Reflection of Avertisment Proposal

Going into this assignment I felt pretty good. I found an ad that I wanted to use right away and was confident with it. I thought that ad I chose was a perfect choice for this essay. As soon as I picked my ad, I began thinking right away for who the ad was targeted for and it sure was easy to identify. I decided on this ad because I could easy identify the audience. I analyzed it as best as I could and thought I did a well on job on doing so. My idea for the redesign immediately came to mind. I knew for sure that the new target audience was going to be for men. Ideas circulated my mind instantly. I came up with the idea for my redesign first in my head. After I gathered all my thoughts, I went on paint and designed one myself. As far as challenges go, in the beginning of the essay I had a hard time to start it off. I overcame this challenge by brainstorming ideas to open up my essay.  The thing I loved most about this assignment was really getting to analyze the advertisement. I never knew how important that the smallest detail could be so important. This was used to my advantage because from now on I will take this experience with me. I now know when I am looking at an advertisement that I am going to analyze it after this assignment. I feel like I will have more knowledge of the creators behind advertisements. If I were to get a second chance at writing this essay, I would maybe go into more detail on the new redesign.

Reflective Memo

Elaina Gavrilovski

Professor Rinke

Writing 150

February 15, 2012

Completing this narrative was quite the experience for me.  Creating the literacy timeline in the beginning of this narrative was my favorite part. During this process, I reflected and listed all the events in my life that was in relation to the literacy of my life up till the present. Doing this made me revisit the past via memories. It also helped me realize how effective being literate is. Writing, reading and speaking are the main points that make up being a literate individual. The most logical place for me to begin my timeline was simply my first word. Although, I hardly could remember this moment in my life, I knew what it was for sure!

            Throughout this experience, I noticed how powerful it is speaking and comprehending two languages fluently. This part of my literacy narrative dominated and therefore, making it my theme. I knew right away that I would have a lot to write about if I focused on how I learned my second language and how it affected me. After completing the timeline, I noticed how being literate can vary in numerous ways.

            I easily narrowed down the area of focus on my written narrative. As soon as I began writing, I knew exactly what my main topic was going to be. I feel that my thoughts were clear and down to the point. As I began to write my narrative, my thoughts would just come out naturally. I felt that I was reliving the past as each new sentence was formed. I hardly had to even look at my timeline to write my story. I enjoyed revisiting on some of the most memorable moments in my life.  The final edits in my paper foreshadowed what I was going to put on my video slideshow.

            The animoto video slideshow was the most challenging part of this assignment to me. I feel like I really had to focus and to maintain a clear, brief focus while doing this. I knew right away what I was going to do it on, but I just did not know at first how to approach the slideshow. I wanted to pick the best choice of words that I could to make my animoto video slideshow as down to the point as possible. I found it pretty hard to limit down my words to the 52-character limit per slide, but I figured my way around to fit into the criteria. My strategy for this was to be as simple and clear as possible.

            The pictures I chose to share with my peers in my animoto video slideshow went with the sentences as close as they could. The pictures I used were from the time and age as the text explained. The images that I used were personal and I think they added a greater emphasis on my narrative all together. The images I selected helped tell my story because it helped my peers imagine the time that each literacy steps took place in my life.

            The song I choose is just a simple instrumental version. I thought this was good a choice in music because it made my animoto passive and flow well. It was not overwhelming and I did not have to worry about words going along with the slideshow. I also chose this instrumental song because it gave me a good vibe and I enjoyed the company of listening to it.

            As I went and revisited my animoto slideshow, I enjoyed reading what others had to say about it. The adjectives they used to describe it were what I aiming for. Words like cultural, creative, and interesting were words used that my peers used to describe my animoto and that made me feel accomplished. Also, after watching it a second time I wish I rephrased some words to make it sound a little less complicated.

            Overall, this assignment was an enjoyable one to me. I had a good time doing it and the topic was a lot of fun. It helped me touch back upon memories that I totally forgot about. I wish for more assignment to be like this because it was unique and I have never done something like it. My favorite part of writing this literacy narrative was the very first step of it, the timeline. The timeline portion was the foundation to my assignment.

My Literacy Timeline!

Literacy Timeline

·         At about 11 months, I was told that my first word was “dada”. Dada is referring to a Serbian term that means older sister. She use to always play with me as a baby and I think this is why I picked up on the word

·         As I approach to being 1 year old, I begin to form a larger lexicon. By now, I know the pronouns given to my family. I.E: Mama, Tato (meaning dad), Baba (meaning grandma), Dedo (meaning grandpa), Dada (older sister), Apo (older brother) etc.

·         Although, my first words learned were mainly Serbian words to describe family members, my first language was English.

·         At the age of only 2, I remember that everyone use to say that I was going to have my own talk show because of how much I was talking already

·         The age of 3, I learn the alphabet sing along

·         The age of 4, I am starting to write and read little by little

·         At about the age of 5, my grandfather was coming from Serbia (one who I had never met before) I could only speak the basics of Serbian so I was a little nervous about communicating with him. He had asked if I requested anything from Serbia and I asked for a Serbian alphabet book that would teach me how to read and write in the language

·         My grandfather is now here living with my family for a year. I am 6 years old and have learned to speak almost fluent Serbian. Not only am I speaking it, I have learned the alphabet and can now read and write in Serbian.

·         In school, I am learning the language German by Mr. Krenzor. The first thing I pick up on is the German alphabet. I think this is influenced by knowing the Serbian one so it made it easier.

·         In the 3^rd grade, reading was encouraged greatly. During silent reading I would always read “Marvin K. Moony Would You Please Go Home” by Dr. Sues. Also, at this time I am drawn to poetry and the poetry book “Where the Sidewalk Ends”. My favorite poem in there was titled “Sick”. I use to be able to recite the whole thing and still to this day I remember bits and pieces from it

·         In the fourth grade, I read my first and favorite chapter book. “Because of Winn Dixie” I read that book more than just a few times.

·         It is now the summer of 2005, and my parents are going on sending my sister, brother, and I to Serbia for a month to visit family. I had never been there before so this was exciting to me, but I was also very nervous. In Serbia, I was thankful my grandfather taught me Serbian because I was now a pro! I made friends with all the local kids so easily and they were impressed that I spoke the language well.

·         In 2007, I notice I have a love for creative writing. My English teacher Mrs. West would teach us many techniques and to this day I incorporate those techniques in writing

·         Junior high gave us a lot of basic writing assignments that really made me a better writer

·         I noticed that in 9^th grade (2009) I had a love for giving presentations and speaking upon the class. I always volunteered to give my presentation first. I feel like I never really had stage fright and that it just came more natural for me.

·         Entering high school in 2009-2010 was a breeze for me. I had already known many people that attended the school so I adjusted quickly

·         In 11^th grade (2010-2011), writing assignments got harder and harder each time. They were preparing us for the big test…the “ACT”

·         Taking the ACT was not very hard; however I wish I had more time to complete it. I feel like I could not stay focused on the writing portion because there was so little time and all my thoughts were running through my mind.

·         Senior year was a breeze for me. My favorite class was dance class and marketing because it was the classes I got to express my creative side

o   In dance class, the literacy part was important in the selection of music that I choose. Iy had to be the perfect song to go with the dances my partners and I made up

o   Marketing was a blast! I maintained an A in that class all year. I enjoyed making PowerPoints in that class and doing stuff like making advertisements and once we had to make a commercial…that was my favorite!

·         Leaving high school was very bittersweet.  I feel like it marked the end of my childhood, yet a beginning to my college career. I learned a lot in high school to get me to where I am today in my education like writing, speaking, and creative thinking.

Free Write: Digital Literacy

1) Teachers thoughout elementary, junior high, and high school could have better prepared for the requirements in college by doing more hands on learning experiences. I feel like grade school was very systematic and predicatable. We would learn a lesson and have book assignment right after. I would have appreciated doing more activites that applied more critical thinking.

2) In my career field, I anticipate on dealing with a lot of technology. I expect to be learning on how to use my creative skills in the digital world. I believe if I take the right classes that Oakland University will prepare me for this.

3) I generally write better in a relaxed setting. I do not like having boundaries because when I am writing with boundaries I feel like I am not writing what I mean and that I am just writing to write. However, when I write in a relaxed setting I am writing what I feel and express myself in a truthful manner.

4) If I was to be a teacher in this day and age I would do the best I can to better prepare my students for their future. As we know, the digital world has taken a turn in this generation and more technology is being used. With my students, I would focus on hands on activities that involve using more technology. I also think this will create some more excitement to the students.

5) The tone of this piece by Virginia Heffernen was very meaningful to me. You can tell that Heffernen is writing what she feels and the truth of the matter is we must focus on making our digital literacy skills better. In the future, who knows what kind of jobs there will be, but we do know that we must provide some kind of base foundation for the students entering the future.

What We're Doing When We Blog

1.  Some features of a blog are that of you can write as freely as you choose. There are no boundaries in a blog or a set of written rules for blogs. Print sources are usually more bland and informational.

2.  Hourihan feels that blogs are a communication revolution because it’s almost like people can get to see what you are thinking and what is going on in your mind.

3.  I think keeping a blog for this class will be advantageous to my learning because it will help me explore the thoughts of others and see their perspectives on things. I do not feel that there are any disadvantages to keeping a blog; to me it seems totally harmless.

4. Publishing is a rather stricter than a blog. When you publish something, you are usually dealing with facts and information. When you blog, you are focusing more on opinions and things that intrigue you.

Summary and Response (Mother Tongue by Amy Tan)

 Mother Tongue by Amy Tan is a very relatable narration to me. She discusses how she grew up speaking two languages and how it affected her as an individual. Amy says that language is powerful and can express emotion. Amy had to translate for her parents and this wasn't typical for all young children. I myself grew up in a home speaking a language other than English. Although both of my parents speak fluent English, my grandparents did not. Still to this day I do some translating for them. I embrace this! I love being able to speak two languages; it is quite essential for me. I have become a better writer and communicator because of this.

Free Write

1. In a blog, you are able to express yourself freely and not have any boundaries/guidelines to follow by. They differ from print sources because they are more personal and are free, whereas, a print source can be very long and informational.

2. Hourihan feels that blogs are a communication revolution because it is like keeping an online journal. A journal can be something very personal and interesting to see other's thoughts and opinions.

3. I think keeping a blog for this class can help classmates get to know each other better. This is an advantage because people can ask each other questions comfortably and communicate with one another. The only disadvantage I can think of is that if someone cannot get their internet to work when they need/want to blog.

4. Publishing is very straight forward. You have something to publish you would make sure it is your perfect piece of work. Blogging is somewhat different. In blogging, you would be more free a good reflection of what you are thinking.