Dear Kelsey,

Most of my TIB project is finished. Although I do need to record my audio agaain and maybe rearrange my pictures more so they flow with my project. What I think I need the most feedback on is a way to rearrange my pictures and feedback on if my site is easy to access and you can find everything :) Thanks!

    The photo essay I chose was titled "When a Kid's Bedroom Isn't a Room." I guess the education major in me wanted to read about something dealing with children. From the picures I could easily sense that it was going to be dealing with children and about their rooms. In each of the pictures the children are pictured and their bedroom is the next picture next to them. Also, in the the pictures I could tell that each child was from a different area because they all looked different, some looked distressed and scared and some looked wealthy and well off. I believe that the photo essay is done very well because I could gather all of that information from just looking at each of the pictures. I did not sense any arrangement of the pictures though, but I don't think it really needed any.
   All of my photos for my photo essay are available on my slideshow for now,but my plan is to make them more in sequence with my essay.

first recording of TIB essay below. Enjoy!

I believe in Disney World--- the place in sunny Orlando, Florida where as soon as you get off the airplane you are greeted with friendly faces, palm trees, ad of course all the Disney tour busses! As a child, I went to Disney World almost every summer for my birthday and in senior year of high school I went again with my graduating class. It wasn’t until my sophomore year of college where I truly started to believe in the true magic of Disney World.

Last year, around February 2012 I was really stressed out with the pressures of school, clubs, and work. I came home for the weekend and just laid in my mom’s bed with her and balled my eyes out. As I am screaming and complaining about how school is so stressful, my mom wiped the tears from my eyes and said “You know what? We need a vacation.” I looked at my mom with a blank stare and couldn’t believe what I was hearing. I stared at her and said “this is serious mom I am really stressed out.” My mom looked at me and smiled and said “No, Erica I am serious. Let’s go to DISNEY WORLD!!!” Seeing as how my mom never does anything spontaneous and we have never gone on a vacation with just the two of us I didn’t even know what to say. I did not have to say anything because my mom pulled out her IPad and the next thing I knew, we were going to Disney World for my spring break. I was thinking to myself wow everyone is going to Miami with their friends for spring break and I am going to Disney with my mom. I didn’t know how I felt about a spring break trip with my mother to Disney World because I thought I was way too old…. Boy was I wrong.

A soon as I walked into Magic Kingdom, I instantly felt five years old again and the pressures of college were no longer on my mind. I rushed through the gates with my mom screaming “hurry up!!” I could not believe myself, I don’t know what came over me but I felt so alive ad carefree. As we entered the park I saw Cinderella’s Castle and started smiling ear to ear, and insisted that my mom and I buy matching princess tiaras (which we wore the whole week). The first ride I wanted to go on was Dumbo’s Flight. I sat in the front and my mom was in the back, I remember cracking up the whole time as the wind whipped through my hair on this ride with probably three and four year olds. I have never had this much fun with my mom and this trip is when I realized she is my best friend. A best friend to me is someone who is there for you no matter what and that is what my mom is for me.

As nightfall set in, my mom and I scoped out the best spot on Main Street USA to see the fireworks spectacular. Suddenly, burst of red and streaks of blue filled the night time sky, and I just looked up in awe. For once, I was not thinking about what was due the next day or how many hours I had to work that week. For the first time in awhile, I was actually enjoying life!

I believe that Disney World is a healing spot. Suddenly all of your “big” problems become little problems and you are instantly a carefree person for a week. Disney brings out your inner child and helps you see what is really important in life. I believe in Disney World.

I have never had the problem where I had TOO many ideas to write about. Although I posted four different topics yesterday, I have decided to do a whole different one for my TIB. It finallly clicked with me as I was sitting here struggling with those four... I BELIEVE IN DISNEY WORLD! 

    After completing the audience analysis for class, I can coclude that there are some very similar people in the class. We found out that we are all college students ranging from afes 20-24 and wse are all from New Jersey. In the group that I worked with, we are all education and writing arts majors. There are also some differences in the classroom being race, only children, and that someone is a mother. I do not think that any of these differences will affect my This I Believe essay and how i write it. I thought doing the audience analysis for class was helpful because the most important thing to write for is your audience.

    All weekend I have been trying to figure out what I want to write about for the This I Believe assignement. I came up with four different ones that I know I believe in strongly, I just have to figure out which one suits me best. The four ideas that I have are: I believe in Pink, I believe in love at first sight, I believe that there is one special person for everyone, and I believe in Forgiveness. For I believe in Pink I wanted to talk about how my grandmom had breast cancer and I believe in the pink ribbon, also i work at Victoria's Secrect as a Pink Brand Ambassador, and my favorite color is pink becaus eit is vibrant like my personality. I just don't know to to incorporate all these ideas in one story. For I blieve in love at first sight I would tlk about the first time I saw my boyfriend, and how I kne whe was the one. This one is kind of cliche so it is at the bottom of my list, and the same for I believe that there is one special person for everyone would have the same kind of story. For I believe in forgiveness I would talk about how I met my father for the first time when I was 16. This topic may be too deep so I don't know about that one yet either.... Still deciding on one.

    When I hear myself talk, I never really gave it much thought as being an “oral mode of communication.” I usually talk a lot and never really know when to shut up.However, when it comes to publicly speaking in front of my college class, I somehow know how to be quiet then. When I hear the word “speech,” standing in front of a classroom with a million eyes staring at me comes to my mind and I start sweating very badly. After taking the Public Speaking class here last year, I do believe that I am better at not getting as nervous when I have to speak. In this class I learned how to fully prepare for a speech. I learned that I like to use visuals in my presentations to make the audience more engaged.
Most importantly, I learned that your audience should be your main focus when writing.
     When it comes to speaking, I can be the first person to say that I am not the world’s
best speaker. When I speak publicly I tend to talk really, really, fast and I
also start to stutter. My mom also says “how are you going to be a teacher if
you get so nervous speaking?” I really only get nervous speaking in front of
people my age in class. When I am talking to my preschoolers I have no problem
talking because I know that they are not judging me. With that being said, I
would say I am a shy public speaker but it is definitely something I have been
trying to work on. One good thing about me as a speaker is that my speeches are
always organized. I just need to find a way to present them in an organized
manner and too slow down to make my presentations the best they can
be.
     When it comes to listening, I can be either really distracted or really interested, it
depends on the presenter. The speeches I get distracted by are the ones that I
have no interest in or if the speaker is coming off as boring or uninterested in
their own topics. Speeches that really keep me interested are the ones with
visuals, when I am listening to someone else talk I like to see pictures to keep
me active and listening, which I guess I could say I am an extreme visual
learner. Also, humor and overall a great pace and tone keep me interested. As a
listener I find it helpful if I jot down some quick notes about what the speaker
is trying to convey, this helps me be more engaged and to listen
better.
    When writing a speech, I never really thought that I could record myself speaking my speech
as a way to present it. Last semester in my Introduction to Writing Arts class
was the first time I experienced this. In this class we had to create a Prezi
presentation and use Jing (a software that allows you to take screenshots, do
voice over and videos on your computer---great for teachers!)  as
a way to record a voice over our presentation. At first, this task seemed
impossible for me because I HATE Prezi and I never used Jing before to do a
voice over. After many attempts and redoing the recording of my voice about 15
times, I finally was satisfied with what I had created, and actually LOVED the
way that everything turned out. 
     Overall, I thought that using this technology to record my speech was very effective, and a
different way to deliver a speech rather than the typical standing in front of a
classroom. Also, when I was recording, there was no one there to see me sweating
and being nervous, which is a major plus in my
book!

        Before coming to class, the whole concept of a grading contract
  was still very new and confusing to me. After talking with classmates about the
  whole concept of the contract it has now become clearer to me. I believe that a
  grading contract would be beneficial for someone like me who does the above
  amount of the work that is required, and students who do just the minimum
  amount of work deserve the “B” grade. Overall, I do agree with the contract and
  now understand why the contract equals a “B” grade, which just means I need to
  go above and beyond to get the “A” grade.

1.Share your thoughts on grading contracts. Pros and cons, general
thoughts, etc.
 Before this class, I have never heard of a grading contract or
have I ever had to use one. I am an over achiever in my classes and always
strive for the A, and I know I will get one if I do all of my work and get good
grades and participate in the class.
 With this grading contract you are guaranteed a B if you follow
what is on the contract. Personally, a “B” in my eyes is just average so for me
I will need to go above and beyond the contract to get the “A”grade that I want,
I’m not all too sure if this is a pro or con yet for myself because I always am
an over achiever anyway, so I do not think it will help or hinder me in any
way.
 However, there are some pros to a grading contract such as there
are no surprises throughout the semester for students who like to slack. They
know what is expected of them and what will get them that “B”grade. Another pro
is more for the teacher or professor, they know what they laid out for their
students so if one were to argue that they deserved a better grade, they can
pull out the contract stating that they needed to go above and beyond what was
stated on there to receive a higher grade, and this may also be a con for a
student who knows they should have a higher grade but cannot fight it because of
the contract.
 As a future teacher of early childhood students I do not think I
will be using grading contracts in my classroom simply because the students are
too young to even understand ad it might be intimidating for them. If I were to
be teaching at a higher level, maybe high school or college I might consider
grading contracts in my classroom just for the sole purpose that it may make the
year run smoother if each student knows what is expected from them on day
one.
 After reading “A Unilateral Grading Contract” I know that Peter
Elbow would argue and say that grading contracts have many benefits because it
allows you to think about your process and revisit it, rather than just doing it
to get it done. 
Overall, I think I am still indifferent about grading contracts
and don’t know how to feel about them because they are still new to me. My
opinions might change after this semester of being graded by a grading
contract.

2. Describe your online persona. How much do
you feel comfortable sharing online with your teacher and classmates. Consider
your blogs, Twitter, Facebook (& privacy), Tumblr,
etc.
 My online persona is very outgoing and open. I use various forms of online social networking
sites such as twitter and Facebook and post on them every day. I usually tweet at least 5 times a day, and feel
  very comfortable with just speaking my mind when I am tweeting. On Facebook I
  don’t really make too many statuses, but I do a lot of check ins if I am out at
  a restaurant with my boyfriend… because if you don’t post it on facebook were
  you really out?
When we are asked to use Twitter and Facebook for classes I
  feel comfortable with sharing information with my teachers and classmates, and
  always use my personal account for the assignments. When I know we are using
  twitter for the semester I try to sensor my tweets just because I know some
  things I tweet may not necessarily be appropriate, but this does not mean I am
  changing my personality. It just means that I have respect for my professors
  and classmates reading my tweets.
 All of my accounts are set to public such as my
  Twitter and Instagram. Anyone can look at my pictures and read my tweets, so I
  wouldn’t say I am a private person
online.
 Overall, I believe that my online persona is no
  different than my actual personality. I am obnoxious and outgoing in person,
  and I am online as well.

3. What makes a strong blog presence? Can you
describe a bad blog you've encountered? A good one? Consider voice, content,
style, design, etc.
 To me, what makes a strong blog presence is one
  that is very colorful and has a lot of pictures and videos to attract their
  reader. I love when the author is comfortable with talking to their audience
  rather than just stating facts and trying to sound
important. I do not really go searching for blogs, and I
never really used them until this past semester, but a bad blog in my opinion is
the academic blogs where they aren’t fancy and they are just stating the facts
cut and dry without trying to interest the
reader.
 Like I have stated, I am new to the blogging world so I
haven’t really seen a “good” blog. Perhaps, a good blog in my opinion would be
the ones that make me want to keep reading and that are colorful. I never really
used blogs until my writing arts classes but I always enjoy reading my
  classmates blog posts and they are always eye catching and interesting, so I
guess I would consider those “good” blogs!