Metacognition: Mashup

To begin the Mashup my group chose the topic of feminism.  At this point, we had not chosen a point of view as we were still in the information gathering stage.  We began by finding quotes about feminism from Jane Eyre and other works of literature from English this year.  As we gathered these quotes I began thinking about my views of feminism and how I might want this to translate into our project.  We agreed generally on focusing on a positive view of feminism and following the progression of Jane’s feministic values throughout the novel.

When gathering other elements for the Mashup, we began without much understanding of how everything might work together.  We each gathered about seven elements which we thought were interesting and supported a positive view of feminism. We ended up using very few of the elements because as we dove into the ordering of the quotes and elements we realized that much of what we had found didn’t fit or support our changing vision.  At one point, we stopped gathering elements because the process was beginning to seem random.  We kept in mind that a Mashup is meant to help us develop one coherent idea about our chosen topic.

We began putting the elements in an order which chronicled Jane’s life along with the progression of feminism in history in terms of our Sophie’s World quotes.  Then we began to add other elements which we found and it slowly became more clear what elements we still needed.  We continued to search and came up with an order we were happy with for the time being.  The next day, we met for a final time and went through the Mashup again.  We ended up changing the order around pretty dramatically in some parts and taking out and adding certain elements.

Upon completion we felt confident that our Mashup held an important message which we wanted to share.  My thought process changed throughout the project as I formed my own opinion of the topic and point of view from which I wanted to present it.  The most interesting part for me was putting the elements together in an order that made sense. It was almost like a puzzle that we needed to put together except that there was no right or wrong answer. I can definitely see using the Mashup process as a way to think and organize my ideas in the future.

iMedia: Soul Surfer

Above is the trailer for a movie I saw this weekend called “Soul Surfer.” It tells the story of a young girl in Hawaii who was making her way to become a professional surfer when she tragically lost her arm in a shark attack.  This movie is based on the true story of Bethany Hamilton, and chronicles her struggles after losing her arm and the changes she had to make in her life to adapt. 

I found this movie extremely inspirational as I watched Bethany get back out into the water only three weeks after her attack.  She was able to get up on her board on the third wave and the joy she felt transmitted so well to the audience.  This movie really put things in perspective for me.  I realized that I am truly blessed to have everything I do.  I wish I could be as brave as Bethany and be so selfless and hardworking. 

Very inspiring to me, was a scene in the movie where Bethany visited Thailand a short time after her attack to help those injured from the Tsunami.  She had recently suffered a nearly fatal accident, but put all that behind her to help those in need.  She even helped the people of Thailand overcome their fear of the ocean, making them her priority, rather than herself. As a professional surfer today, Bethany continues to inspire the world and has helped many understand the answer to a difficult question: why does God allow bad things to happen in our lives?

I think this movie can be inspirational for many people and can help us understand what is truly important in the world. Following your dreams and never giving up, although clichés are truly driving forces in Bethany’s story and something we should never overlook.  

360 Degrees: Extra Credit

Some teachers are very adamant about not giving their students opportunities for extra credit, while others offer it on almost every test.  This is because extra credit is viewed differently by many people.

Some teachers see it as a good opportunity for students to improve their grades, and many students feel the same way.  I think some teachers do not offer extra credit because they want students’ grades to reflect their work, rather than have their grades inflated by extra credit.  Further, maybe some teachers don’t have the time to write and grade extra credit assignments and would rather have their students focus on class material.

I don’t believe in excessive extra credit, but I do feel that it can be a good opportunity.  Sometimes it makes up for mistakes one makes on tests and quizzes at the beginning of the year when they are still getting used to the class and the teacher.  If I work really hard on an assignment or studying for a test, and I do poorly, I try to learn from my mistakes and see if there is any extra credit available. To me, that seems fair.  I do not think extra credit should be an easy way to improve one’s grade, however, but rather something more challenging that pertains to the class’s curriculum.

I think most students are in favor of extra credit, as am I, although I do understand why some may see it as unfair.  For example, if other classes boost their grades by numerous extra credit assignments, rather than doing well on their work, frustration can ensue.  This can be especially difficult when your teacher doesn’t offer any extra credit for the same course.

I think that extra credit can be a very worthwhile opportunity, but teachers choose to handle this topic in different ways.  This is not a bad thing, but merely presents a challenge for students to face in their various classes.