Rap Reform

This lesson on graphic design was very interesting, because graphic design is something that i had very little experience in before this lesson. I learned not only how to make an infographic, but how to put my personal touch in the design. I really enjoyed the freedom of using all the features, from simple lines, circles and squares, to statistical graphs and charts. 

I had a lot to say in my infographic, and I was very worried about how I would make all of my text boxes fit. I decided to change my font to a thinner, but equally legible, font. This font allowed me to share more information in the limited space that I had. 

I really wanted my infographic to pop out with bright colors, but I thought it would be more effective to use one base color with accents of other colors. I chose red as my base color because I wanted to show the intensity of the violent theme of my topic. The background that I used is not just a solid red, though. My background is a gradient of red and black. The upper most portion of my infographic is the default red, and it fades to a black towards the bottom of the infographic. I chose this because I wanted there to be some depth to the graphic, not just a flat background. I chose white lettering because black would not show up very well. I used red letters for significant words so that they would stand out. 

I mainly used shapes at the top of the graphic because I felt that it would get too busy with shapes all over the graphic. The top of my graphic is designed to represent a crime caused by music. I used splatter shapes provided by Canva to represent blood. One of the splatters drips down to form a music bar. All of this is covered by caution tape with the words: “POLICE LINE DO NOT CROSS” written on thick yellow stripes. Underneath that is my central question, as well as a brain with swear symbols hovering above it. 

Underneath all of this, I placed statistics about gang related violence in the Los Angeles county followed by the reasons why. I added an interesting quote from the popular song titled, “Gangsta, Gangsta” by N.W.A. This quote strongly hows my point about how young children are influenced by rap music. 

I found creating the infographic the most interesting part of the assignment because I learned something new. I really enjoyed creating the caution tape and music bar to creatively show the topics of my central question. I also really enjoyed creating the graphs that I used. I used two pie chart style graphs and one bar graph. With the bar graph, I not only changed the color of each bar to help the viewer easily differentiate the bars, but also to show the intensity of each one. The highest bar was colored red to show its intensity. The creative aspect of this lesson was very interesting and new.

This Infographic by Sheldon Williams is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

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.

Creating Concentration

My experience with the Stay Focused extension for Google Chrome was very informative. I was informed of both the usefulness of Google Chrome extensions, and of my personal abilities in focusing and concentration. The features presented by Stay Focused worked in a very effective way.

The normal mode you will probably come across uses a countdown timer that, when it reaches zero, will block you from using that website. I will refer to this mode as “Timer Mode”. When Timer Mode is activated, Stay Focused deploys a menacing red eye in your extensions bar to let you know that time is running out. I found that Timer Mode, which simply uses a timer, will help me the most in my work.

An Artist's Interpretation of Nuclear Mode Exploding Over Procrastination City
Image from: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vKeBM5LeT20

But I came across another, more explosive mode. This mode is known as the Nuclear Mode. The Nuclear Mode is a more long term solution to the problem of distractions that are in-browser. Nuclear Mode can block a certain web page for dramatically longer time frames than that of the Timer Mode. I believe that this mode was programmed for those who have extensive troubles with concentrating on their computers, because Nuclear Mode is much more final and absolute solution. The black and yellow radioactive icon will strike fear into the hearts and souls of those who defy their better judgement and will not concentrate.

Another interesting aspect of the Stay Focused extension is its resistance to change its functions in its settings menu. Once a change is made, one must wait at least 24 hours to undo said change. This blocks those who desire to flee back to their evil ways of procrastination.

In reflection I found that I am quite confident in my ability to concentrate on my work, and I do not believe that this extension is what I need. This extension also does not affect out of browser distractions like cell phones, or any other browsers you might have on your device. To expect Stay Focused to do that, though, is quite much. One extension can only have so much power. The other discipline has to come from yourself.

Why do we fall?

Rebounding from a Wreck

"When they [NASA] were soliciting applications for astronauts, they rejected people with pure histories of success and instead selected people who had had significant failures and bounced back from them" (Dweck 29).

Imagine that Poly has a selection philosophy similar to NASA's. You are applying to Poly as an incoming ninth grader and have been asked to write a short reflection of 250-300 words on a significant academic or school failure and how you bounced back. (Not your personal life.)

Image Credit: www.m.webmd.com

I have had many failures in many areas in my life, and bounced back from them. But, the most significant failure in my academic career was in the beginning of middle school. I had a rough transition from the extremely simple concepts of elementary school to the increased workload and intensity of junior high school. Elementary school was more fun and relaxed, and I failed to develop the necessary time management skills needed for the next level of education. When I entered middle school, I got behind on many assignments and my grade began to drop dramatically. I went from enjoying school and being the top of my class, to struggling and not performing at the best of my abilities. I particularly struggled in my History and in my English classes. I have always enjoyed subjects with direct concepts and exact answers, such as Math and Science classes. In my History and English classes, we did a large amount of reading and critical thinking. I had never needed to ask for help from my parents or siblings on my homework, but in middle school, this changed. On almost every history assignment, I needed to sit down with either my mom or my dad, and have them assist me with my critical thinking problems. I was completely unable to do it on my own. They gave me very important advice on how to think critically. But I still struggled, and this, along with dependence on others for help, lowered my self confidence exponentially. This change spilled over into my other subjects, and I began hitting low Bs and eventually Cs. When I received my first C, teachers began to reach out to me, and I am thankful that they did. They, like my parents, advised me, and helped me raise my grades back to what I was capable of achieving. This was very significant, because if I continued to produce low grades and scores, I would not have the privilege of Poly. To be receiving some of the best possible education available, I am more than thankful to my teachers from middle school for helping me regain my grades and my academic self confidence.