to do it, practice makes perfect.  I've learned a lot from the research that I've done about my topic. It all coincides with what my family is going through with my Grandfather. For instance I learned that most people don't die of Alzheimer's they usually die of pneumonia from aspirating their food. They forget how to swallow, and the food goes down the wrong pipe, then they get infection which causes pneumonia. It seems like a death sentence, and is pretty scary. It has happened to my Grandpa twice in the last couple of months. He's been able to recover from the pneumonia but I worry about how much his body can take. I don't want to get old.

Holiday Vacation

This blog I'm going to use to complain a little bit. First of all I want to say that I never expected to have time off for holidays when I signed up for these classes. I thought it was a treat to have some time off. So this term we have a weak off for Christmas. The thing I want to complain about is that its just the seminars. We still have to do projects, assignments, and discussion boards. It would be nice to not have to do all that so I can have more time to bake and get the house ready for Santa. Now I'm scrambling around trying to get all this stuff done, even this blog. Don't take this wrong, cause I'm not over stressed or anything, I just think if classes are going to be closed and we are supposed to get "time off" then that's what we should get.

Other than that things have been going great not only over the last 6 weeks but the whole time I've been taking classes. This is my fourth term and I've done well. It helps because I'm a stay at home Mom. I know some of you have to work and have to fit classes in with family. I've had a hard time with these flex seminars. I don't like not being in a seminar that my professor isn't teaching. They always say "I don't know how your teacher wants it done but this is how I want it done". I do like that I can pick the times, but I need more opportunities for late night seminars. That's the only time I have time all to myself.

was going to be "Personal writing process" but ended up not being about that

I used to write all the time as a teen. My BFF back then would write with me and in between all the letters we wrote to each other and to other friends we were writing a "book". One of us started it and the other would add to it. Every day we would sit on the phone for hours reading to each other what we wrote and what we were going to write about next. We kept continuing with our story and put it all into a binder. We made cover pictures and glued it to the binder. I don't remember what happened to that binder. Our book was about a group of high school students just like us. I think it was all about what we fantasized about. We had a lot of fun. I liked writing research papers in school too. Does all this mean I was a nerd? My husband lovingly calls me a nerd.  After high school I stopped. Before starting these classes the only writing I did was e-mails, and lists. Grocery lists, menu lists, restaurant ideas, things I wanted to buy or do, my favorites are party planning lists. I'm really enjoying myself with all this writing I have to do for Kaplan. Sometimes it gets stressful because now I'm a Mom, and writing takes time, not to mention quiet, and I can't stay on the phone with my BFF all day. I'm just enjoying it. School is influencing my life because it is making me use my mind again. It went dormant for awhile when all I thought about was kids and making a paycheck. I'm still with Kaplan working for that paycheck but its going to be a steady paycheck in a career. I'll be doing something that I've always wanted to do. In the process I'm thinking about other things, I'm learning, and I'm having fun.

Plagiarism

Plagiarism is a serious crime. People work hard to create or discover new things and it is important to give them the credit they deserve. It is immoral and illegal to steal someone else's work. I would be devastated after working so hard on something to find out that someone else took my idea as their own. It is time consuming and sometimes a pain to get the citations right but it is worth it considering the time that was put into the document you are getting the information from. The Internet definitely blurs the lines of "legally owned". Anyone can pirate songs and movies from shared download sites. I see people on facebook all the time that post quotes under their status. I'm sure those people aren't intending to plagiarize someone but they are using someone else's words. People on YouTube post videos of anything. Many times you can view the same concept of one video in many videos that were made by several people. Wikipedia is crazy. Anyone can add to the source. If I'm researching something Wikipedia is not a good source because anyone can make modifications to what is written.

unit 3 - Being an online student

I love being an online student. I love that I can work at my own pace. I always hated being in a class where classmates were slower than me but I still had to sit there and listen and try not to fall asleep. I can also work more on things that I need more time on without feeling embarrassed that I don't get it right away. I like that I don't have to drive anywhere and make sure I have a babysitter. Having someone watch my kids is very hard for me to accomplish. I'm hoping this doesn't become a problem when I start my clinicals. I'm usually a shy person and when I was in school years ago I never raised my hand and was reluctant to participate in discussions even when I thought I had a good idea. In an online class I feel more open because people aren't staring at me while I talk. I think there is more freedom to being an online student. I can plan my time around school work, and if I don't feel up to doing an assignment I can change my schedule. This week is a perfect example. I've got lots of cooking to do so my classes will have to wait till the weekend. Its easy to procrastinate but I've been motivated throughout all of my classes so this hasn't been a problem for me. I don't really have any ideas on making a closer class community. I think sometimes when we "speak" to each other in discussions or seminars it somehow feels friendly already. I'm looking forward to reading everyone else's blogs and I hope everyone has a Happy Thanksgiving. Never forget what you can be thankful for.

First Blog Ever

Hi class, this is my very first post. I think this will be fun this term and I might use this outside of class as well. I'm looking forward to getting to know everyone through their blogs. 
 About this class, I have no idea what to do my final project on. College Comp 1 wasn't as hard as I thought it would be but I hated my final paper so I'm hoping this one is better for me.
 On a personal note my family had a great night out with some of my husband's family that came down from NY. If you couldn't tell by my URL I live in FL and I LOVE it. We live 20 minutes away from Disney and all the fun stuff. I get a spring in my step and a breath of fresh air every time I walk out my door.