1. I think the pace of the course is reasonable. Due dates are not written in stone and the schedule is modified when necessary. Mrs. Buonagario takes input from the class on when assignment should be due. This is fair and has worked out well.
2. The pacing of the research paper at first was a little fast. The due dates were rapid, but then the deadlines for the ending pieces were spread out and we had efficient time for our final draft. I had no problem with the extended due dates, but the dates originally put in place were a little too close together. The structure of the research assignments helped because it was a progression. First we wrote journals, and then just the literary part. We then added in the critical, biographical, and historical. This progression helped out as we could continuously revised our previous drafts. Also, conferences and class discussions helped as I found out what I should do with my paper and how others were approaching the paper. The classroom time was organized fine. We had adequate time in the library and some classes were devoted to discussions about the research paper. Also, the diagrams showing the how the paragraphs showed have been structured helped out a lot. We did not go in the lab that much to work on our research paper or website. I personally did not think we need lab time to work on our research papers, but I would have like a few more days in the lab to work on our digital portfolios.
3. The research paper reading list provided a vast choice of books to read. I liked how they were classified into groups by author and themes. This helped in choosing the books. Also, the reading list had a large diversity in types of books. I am glad we got a list because it made it easier to pick out books and know they were okay for the research paper.
4. I feel competent in the research process because I feel that I wrote a solid paper. The research process helped out tremendously as it gave me somewhere to start from. The areas in which I had questions were made clearer during class discussions and by talking to the teacher. Producing a couple drafts really helped out because I could edit previous parts of my essay while adding in a new part. The research process was long and extensive and covered about everything. The resources and librarians in the library were helpful when I was finding historical, critical, and biographical information.
5. As the year has gone on, I have started to like the digital portfolios even more. In the beginning of the year I liked the idea, but had a lot of question on how it was going to work and if I was ever going to get it up on the web. Now that I have the startings of a digital portfolio, I like working on it more because I can directly see the results. I am glad we are learning about this stuff now so that we will have it for the future. I think the digital portfolio is a lot easier to manage than a hard copy portfolio. I am looking forward to adding and improving my portfolio during the second semester.
6. If I were given the opportunity to work with my teacher on updating and revising this project, I would only make a few minor changes. One change would be to hand out clear directions at the beginning of the year about how to convert journals, make links, put in images, and use tripod. The HTML TAGS packet is extremely helpful, and with a little more explanation of some of the tags would be helpful. This would just make it easier for students and put less stress on the teacher. Also I would have a little more time in the lab to work on the portfolios. It is tough to work on your website at home if you do not have the proper computer and staying after school is not always an option. I like the freedom of the project because you can be creative in your own way. I think it would help a lot if after we had in papers and get them back, that we go to the lab and immediately put them up on the web.
7. If I were to do a lesson similar to this in the future I would try to complete every page before moving on to others. When I started this project, my first pages did not have all of the necessary tags, links, and colors that I needed. I have had to go back and change a lot of things on almost all of my beginning pages. I have also learned that you must pay attention to detail carefully because without certain tags and punctuation pages can turn out different than expected. I would also make sure that I would have a backup disk with every document and only put html documents on one disk so that it is not overcrowded.
8. I think the parts of my digital portfolio that I am most proud of are my research paper, and personal narrative. Both of these pieces were written extremely well and I feel they were my best efforts. My research paper was not really good in the beginning, but with a lot of work and revision it turned out to be a solid paper. I am proud of my personal narrative because it was about an important decision in my life and I put a lot of emotion into the paper. The research paper represents the greatest growth in my writing skills as it is written a lot better than the one I wrote last year. I think my paragraph setup is improved, specifically my introduction and transition sentences. Also, I integrated quotes from my book, critical, biographical, and historical sources very well. I think my personal narrative is the most interesting for people to read because it is about one of my experiences, and how I almost left Newtown to go to Fairfield Prep. It is not a really long piece to read, but it is written with some emotion and feeling.
9. If I were asked about this unit, I would say it is time consuming and is fairly tough, but with some effort it can be done. I would use my own situation as an example. I found the research paper to be time consuming and requiring a lot of work, but with many revision and steps it turned out to be all right. I would say that the digital portfolio is a lot of fun to work on because it is something new and you can use your own creativity. I would also say not to get behind because it is tough to make up the work and it is the best if you do a little work every night instead of doing everything in a short span of time.
10. In the beginning I thought the research paper was going to be tough, but as we got working it became easier and less of a huge task. I thought the spacing and extensions that you gave us were extremely helpful. The whole process of the research paper helped my writing and researching skills tremendously as I am more comfortable writing structured paragraphs, taking notes, and researching with many sources in the library. I like working on the digital portfolio a lot because it is something new and I like to see the progress in my portfolio. I am looking forward to the second half of the year and continuing working on my digital portfolio.