Best of the Week: Ted Presentations

The TED presentations that we started this past week have been really interesting. That's not to say that the other coursework wasn't, but there is something very refreshing about hearing issues that are going on currently, and what people are doing to change the world we live in. The TED presentations have opened my eyes to new ways of thinking as well as new innovation. It is also interesting to see my peers presenting the ideas of the TED speakers. I was pleasantly surprised to find that our class is full of eloquent public speakers.

In addition to the TED presentations, another one of my favorite parts of this past week, and the whole fourth quarter really, has been the Do You Mind questions. It is nice to start class with the same structure everyday. Even though the structure remains the same, the questions take my mind to a different place everyday which makes the class really interesting. It is wonderful to answer the questions for myself as well as hear the answers of other people in the class.

Blogging Around

The first Blog I commented on was Bita's. She had a post called "Metacognition: Thinking For Myself" that I found very easy to relate with. I learned that Bita and I have a similar way of thinking and I connected with her through this blog entry.

When I read this blog post I immediately understood what you were talking about. I remember mindbooking at your house and feeling so lost and having to really search for ideas, wheras now, they just come to me because they are things that I am already thinking about. Having pressing issues that are already mind makes it so much easier to do things like mindbook and come up with ideas for essay topics. I also find it challenging to express what I'm thinking through words at times but sometimes it is easy to express ones thoughts through another medium like creating something where you don't necessarily use words. I'm glad that your way of thinking has changed for the better!

The second blog that I commented on was Jack's. His was all about how he has changed his study habits from freshman to sophomore year. I really connected with his blog because I also went through the same academic shift. It used to be that I just went to school because I didn't think I had any other options, and now I go to school to learn and to engage in the academics because it actually interests me.

I really enjoyed reading this blog entry, and I feel like I could really relate to what you were talking about. Just yesterday I was talking to a friend about how I wish I would have been more into school freshman and sophomore year. LIke you, I pretty much only did homework for the grade, not to truly learn the material. Looking back I wish I would have done homework to truly get something out of it instead of just making up answers to get it done. However, it's not possible to go back in time and re-do what was done, so I'm glad that you and I both had that homework/school a-ha moment so we can learn and succeed in the future!