Last Blog ever!

Dear Future Student,


You are about to embark on your college writing journey. If you thought papers were over after high school, think again. Many majors require lots of writing, especially those majors that do not include math. This class however, will not be as bad as you think it will be. You will have one of the best teachers. He makes it engaging and fun and the assignments are relatively easy if you put enough effort into them. Make sure you get your rough drafts done well because peer review is so beneficial. Utilize it to the best that you can! Many times you watch videos in class and some days you just have a straight lecture. Make sure you stay on top of your blogs as they will be an important part of your grade. Most homework assignments come from your textbook and require you to have a blog and post to it. It can be tedious at times but it helps your grade. Some tips for writing the essays in this class are: Make an outline, use the outline to craft your rough draft, have your rough draft per reviewed, edit your paper based off of your peer review, and most importantly read your paper more than once so you do not make careless mistakes. The lectures can be dull, but do try to pay attention as it can help you if you are unsure about how to write a certain essay. In all honesty, this class is fairly simple and straight forward but it can be challenging if you fall behind in the work. While it may not be your top priority, a little bit of effort can go a long way!


Sincerely,
BWilson

End of the Year Blog

This course has made me re-evaluate the way I look at writing. It has been a long time since I have written many of the types of papers that we discussed in class and going over the basics is very helpful in my writing career. As we explored new topics, the foundations that we started with allowed us to improve over time and adapt them to each paper. The rhetorical analysis strategies we learned in class can be applied to almost every style of writing and type of paper we covered in class. Applying the essay models to our papers was a good challenge to our writing, with my favorite being the dinner conversation. My personal style of writing is very formal and conversational so it was a good way for me to express my style in an essay that I enjoyed writing (who says that anymore?). Having major assignments be your biggest grade in a course can be very daunting but having the grade breakdown split between rough drafts, final drafts, and other parts to the assignment made it easier to manage. Peer review was used for every paper we wrote and it was fairly helpful in my opinion. Some people feel more comfortable talking to their peers about problems they face or asking for tips, versus going to teacher at say, office hours which can be a hit or miss. The blog assignments were fairly simple but a fun homework to help reinforce the lessons being taught in class. Some of the readings were long and dry but for the most part they were helpful. A few of the blog assignments were even paragraphs that went towards papers that we wrote which force you to stay on top of your assignments. The lessons taught in class seemed rather redundant, because often times we already knew what the teacher was talking about. There could be an improvement in the material taught in the daily lessons.

Introduction idea 2

      In 2015 Samsung released the first virtual reality headset designed to transport users into another realm and change their visual reality. The headset completely blocks out the outside world and immerses the viewer in a new environment whether it is an unrealistic virtual world or a hyper realistic form of a familiar place. A second similar version of this technology called augmented reality has been created and perfected in recent years. Augmented reality changed the visual field by either adding or subtracting from it but does not completely change the visual field of the user. In the wake of this new technology, BMW motor company has released a line of concept designs for their centennial year aptly labeled the Vision 100 series. There are two vehicles created for this design one a car, and the other a motorcycle. Aside from the obvious physical differences in the designs compared to past versions, both vehicles will feature augmented reality technology. Their first design in this direction starts with goggles designed for driving with the Mini. BMW then brought the goggle concept over to their Vision 100 Motorrad motorcycle which are designed to help navigate the user as well as project important road information and show them what is around them. The Vision 100 car will feature a completely augmented reality dashboard, one of the first to be designed. This technology is rapidly evolving and shaping the way we live our lives. To better understand the future of this technology we must to look to history of it and how it was designed   

Introduction idea 1

         Imagine traveling through a new world with strange creatures lurking around and maybe even a little magic. Even imagine a world that might be familiar such as a favorite video game. Now imagine delicately cutting into a person’s brain or surgically repairing a bone without looking at it. The trick is, all of this can be done wearing specialized goggles with advanced technology. Augmented reality, or AR, allows users to interact with the world on a whole new level. The technology has made its debut more strongly in recent years but it dates back farther than one might think. It started around the 1900s and has blazed a trial through modern scientific advances that still has a long way to go. In the beginning stages the technology was crafted to play video games on a new level. This breakthrough evolved into medical technology that allowed doctors and surgeons that operate on a different level. For years the medical field dominated the use of AR but video games started to shine as well as many other areas of science and technology. Starting in 2015, Samsung released the first virtual reality headset. Microsoft has recently created their first augmented reality lens called the HoloLens. The most innovative concept for augmented reality however, comes with BMW’s release of their Vision 100 concept series. The future of augmented reality pairs itself with driving, both cars and motorcycles. BMW plans to create specialized goggles that allow users to interact with their environment to better help them drive and navigate when riding a motorcycle. On the flip side, the car features a redesigned dashboard complete with augmented reality, which is a first in the way of this new and exciting technology. To better understand how this technology is reshaping our lives, we first have to understand the history behind it and to look towards the future of this exciting new technology.   

iGod Analysis

In Nicholas Carr’s article iGod, he discusses search engines, namely Google, and how they affect society. His main focus is how more intelligent search engines can either hinder or help society become more or less intelligent. Carr refers to “pancake people,” or those who have stretched themselves far and wide in order to find information. He also discusses how some scientists have come up with the idea to implant machines into the human brain in order to make computers as smart as or smarter than humans. Carr focuses on the subject of artificial intelligence. He utilizes many sources such as the interview with the creators of Google and many other scientists who have done research with artificial intelligence. In comparison, Neil Degrasse Tyson’s Cosmos discusses the subject of the universe through astrophysics. Both authors explore science and how that information changes the way people think and view information processing. The difference lies in the implementation of the subjects. In Tyson’s Cosmos, he utilizes a movie platform and this allows him to engage more with his audience. He is able to use visuals to explain his material better and to keep the information exciting. He breaks down material into easier to digest chunks and simple metaphors. In Carr’s article, he uses concrete examples, facts, and statistics in order to highlight his concepts. There is less dialogue between the author and reader. Much of the information is dry and hard to follow. Carr treats the reader as if they already know about computer science and how the technology already works, which can make it hard to understand. His voice is strong and the tone is conversational throughout his article. Carr’s article follows Huxley’s 3 dimensions by focusing on the object and historical aspects. He also covers topics of moral dilemmas and growing technology.

Black Holes analysis

Black Holes by Michael Finkel is a wacky article about the universe’s black holes. Much of his writing is filled with facts and statistics that help reinforce the statements he makes. Finkel starts the reader off with a story about how the sun will one day die and explode. He then details out what happens to giant stars and gives vivid detail through facts and descriptive adjectives. The stars will eventually create the black holes. He creates a nice flow of topics and they each lead off of one another. Breaking up his paragraphs into smaller chunks of information makes it easier to follow and allows for him to provide multiple theories and discuss them. He uses relatable examples and metaphors to engage the reader through the topic of black holes. By attributing the eruption of stars as many atomic bombs going off one after the other, its something that almost every reader has studied or read about. Many people have never read about black holes nor do many people even know what one is. Finkel accurately breaks down the information into easy to read and follow parts that are easy to follow. He fills in the gaps such as how a black hole is formed, where they start, what they do, and disproves common myths about them. His voice is very casual, even amidst all of the facts. Finkel tries to keep a light tone and create a conversation with the reader. It functions almost like a lecture, in order to inform a student one on one about a topic. Huxley’s three directions fit into the article through Finkel’s use of factual information and his objective perspective on the topics of black holes and the universe. The use of popular scientists and well-known science figures helps to back up the information and make it more relatable.

Introduction to Inquiry essay

I am standing in front of the treadmill taking deep breaths. It is the third day I am at the gym and I feel exhausted. I want more than anything to take a nap or to relax but I push myself. I climb back onto the treadmill and keep going. It might seem a little extreme, but I am on a mission. The whole reason I am here is to try and see if I can improve my mood over the course of two weeks naturally. Not only does this undertaking allow me to improve myself physically, but it gives me a release for the negative feelings and stress of my week or day. By using exercise as a release it allows me to think about what causes my stress or anxiety and to reflect on it. Is it that I am too involved in many things or is it because I procrastinate on my work too much? My time on the treadmill is winding down and I start slow my run. My thoughts are no longer racing and I find myself with a clear head for a change. I still find it difficult to keep up with exercises and I have no clue as to why anyone would regularly commit to the gym. Yet maybe those people are on to something.

Paragraph from the Inquiry essay assignment

          My daily struggle is how do I balance these feelings and still manage to get my work done? Having to deal with both of these power hitters culminates in a lot of stress. That stress was making me feel like I was being ripped apart and pulled in too many different directions. I decided that I needed to find a release for these feelings. Something that was unrelated to assignments and responsibilities, and completely unrelated to school. I started my adventure by researching some ways to manage stress and anxiety so that I could better prepare myself for those battles between my anxiety and depression. If I could manage at least one of them, then I felt I could take control of my life (a college student can only dream). Everyone likes to feel productive and sometimes the clutter of every day gets in the way of concentrating or physically doing work. Working out gives people the outlet to release those thoughts and to focus on one thing for a certain amount of time. I felt like I was studying longer and harder and doing better on assignments than I had previously been doing. If I had to change anything I would have set more structured parameters for how I conducted the experiment. I would have liked to explore a specific feeling and how exercise changed that feeling instead of using a broad spectrum like mood.