This week, Dr. Hall and I would like to utilize the Image & Text blog to facilitate completion of the ePortfolio, which is due on Monday, May 6th. Per the assignment's instructions, the ePortfolio is to contain two reflective components, one pertaining to the first half of the semester and the second to the semester as a whole. For this week's blogging activity, we would like you to post a draft of the final reflection that you will include in your ePortfolio. This will allow all of us to have an engaged conversation about our learning community; additionally, it should offer each of you some insight into your colleagues' various approaches to this component of ePortfolio. We hope this exchange of ideas and approaches will stimulate further reflection and offer ways forward to revise and amplify final reflections prior to submitting the ePortfolio for evaluation. And, of course, we hope this blogging activity will help fend off the procrastination bug.
As you think about your learning experience in Image & Text, please revisit the "ePortfolio Reflective Pieces" link under "Assignments" in Canvas. After reviewing this information, you may wish to consider some of the following questions as you begin the process of slowing down and thinking about your accomplishments and intellectual growth in the course:
As you think about your learning experience in Image & Text, please revisit the "ePortfolio Reflective Pieces" link under "Assignments" in Canvas. After reviewing this information, you may wish to consider some of the following questions as you begin the process of slowing down and thinking about your accomplishments and intellectual growth in the course:
- Do you think that the work you submitted for evaluation this semester (whether virtual museums, blog posts, or think pieces) reflect your capabilities as presently constituted? In other words, do you think your work lived up to its potential? Why or why not?
- Do you feel that your ePortfolio taken as a whole accurately represents your experiences and growth during the semester?
- If you could dive deep and learn about one thing in greater detail that we covered this semester, what would it be and why?
- How did your experiences in our learning community align with or defy your expectations? What was harder or easier than you might have expected?
- Though both courses involved many people, places, and things, and there were certainly "basic facts" that had to be mastered, the heart of the learning community was on challenging questions with no easy answers. We live in a world hungry for quick and easy answers. How do you feel about the notion that answers sometime don't come easily, if at all? Or that answers to challenging questions often generate even more questions? Do you have the patience for this? The patience for slow looking and deep reading? Why or why not?
You are not required to answer all of these questions either in the blog post draft of your final reflection nor in the final, published version. They are here to help churn some ideas if you feel stuck.
Engage each other in dialog about your reflection drafts, your experience, etc. Encourage and inspire your classmates.
Reflecting on the learning community as a whole, I feel as if I have learned more than I originally expected to. I originally took humanities and art history because the combined class was recommended to me by my academic adviser. Likewise, she warned me that this was the first time that the class was being taught, but assured me that taking the combined class would help me take care of humanities credits. With this being said, I expressed in my last reflection piece that I had several difficulties with the class initially. I had taken honors classes in the past; however, I was never expected to do so much work in such little time. For me, this was particularly challenging because I was taking several other difficult classes such as calculus and chemistry, both of which required a great deal of studying and doing homework. Yet, as the semester progressed I began to get used to the workload and I learned how valuable time management can be. Before this class I often waited very close to due dates to start assignments, but now I find myself working ahead often. I also found that my initial fear of writing assignments has improved drastically. When I first started the class I was not sure what the instructors would expect from my writing -as every instructor is different- but I quickly found that the best way to combat this fear was to simply communicate with my instructors. As someone who recently graduated from high school, I was not used to being able to email my instructors whenever I needed help. In fact, I often found that engaging with my teachers scared me in the past! This semester has helped me to realize that college is not like high school and that communication is often the key to success in everyday life, not just school. I also feel as if my quality of work has greatly improved this semester. An example that comes to my mind is the second think piece. I initially intended to write the paper as I always did, fairly clear and dry with many facts, but decided to consult Dr. Cleworth to see what his opinion was on my writing. His feedback was hard for me to listen to initially, especially considering that he really pressed me to dive into the topic more and write a paper that was smart and something that nobody could imitate, but I am glad that I chose to listen to him because that second think piece ended up being one of the only papers I have ever been proud of. I used his criticisms to write my third think piece as well, and it has actually been enjoyable to write!
ReplyDeleteIf I could choose to learn, in depth, about one thing from our class it would be Franz Kafka's writings. Upon doing this week's learning checks, of which he was features, I found myself extremely interested in his theories. I have always been fascinated with the human mind and it was surprising to hear that Kafka believed insecurities stem back to infancy. I remember learning about this concept in psychology, and at the time I wanted to learn more about it but forgot as the semester went on. I am glad that the learning community sparked my memories and I look forward to doing more in depth research on his philosophies.
Josh, I think that because we were the test students for this new course, none of us had a full grasp on what to expect. Because of that uncertainty of the unknown, we all had to find our grasp on time management pretty quickly. With that being said, it's good that you were able to find some availability and a work ethic that worked for your busy schedule. Did you have that much of an issue with your other courses? Or did you feel like you were sacrificing some time for one course to work on the next?
DeleteBryson, if you'd like me to be honest I felt like I was balancing time with all of my courses. I was having to do about six hours of math homework alone, on top of studying it was closer to 8. Chemistry overall was not extremely demanding but around test time I did have to do several quizzes and study guides. I feel as if humanities was the most demanding class I had this semester by far. In my opinion the work wasn't hard, there was jus always alot of it. I often found myself taking an hour or more on each quiz, which really started to stack up considering that we had anywhere from four to eight a week. Did you have any of the same things happen to you this semester?
Delete-Josh Bates
Josh, as you mentioned I too was recommended this course by my academic advisor. I am glad you were able to improve on you time management skills, as this class taught me same thing. I admire that the class gave you more confidence to consult with both Drs, I wish I gained that as well. Unfortunately, they both skill intimidate me.
DeleteHi all,
DeleteAn important thing to keep in mind is that the first several semesters of college often involves coming to terms with a new set of circumstances: you have autonomy. What this means is that you are vested with control over many dimensions of your academic life -- from your major and classes you take to how you organize your time and utilize your faculty to meet your academic and intellectual goals. The fact is MANY students fail to make this transition. They remain within their culture of "origin" and fail to adapt to the culture of their destination.
As you write your reflections, I think it is important to frame this transition (it's successes and its opportunities for improvement) as a way to build skills and gain confidence for your future endeavors. Imagine an outside reader of your portfolios -- what will they infer from your reflections? That you rose to the challenge and embraced the opportunity for growth OR that fifteen weeks later you are assessing the challenge from a negative point of view? Are you resilient or defeated and crabby?
Given that the quizzes were timed (usually between 8-15 minutes), I am not sure how one could spend over an hour on each of them?!?!
DeleteWith respect to the overall course load, keep in mind the syllabus reminder: upwards of 6-9 hours are required for each three credit class you take. Hence, if you have 4 classes, you can expect to spend up to 36 hours each week on those four classes alone -- this is why 4 classes typically = full time student status, with emphasis on "full time."
That is one thing that I dislike about college, the time management. Even though I plan my time accordingly, something always seems to pop up. Life doesn't stop for anyone, I wish it did but sadly no. I really enjoyed this class and my classmates. However Josh, I'm proud that you were able to find light in the dark!
DeleteLooking back to the beginning of the semester, I know for certain now that I was not mentally prepared for this class. Because these two classes were related to each other and part of the same curriculum, I let myself believe that I was only needing to do work for one class. Obviously, that was not what this course entailed. Because of that, I felt extremely overwhelmed throughout the whole semester, even when I managed to get a system going. For future reference I am going to need to observe my own stress and mental capacity when choosing my honors courses.
ReplyDeleteAs a recent high school graduate, I have noticed that not a lot of my teachers scrutinized my writing as much as college professors. High school teachers look at the argument, and if my writing is fluid and correct. This course has taught me that there is a distinct approach to writing that I should be considering. Even if my writing makes sense in my head, most of the time I does not transfer to other people as well. Because of this realization I have been a lot more mindful about my writing pieces to make sure they are not only comprehendible, but also retain a voice of higher intellect. I was very happy with my work development in its entirety however. From looking at my think pieces alone, I can see clear path of growth from my first to last think piece. I found a lot of enjoyment through the digital galleries, although time consuming I found interesting ways to enjoy writing and developing my projects. There are some parts of my digital galleries, think pieces and blog posts alike that I was not happy with how I went about developing the work. There were times when my brain was so fried that I was went “eh” and submitted what I had. Although my assignments were up in a timely manner, I know that some do not reflect my best work. I still have an issue (as stated in my midterm reflection) with separating timeliness with quality. In conclusion, I like my work and I think I did a great job overall, but there are some parts that I wish I took more time on.
I am quite proud of my eportfolio, and I have had a great time choosing extra assignments and blog posts and incorporating into my project. Not only that but I have found it quite fun to incorporate files and writing that I wanted to include for my own pleasure, such as describing the artworks talked about in class that I wish to see in person. After much consideration it was interesting to see what kind of influences that art, music, and literature has had on the world around us, and learning that through two different professor’s advances.
Overall, I think this course will have a lasting impact, not only in my academic life but also in my artistic life. Despite the frustration and stress that I felt, I enjoyed this class to the best extent that I could, and I retained a lot more information then I thought I could. It allowed me to see how flexible I was with going out of my comfort zone with writing, and it required a lot more interaction within the class then I was used to. But because of the interaction from the blog post, I really think it helped solidify the information into more than a topic, it was now discussion between classmates. Although it took some time to build the courage to write more then a few sentences, I have seen my own advancement in discussion board interaction.
Bryson, I agree that this class was originally not what I was expecting. My advisor also sold the class to me as "the same curriculum and the same work", which it definitely was not. I too expected to only have work for one class, and ended up extremely stressed when I realized that I had essentially taken two honors classes at the same time. I also was not aware of the fact that one of the classes was going to be entirely online. I was under the impression that we were going to see Dr. Hall on one day in class, and then Dr. Cleworth another day in class so that they could individually teach us material that were going to come together. I think in the future I will be alot less likely to just go with what my advisor recommends, because I'm sure that all of the advisors were told to get as many people into this class as they could.
DeleteThe reply from the unknown person is me, I was doing my replies on my phone and it would not allow me to sign into my school email.
DeleteFunny that you mentioned that, Josh, because my adviser sold this course to me the exact same way. I obviously was way over my head. Like you, I didn't realize HUM251 was online. My assumption was that one day of the week would be ARH and the other HUM, but I was shockingly surprised when I learned otherwise. It's interesting that we had the exact same assumption. I think the advisers should explain the class more clearly as to not confuse the students.
DeleteBryson I think that you make a good point about choosing and managing time wisely. Many of us have experienced the stress that you have felt this semester also but I truly think that you will get things done the way you want them to if you continue with your system.
DeleteAs for the impact that this learning community had on you, I agree with some of the points that you have discussed. I didn't realize just how much information and interaction we were having with just writing these blog posts alone but I am so glad that they urged you to get out of your comfort zone and share with us some of your views.
Let me ask all of you this: would you have enrolled in the learning community had it not been a hybrid class? In other words, would still have signed up if you were required to meet 10-11:15 and 11:30-12:45 on Tuesdays and Thursdays? Our thought was that the hybrid component would be more attractive to students, as it offers more schedule flexibility.
DeleteWith respect to moving HUM 251 to the online component, this made sense given the visuality inherent in ARH 102. Trust me, it is easier to learn about literature and ideas in a digitally mediated environment than it is to develop aesthetic appreciation of visual culture. I think we have been very, very fortunate that Dr. Hall has been so willing to step up to the plate to lecture for us each class period.
And, lastly, Bryson: you have performed admirably this semester. My hope is that your quality performance will give you confidence to trust in your abilities and to not allow undo stress of the unknown or time pressures to overwhelm you and diminish the enjoyment of learning.
During this semester I felt an immense amount of pressure the first few weeks of class. This pressure was caused by having all of the information and assignments that went along with this hybrid, honors class handed to us from day one. I can confidently say that I really did try with the best of my abilities to do well on each and every assignment this semester. From the Think Pieces to the Virtual Museums, I gave one hundred percent to what I turned in. There was a few times where laziness and procrastination did have me in the palm of their hands, but I would usually overcome them.
ReplyDeleteAs for the main assignment of the semester, the ePortfolio was an interesting and new way to gather all that I have learned into a small package. I have never made an ePortfolio before, so it was a bit tricky to learn how to set up everything. Eventually, with the help of all the ePortfolio resources provided in the modules, I got the hang of it. I believe this assignment is a good reflection itself to see where we started and how we have improved over time. I know that I have personally learned to enjoy writing about important paintings and works of literature through this course.
Overall, this learning community did align with my expectations. The online blog aspect was a huge part of keeping in contact with the learning community set up. Being a blog leader was interesting because we were in charge of the whole conversation and leading it to a certain direction. This class was definitely not easy; however, it was not as difficult as I thought it would be like I did in the beginning.
I agree with you about the pressure. At some points it was overwhelming. I'm proud of you for overcoming it! There were times in the semester I thought I would turn in a major project late. My heart was beating at the same pace as it was when I watched last night's Game of Thrones episode half the time during this semester. But I know through all the pressure and anxiety, this course was a learning experience for me to do better with my procrastination.
DeleteNohely, I think that it was smart of you to mention the blog leadership experience because that truly was something different that at least I have not experienced before. I think that the blog leadership urged us to not only dig deeper into the topics we were currently studying that week but also the qualities of working as a team, having an open mind, and even sometimes accepting and acknowledging that the people around us may oppose our own beliefs.
DeleteNohely, the blog leadership experience was actually very rewarding. I agree with Vanessa in how the blog leadership allowed me to engage with all of my classmates in ways I just don't do in a classroom setting. If it weren't for the blog posts, I don't think any of us would have had any interactivity. It's hard to be engaging but this really allowed for us to formulate our thoughts with one another.
DeleteIn the most kindest way, it is sort of a relief to hear how similarly this class has affected everyone. I thought I was alone in feeling stressed and overwhelmed, but it's kind of crazy to think we all made it and survived! I agree that this class pushed me to do my best, and in some ways instead of crying myself to sleep as I did towards the beginning, later on I began to take all the work as a challenge and push my self further. It was a satisfying feeling when I was able to finish an assignment, and I took it as an award.
DeleteAs you stated, there does seem to be a procrastination bug going around. And, sadly, I'm infected with it. At the beginning of this semester, I wasn't aware of just how many projects would be given, and certainly not due at once. For this reason, I extremely underestimated my time management. Many of my assignments for this course could have been better. Certainly if I knew how to better manage my time I could have gotten better grades than I have, especially with the museum assignments. If I could retake this course, I wouldn't underestimate just how much work two classes in one entails. Even by the end of the semester I'm still feeling overwhelmed, but this is partially due to an unfortunately planned family trip, which happens to fall in the middle of the week of regular classes. I'm having to due all my final projects days before they are due in order to finish everything before I leave. On the bright side, I have been doing a great job of planning out which assignments to do on which day, and finishing them before I fly out.
ReplyDeleteEven though my museum projects were my lower scores compared to my think pieces, I really enjoyed learning about art and all of the art eras throughout history. I would like to dive deeper into not just the art, but the history of the artists if I had to choose something. If I recall, Dr. Cleworth mentioned in one class that sometimes art gets better when we know the history behind it. I believe this 100%. One of the most enjoyable lectures for me was during our Post-Impressionist unit, when we learned the backstory of van Gogh. I think we only learned the backstory of a few artists; off the top of my head I remember learning the history of da Vinci, Picasso, van Gogh, and Monet. There were definitely more, but a lot of the artists whose art we talked about are just names to me. I'd like to learn more about them.
The feedback Dr. Cleworth and Dr. Hall give has been the best feedback professors have given me. It is precise, pin points what I do well and what I can work on, and they aren't afraid to give me harsh criticism. For these reasons, I think you can see my growth in my ePortfolio by comparing my think pieces to one another, as well as my museums. Thank you professors for helping me better my writing skills, how I analyse, and how I can interpret every form of art.
I'm glad I'm not the only one confessing my procrastinating experiences! I related a lot to what you mentioned about time management that I almost thought I wrote that myself. Following with that, I think that if we all had the opportunity to take this class again we would keep that in mind so that we would be able to turn in accordingly planned and prestigious work.
DeleteI came into this course thinking it was going to be difficult, but fun. I was right in thinking that. As the semester progressed I felt myself slipping behind. I am the type of student who does need time to think about what I’m learning, but that is very difficult to do when I’m being bombarded with so much work for other classes and this course too. I have English 102 and added with this course and the essays and projects being due in the same time frame, it is very difficult to give 100% in all my work that I turn in. I do know time management is something I need to improve on, and it is difficult. I often write essays, blog posts, and museum projects a few hours before they have to be turned in because I’m so focused on trying to get Knowledge Checks done. I hate that I had to prioritize certain assignments because I know they were all important and I wish I could’ve absorbed it all. Instead of getting better at time management, I feel I’ve gotten worse. Other than that, I do find the subjects we discuss in the course very interesting. I have always found myself attracted to humanities and how life events transcend into the art world. I have to be thankful that both professors, Dr. Hall and Dr. Cleworth, answer my concerns and give feedback on every Think Piece and Museum that is turned in. I had always been weary of criticism because my teachers in high school never gave helpful tips for me to use to improve and it all left me confused. I like that the criticism I receive is much more helpful. Something that I really found extremely helpful was being able to hear the criticism Dr. Cleworth had on Think Piece #2. It gave me a sense of relief because the voice reading the criticism in my head does in fact make things sound much harsher.
ReplyDeleteDamaris, balancing my other classes with these two was a challenge for me as well. I am also taking English 102 and having Think Pieces, Virtual Museums, and Essays all due the same day was not always fun. It was difficult to make time for the knowledge checks, blog posts, etc. along with other assignments. I do wish, like you said, that I could have absorbed the material a little better instead of feeling I was rushing through to get to another assignment. Time management was definitely a realization for us all this semester and I’m hoping to continue to improve on it next semester so I can get the most out of each of my classes.
DeleteI can go and on about how badly this semester kicked my butt but honestly I don't think it was quite so bad. This learning community has made me realized that there is yet so much in the world left to see and experience. There is also much more than Leonardo Da Vinci's and Picasso's... and since I'm talking about artists that we've mentioned in class I would also like to add that if this community could represent a work of art I would compare it to Kandinsky's non-representational work. Maybe I may be reading too much into things but that's also an experience that I've personally developed after learning about art pieces such as The Garden of Earthly Delights, The Marriage Contract and Guernica. I think that in a way, Kandinsky's non-representational art through synesthesia represents my experience in this community due to different aspects. This new idea of hearing colors and seeing scents, colors, and flavors has created a representation to me of the new things I've encountered this semester. I think that the work we have done and the art we've learned about along with the conversations/discussions we have had in these blog posts would all contribute to a painting that would look a lot similar to Kandinsky's art.
ReplyDeleteThis semester totally caught me by surprise as well. The learning community, in a way, did help open my eyes on a lot of things. Like you mentioned, now I know plenty more artists and many more terms and techniques and also the history behind it. We also got to see new forms of art and not just paintings or portraits. I think the hardest part of it though would be trying to remember all those artist and what they did to contribute to the overall history and the ways of art.
DeleteI agree with you on the joy of learning knew things. That part of this semester has been enjoyable. But I think I agree with Isac as far as remembering goes. I love the subject matter but we have covered so much material in such a short amount of time that I can only remember the more famous people. As the semester trudges on, I am remembering less and less.
DeleteVanessa, I appreciate the allusion to Kandinsky and your perspective on the class as being an exercise in synesthesia. It's an interesting metaphor for the class as a whole. That said, as one who is much more inclined to order and logic, my own experience in this learning community might yield an image from a different artist, perhaps -- something more narratively driven. In any event, I appreciate the creative approach to structuring your reflection.
DeleteVanessa, I agree that there is so much more out there for us to explore than can be delved into in just one semester of this learning community. I find it particularly interesting how even just within the artworks we've studied, they are located in so many different museums throughout the world. While we may sometimes say that our world is "small" in regards to our relationships with/knowledge of others, the art world is incredibly vast. To second what Dr. Cleworth said, I believe your comparison of this learning community to Kandinsky's works is very interesting. I think I can somewhat see what you were trying to get at. Because non-representational works lack traditional subjects, the viewer is encouraged to 'dig deeper' and establish his/her own interpretation, which is what we had to do with each of our big assignments. Personally, though, I would compare this learning community to Jacques-Louis David and Oath of the Horatii. I say this because though we did not have to engage in physical battle like the Horatii and Curatii families did, we each had our own difficulties and struggles with respect to this learning community. Despite this, however, we did not "accept defeat"; we stuck with it, because we recognize that our education as a whole is important to pursue and worth "fighting" for. That, I feel, is something to be proud of.
DeleteI completely agree, this class made me realize that there is so much in the world to experience. One of the really memorable things I learned from this semester is how vast and amazing the world is. Every time Dr. Hall or Dr. Cleworth would talk about visiting a museum or seeing a painting in real life, I felt inspired. I particularly remember Dr. Hall saying how beautiful the Palace at Versailles is and how we should visit if we get the chance, so I immediately added it to my list of places to travel. Hearing them both talk so passionately about works of art makes me want to be passionate about it too.
DeleteYeah before this class Leonardo and Picasso were the only successful artists I knew, but after this class I feel like I know more but I also I don't. I have realized, just as you, that there is so much more I have to know, and that I'm missing out on so much. I have a different perspective on the "meaning" of art, and will now stop and read the label and description of a piece the next time I'm at a museum, where before I'd just take a look and walk on by.
DeleteYes. This semester really put me to the test, especially when it came to writing about something. I'm not usually a good writer whatsoever and I didn't think I would get high grades either but I noticed that as the semester went on I got worse. I usually get better and adapt to things more quickly but somehow that has changed. The Think Pieces did get harder as well with each one getting more into depth of what it was based on and that when I draw the line. I am the worst at analyzing texts and finding anything about it. This semester has also been rough on me emotionally so some of my work wasn't the best but that shouldn't be an excuse. I know I could've done better but I also feel like I am such a bad writer and I probably couldn't have.
ReplyDeleteOne thing that interested me a lot was learning about the architectures during the renaissance because they built such amazing buildings with so little technology. They also used some very good techniques to help them better their architecture and make it more present. What interested me was how they were able to build and plan things that amazing.
Being apart of this learning community was the hardest thing I've done so far. I expected something easier because I assumed there would be group discussions on the art like how we do on the blog, we just create discussions which I would prefer.. I thought it would be simple, some parts were, but most parts were complicated and very hard. The easiest thing to do was probably the blog posts because it was just posting original responses on a topic and you could basically type whatever answer you would like.
Isac, I cannot agree with you more the think pieces were very challenging. Don't be so hard on yourself. This course was hard in every way. I think I had at least 4 panic attacks during the semester because of it. I also thought we would have more group discussions.
DeleteIsac, the writing portions of the assignments were a challenge for me as well. I had been used to writing essays for english classes, but, like you said, these Think Pieces asked us to think beyond synthesizing information, and to analyze and dissect texts and concepts. Although these essays were difficult I am glad I got to write them. If it had been easy, would there have been any sense of accomplishment or growth from it? Know that you are not alone in your struggles with assignments. Don’t be afraid to reach out to classmates and professors if you need help, it’s worth it. Be proud of the work you did this semester, if it was not a challenge you would not be able to grow.
DeleteI believe for the most part of my work I would say that it presents my capabilities. Although, there were moments during the semester where I allowed my frustrations to get the betterment of me. I tried my best for every assignment. I do feel my abilities to have achieved more were hindered due of the overwhelming course work along with my four other classes and work. As my peers have mentioned, time management is something I was forced to improve on. I am so grateful that I am able to plan more carefully now. I loved Dada art style and wished we could’ve learned about more artist. The Dada style is unique to anything I have seen, which is why I probably enjoyed it so much. To be honest I do not think I put much thought into the course before starting the semester. I do believe the term learning community is a bit misleading. Truly the only interaction I have had with my classmates has been through the blog posts. I do wish there would have been more interaction between us all during class. Perhaps I am also to blame for this, as I could have been more vocal during class as well. I will admit the first day I left class feeling extremely anxious! I was unprepared for these challenging questions. These questions forced me to learn more about myself in search of the answers. I will say that class has given me the ability to think more carefully and more patience.
ReplyDeleteI am of the same sentiment Aryanna. The amount of coursework this semester really puts me behind in this class and it is frustrating trying to keep up, especially since this is subject matter I enjoy. I agree with you on the interactivity in class. I feel like that's partially my fault since I am one of the only people who constantly talks. I almost feel annoying, but because it is my learning language and that's how I engage with the content I can't help it. But I do understand that I could be seen as annoying to my peers and if I have been to anybody I do apologize.
DeleteHi Aryanna and Ethan, I certainly am "hearing" you with respect to peer-to-peer interaction. As I mentioned above, much of the structure of the class was dictated by the hybrid format. The fact of the matter is that GCC has a hard time getting learning communities to "make," and the flexibility of hybrid seems to alleviate students' concern about committing to a scheduled block of face-to-face classes. So, we have some time/space limitations that are challenging that would not be an issue if we have an additional 75 minutes of face-to-face time twice a week.
DeleteAnd, Ethan, we appreciate your participation. Everyone in the class has to take responsibility for creating opportunities for dialog and exchange. Those who remain silent cannot complain.
Aryanna, I would agree with the fact that our 'community' was basically facilitated by this blog. I will admit: there were a couple of times where I walked into class and was taken aback by how quiet we all were! However, that could just be due to our nature as Honors students. Looking back on my Honors courses from the past three semesters, the students in them (myself included) were never very talkative either. I would venture to say that most of us do not like to be wrong, and we do not want to speak 'out of turn'. With this said, however...Ethan, to second what Dr. Cleworth said, I do not consider you annoying at all! In fact, I appreciate your self-awareness in recognizing that this is how you engage with the content, and I believe you do so well.
DeleteBefore delving into my reflection, I want to acknowledge that the reason I took this learning community to begin with was to satisfy my five Honors courses, in order to graduate with Honors after this semester. I think we can all agree that taking two Honors courses (let alone one) is quite challenging, but I personally feel accomplished in having done so.
ReplyDeleteFor the most part, the reality of this learning community was different from my prior expectations of it. As I’m sure many of us did before entering this Community, I did not expect the HUM251 component to be pretty much entirely online. I felt that this ultimately augmented its difficulty, especially with the numerous Knowledge Checks every week. In retrospect, however, I am glad that ARH102 was the in-class portion, as it would have been very difficult if not impossible to truly learn about art online (and, I enjoyed experiencing Dr. Hall’s lectures again, having also taken ARH100 with her last semester). In addition, our bigger assignments, the Think Pieces and Virtual Museums, were different than what I had originally expected. I would not necessarily say they were harder or easier, but rather that they were more involved and time-consuming. I would purposefully allow myself one to two weeks to work on them because I had come to know of the endeavor I was about to begin. I felt that they absolutely required us to show deeper knowledge and application of the concepts we had been learning in class. Regarding the Think Pieces, though, this last one on Frankenstein was definitely the most challenging for me. I think this challenge stemmed from both the fact that we had to use outside evidence in addition to the text (something I have seldom done in my recent schooling at least), as well as the particular prompt I had chosen (whether or not Frankenstein should have had a companion). However, I consulted with Dr. Cleworth closely and he definitely helped me further structure my argument. And overall, I am very proud of the work I put into each of these essays. The Virtual Museums also piqued my interest, and I am glad to have had the experience of delving deeper into the works we have studied in class because something I aspire to do in life is to actually work at a museum.
One thing that was definitely easier than I expected was leading this blog. In my previous academic encounters, I had never done so before, much less with a partner. However, Yasmine and I were able to come up with a topic we both really liked, and even though I had been out of town during the week we posted our prompt, I was still able to respond to everyone’s posts. It was a very valuable experience. In general, I am grateful that this blog was a component of our class because it allowed us to engage in deeper discourse with one another.
To be completely honest, our ePortfolio has been quite challenging for me to keep up with on a regular basis. In fact, I will still be adding to it this coming weekend. I think this struggle stems from the additional curation of artifacts we have had to do. In other courses, I have done portfolios of my completed assignments before, but not anything else in addition to those assignments. So, this did pose a challenge to me, especially because I have often prioritized concrete deadlines over adding things to it. With that said though, I have made the effort to add to it throughout these past couple of months.
The question of one thing I would want to dive deeper into is a hard one because there was so much information that resonated with me from each of these classes. But upon thinking about it, I think it would have to be the WWI poetry, as there were a number of poems that jumped out at me in the process of completing Knowledge Check 13.2. I have also had a deeper appreciation for poetry since my freshman year of high school, and would love to continue studying it.
Overall, this learning community was demanding yet rewarding, and I am glad to have been a part of it!
I am right there with you with regards to the ePortfolio Lizzy no worries. As it is, I have done most of the stuff required for the ePortfolio but I have gotten so far behind I haven't put any of it up. I am normally good with technology but I also found myself a little lost when I first attempted to set it up, so at that point I reserved to leave it for later. Well, this is about as late as I can get. I also agree with the blog post, I don't think I have conversed with people all that much outside of the blog post and it allowed me to get a better framework of my classmate's thoughts and insights. It was honestly very helpful.
DeleteHi Lizzy,
DeleteThanks for your feedback and insights on your experience. With respect to the "other artifacts," our goal was to get students thinking about how the college experience is one that is complex and nuanced tapestry. Courses are important, of course, but the activities, connections, and opportunities that coalesce from all corners of a campus are what make this a rich experience. So, we want your portfolios to capture that -- at least, in as much as you, an individual student, has sought out these opportunities. Years from now I hope you'll be glad that you did document these other artifacts because, quite frankly, its easy to forget the small details as time sails by. I wish I had kept a record of all the performances, club meetings, out of class lectures and events, etc. that I participated in while an undergrad. Having done so would allow me all these years later to understand better the genealogy of my own brain.
When reflecting over the entirety of this semester, I think I found myself struggling to keep up. I am normally a student that is on top of everything and I make sure that I understand everything far in advance. I initially took this course as a requirement for my major and to satisfy my Honor’s credits for this semester. In the case of this class, it was a learning curve for me that I don’t think I triumphed over as much as I wanted to. A lot of my assignments this semester, I felt fell short of my expectations in terms of quality and consistency for most of my assignments. If I’m being honest though, I think most of that was due to time with respect to the amount of credit hours I am taking as well as my job hours increasing. If I had more time, I feel like I could have been much better prepared for the assignments this semester. In general, I feel I have improved since the mid semester reflection I wrote back in the end of March, but most of my feelings of my performance this semester, remain the same. I would say I have been adequate for the shortcomings I’ve had in time management and consistency.
ReplyDeleteIf I were to take another swing at this course again, the approach I would take would be to make this class a higher priority. I felt sidelined by the fact that it was two courses and I don’t think I fully grasped this until the mid semester reflection. Generally, I like online courses because they allow me to work around my schedule and to knock out multiple projects in one day. Since I am a mixture of time-management failure and a little bit of procrastination, my grade for Art History isn’t where I wanted it to be and I slipped behind. The one thing I can say definitively about this course is that both professors are above adequate in giving feedback. It is more than enough to address my shortcomings and offer suggestions to correct them. In the end, I think I did alright with what I had, but I definitely could have done better.
When I first enrolled in this learning community, I was a bit nervous because I am an education major and have had little experience in the disciplines of art history and humanities. As I later realized I was in a class with a lot of art majors and that fact intimidated me because I felt I knew little compared to them. The addition of the courses both being honors level had me worried as well. However, I wanted to fulfill the component that required me to complete two honors credits one of my semesters. I knew these two classes would not be easy ones, but that if I worked hard I could have success.
ReplyDeleteThere were times throughout the semester that I did become overwhelmed with completing the assignments for this class on top of my assignments for my other classes. I found that it was important to remind myself that this learning community was two classes, though they were connected almost as if one. I could not expect to do the work of one class when I was in two. The assignments I submitted this semester, from the think pieces to the museums, challenged and grew me in ways I did not think possible. The first think piece in particular was the hardest assignment for me. I had difficulty coming up with what to write, or even understand what I was writing about. I eventually was able to compose the essay and received a grade way better than I expected. That assignment taught me that I should never underestimate what I can do and I should not give up. In future think pieces I was able to tackle them easier and compose better written essays.
Concerning the eportfolio, I do feel that it represents my experiences throughout the semester, but it also brought me to a realization. I was challenged to curate artifacts that represent what I did this semester to further myself inside and outside of the classroom. I had a hard time coming up with artifacts to include because I do not feel I made much of an effort to further myself beyond my classes. This learning community had challenged me to go out and experience the world beyond what I can learn in books and lectures. I should visit museums, join clubs, and explore my community. There is a lot more to developing and growing myself than merely attending classes.
This learning community did meet my expectations. It was important for me to remember throughout the semester that what I put in is what I would get out. One thing that I took away from Dr. Hall and Dr. Cleworth is that I should not be afraid to work with my professors. They were both very open and willing to answer any questions I had and work with me if I was stuck on an assignment. I also enjoyed getting to participate in the blog conversations each week. While sometimes the prompts were difficult, it was fun to engage with my fellow classmates and be able to see from others perspectives what they took away from particular topics.
The main reason that I took this class is because it takes has art. I'm a huge art lover, I also love learning about different things that artists do and learning about the history behind it. I believe that most of my work this semester has reflected my capabilities, not as a whole though. As for my ePortfolio, I wanted to create something that not only shows what I learned, how I grew as a student but I also wanted to make it reflect a part of me. It also gave me a map on what techniques worked better for me, if I wanted to look back on the ePortfolio then I could be reminded on the things that helped me the most and reuse them. This learning community helped me get somewhat out of my shell. Usually, in most of my class I'm always the quite kid. I don't say much and I only interact with the professor. This community helped me get out of this hole, this made it easier for me to interact with my classmates. I started enjoying this class more when I interacted with others and listened to their perspective on things. Interactions with my classmates made things easier for me to understand. The only problem I had with this class is some of the online assignments. It wasn't the work that was the problem though it was just how my other classes were also pouring more assignments onto me. I understand that there's no way to change this because each class has it's own needed material but if maybe more time was given for bigger assignments. That's just a personal thought though.
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ReplyDeleteBefore delving into the final reflection of this course, I wanted to also discuss what interested me in this class to begin with as that ties into part of my discussion. Obviously, everyone that was pitched the proposition given at the honors orientation during the beginning of this semester was highly interested by the benefits and opportunity that was being offered; making it awfully convenient to fit in the required five Honors courses that are needed to graduate with Honors. But I do agree, when some of my classmates mention that the course was "sold" differently or described in a different matter, especially by advisers. I am not complaining or disappointed in the slightest, I greatly enjoyed my experience in this learning community, but I do believe it was being described in a different format in the beginning of the works. I also have to admit, I was pretty nervous and felt a little blind going into this course; I have not taken anything regarding this subject matter, let alone, two classes combined into one. Also, the fact that this dual class was an honors course made me concerned, because honors courses usually tend to require more time and in-depth thought orchestration to fulfill the required expectations. This learning community definitely delivered, challenging not only my thought process, but my way of life and how I complete my work and manage my assignments. The beginning of the course was a struggle for me, much like my classmates have mentioned, because I was not expecting the constant demand for attention to the class on top of everything else I had to do. Overall, I do think this assisted me to manage my time in a better way, as I was forced to revise my schedule to fit in everything I wanted to complete to the best of my ability. This course has truly challenged me in more ways than any other class has, positively impacting my thinking style, as well as, how I manage and approach any given topic or situation.
I believe that the work I submitted this semester does reflect my capabilities accurately. I always strive to provide my best work with the time given to me, with more time to work and construct my thoughts I could probably have produced a better outcome. But, I do understand the time restraints for the limited semester, and it would be great, but impossible to spend the desired time on every assignment. Overall, I am so far satisfied with my results in the class, and I am happy that we got to cover and learn so much about a huge chunk of history and its influences. This course is nothing like any subject matter I have covered before, and I am excited to get to expand my knowledge into different areas over my college career.
Overall, I wish we had more time to cover everything in more depth, especially the last few movements which I feel were a little shorted. I would have also appreciated if we would have finished off the timeline, but again, I completely understand the semester time restraint and I am thankful for everything that I have learned and experienced up to this point.
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DeleteThe learning community was definitely different than what I expected. It seemed more like two separate classes that we had to navigate individually that played into each other, and certainly affected one another. But, I feel like the "community" aspect was a little lacking in the sense of peer interaction. The blog served as a fantastic function for conversing ideas and bouncing concepts back and forth against one another, but I feel like this characteristic was absent during actual class. I also understand that class time is used productively still and generally for the visual element of the art history side, which makes complete sense for understanding the material correctly. I just wish there would have been more opportunities to engage in conversations with peers and compare our ideas face-to-face to build a stronger relationship. In this sense, I guess my expectations did not align with how a learning community would play out, but I still enjoyed the results and my experience immensely.
Throughout the course of this learning experience, we have dived into many thought provoking concepts that caused us to go through a series of learning challenges to understand an idea altogether. Some of these questions and obstacles can be answered easily, but others take much more time and thought, while other answers avoid us altogether and remain to be lost. I, personally, am not bothered and am okay with the fact that sometimes questions remain unanswered. If everything was already answered, known, or found then there would be absolutely no pleasure or gratification in exploring and learning new ideas and how everything plays together in life; and if a single person held all the answers, this would defeat the purpose as well. I think part of the joy is slowly observing and understanding something completely, even if this generates more questions to be answered and explored. Without everything that is or was once unknown, there would be and immense lack to know. This being said, I do have the patience to delve deep and search for answers, even if it involves slow looking and deep reading for comprehension. I think this is the key to truly understanding whatever you are tying to get a grasp of.
Overall, this course has challenged my educational style and character as a learner, ultimately, providing me with a beneficial and valuable experience that I am proud to be engaged in.
Kyle, I would just like to say that I think you made a beautiful and spot-on assessment of how it is okay to not know the answers to everything right away!
DeleteThinking back on this semester, I enjoyed it much more than I expected to. Although there were hours of stress and frustration, I can recall many classes I’ve taken previously that were much, much worse. With it being my fourth semester of college and my ninth continuous year of taking honors classes, I’m completely drained. Unfortunately, I find that nowadays I only put my best efforts into assignments that interest me. I am terribly ashamed that I’ve given up on my previous values of “giving it my all”. Regretfully, a lot of the work I’ve submitted to this learning community isn’t the best I can produce. That being said, I was somewhat surprised that there were assignments this semester that I truly enjoyed. I had fun researching and reading different sources for the annotated bibliography on the ARH 102 side of the class. I also liked doing the virtual museums because they were unlike any assignments I’ve had before.
ReplyDeleteIn regards to the difficulty of this learning community, I had no expectations. I took the class mainly because my advisor said it would satisfy my remaining requirements for my associate degree. Overall, the coursework wasn’t extremely challenging. As usual, it was my procrastination that made it ten times more difficult. If I retook this class and managed my time more efficiently, I guarantee it would’ve been easier. However, there were times throughout the semester where I felt inspired to work on assignments weeks in advance. I was really interested in the painting I chose for the Wall Text assignment so I started early, and same with many of the virtual museum paintings. I also found it very helpful when Dr. Cleworth added a Knowledge Check regarding our topics for the third Think Piece. With this I remembered that doing basic research on the assignment early on helps fight procrastination. Throughout the following week, I was constantly thinking about Frankenstein and different ways to approach my prompt.
Overall, I feel like I’ve learned a lot in this learning community. I was never interested in paintings or artwork beyond face value, but I’m glad to say that has changed. Knowing the different ideologies and philosophies of the time, as well as details about the artist makes the art so much more enjoyable for me. From now on, if I see artwork that interests me I’ll take the time to look the artist up and learn what I can about the history of the piece.
Hi Erica, there were a lot of points in your reflection that I connect with and agree on. I thought it was interesting how you mentioned how you felt more drained as the semesters go on. I really understand what you mean by this, my effort overall has seemed to gradually drop since the start of college. I regret this too and wish I could continue to give it my all, but I find myself, too, getting distracted or not interested in the assignments that do not spark my fascination. I also like how you mentioned that the knowledge checks benefited our research for our Think Pieces, I thought back to this and appreciate Dr. Cleworth helping to push us forward in the right direction. In addition, I do agree that learning the philosophies and different ideologies at the time, definitely assisted in understanding the overall concepts and curriculum. This certainly made the class more enjoyable, as we got to learn the full story behind many great masterpieces.
DeleteAs has been the case for the whole of my academic career, I struggled significantly with overcoming procrastination throughout this semester. I have no doubt that, had I actually put forth the requisite amount of effort (instead of waiting until the due date to begin every assignment, as I’m doing now), my performance would have been much better. I embarked on this journey primarily because I believed it to be an economical decision; the class counts as two honors classes which frees me to choose something closer to my interests in the future. More importantly however, I believe that a broad knowledge of human achievement and production is essential for anyone who wishes to make a meaningful contribution to said knowledge. This course has lived up to my expectations insofar as it has helped to provide me with an intellectual scaffolding on which I can attach my conceptions of art and its place in human achievement. I’ve never valued art to the same degree to which I value science and technology. I’ve largely viewed the former as mere human interpretation filtered through the corrupting lens of ideology and opinion, and the latter as a means of describing and changing the world. This course has opened my eyes to the grey area. It has afforded me the opportunity to consider that maybe art can act as a force for change, or at the very least can help the present to better understand the past. It has not convinced me that art would a be a fulfilling career for me to pursue, but it has convinced me that it is a worthwhile pursuit for others to engage in. The course has engendered in me both a greater respect for and a greater understanding of the universe of human expression, and for that I thank both Dr. Hall and Dr. Cleworth.
ReplyDeleteAs you can probably gather from the wordy and conceited writing, I often struggle with the personal component of interaction. I’m not very good at relating to others, in fact I intentionally avoid opening myself up so as to avoid the bother. As such the Blog was a challenging part of this class for me. I don’t particularly care to share my views, much less scroll through the thoughts of others and give a half-hearted “me too” or “that’s interesting.” That said, there is value in stepping out of one’s comfort zone. And, despite my negative attitude, it has been rewarding to gain the perspective of my fellow students. To that end, I thank you all as well.
I chose this class because in the previous semester I took Art History 101, and I left wanting to learn more. I wasn't really sure what Humanities was though, and in all honesty, I didn't think I was going to like it. I was in fact very wrong and this class turned out to be something that I was actually interested since before I started college. The two classes together complimented each other so well, though I would be lying if I said it was an easy class. Taking two honors classes was a bit challenging, but I'm very surprised I made it through the semester. This class has taught me more than just famous works of art and literature, I've learned how to manage my time, and as a procrastinator, that is something I never thought would happen. The classes individually had quite an amount of work to do so having them together was challenging, especially when taking account the other classes in our schedules. To be able to handle all of this work I was forced to manage my time in a productive way, so I got this huge calendar and began to plan my week days ahead, scheduling times I would be able to work on my homework and its been a life changer. I will say with the high demand of work from every class I was enrolled in, I might have bitten off more than I could chew, and perhaps if I had taken fewer classes my work might have had better quality, but even then I believe there is always room to improve.
ReplyDeleteAs for my ePortfolio, I think it's overall a good representation of my work, who I am, and what more I want to learn. I feel like you can see my improvement throughout my work like my think pieces and museum galleries.
In the beginning I did not really have the patience for reading as much nor had the inclination to do think pieces or museum galleries. But as the class went on I did find myself starting to enjoy vocalizing my thoughts and my ideas. Searching for information to better my understanding of topics we would discuss in class, was sometimes tedious and wasn't something I was always looking forward to do, but as I got over that feeling I found myself eager to learn.