MARIA

Blog Prompt #7

“How much stress have you experienced in the last year?”

This is how Kelly McGonigal’s “How To Make Stress Your Friend” talk had started. This talk focused on stress not as a negative aspect of life, but actually quite the opposite. McGonigal provided a study proving that our mindset on stress can affect both our response to stress and our life span. McGonigal discussed the stress response and how it may actually be beneficial for our bodies, our hearts, our brains and blood vessels. She concluded with the fact that if we were to change our response to stress we can drastically improve our span of life and life satisfaction.

I chose this topic because, whether we like it or not, stress has become an integral part of high school. “I’m so stressed” is one of the most common phrases I hear from my classmates on a daily basis. It is important to learn how to deal with stress better so we can be more prepared for the future which will undeniably bring more stress to our lives.

At first, I disagreed with McGonigal about the fact that stress can ever be good for you. We have been taught for years to ignore possible sources of stress and always lower our stress levels because stress is bad for your health. However, when she provided results from her first study which tracked 30,000 adults in the United States for eight years I changed my mind. The study stated that stress related deaths did not have any correlation to the stress levels of the individuals - rather, their mindset about stress. Those who believed stress was detrimental to them had a 43% higher chance of death. Those who did not share that belief - even those with high levels of stress, had no increased risk of dying.

I agreed with the social aspect of stress and how stress can help people be more social. It is well known, even without the study, that support from friends and family can help you deal with stress better and lower your stress levels.

Some further questions I have are about the TED Talk are about the science behind the stress response. Why is it that in the first study McGonigal discussed, increased stress levels didn’t raise the death risk even a little bit? It seems like there should still be some difference between people with low stress and high stress levels, whether or not the difference is positive or negative.

Blog Prompt #6

I decided to watch was Black Mirror, Season 3 Episode 1 called “NoseDive” which depicts a future society similar to ours today, but one which uses a social media ranking to determine every single aspect of life, such as your career, home, and friends.

Based on the materials presented in class and your own background knowledge and experiences, do you think mobile phones have overall had a more positive or negative impact on the world?

Being part of the very first generation to grow up with electrical devices, but also remember a world before smartphones and laptops were such a big part of everyday life, I feel that our generation has a unique outlook on how mobile phones affect our world. (Yes grandma, I know what a floppy disk is, I’m not that young.)

I got my first phone in 2012. It was an Apple iPod 4th generation, and I was obsessed. I remember downloading as many apps as possible, trying all the new social networks and games, and even discovering Snapchat and Instagram for the first time. Since then, I’ve had my phone at my side 24/7, always online and always connected. 

However, is that a good thing? 

Smartphones are such an integral part of life now, that not having one is like social suicide. I use my phone to talk to my friends, make plans, make new friends and stay informed on news topics. Those are the benefits of smartphone use - instant communication with anyone and information at your fingertips. 

But, like my grandma keeps reminding me “We didn’t have those when I was your age,” there are many downsides to constant phone use. 

One thing I noticed about both myself and others around me is smartphone dependency. My mom has no problem leaving the house without her phone on her. She is able to navigate the streets if she’s driving, remember addresses and phone numbers, and not have to check her phone every two minutes. On the other side, there’s me, who can’t leave my phone for more than an hour, especially outside the house, because there is too much I would miss and not know how to do without my phone. 

While phones were invented to connect people, a lot of the time they actually isolate instead. Like two friends hanging out but both of them paying more attention to their phone than to their friend. I’m aware that I am guilty of this, but I’m working on reducing my screen time and the amount of times I check my phone per day. 

Another issue related to smartphones is possible mental health (and health) deterioration. Phones can hurt your sleeping habits because of their blue-light displays that cause less melatonin to be produced in the body - the hormone for sleep. Social media can impact your mental health and worsen anxiety, depression and stress levels. Overuse of phones can also lead to eyesight, posture and hearing problems. 

Did you enjoy the experience? Why or why not?

I think this placement was enjoyable because it was fun to work with a group of my friends and get to know our teacher better as well. For example, when calling hotels and coach buses we worked together to ask them questions and write down their responses, but when we were put on hold, it was definitely less enjoyable and more annoying, but still kind of funny.

What went well with your placement?’

Some things that went well with my placement were communication between team members and our assigned teacher. She assigned us tasks to finish for her, and we split them among ourselves so it was very clear as to what each of us had to finish. Also, she was always available to ask questions or clarify something. 

What difficulties did you have with your placement?

Some difficulties I had with my placement was finishing the Ottawa budgeting plan and transferring our teachers personal site onto the new Google site. The reason we had problems with the Ottawa budgeting trip is because we had to call many hotels and coach bus companies for estimates of prices for large groups of people. UOttawa left us on hold for an hour twice, and other hotels were extremely unclear with their prices per room, number of beds, etc. 

As well, when trying to transfer the personal site from the old Google Sites to the new templates, many of the features like sidebars, footers, and more were missing with no way to substitute them.  

Do you consider your placement a success?

Yes, I consider my placement a success because we completed most of the tasks our teacher assigned for us, except transferring her personal Google site to the new templates. As well, we went above and beyond and completed some things that she did not ask for, like making a new MSEO logo.

Do you think the project is useful/has value for IDC students/teachers/students of placement teachers?

Yes, I think this project has value for IDC because it teaches students how to communicate with a superior, conduct an informational interview, and work as an employee. Also, this is useful for the teachers participating because they get extra help for their work. 

How could the project be improved for future IDC classes?

How successful were you at implementing the strategy or technique? What helped or impeded your success?

My learning strategy was retrieval practice. I planned to implement it every day whenever I had a moment of spare time to try and remember the information I learned in class that day. On the most part, I was successful at using this strategy, as I tried to recall facts and formulas as often as possible, and without checking my notes or the internet. The fact that retrieval practice can be implemented at any moment, especially when I am bored, helped me to not procrastinate on using it. I mostly tried to recall information as I was walking home or right before I went to sleep, which helped me succeed because I had nothing better to do at the moment. 

Did the strategy improve your learning or reduce your procrastination? What evidence do you have to support this claim?

This strategy helped me improve my learning and reduce by procrastination because, generally, when it comes to studying early or studying at all, I get pretty lazy. I just choose to learn the whole unit material the night before the test, and I end up cramming for multiple hours. When I forced myself to implement retrieval practice, the first week, I felt like I had studied every day just by recalling information for a few minutes a day, because I was forgetting less, and was more prepared when coming to class the next day. By the second week, I was actively recalling more and more information and even reviewed notes before going to sleep. I would have my notebook closed and before flipping a page I would try to recall what was on the next page, which formed kind of “pictures” of the notes in my mind, which helped me tremendously because my learning style is visual. By the time my unit test for math came (on lines and planes), I studied only by doing practice quizzes to test my knowledge and didn’t even have to check the notes to remember any of the unit material. Yesterday, I received my math test back with a mark of 90%! Though, this isn’t as well as I could have done (I lost a lot of part marks on a weird question), the test was a lot easier than it would have been had I not used retrieval practice. I also finished a chemistry quiz with absolutely no worry, since I have been recalling information from the unit since the very first lesson, to the last one. 

Will you continue with the strategy?  Why or why not?

1. Summarize your chosen strategy and explain why you picked it or explain your procrastination or multitasking problem and explain why you want to fix it.

My chosen learning strategy is retrieval practice. I chose this strategy because I constantly forget information I learn as soon as I leave my class, no matter how much attention I try to pay, or how many notes I take. However, I find that if I try to remember the information by myself without checking my textbooks, notes or Google, I am more likely to memorize it for longer, and be more ready for assignments or tests. 

2. Explain how you will implement the strategy – be as specific as possible.

I will implement retrieval practice every day after I have a lesson in subjects like math and chemistry. For example, when I walk home, instead of letting my thoughts wander I will try to remember the topic of that day’s math presentation. I will try to remember formulas I learned, how to use them, terms, and any other useful information. I can also connect this strategy with spaced learning, and recall this information every day so it takes longer to forget. That way, when I actually have to study for a test, I will already remember what I am studying and be able to remember formulas and terms that I would have usually forgotten and taken hours to memorize. 

3. What is your end goal? How will you know the strategy works for you?

My end goal is to be able to train myself to instantly and correctly retrieve information both in school, during class and evaluations, and also later on in life if I need to use a term or concept I learned in class. An example of this is biology. If every day after class, I retrieve that day’s topic and terms (for example, the areas of the brain), I will be able to remember them on a test without trouble. Also, if that information comes in handy years later I will not have forgotten it and will impress everyone with my knowledge of the human brain. 

4. What are your critical moves?

My critical moves are to start writing notes that are more organized so I can memorize parts of them easier. I will also try to recall information, instead of checking google for an answer I don’t know, but I know I’ve seen. If I continue to do this everyday, studying will become much easier, as well as taking tests. 

5. How will you shrink the change?

I will shrink the change of my new learning strategy by starting small. Instead of never rereading information again, I will train my memory more and more by retaining information on the regular, until I am able to study so effectively that I don’t have to reread information multiple times to memorize it. 

6. How will you tweak the environment?

1. Do you feel school is preparing you adequately for your future. Why or why not?

I have always had the idea that school will prepare me for the future. As I was going through elementary and middle school, I knew I was ready to take on the world. But as I entered high school, I felt less and less prepared. Currently in my last year of high school, just a few months before I have to submit university applications, write entrance exams and essays, I realized I am utterly, one hundred percent unprepared for the future. Is that the school’s fault? Maybe. Because on one hand, I do know simple numeracy and complicated calculus. I know how to find the molar mass of Calcium Chloride. I know how to analyze a Shakespearean play. All of these skills will be useful in my future. But, I am unprepared for opening bank accounts, buying a house, paying a mortgage, interviewing for a job, or applying for an international visa. Therefore, as far as school goes, it has prepared me in the ways it could. The rest is up to me. 

2. How do you personally use technology to learn?

Personally, I prefer to use pen and paper when learning, but not using technology in 2017 is impossible. I use my phone in class or at home to access worksheets, textbooks, take photos of notes. When I study, I do practice questions (on paper), using my phone as a virtual worksheet. Also, I complete virtual math quizzes at the end of every math lesson as a way of studying every day. Sometimes, I use an app called Forest while I study. Forest plants a tree whenever you start studying, and the tree dies if you check your phone. This app stops me from getting distracted while I’m doing my work. 

3. Do classes that use more technology appeal to you? Is it easier for you to learn the content?

No, classes that use more technology do not appeal to me. Unless the technology is state of the art, like 3D printers, iris scanners, virtual reality, I prefer to learn the course content the old-fashioned way - with a pen and a paper. When I copy down notes, versus just downloading them, and when I see them in my notebook, instead of on a screen, I memorize better, and I am able to picture the pages during a quiz or a test. No, classes with more technology, like computers and laptops do not appeal to me more. 

4. Does it matter to you if a teacher uses technology in class? Why or why not?

Growing up in the 21st century, I have gotten used to several types of technology. I prefer when a teacher uses a smartboard, because it is less messy and faster to teach from. However, I am neutral to whether a teacher uses other technology during class, like laptops, computers, TV’s and teacher sites. This is because I can get the same information in class or from a friend, instead of having to check a website everyday to see if we have homework, or a virtual calendar to check when the next quiz is. 

5. What technology would you like to see teachers use that is not currently being used?  Why did you choose that technology?