Technologies

Online learning and in person learning each have their different benefits and pitfalls. Some students benefit from one over the other but no one can say that one is better than the other because it depends on the individual's learning style. Online learning offers the benefit of being able to mold school to fit your personal schedule (depending on the instructor) and also the ability to re-watch lectures multiple times. In person learning offers the benefit of being able to receive immediate answers to your questions and also further elaboration on said question without the hassle of waiting for email replies. One of the challenges of taking an English class in an online environment is clarification. If a student doesn't fully understand a certain topic, that student would have to send an email to the instructor and wait for a reply. If the reply doesn't fully answer the question then another email must be sent and then they have to wait for another reply. Another challenge is that of meeting deadlines. One reason many students take online classes is because their schedule doesn't allow for time to physically go to a classroom. For this reason, I feel that some leeway should be allowed by all online instructors to a point. Obviously if all the assigned work isn't in by the end of the semester then the student should be penalized by not receiving credit for the work not completed. However, if a student is tardy on an assignment, leeway should be given. A lot of students take classes on their personal computers from their own homes. Not all internet providers are always reliable. These are only a few examples of why an assignment may be late and why more than one "no questions asked" should be offered. I think blogger was the most beneficial technology. I never knew how to write a blog before. Now I plan to write a monthly blog for my business. I hope to get a lot of followers. I liked the blogger the most for the reasons stated above. I plan on blogging for my business in the future. I also like Prezi and may use that for presentations in the future.

Final

Copy of Most Important Thing I Learned In English 102 on Prezi

Reflecting On the Course

I have really enjoyed becoming a better writer. I was very afraid of failing this course. I had convinced myself that I was a terrible author. I have learned how to write an effective paper. This class has helped me this semester. I have had to write several other essays for different courses and I felt confident about my writing in doing so. In my current position at work I could further my business by writing a newsletter and making a blog. This course has given me more confidence to do these kind of things. The readings in this class have been interesting. They have all been quite different and have affected me differently. The story of the Scrivener was touching because I grew to care about Bartleby's well-being. The more I read the more I wanted to protect him myself. A Modest Proposal was a delight to read. I honestly assumed there was no sense of humor in history. Swift did an amazing job at using irony and sarcasm to stress his point. I enjoyed Winter's Bone and Methland because it was more personal and it put the meth epidemic in perspective for me. I have been able to more efficiently focus my statements in writing. I have had to redo and revise thesis statements dozens of times this spring. Selecting a voice has been important for my writing. I find where I would like to stand and write solely from that position. These are some of the new ways I have improved my writing My biggest challenge this semester has been the online format. I have little motivation after a long day at work. I have had to find strength when there was none and I have had to dive deeper than my brain wanted to let me. I hate doing an assignment that requires mostly thinking in my current state of exhaustion. It is much easily to plug numbers in to a formula. However, I have pushed through...Mostly. A few late assignment cant deflate my pride.

Up in the Air--Thesis/First Paragraph

Comparison of Movie and Book The book and the movie Up in the Air are completely different. The difference in the two may be the amount of time before the production of the movie or differences between the author and movie producer. The author of the book also tries incredibly hard in the novel to depict what goes on inside of the businessman’s head. This is over done so much that the book becomes long and drawn out. It often trails off on small tangents. There is no concise point instead 300 plus pages of alot of rambling and short stories. The movie however has many key points. Perhaps it was a great idea to cast George Cloony. He really doesn’t do bad movies. The idea Up in the Air as a book is elaborated and edited to create a better on screen version that is easier to follow and pay attention to.

Picture Cited https://encrypted-tbn3.google.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcR8e_KM9JPCXBJBsMjNkHoVuXF8ldEpr3UMTnqNlQL1sUdw-UzMQQ

Letter Week 9

Dear Fellow Students and Instructor, I am writing you about my experience so far in English 102. We are now in our ninth week of the semester and over the half way mark. I have experienced many challenges during this Spring semester. I took a whole year off school because of my pregnancy and I am seeing how much different things are when you have a baby. I decided to take four classes and I initially thought that would be fine. I was so wrong. I didn't anticipate acquiring a second job. I couldn't say no to the opportunity. Now I am working 6 days a week. I have a fantastic babysitter, husband and mom that help me with the baby, however if he gets sick my world stops. And this semester he has gotten sick 4 times. Also I have had several unexpected things come up such as my husband getting in a car accident among other things. I am doing okay in my classes. I could definitely do better though. I do use due dates as motivation to finish assignments. I haven't expected that the work was going to take so much effort and time though. I am learning that online is harder than being in the classroom. It takes ALOT of self-discipline. I am constantly trying to do my assignment earlier than the due date and I am doing a better job. I have really enjoyed the reading in this class. All of the reading has really interested me. They are educational and the are interesting. The Winters Bone has really been fun. It was a great fast read. I totally got into it and couldn't put it down. Then I watched the Movie. I liked the book so much more. I felt like they didn't completely illustrate what I had imagined. My husband really enjoyed it though. I just think the book was extremely descriptive. Sometimes to the point of shock and disgust, but I am sure that is what Woodrell was going for. In general writing is hard for me. I am not a natural. Literary analysis has been both good and hard. I like to learn and critic. I don't necessarily like to argue strong points. I have to many thoughts about something to go on and on about a single thesis. I have never had large strong views about anything. I like to be open to all points of view and having to crack down on one is very difficult. I hope to beat my struggle with writing. I want to make concise accurate arguments even if is something that doesn't come naturally. I think it essential to have great writing skill. It will definitely improve my career if I could write a breathtaking news letter about laser, skincare or injectibles. I need to start doing my research at the beginning of the week. I need to form a plan about how I am going to accomplish the weeks assignments. And if it is an essay I need to outline and organize my thoughts, research, cites, and make it happen. Thank you for taking time to read my letter. I think it is a great way to motivate me to get in to gear and finish off the semester with vigor. Yours Truly, Shannen Alban

Unintentional Impact

Unintentional Impact Winter’s Bone Analysis Several hours from the nearest big city, deep in the Ozarks of Missouri Ree Dolly is transformed into a modern day heroin by Daniel Woodrell. Woodrell deplicts a story of the backwood lawless town that Ree inhabits. It is loosely based on the town of Collinsville which is known for its local gypsy-like population. The Dolly clan which Ree was born into is mostly comprised of drug dealing men and their submissive yet aggressive women. The author Daniel Woodrell was born in the Ozarcks and eventually moved back to settle there as an adult. It is a beautiful and tranquil place. There are many stories hiding in these woods and behind the mountains. Woodrell’s writing has been classified as “Noir”. Noir is a french term for dark and hopeless with no happy ending. However the writer himself does not like to fit into any sort of classification, “if you adapt to the structures of noir, then it just insists on a certain type of ending”( http://southeastreview.org/2009/04/daniel-woodrell.html). Instead his writing develops on its own. It is natural. He says that Ree started off as a 30 something with the boys being her own kids. But that just wasn’t her. She needed to be in more of an inherited situation. It makes her stronger as the main character. Ree Dolly is an amazingly strong women, but what you are given is a harden high school dropout that is roughened by the life she has had to lead. She in some light is soft, sweet teen and in other situations she is a wood splitting loogy hawking hillbilly. Woodrell and Dolly share the need to escape from there situations at a young age. Ree wants to join the military to escape and Woodrell joins the military at 17. It seems that the author uses the character to express the quality of people in the unlikeliest circumstances. He demonstrates the power of dedication and a good heart. Ree goes farther than the audience ever thinks possible. This story is inspirational at the same time tragic. This book as brought light to the use and manufacturing of methanphetime in small towns all over the US. The author has set many of his books in the Ozarcks and he is a fantastic story teller. It seems in his attempt to create a intense and believable story he has raised awareness in the small towns that have exponentially grown in crime and drug use in the last 20 years. The story of Ree Dolly is so close to the real situations going on in the Ozarcks that it has made an impact in the real world. This story sheds light on the poor and jobless. In the article methland the author tell true stories about Americas small Midwest towns that had been engulfed in the meth cycle. It eats the town alive. Family run stores and resturants have no chance. As the economy gets worse or times get tougher it seems more and more americans turn to methamphetamines. Wheather it is doing the drug or making the drug it devours the person, their family, and there whole world. The use of meth increases energy, decreases hunger and thirst and heightens mood. So for the majority of americans it is a cureall. Infact is was marketed in the early 20th century as a cureall. Up until the late 1900’s it was perscribe by doctors for weightloss, depression and many other ailments. It has become an enormous problem in the way it is highly addictive, cheap to purchase and easy to get. It seems at first to help. However it quickly poisons the body and mind. People do things they would sober never dream possible. In the story. A person naive to methamphetamine use would find this story confusing and all around unreal. A town so small were everyone knows that Jessup makes a great batch of crank. Even the law and business people. A town where the criminals outweigh the law. It is the reality however in many small towns today. The spread of the drug grows faster than the strength of the police force. If the town becomes stronger than the law the people begin to make there own laws. Ree having been raised in this situation seems to know her place. However, when her family is put in jepordy she quickly breaks all the rules and faces the penlites. There are stories all across the nation in the last 10 years about brutal murders and crimes related to methaphetimine use. There are kidnappings, beheadings, home invasions and fraud. There has been a rise in awareness of meth use and its affect on the body and mind. Most of these advertisements are very mainstream. There are commercials now that use scare tactics to frighten kids from trying meth. This most definitely works. This is definitely more prevalent in the big cities and more affluent suburbs. What about the generational influence and poverty struck areas. The rural areas that now are over populated with crank. It isn’t as big of a topic because not many go in or come out of these smaller towns. So it is a quite situation. Jessup Dolly was killed for being a snich. And Ree’s hunt for him ended up with her cutting off her dead drowned fathers hands as proof he was dead. Yet it seems quite assumed that that murder will never get pinned on anyone. There is a unspoken code of conduct in this backwood town. Everyone knows but no one talks. And when you go snooping you are risking your life. There truly was no one that would help Ree Dolly. She did more than most would do. She was ready to die to help save her family. In a way her dream of joining the military was portrayed by her fighting for her cause and risking her life. Meth use is higher in rural areas. And

Response to Winter's Bone-- Into chapter 5

I am enjoying this required reading. You tend to rebel against requirements. This and all other readings from this class I have enjoyed quite a bit. I relate to Ree. Ree is in the most ridiculous of situations. Her worthless father putting up the house as bail is just icing on the cake. I am in the middle of her being on the hunt for him. The people she has gone to for help, however, don't seem to find Ree's situation to be too out of the ordinary. Ree is poor and strong. She is put in a situation where she needs to grow up and make decisions beyond her years. I relate. I was also matched up with 2 people as my parents I had to take care of and clean up after. Ree seems rough and harsh and unrestrained. I am 90% soft, sweet and cool. But I completely have a Ree side. That is definitely part of the reason I am enjoying the book so much. I am cheering her on in her search and journey.