School Rocks!

You can never be overdressed or overeducated
Oscar Wilde

It's the end of the semester, and it's been a long but interesting road.  In the middle of all the different activities, assignments, blogging, and finally the special project, I had to find the time to study for the Praxis exam which I eventually took on March 10th.  I'm the kind of student that enjoys being in a classroom surrounded by my professor and classmates.  I truly like the "on the spot" rapport, engagement, and feedback among each other.  On the other hand, online courses do have their advantages, especially the fact that one doesn't have to travel far to attend classes, and also the flexibility of doing assignments at one's convenience, especially if you're a full-time employee at your job.  All in all, it's been a great experience taking this course, and I just want to say that what I've learned, I'll be able to apply and use, now and in the future.

Image:  colleges.usnews.rankingsandreviews.com
Quote:  http://www.goodreads.com/quotes/show_tag?id=education

Pacific Literature

Gatbo gi mena-hu, gatbo gi tate-ku. Gi hilo-hu yan gi papa-hu mampos gatbo.

Beauty is before me, beauty is behind me. Above me and below me hovers the beautiful.

 Navajo Prayer

As a true Chamorru in  every sense of the word, I had a special interest in reading the article by James Stellman.  This was was due to the fact that a non-Chamorru had the interest to write about my culture's philosophy and traditions, and also because I am a native of Guam, I was able to relate to it the most, over all the other readings.  I really enjoyed reading this short, but informative article that reminded me of the Chamorru way of life, most especially in the past.  The concepts of respect, reciprocity, and maintaining peace and harmony in the community are the focal points in Stellman's article, and although we do still see these features in today's society, I would venture to say that it's to a lesser degree than in the past.  Nonetheless, reading the article did bring back fond memories of life as a child and as a young adult.

image:  www.juggle.com
quote:   http://chamorrolanguage.blogspot.com/2008/10/famous-quotes-in-chamorro.html

Visual Literacy

Give a person a fish and you feed them for a day; teach that person to use the Internet and they won't bother you for weeks.
-Author Unknown

Though at times a bit confusing, the article, Critical Visual Literacy: Multimodal Communication emphasizes the importance of the author/reader being critically literate through the use of multimodal techniques. From what I could gather, this means that in our new world of communication, it is no longer enough to compose a text to be read using a book or magazine format. In this day and age, much information is provided by means of technology, such as the computer. Computer users must be knowledgeable and well-skilled in programs, websites and other online tools in helping them compose and read their texts. In the process of doing so, they must use their knowledge and skills in becoming critical writers, thinkers, and analyzers of their works of literacy.

Image: electronicforkids.info
Quote: http://www.pcsndreams.com/Pages/TechQuotes1.htm