Week 8 Progress

After reviewing my grades and the points I need to aquire an A, I see that I'm currently just a few points shy of getting a B at this point. And while that wouldn't be the end of the world, I see no reason to not get an A. So it seems I'll have to step up my extra credit game in order to achieve that.

I'm pretty happy with my work so far. I'm comfortable with it, but I should push myself so I can get that A. For the rest of the semester, I will have to get that weekend homework done ASAP on Friday, so it doesn't keep biting my butt on Sunday evenings. And like I've already said, I need to do more extra credit.

Image posted to Wikimedia Commons by user Dungdm93; Source: Wikimedia Commons

Week 8 Comments and Feedback

Overall, I receive very positive feedback for my stories and project. Most of the time it's only praise though, but sometimes I get a bit of criticism and questions clarifying points in my stories. As far as my own commenting goes, I'm pretty satisfied with it, usually pointing out at least one thing they could do better, but I think I should spend more time on other improvements the person could make on their stories. I actually really enjoy the bloggosphere we've created for this class and it's nice reading my classmates stories just for fun sometimes. Although, I still prefer face to face interaction, this is still a nice way to socialize without going to class. I suppose making feedback more useful to me would require me to read them more often as I'm working on a new story, so I can learn from my past mistakes and use that feed back as a building block for new projects.

(cheezburger)

I chose this image because it doesn't help to just find a mistake, but look for the reason it was made and correct accordingly.

Week 8 Reading and Writing

After looking through my previous stories and writings from the semester, I've realized several things.

1. I've gotten much better at condensing the stories into the 800-1000 word limit. My first few were awfully long, and now my last couple have started to get shorter. I think that's a good thing. I'm learning how to convey information in smaller quicker chunks.

2. I need to write better reading notes. Right now, my notes are basically a reminder of what story I want to retell that week with a few ideas. I bet if I added more to them, the writing process for the stories would be a lot less stressful and rushed.

3. My favorite section, by far, was the biblical stories one. I really enjoyed retelling those stories in a different way. It was just fun take take these stories from my childhood and make my own from them.

4. My project is going to be really tough when it comes to finding sources that are reputable. I'm actually falling behind because I can't get a hold of someone I was going to ask for a story from!

5. I'd say my biggest accomplishment was just staying on task and doing all the assignments, even when I really didn't feel like it. Usually by the time I finished, I realized that I really enjoy it. So I guess I've found my love for storytelling.

The picture above was the one I featured in my last story, "The Warrior, the Princess, and the Dragon". I like it so much because I'm a total medieval history nerd, I love the archetype of the hero slaying the beast to save the damsel, and the idea of the hero killing the dragon hearkens to the story of Christ and his victory over evil.

Image: Saint George Killing the Dragon by Bernat Matorell (1434); Source: Wikimedia Commons