the trail is coming to an end!

It's my favorite holiday season! What is yours? I love the winter because i love to see the snow fall. Even though i hate driving in snow and ice, i love to be able to cuddle up to that warm fireplace and drink hot chocolate and look at the beautiful snow covering the trees and yard. Also, i love just taking a stroll around the neighborhood just to see all the christmas lights. i love looking at all of the different lights because, i think it's neat and creative as to how people decorate for the holiday. Plus, it has always been a tradition at driving around to look at the christmas lights since i was old enough to remember. Going to the park and watching the kids play in the snow and build snowman is so cute. Of course, you can't help but going and play in the snow just like them. It just brings back those memories as to when i was little. me and my brothers would always build a tunnel on each side of the yard and have snow ball fights and then just sit inside this huge tunnel until our mom would go crazy because she couldn't find us. so i would love to hear about your holiday if you like to share.

this class helped me so much

As i came into this class I always thought to myself that i didn't need this class and that it was a waste, but as i realized how much it has helped me, i recommend it. ENG 105 has helped me in so many ways. It has helped me get my readers attentions and being able to express myself. As before, i knew what i wanted to say but i wouldn't express the full detail. Now i know how helpful it is and how much better it makes your paper sound. Detail is the number one key in writing a paper.
I used to sit hours on end and think about a topic to write about. now i can sit down and just start typing. Information and ideas just come to me a lot better. I still have one thing to work on and that is reading my paper over when i'm done to catch those silly errors but over all i have done a complete turn around since the first day that i walked into the ENG 105 classroom. Thanks Stephanie.

week 11: Generation Y:Technology

Generation Y grew up with technology and rely on it to perform their jobs better. Armed with BlackBerrys, laptops, cellphones and other gadgets, Generation Y is plugged-in 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. This generation prefers to communicate through e-mail and text messaging rather than face-to-face contact and prefers webinars and online technology to traditional lecture-based presentations.
The average employee receives thousands of interruptions every day, from instant messages and texts to e-mails and the good old ringing phone. Workers are so distracted by the various methods people use to get in touch that they often blame technology for reduced productivity and longer hours.
But used right, many of today’s e-technologies can help make it possible for you to spend less time working, not more.
In a survey of 7,705 U.S. college students conducted for the 2007 book "Connecting to the Net Generation," 97 percent of students own a computer, 94 percent own a cell phone, 76 percent use Instant Messaging, 75 percent have a Facebook account and 60 percent own some type of portable media device like an iPod. Because of this, Generation Y has the access and ability to communicate in many ways.

Here's a glimpse into the world of Gen Y and how they're using technology.
Generation Y is arguably the most socially conscious generation in existence. They're well aware of how social changes affect them and use the internet as a tool to keep them aware of what's going on. Gen Yers are making their stances well known on Facebook

However, Gen Y is a technologically advanced generation. So, of course Gen Y won't read books or newspapers in the way that previous generations did. Gen Y goes online to get information. They read more blogs than any other generation. They receive the news from online sources and they may even venture into buying an eBook or two. Gen Y certainly won't write off traditional mediums of information. However, they've adopted and embraced the technological advancements that are taking place to better receive information.

Gen Yers do their part when it comes to helping others.
For example, when entering college, peers amongst Gen Y are more than willing to go out of their way to help the incoming class of students. On my college campus, groups are set up on Facebook and Myspace to help students get to and from Walmart. Web site addresses are exchanged for students to find out the campus ratings for their professors. Tutoring sessions are done online and offline by Juniors and Seniors, not the faculty, and these are activities that are seen across college campuses nationwide. They've advanced the real-life version of peer-2-peer systems using social networks and more.



While Generation Y is very technologically advanced, they're more likely to adopt technologies that help themselves and others whether it's for organizing boycotts, keeping up with the news, or helping peers. They don't just adopt these technologies just because they're out there. They adopt them because of what they can do with them

week 10: myself as a writer

As i sit here and htink to myself about how well my writing has improved, I wonder what my new strenths and weaknesses are. Being able to prepare and do a lot of searching about the topic helps me understand better. Although there are times when your paper is great and then you get it back and there are a lot of errors on your paper, all you need to do is look it over withe someone, either a friend, or even better the STUDIO! They helped me and they can help you become a better writer. That's how my strengths changed tor the better. I know i am able to start my paper and not just sit there and stress out about it. I still have weaknesses though. Everyone probably does. I still switch back and forth between berb tenses, but i am paying more attention to them now.

Week #6 myself as a writer (redo)

To me my writing has improved a lot. I'm not making as many mistakes as I was before. The mistakes that I used to make on previous writing assignments, I am paying more attention to. working on the definition essay wiki page was fun because i learn better as a visual learner and hands on learner, so when i got to play around with the fonts and pictures it made me want to read my own page and keep adding on to it. even though i may have a few mistakes here and there, because i'm trying to use my text messaging text words in my writing as short cuts, I would say that i have improved about 50 percent and that there are a few things that i could work on.
also, going to the studio is a great place to go. they helped me so much during our last paper. Even though it was already graded. I took the revised paper and made it better and know i understand better on what i needed to work on and what i needed to pay more attention to. The most important thing was to keep an eye on my verb tenses becuase i had some in past and some in present. so when you are stuck I encourage to go to the studio to help you with your writng. they helped me improve and I'm sure they will help you.

Week 9.... being a cna

Being a certified nurse assistant (CNA) is an interesting job. I am working as a cna at a nursing home. It takes a lot of work out of you.. It takes a certain person to be able to be a cna. At least to me, it does. I have been a cna for about a year now and i went to ICC to get my certificate while attending high school. It took a lot of studying but it was worth it. As i walk through the nursing home almost everyday to work I think about me being there one day and how i would want a funny, energetic, and a cna who would want to be there instead of being a cna who thinks they have to be there. To me a cna needs to be up to speed but not rush the residents as they need comfort and someone to talk to also. Being a CNA was really the best jobs that i have had. You do a lot of dirty work, but if you look at it, one day you're going to need someone to do that to you when you get older. When i go to work i usually work at night so i am getting the residents ready for dinner and taking them to the restroom and then treating their needs. Then at the end of my shift i get them ready for bed. You usually creat a bond with at least one resident. I have bonds with several residents. You really have to love what you do in order to work as a cna and go to work everyday to make residents happy. So having a cna certificate is something good to have even if you dont like working in a nursing home. YOu can work at a doctors office, hospital, or even like a prompt care. Its a great career to begin with..

my way of writing....Week 8

My way of writing is changing. At first my writing was improving with activities and with topics that i really enjoy. The defenition essay sounded boring at first. When we started the wiki my writing came to me and it was easy. Now i'm having trouble coming up with trings when the topic kind of wears off and isn't as interesting. Now when i write I actually have to really think and do a lot of planning that i didn't have to do before.
Doing research and then trying to intrepet it can be confusing for me. But as i do more and more research for my definition essay is helping me with that. Since this class has started, i have come a long way with my writing and my format of my writing.
Also, going to the studio was a major help when i revised my paper after it was graded. they helped me catch a lot of my gramical errors that i didn't even catch. Also, my verb tenses were corrected. so no i keep a better look out for those errors and understand it a little better.
Hopefully by the end of this class i will be able to write better than i do now...

week 7...Bump in fees hits drivers equally

Why do we need all this construction? Our economy is already hurting now the government wants to raise prices and taxes on certain things. On Oct. 11, driver’s license fees in Illinois will triple to $30. In January, $30 vehicle title fees will jump to $95, and vehicle registration fees will cost $99, an increase of $20. Drivers with January renewal deadlines will see the increase on notices sent in December.Those and some related fee increases for secretary of state services will provide more than $300 million a year in new funding to help pay for the state’s multibillion-dollar capital construction plan. Vehicle fee increases make up the biggest chunk of capital plan funding, outstripping increases to taxes on alcoholic beverages, sugary snacks and cosmetic products, as well as new revenue from video gambling. It is said that all of the vechicle fees go into the state’s road fund, which covers maintenance and construction projects. The other half goes to driver’s education or other needs, depending on the fee. Now what are they going to do next? There are people struggling already.

week .6

My writing is improving
Over time my writing has improved. Now I use vivid words, and a stronger vocabulary. I need to improve how long my writing is. I have improved a lot since the first day of school. I love answering my comments! You get to make your own choices on what you’re going to write about. Sometimes I get confused with punctuation. I usually start with a good sentence.This is my self-evaluation letter. I am going to explain how my writing has changed since my first day of class to my last essay. I am also going to explain some of my strengths and weaknesses as a writer and how I have improved my writing also about some goals that I have in able to be better in writing essays. Before I got into Eng105 I had been writing a lot of paragraphs. However I knew how to write an essay, but my strengths were and are limited. My narrative essay was much better than my others, it was organize and it explained all the steps as shown in the introduction. On the other hand, my first and second essays were choppy and disorganized. I think this happened because I tried to make them longer, so I missed some organization points.I have some strength as a writer. Such as; I can write longer and my vocabulary is improving. I always try to use transition words in my paragraphs and essays. Even though I try my best sometimes it isn't enough. And unfortunately that is why I can't succeed in getting my point across clearly. I have a lot of weaknesses. I also find it quite frustrating when I have a lot of spelling problems and when I can't close an essay correctly.I have been learning a lot on this first half of the semester. Starting with this essay I have learned how to self evaluate my work from the beginning to the end. Furthermore, what plan to do for self improvement is, I will take time to read my essays more and ask for the opinion of my classmates , teacher and other people that will be able to help me revise and evaluate myself as well. Lastly as I have been doing I will keep trying my best and giving it all I got to be able to succeed writing essays not just in class but in the future as well.

week 5 ...Curfews?

A teen curfew law was recently passed. This was a needed law to alleviate crime teenagers fall victim of. Minors under the age of 17 should be in their home at a very reasonable hour so they will be energetic, fresh and alert when attending school. I am convinced that the more freedom teenagers have the more opportunity they have to get into trouble. Although most parents feel that the government is taking their place in raising their kids - that's far from the truth. The government realizes that most teenagers are not receiving the right amount of discipline from home. Studies have shown that teenagers coming from a dysfunctional home their parents were either divorced separated, drug abusers or poverty stricken. Children must come from a home that is nurturing and loving in order to have a stable and functional behavior.

Studies have further shown that the majority of juvenile delinquents get into trouble around the age of 13, I believe that the curfew will elevate some of the problems that juveniles get into at night. Juveniles are more prone to get into trouble during the night than day primarily because parents are not taking account to where their

In conclusion, the government has realized the need of this curfew and has since charged some teenagers in breaking the law. This is not to say that major crimes committed are by teenagers, yet this law will bring structure to unsupervised minors as well as disobedient minors. This could very well contribute hand-in-hand to decrease criminal matters with teens. I'm convinced that every teenager will not comply with this curfew and that crime amongst children will not totally cease. Every effort the government makes to minimize crime is worth the law being enforced. Parents should be in total support of this law and should work with officials in making it effective. I'm not a parent, but totally supports the efforts the government is making to control our teenagers. Teenagers must have some discipline in their lives. With most teenagers coming from broken homes, they do not have that strict parental guidance that is needed. Therefore, if the parents fail to give children the proper guidance, then the government has to do what is necessary to reduce problems with today's juveniles.

Week 4...My way of writing has changed

When it comes to writing I really didn’t really have a good way of thinking or processing. Now, as this class goes on I have learned some things that help me with the process and found out how to plan before I write.

I have learned that I am a hands on learner. The play-doh activity brought me to realize that I think better when I’m messing with something. So when I was playing with the play-doh, it helped learn the steps to writing a paper which is much like the steps to making something out of play-doh. I had made a bowling ball, which was the main point, then I made three bowling pins which would represent the three main ideas in my paper.

Also, I have learned that I am a kinesthetic and visual learner. So the activity we did in class I tested my kinesthetic ability and did a scatter plot over my lit snap paper and brainstormed some ideas for the topic. It helped very well. Also I did the list which was very helpful because I didn’t have to write everything down at once just key terms.

Outlines, I know a lot of people don’t like them, but for me they help me. I like making outlines to guide me through my paper. Its something visual that I can look at to help me when I get stuck and helps keep my paper on track so I don’t get off topic.

So my way of writing has changed a bit since taking this class. At least, it’s for the better. I know how to think of the process for writing and how to go about it and also how I am able to learn better.

Week #3.. Computers and technology

We are becoming increasingly dependent on computers. They are used in businesses, hospitals, crime detection and even to fly planes. What things will they be used for in future? Is this dependence on computers a good thing or should we be more suspicious of their benefits?

Computers make our life easier, we can easily get information about any product we plan to buy or place we plan to visit over a second using personal computer and Internet. Scientists predict that in the nearest future it will be possible to smell a new perfume using Internet and watch 3D scenes at home like we do in the theater. According to forecasts of HR agencies machines will replace job of cashiers, civil and military pilots. Some corporations in Japan already selling housewife-robots, which help old people to keep their home clean.

Despite the fact that computers help us, they make us dependent. Apparently, people spend more time behind monitors that ever before. And some of them feel a need for more time to be spent with people in live contact. In addition, fall out of one of the important modules of specific computer can entail serious consequences.

Enough to mention computer problem, occurred in the end of 1990s, problem concerned with coming year 2000 and catastrophes that were predicted. Fortunately imminent disasters did not happen. However, it is difficult to imagine what could be if all the predictions had occurred.

We live in technological era, computers penetrated everywhere with all benefits they provide and all dangers they hide. However we are satisfied with them and sometimes we even thank them because they help us in communicating, studying, doing business, entertaining and saving lives in critical situations.

word of advice

Never let yesterday's disappointments overshadow tomorrows dreams

Week Two case study: A writer was developed

My way of writing is a little different than most people. I like to write poetry. I write poetry 0n my free time and mostly times when I’m down. My poetry changes on how I write it depending on what kind of mood I may be in. I usually write poetry about my life stories. There is a catch though. Poetry is different than writing an essay or term paper. So my creative way of writing is hard to switch back and forth. Poetry is one of the most difficult forms of writing to define.

When I write, I usually listen to music. Music gets my brain working and the words just flow out. I also listen to music when I can’t think. As most people, it’s hard to write with the television on because I just want to watch the television. The best time for me to write is at night. Sometimes when I’m sleeping I think of ideas and I wake up and write them down, that way I never forget them. I like to write with pen and paper verses using the computer. It just seems easier for me.

My mom influenced me into writing because she always told me to be myself and to experience my feelings no matter how I do it. I found it easier to express me feelings by writing. Ever since then when I write my mom likes to read them because it keeps here moving day by day and keeps her spirits up and one day my mom wishes that I get my poems published. My mom encourages me to write my thoughts down even though sometimes it may be difficult for me to do so.

Letter of Introduction

Dear Stephanie,

My name is Sara Dexter. I am excited to be taking this class because I love writing but am not very good at using my grammar correctly. Starting off I’d like to share some of my special memories.
When I was just six years old, I got really sick and after several tests and x-rays, the doctor finally figured out that I had a ruptured appendix. If they would of found out one day later, the doctor said that I may not be living right now. While I was in the hospital for a month I had a favorite nurse. I looked up to this nurse. She inspired me to become a nurse, which is my future goal, because she always knew how to make me comfortable and to make sure I was doing okay even when she wasn’t my nurse that day. That’s one of the reasons why I want to become a pediatric nurse, that way I can help a child be comfortable just like she did. One of my favorite memories of being in the hospital was when my favorite nurse snuck me outside for a minute to get fresh air, since I was stuck in the hospital for so long.
Softball is my life. I’ve always loved playing softball since I was five years old. I played high school for my school and also my friend’s church team. Although I couldn’t play softball my senior year in high school because I had a cracked bone in my foot, which had been cracked for four years. I just had that bone removed a month ago and finally am walking again. Soon, I will hopefully be back to playing softball.
During this semester, I have two goals that I would like to accomplish. First off, I would like to keep up with English 105 and actually understand it better, so then I can soon become a writer to write poems. I like to write poetry but it never comes our right. Hopefully I can improve it. Secondly, I would like to pass all my classes to be one step closer to my nursing career as being a pediatric nurse.

Sincerely,

Sara Dexter