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ePortfolio Check-In #1 Discussion: Choose Your Tool
I would want my portfolio to be public but it will probably be private to start. The purpose of the portfolio is to display my work and progress for critique, so it seems like it should be public. I can be a bit shy about sharing my work though, so until it is well fleshed out I'd probably keep it private. I've never made an ePortfolio before so I looked at the two Oceanography ePortfolios on Wix and Weebly. I really like the style of the Wix portfolio; it is more modern and professional in appearance. Weebly looks a little dated and structured but the image display options are nice. Canvas looks too simple. Weebly looks easy enough to navigate though I think Wix could be worth the extra effort. It is really eye-catching which I think I'd want in my portfolio. ePortfolio Check-In #2 Discussion: Reflecting on Your Learning My reflection is on my Midterm Project: Part 2 submission. This assignment helped develop my research and analysis skills. I learned about a new source for national and state data as well as how to navigate the database. I was able to cull the desired data and calculate additional information that better suited my needs. Although the output seems simple on the page, that is the desired result. The clearly organized table makes the information easy to navigate and interpret. These skills and the US Bureau of the Census database will be extremely useful in other classes as well. Looking back, this database would have been helpful in my Ethnic Studies class and English classes when researching for essays. I need to work on my understanding of Chicago style citations and bibliographies. I had trouble deciding if I should include sets of seemingly identical bibliographical entries for each state's data. By the end of this semester, I hope to have the basic outline of a bibliographical entry for a website and/or book committed to memory. I predominately need to work on my terrible habit of procrastination. I waited until the last minute, and though I was able to complete the assignment, I could have written even more or at least avoided the pressure of the impending deadline. By the end of the semester, I want to complete my work, at least by, the day before it is due. In the News... Current Supreme Court Cases I chose to research Fernandez v. California. In this case, a man was attacked and robbed. Police were informed of the whereabouts of the suspect and requested to enter and search the property. The suspect refused them, but was then summarily arrested. The police then returned and requested to search the property again. The suspect’s roommate allowed the police onto the property where they found a variety of weapons. The suspect sought to suppress the evidence as an illegal search. He was denied and found guilty of robbery. The argument centers on the Forth Amendment and the permissibility of a warrantless search. There was no search warrant, so the residents needed to give the police permission to access the property. When there are two roommates that are both present, and either object to the search, it is “unreasonable”. Some Justices believed that when there are two roommates, and one objects but isn’t present, the search is then reasonable. Justice Ginsburg argued that the search was unreasonable as long as one tenant was objecting and that a warrant was necessary. A decision was made on this case. California won with six votes. Three Justices voted against the decision, led by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg. Ideology definitely could have been a factor in this case. All six Republican Justices voted for the case. Republican Justice Thomas previously voted against a case with a very similar situation, yet he voted for it in this instance. Three out of four Democratic Justices voted against the case. The issue is important because it centers on matters of personal property and right to privacy. This inherently nullifies the purpose of search warrants. The police could come search your property whenever you weren’t there. The suspect made his objection to the search clear while on his property. He was only off his property because he was in police custody. If the only thing keeping the police from searching one’s property illegally is one’s presence, their ability to also unequivocally enforce one’s removal from said property leaves a person with no way to defend themselves. ePortfolio Check-In #3 Assignment I chose to reflect on my discussion assignment “In the News…Current Supreme Court Cases.” The assignment primarily helped me practice collecting and synthesizing data from more than one resource. I read numerous articles from various websites and distilled the data important to my message. It also gave me practice reviewing and responding to the work of my peers. Peer review seems to be an important part of being a member of the professional scientific field. Thru this assignment, and others like it, I am faster at gleaning the main objective and supporting ideas from an article. I am now also able to quickly locate a viable, pertinent article for my assignments. All of these skills would be beneficial in other course. All of my classes use a textbook and most, if not all, require the ability to digest and process the data into essays. I am a terrible procrastinator. I turned the first part of my discussion in half an hour late. I need to do better on allotting myself enough time to complete my work well and turning my work in on time. I have trouble acknowledging when to stop writing my assignment. I always continue developing my work up until, and sometimes thru, the last minute. I turned in the second part of the assignment on time, but far from early, despite the availability to do so. I will complete my final assignment at least two days early so that I can review it after stepping away from it for a while. I will turn in my final at least one day early. Developing a study area in my apartment would probably help as well. I do much of my work hunched over my laptop on my couch. The lighting is not terribly bright which causes me eyestrain, and thus headaches. The couch springs are old and unsupportive causing back and neck pain. Though it is not directly related to my assignment, the discomfort is a constant, nagging distraction. Having a nice desk and chair would improve both of these physical issues that are sometimes a hindrance to my work. ePortfolio Check-In #3 Discussion: Share Your Progress I have had some progress on my website thus far. I have chosen a design/layout and have established my web pages. I have completed my About Me, Goals, and Hobbies sections thus far. I still have to fill in my College Courses page and probably flesh out my existing pages more. I would like to add goals that are not academic as well. I would also like to add some more graphics to appeal to the eye. Am I missing any major parts? Is there anything I am under- or over-doing? Am I staying relevant to the purpose of the website and webpage? Is it too simple or boring? Final Reflection Intro to Political Science has been an interesting and enlightening experience. I have learned a multitude of new things that I will carry with me beyond this class. I was able to delve into current issues that made me a more conscious citizen and voter. I better understand the bias articles may have and now read both sides of an argument instead of simply my more liberal leaning sources. It made me a better conversationalist; I am able to discuss my opinion on various political topics with actual knowledge to back it up. I became more aware of how our government has been created and run. Studying cases reviewed by the Supreme Court opened my eyes to the bias in the high court and lesser courts due to differences in political parties and not the actual issue. I also acquired and/or improved a number of academic skills during this semester. Research has become more efficient and useful; I am able to find more pertinent information faster than before. I have been introduced to a number of new databases that I will employ in future coursework. I had done little peer review prior to this class. Due to the online nature of the course, peer review was a great way to get to know my peers as well as see how others are progressing in the class and what type of work the class is producing on average. Despite my initial distaste, it has proved invaluable and quite interesting; I will continue to try to peer review others work and have others review my own work in the future. Learning to create this E-portfolio has been a useful tool for displaying my work and progress through my classes. More and more often, resumes are now personal websites. Beyond the classroom, an E-portfolio has professional applications as well. Chicago citations were completely new to me prior to this class and so all work towards this method has been positive progress. I have yet to master this method of citation though, and will try to improve on it in the future. I set a number of personal and academic goals at the beginning of the eight-week semester and have met most of my goals to some degree. I have improved on my tendency to procrastinate but have not completely ceased this habit. I have begun to work on assignments earlier and turn them in on time, however I have turned in assignments at the very last minute. Although I generally sent out emails for DANA club immediately after club meetings, I missed two weeks altogether. I am definitely in better shape. I have been able to complete at least fifteen miles a week hiking, often twenty or more. Running has been harder for me to maintain. I have run at least once a week but not always twice. I have learned to rock climb but have not been able to go climbing once a month. It has been hard to find climbing partners, especially due to my inexperience and lack of most equipment. My grades have been good but not perfect. I have been showing up to class early and reviewing my work. I was never a terrible student but I believe I can do better still. |