Two weeks ago it was the Grammys, last week, President's Day, and now I have the Oscar buzz looming over my head. I sincerely hope that Sacha Baron Cohen does not show up to class to dump the ashes of Kim Jong Il on me. . .it's just not something I would urn for ;-)Let's see, you have had a fair amount of time to complete the assignments that were introduced in the weeks prior to the holiday. Journal articles 1-5 are due next Monday. . .I highly encourage you to work in these before the weekend. . .it will truly make them much more interesting. Diigo is due on Wednesday and the Technology Self-Assessment should have been completed by last Thursday. I will do my best to be in the lab an hour or so before class, so please come in if you need any assistance.
Tonight, we will have quite a bit of material to cover. I want to discuss TaskStream, GoogleDocs, and how you will be writing your first NETS-T narrative. We will also go over the presentation assignment as I intend to introduce most of you to a fun new way to present material with a web-based tool called Prezi. It should be a fun, ash-free evening for all!
This Week's Question: What is something you have learned well without formal teaching? How did you learn it? This could be a sport, hobby, musical instrument, etc. .
I have acquired much of my artistic talent through visual learning. I have always had a good eye and Icould guess and deduce how artists achieved and created a piece. I have taken classes to fine-tune my skills, with vocab and extremely complicated processes (ex: ceramics), but i have never needed much help in composition. Visual learning has always come natural to me, if I can observe the process, I can most likely accomplish it in just a few attempts. It has helped in other hobbies like: surfing and sports.
ReplyDeleteNintendo 64 Mario Kart. Call it a gift. Everything else in life for me has required sufficient time and hard work. Not Mario Kart.
ReplyDeleteHorseback riding...I have loved horses since I can remember. I loved everything about them. Riding, was a favorite past time and consumed most of my years from middle school through high school. I never had any formal riding instruction but managed to get by just fine. Technology on the other hand... a different story.
ReplyDeleteI agree with David, playing video games has been a skill that I have obtained without formal teaching. I remember obtaining my first video game console and spending a few minutes familiarizing myself with the controls and then playing the video game. This has been a skills that I learned without formal teaching.
ReplyDeleteI learned how to paint without any formal teaching. If you count my mom who taught me a few tricks then I guess that would have been the only lessons I had received.Ive been painting since I was 5 and entered art contests throughout grade school. I took one art class in high school that taught me to mix colors and to paint humans better but for the most part Ive been teaching myself.
ReplyDeleteI have learned how to be an effective shopper without any formal training. I feel one needs to know how to multitask in order to find deals, scope the scene of each store, while keeping your goal in mind!
ReplyDeleteI have learned how to bake without any formal teaching. My step sister and I like to find cupcake recipes in books, magazines, and online and experiment with them. We have made some not so great creations but also some really yummy ones. :)
ReplyDeleteI learned to put on makeup with no formal teaching. I saw it as art on my face and went with that. I then discovered how to widen my eyes with eye makeup and make me look fresh with powder and blush. Its a way to make your beauty pop and I was able to learn how to apply makeup by trial and error.
ReplyDeleteSomething I learned how to do without training is cooking. I like to find creative ways to add spices and cook different dishes. I really enjoy cooking that I would love to take a class, but for now just call me Betty Crocker ;]
ReplyDeleteI learned how to scrapbook without any formal teaching. It is a hobby that I very much enjoy! Through trial and error I have created several books. I have recently found an interest in making homemade cards. It is a lot of fun and far more meaningful than store bought cards. (no offense Hallmark!)
ReplyDeleteMy particular skill that I picked up is crocheting. My mother learned how to do it in middle school, and some of my first memories of her are working on a black and white blanket for my aunt. In fifth grade, she began to teach me. However, our learning styles do not mesh, and all I learned from her was how to chain stitch, which gets you nowhere except a long row of stitches. In ninth grade, I had a friend who knew how to crochet. She taught me the more intricate stitches and together we spend many hours make making blankets and sweaters for our home ec eggs and ornaments for our Christmas trees.
ReplyDeleteI have learned how to bake different goods without any formal teaching. I love finding new recipes and trying them out. I always get excited when it is a friend or family members birthday because it's an excuse to bake something yummy for them. Every Christmas I make plates of different baked goods such as banana bread, cookies, peppermint bark, seven layer bars etc, and I hand them out to my close friends and family.
ReplyDeleteI am an amazing cook. I never had any formal training, but it is something that I have always been good at and really enjoy....I actually almost went to culinary school instead of pursuing teaching.
ReplyDeleteI learned to love to read, and that it is important to read regularly. Neither of my parents like to read, and my brother only reads because high school calls him to. Every year I go on an extended family vacation to Lake Tahoe. One of the things my grandparents and aunts do is sit on the beach and read. I don't see them often enough to have picked the value of reading up, but whatever they have shown me in the few times I see them seems to stick with me.
ReplyDeleteI have been told that I am a pretty decent photographer even though I have received no formal training in photography. I first picked up a camera after seeing some photos that my brother created, and haven't put it down since. I love it!
ReplyDeleteI learned how to cook without formal teaching. The results may vary from what I make, but considering I picked it up almost entirely on my own, I think I do a decent job. My mom helped me quite a bit though, but it was on a question answer basis and not formal instruction. I learned how to cook basically by trying to make different kinds of food, some came out awful, and some delicious. But through trial and error I slowly added things to my menu. And as of now no one has gotten sick from my cooking, so that's good...
ReplyDeleteTwo things. First, drawing and painting. I have always been artistically inclined and over the years through lots and lots of practice my skills have improved tremendously. But, there's always room for improvement, so I'll just keep working! The other thing I'm good at without training is home renovation and decorating. I'm a hands-on girl and I love everything about doing renos: demolition, texturing, drywalling, painting, etc. And, thanks to my artistic eye, I've always been good at visualizing a finished result and putting together furniture arrangements and color schemes. It's super fun to learn as you go and my mom is also a great resource (the woman missed her calling as a contractor).
ReplyDeleteI know how to cook. Being a guy who likes not starving this is an important skill. This is even more important since most people I know can't do it at all. Case in point: a teacher once asked us who knew how to cook while we were waiting for a science lab to finish. Only two guys (one of which was me) in the entire class could cook. HAVE FUN STARVING or surviving on fast food.
ReplyDeleteI've learned to bake without any formal teaching. I love baking cookies, cakes, banana bread, and other fun little desserts. I love trying different recipes that I find on cooking websites, pinterest, or ones that I get from my mom.
ReplyDeleteI learned how to cook vegan foods and follow a vegan diet without any formal training. I used the internet and books to learn how I could tweak my normal recipes and make them vegan!
ReplyDeleteI have learned how to be an active Pinterester without any formal training. I have repinned many pins, gotten halfway through several crafts and even surprisingly completed a few. I both steal ideas from others, and also occasionally come up with ideas of my own with the help of this website.
ReplyDeleteI learned how to listen and be compassionate without formal teaching. I learned it by living with my family and friends. :)
ReplyDeleteI feel that I am good at dancing and had little to no training. Its just something I like doing and there is no right or wrong way to express yourself!
ReplyDeleteI learned how to braid hair without any formal teaching. I practiced on my doll and I knew what a braid looks like so I mastered it on her. Then I practiced how to french braid which is a little different on my doll as well. Now, I can do all sorts of braids on people and myself! woo!
ReplyDeleteWithout any formal teaching, I learned to train my dog. It may sound strange, but my dog is so obedient- I do take credit for it! :)
ReplyDeleteI learned how to use iMovie without any formal training. I was super proud of myself when I did that! I make awesome movies now :)
ReplyDeleteWithout formal training, I have become very good at Pac-Man. I am now 33 and have been playing since the age of 5. If I happen to find an arcade machine and I happen to have the time, I will do my best to put up a ridiculously high-score. I currently play the Championship Edition DX on X-Box 360 Live. My Handle is S00p knot sea.
ReplyDeleteI learned how to play basketball without formal training. Despite my short height, I am pretty good. I used to play outside my parents house almost every summer evening while growing and became pretty good at it. It's been awhile since I've played so I don't know how I am now
ReplyDelete