Technical Writing

Technical writing is definitely harder than what I imagined it would be. So much more thought and planning goes into it than I could ever have imagined. Everyone knows how to make a sandwich, but no one knows how to explain it to some one step by step. That is by far the toughest thing. Writing or explaining every step. It is what needs to be done, but it is very dificult. Graphics and diagrams prove to be helpful as well so the final outcome is visible. Constructing the object is the fun part, writing the directions, not so much.

"Mother tongue" Journal Question #4

She states that in grade school her English grades were B's and sometimes B Pluses. Her math scores were even better. She recieved A's and achieved success that placed her in the Ninetieth percentile or higher. Math only has one correct answer, but english answers are "Judgement calls". With asian-americans throughout the world, the english spoken may be "broken" and does limit the way a child gtows up in that environment. She wanted to disprove assumptions made about her. The way her mother spoke wasn't wrong, just a "simple" version. So with her writings, she tried to incorporate in how she grew up hearing her mother talk. With this she showed what Language Ability tests could never reveal.

CWS lab meeting

Thursday March 29th we met with Mike and discussed this semester of CWS, how the whole year has gone so far, and some plans we have for this summer and next year. We discussed going abroad, majors, and various classes we could take, and Juniata requirements we need to meet. It turned out to be a very productive meeting.

Topic

I was thinking about doing my sporting events as a child and shwoing how my parents were always there to support me and encourage me to do my best. I want to show pictures of my family and i throughout elementary school,  middle school, highschool, and now college. They have always been there to support me.

Digital Story Telling narritive experience

With digital story telling, three main aspects of stories are included in one presentation. Background music can be present to add effects to your presentation. Pictures are a good way to show a connection to what you are talking about, and it allows the listeners to see what is important to you. Lastly, your voice. You speak and add words to your presentation to explain why it is important to you. With these three aspects the listeneres/viewers witness first hand what your thoughts and emotions are.

Student metaphors

I thought this was an interesting reading. The assignment of making the students pick metaphores that describe them, really let them use their imagination and describe themselves in a way someone may not typically see. Some of the examples even talked about the problems with their metaphors. Working to slowly, or starting off slowly. It also explains how different metaphores mean different working habits. IT is organized into the certain examples of metaphors that were given. With making the metaphors for yourself, it can determine what you need help with, and what you do well.

Wikipedia Article

I do agree with Middlebury college's policy about wikipedia. They give their students the ability to access Wikipedia, but its just not encouraged. They dont completely ban the use of it, because there is some good and true information that can be found by accessing it. It states that the students need to go for quality information instead just information thats convenient. They say that instead of encyclopedieas, the students should be using more advanced sources. If the students do use Wikipedia, i would make them use at least two sources. Wikipedia and another source proving that the Wikipedia source is reliable with the information it presents.

Film and Book

I feel as though the movie is an easier way to "show" the events that occured. By being able to watch the movie, you can see how everyone feels rather than reading and trying to discover it. I feel the same emotions are portrayed throughout both, the book and movie. The movie is definately a more clear version and it does make things seem more tragic than just reading it. Seeing him actually die is much more different than reading about it. In conclussion, film does make everything more tragic because someone is acting it out, rather than someone just reading and imagining.

Perceptions of Chris

From the beginning I thought Chris was following his dreams and doing what he loved to do. He inspires me to follow my dreams and to go after what i want to achieve in life, even if my dreams arent as adventerous as his. I still respect his decision and his actions. From his parents standpoint, i would think that they considered his actions to be sort of reckless. Going off on his own into the wild. From his standpoint, he was doing what he loved, and he cant be faulted for that. Overall my opinion stayed the same.

Outcasts

There are many venterous people in the world tody. People still love to explore and enjoy the great outdoors. When he would met people in the book, he would sometimes give them a wrong name. His real name was chris, but he would tell some people his name was alex.
With my name, the full thing is Joseph. I never went by that, but when i was young i was called Joey. Now that im older, I go by Joe and that defines who I am. Names signify who a person is, and what the proper way to address them is.

Reinventing myself

I have always wanted to learn how to play the guitar or some sort of musical instrument. Listening to numerous bands and music on the radio,  inspires me to try and learn an instrument. What can be done with instruments and music simply amazes me. I love music so it would be unbelievable for me to learn how to play music myself. I just dont know if i have the time and patience to learn how to play music. In order to be good at anything, practice is key. I just dont know if i would want to practice it since i have volleyball and everything else in my life. It would be a marvelous hobby, but a lot of time and effort has to go into it.

Chapter 3 epigraphs

The epigraphs pretty much state that excitement is needed. They are not satisfied by normal, everyday, boring lifestyles. Freedom and adventure are essential parts of exploring nature, and just living life. In nature, there are no restrictions on what you can say or do to express the feelings towards exploring the great out doors. Its great to take risks, and challenge yourself. That's when most people find what they're good at or they find something they love. They come out of their comfort zone and take on a new task. I agree with both of these. I love to explore and just go out on my own and see what i can find. Theres no telling where you will end up in nature, or what you may find.

Chris McCandless

I feel as though Alex was foolish in his endeavors by only taking very small rations of food and necessary tools of survival. From his one experience when he only lived on 5 pounds of rice and what he pulled from the see, made him feel confident in his survival skills. This made him feel like he could go on more adventures with the same amount, or even less supplies when he went to live in Alaska. He should have taken as much food and supplies as he could if he was going to be in Alaska for months, instead of only 25 or 30 pounds. He loved adventures and excursions but is a bit over confident with his survival skills. It is awesome that he is adventerous and confident, but if your over confident, there will be a price to pay.

Blog post 3 Jan 24 in Class

Nature effects me in numerous ways. It soothes us, gives us a place to explore and watch life at its best. I definitely feel as though nature comforts me. Walking through the outdoors with a breeze is the best way to take my mind off of things and relax me. Listening to birds, or sitting on my porch listening to the rainfall is another aspect of nature that I love to experience. Nature is where everthing began. Before houses and cities were built, there were forests and plains. Before technology, nature was one of the only things to keep people occupied. With this in mind, I feel as though nature is in touch with our spiritual side. Nature lets us just roam free and do as we wish. Nature and our spiritual side become one when exploring and relaxing with something you love. Nature "heals" our spiritual side when we just need to take our mind off of things. Nature is an absolutely marvelous place, and I love nature.

Materialistic Culture

Technology is constantly being produced, and improvements to devices are drastically occuring these days. All new technology and improvements costs money. Some are more expensive than others or more advanced, and that is where the problems begin. Society today thinks that the most expensive clothing or technology is the best. When people dont have the newest trending item, people begin to judge, and look down on the less fortunate. I feel as though the way someone lives isn't based on what they own. It's what kind of person they are and how they conduct themselves. The materialistic aspect defintely needs to be be decreased if not eliminated. It would make the world a happier and more friendly place to live.

My first CWS blog post!

My name is Joe Bortak and I have gone through a few changes since first arriving at Juniata. My mindset has changed, and my goals have increased. My time management has improved, so that drastically helps with studying and work. I get my work done in a reasonable amount of time, so then I have more free time. Now that we're back from Christmas break and the second semester has begun, I have some new and improved goals I want to accomplish. First off, I want to win a Volleyball National Championship this year at Juniata. We've worked hard all fall to practice and get ready for the upcoming season. Time management helps me control my daily practices and class schedule. My next goal is to achieve a 3.5 GPA or higher. It will definitely take hard work and determination, but anything is possible. With the right support behind me to push me and incourage me, i'm feeling very confident in myself to achieve my goals.