1 Semester Down, 1 To Go

Image from www.tylersmithsblog.com

A skill for studying that I use for most if not all of my time studying is actually quite simple. During my classes I take notes on material that is covered, and I also save all of the homework that I complete for the class. When I have a test, quiz, or any other assessment, I simply skim over all of my notes and homework. 

If I come across a section that I do not feel strongly about, or come across a question on my homework that I got wrong, I will work on that section or problem specifically. 

For example, for my Mandarin mid-term exam, I would focus on writing characters that I have not memorized instead of practicing every character. I feel that this uses my time most efficiently, because I find it hard studying for long periods of time. I would prefer to get the same information from a 30 minute study session that I can get from a 90 minute study session, and this method is most effective for me.

I am very proud of my assignment for our unit on linear perspective in studio art fundamentals. This assignment was very fun and informative. I really feel like I learned a lot during that unit. I learned how to draw shapes in perspective, with accurate angles of their sides and faces, so that a drawing could look very realistic. 

For our final project on that unit, we had to draw a city (real, fictional, or of our own design) with buildings that are in perspective. I decided to draw the one and only Gotham City, the hometown of Batman and many other iconic characters. I am very proud with how it turned out, because I spent a lot of time on it and it looks just like how I wanted it to. I really enjoy projects that I can show my interests in, such as writing your own original story or, in this case, drawing any city you want to.

For my Mandarin class I received a Chinese name from my teacher, and had to research its meaning and other facts about it. The final part of the project was to draw a picture that represents the meaning in your name. I put a lot of time into the research, but I did not plan ahead. 

I was left with one day to complete the drawing, and I was unable to truly express my ideas. Instead I had to rush it. I learned some very valuable time management skills from this, and was able to grow from it.

The E-Learning Fundamentals class did not help me as much as it helped others. I was already quite comfortable with my skills on my computer, and how to use email etc. Most of the content we covered in this class I already knew how to do. 

Applications such as Evernote, and Lucidchart helped others I am sure, but they were way too over complicated for me. I prefer simplicity. I would rather just open a document and start typing instead of having all of the extra organizational features. I just do not need them.

My goal for the second semester is just to stay on track and keep my grades up. I will try to put the most effort that I can into my work. I would also like to complete assignments as quick as possible, and try not to procrastinate.