Colorado State University Periscope Blog

Hey guys, check out my blog about Colorado State University. It has information about the school, the town, experiences from students, interesting facts, and helpful tips to help those considering Colorado State University. Even if you haven't considered going there, check it out, it might open up another option for you!

http://whychoosecoloradostateuniv.blogspot.com/

Digital Literacy Information Resources

• Howard Rheingold article (it felt fitting): http://techpresident.com/news/22240/rheingold-says-mindset-digital-literacy-are-key-success-online-movements
• Though pretty standard, I found this one to be quite informative. http://www.library.illinois.edu/diglit/definition.html
• An Ivy-league institution such as Cornell finds digital literacy to be a priority: http://digitalliteracy.cornell.edu/

Progress

• So far I have created and set up the blog, received and recorded few people's reasons for choosing Colorado State University, as well as my own. I have also been regularly posting to the home page with fun things, random facts, and helpful tips.
• I still need to talk to current students about their experiences with CSU, finish the page on what the campus and town are like, and what you can get out of CSU. Also, I should probably add more to the page about my opinion (pictures and such).
• I think this blog will help others by giving them observations and points of view besides those you find of the CSU website. It's a peer's point of view so it's not just being told what you should think. Also, it will help the college get some publicity beyond what they would normally get.

I would love it if followers of this blog, or even just viewers, would view, follow, and share the CSU blog as well. Also, email me suggestions at stfahey14@gmail.com.

http://whychoosecoloradostateuniv.blogspot.com/

Thank you!

My Plan

Goals:

• Produce a blog from which people will gather information that will help them make the decision on whether or not to attend Colorado State University.
• Have the opinions and accounts of at least 10-15 other future CSU students on their choice to attend CSU.
• Have the opinions and accounts of at least 5-10 current CSU students on their experiences at CSU and in Fort Collins, CO.
• Get inside information on the school, the town, and everything that has to do with attending CSU.

Materials/Resources/Information Required:

• Facebook is my best friend when it comes to this project. With it, I am able to get in contact with other future and current CSU students and talk to them about their experiences.
• Google is also quite helpful in finding information on the school and the town. I will be able to find not only the information readily available on the CSU website, but if I dig deep enough, I will be able to find information and intel that is not so mainstream.

Timeline:

• I have already set up the blog and began asking around about experiences as well as other informations. I have also begun posting on the different pages on the blog.
• Every day, I am going to post to the home page with different facts, useful information, and interesting tidbits about college life. I will also work on one of the pages, along with the home page, every day.

Presentation of "Finished" Product:

• In this case, there will be no "Finished" product. By the end of the school year, each page will have a significant amount of information on it, but I plan to continue this blog next year, as I attend CSU, talking about my experiences there.
• In order to present this, I will give my colleagues a tour of the blog, showing them each page, and giving them a summary of what is on the page.

AP Test Practice Experience

When I first began my study plan, I had to prioritize. Thinking about what I needed the most help on, what I hadn't practiced as much, and what I felt I needed to brush up on, I decided to start with the multiple choice. It had been a while since I had practiced any questions like the ones on the AP test, so I figured, that's where I should start. I downloaded the 2004 Released Questions and got to work. As I read the first passage, I forgot that, compared to the passages on the standardized testing, these passages are actually somewhat entertaining and insightful. I read the passage, taking mental notes on the important aspects of the text, sentences that stand out, and influential diction. As I proceeded onto the questions, they were actually quite easy. Although there is no key for this particular practice test, I feel as though I did pretty well on them. There were a couple questions that contained literary terms that I need to review, but for the most part, I found the questions to be quite clear and fairly easy to answer.

Possible Macbeth Essay Prompts

1. Choose a distinguished novel or play in which some of the most significant events are mental or physiological: for example, awakenings, discoveries, changes in consciousness. In a well-orgnized essay, describe how the author manages to give these internal events the sense of excitement, suspense, and climax usually associated with external action. Do not merely summarize the plot.

2. Critic Roland Barthes has said, "Literature is the question minus the answer." Choose a novel or play and, considering Barthes' observation, write an essay in which you analyze a central question the work raises and the extent to which it offers any answers. Explain how the author's treatment of this question affects your understanding of the work as a whole. Avoid mere plot summary.

3. According to critic Northrop Frye, "Tragic heroes are so much the highest points in their human landscape that they seem the inevitable conductors of the power about them, great trees more likely to be struck by lightning than a clump of grass. Conductors may of course be instruments as well as victims of the divine lightning."
Select a novel or play in which a tragic figure functions as an instrument of the suffering of others. Then write an essay in which you explain how the suffering brought upon others by that figure contributes to the tragic vision of the work as a whole.

AP English Literature and Composition Test Study Plan

As the AP test fast approaches, I have an odd calm about me. I'm not all that worried about the test. I am decently confident in my writing abilities and I feel that I can understand and analyze literature decently well. However, decent isn't what I am striving for. I know that I need to brush up on my lit terms (thank you Dr. Preston for quizzing us on them. It really helps me), and I could definitely use some tuning up on my multiple choice methods. Over the next two weeks, while preparing for my three other AP tests and completing various scholarship applications, I plan to spend some time working on the multiple choice questions provided here. I plan to do about half a test every day, going over the answers with friends and discussing why we answered them the way we did. I will also do a couple of practice essays in order to hone in my analysis skills. I will also discuss these with classmates and my parents.

By the time the test comes, I plan to be as prepared as possible. I hope to complete all seven of the multiple choice tests provided and at least three of the free response/essays provided. As I do this, I must budget my time, spending some of this study time on homework given in class, studying for other AP tests, and applying for scholarships that I desperately need for next year. I will do my best to study for this, and my other tests, while balancing my other obligations. It's all about prioritizing, and right now, AP tests and scholarships have the top spot. Let the studying commence!