Week 15: Online Education Review

I've had quite some experience with online education. Before I started attending OU, I received my Associates in Applied Science for Accounting at Tulsa Community College, entirely through online courses. I really enjoyed taking all my online classes because it allowed me more time to work, as well as go to school. The most beneficial thing was probably that you can work at your own pace for most of the classes. It really gives you some freedom with your education. I would definitely take more classes if they were available online. I sort of wish OU and even University of Central Oklahoma offered more online classes for the upper division accounting requirements, but I guess you can't have everything.

(Midge cat and computer)

Week 15: Gen. Ed. Review

My experience with General Education has been overall pretty good at OU. I really like how they offered a multitude of interesting classes to pick from. I think the Humanities classes that I've taken, have probably been some of my favorite classes here at OU. I think my Gen. Ed. classes were just a fun addition to my degree. I think I've definitely taken some valuable information from all of my Gen. Ed. classes. I think my favorite classes have probably been Anthropology, MythFolklore, and Epics of India. They were all really great classes, and I enjoyed the work in all of them.

(Knowledge is power)

Week 15: College Writing Review

I am an accounting major here at the university. Although it may not seem like it, writing plays a big role in my career choice. I need to be able to write professionally to clients, as well as on memos and letters to the IRS or Oklahoma Tax Commission, etc. I've only taken one really writing-intensive class for my major, which was Business Writing here at OU. Other than that, I've taken a couple of humanities classes, much like this one, that focuses on writing. I think my courses have helped me in being able to communicate better through writing. I also believe that they have helped me to improve my writing and grammar, as well as expand my vocabulary. For this class, I believe that the most helpful writing that I have done is probably creating my Storybook. There is a lot that goes into those storybooks, and sometimes writing entirely about one thing is more difficult than people think. It has definitely helped me to become more creative. At this college, I probably couldn't point out exactly what my most meaningful writing experience was. I have a terrible memory, and there have been a lot of instances of writing.

(Keep calm and blog)

Week 14: Extra Reading Diary

For my extra reading this week, I decided to take a look into Brothers Grimm (Crane). I enjoyed the Hunt version so much, and I also wanted to get a look at the story with Snow-White. I was thinking that maybe this one would end up being the version that I have come to know. Come to find out, this was the version of Snow-White that I knew. At the end of the first section, the story goes on to tell about Snow-White finding a little house with seven spots at a table and seven beds. I thought this was a very interesting part because it kind of had a Goldilocks feel to it. She ate a little from each plate, and then she tried to find a bed to lay in. Unfortunately, it wasn't until the seventh bed that she got comfy enough to fall asleep. Luckily, the dwarves weren't as angry as the bears were in Goldilocks. They let Snow-White sleep through the night because they did not want to wake her. The ending was a little different than I remember, but it was nice to get a different side of the story. I couldn't believe how many times the wicked queen tried to kill Snow-White. She wasn't very good at it. It was nice that Snow-White always came back alive. I was a little surprised that just the moving of her coffin helped the apple to get out of her throat. I kind of like the kiss version better, but that's just me.

(Snow-White)

Week 14: Reading Diary B

After reading the first half of Brothers Grimm (Hunt), I was really looking forward to finishing the unit. Especially since it had a story named Snow-White and Rose-Red. I was very curious to find out if this was the version of Snow White that I have come to know, or if it was someone entirely different. After reading into the story a bit, I soon realized that it was not a story I have come to know. It was quite different, but I very much enjoyed it. Snow-White and Rose-Red definitely had some fun personalities. It was nice that they were so different, but somewhat similar at the same time. There mother was very lucky to have those to girls around the house. I personally did not know what to expect when the bear came into the story. I thought that he may have been tricking the small family into letting him inside their cottage, only to betray their trust later on. It turns out that I was wrong. He was a gentle bear needing shelter from the snow. I also thought that he was just guarding his treasures from the evil dwarf, but there was more to the story. I thought it was really neat that after killing the dwarf, the bear turned back into a Prince. The two girls were definitely really lucky for that bear to come to their door. He brought them a lot of happiness, and in the end, they both were married to the Prince and his brother. It was a really sweet story.

(Snow-White and Rose-Red by Jessie Willcox Smith, 1911)

Week 14: Reading Diary A

This week I decided to take a look into Brothers Grimm (Hunt). The overview of the unit intrigued me. I have heard of Hansel and Grethel before, but I was definitely looking forward to how this unit portrayed that story. Hansel and Grethel was the first story I read in this unit. This story was very long, but I enjoyed it very much. I couldn't stop reading. The story pretty much went how I knew it would. It was nice to get more details from the story. It was nice to get more details from the story. I thought that was very rude of the stepmother to convince their father to abandon them in the woods. It was a shame that Hansel didn't just pick up the pebbles as he was going back to the house on the first attempt to get rid of the children. I didn't know that the parents tried to take Hansel and Grethel out in the woods two different times. That stepmother of theirs seemed like a real monster. After they found the gingerbread house, I couldn't believe how many sweets they consumed. I like sweets as much as the next person, but if that was all that I had eaten in days, I probably would have gotten very sick. Fortunately for the children, the witch couldn't see very far. Both Hansel and Grethel tricked her at different times in the story. Both the children seemed to be good at improvising in this terrible situation. I liked the added bit at the end of the story with the duck. I thought that was really cute.

(Hansel and Gretel)

Week 13: Extra Reading Diary

For my extra reading diary this week, I thought it would be fun to look into the Italian Popular Tales unit. The description underneath the length really persisted me to look into it. I wanted to read the Italian version of Rapunzel and Sleeping Beauty. I thought it would be a lot of fun, and I definitely wanted to know if it's any different from the version that I know of both of those stories. After looking over the chapters, I was a little confused at first since I did not see those stories that attracted me to the unit in the first place, but was relieved that the description mentioned what stories were equivalents to those. The first story I read was Zelinda and the Monster, which was much like Beauty and the Beast. There were some aspects that were huge changes in the story, such as the location of where the location of the Beast was. The Beast, or in this story the Dragon, could not leave the garden in the story. So, unlike a palace, the main setting was in a garden. Another difference, which I already sort of went over, was that instead of the beast that we know of in the story, the beast was a dragon. The story was pretty similar other than those aspects though. I really enjoyed this one, as well as the others I read. All of the stories seemed similar to stories I already know, but had their fun little differences to make it an interesting read.

(Rosenrot)

Week 13: Reading Diary B

For my second reading diary this week, I will be finishing up my thoughts on Lang's European Fairy Tales I. After reading the first half of the unit, I was really excited to finish it up. There seemed to be a lot of fun titles that had me really intrigued before I started. The Death of the Sun-Hero was probably one of my favorites from the second half of this unit. The name, itself, was very interesting. The Prince in the story really seemed like something else. By twenty, he was the greatest hero in the kingdom. He must have been quite a catch. After reading on a little, the dream that the Queen and King had seemed kind of too good to be true. It made me think that something bad might happen at the end of the story. The Prince ventured out to find a Tree of the Sun. Only by protection this tree for nine days and nights, would the Prince be able to call himself the Sun-Hero. He had to fend the tree off from getting damaged by wolves. It was a pretty difficult task to defend a tree for more than eight nights. The Prince definitely needed to sleep. I ended up being right after all though. The tree in the story got damaged and the Prince was sentenced to death. It took a while for that order to be carried out, but in the end, the Prince still got what he deserved. Maybe he shouldn't have taken on the name Sun-Hero without earning it first.

(The cool sun)

Week 13: Reading Diary A

This week I decided to take a look at Lang's European Fairy Tales I. Over this semester, I've gotten to take a look at a multitude of units involving fairy tales. This one was no different. I was really interested in seeing what the European fairy tales hold, and whether I could find different stories to which I haven't heard before. Overall, my reading of the first half of this unit was very good. I did come across one story that was my favorite from the first half of the unit.

The first story I really liked was the very first story in the unit, The Master Cat, or Puss in Boots. The very first sentence of the story made me chuckle a little:

"There was a miller who left no more estate to the three sons he had than his mill, his ass, and his cat."

I mean who wouldn't find that funny. This definitely painted a nice picture for the story. As the story went on, it got a little more into the son who acquired the cat. He, of course, thought the cat was going to be completely useless to him. The cat overheard his owner say this and decided to make a case for himself. He asked for a bag and pair of boots. Then he would prove himself to his owner. I don't want to spoil the entire story, so I figured the rest can be left up to your imagination. Cats are very cunning, so his statement was a little peculiar to me. He could very well be telling the truth though.

(Puss-in-Boots)

Week 12: Extra Reading Diary

For my extra reading diary this week, I decided to read the Nursery Rhymes unit. I always loved nursery rhymes growing up, so I was very excited to see how this unit plays out. I was really interested to see if they might be the same stories I grew up with, or new stories. After reading a little bit, I soon found out that I didn't know most of the stories written, but it was fun exploring the new stories. I came across one story that I enjoyed very much. I was very happy to come across a familiar story, Humpty Dumpty. It was written a little differently than how I know the words to be. That was pretty much expected. I kind of liked this version a little more. It seemed to have an older feel to it. This story was part of the riddles chapter. It was very interesting reading all the different riddle nursery rhymes. They are really riddles because some of them seem to make no sense at all. They were a lot of fun to read. Another story out of this chapter that I really liked was the one written about all the legs. At first when I was reading it, I couldn't make sense of it at all. I thought it was just some jumbled words. The little piece of information really put everything into perspective for me. It was interesting to see how one specific word could have so many different meanings when adding different numbers into the mix.

(Humpty Dumpty)

Week 12: Reading Diary B

In honor of St. Patrick's day this week, I was excited to read on in the Celtic Fairy Tales unit. The story labeled Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree was probably one of my favorite for the second half of the reading this week. The name is what intrigued me from the start. I really wanted to know how the gold and silver would come to play in this story. After reading the first few sentences, I soon found out that the story wasn't actually about trees, but gold and silver referred to actual people. I couldn't really believe the story turned so nasty so quick. It really goes to show that jealousy makes people do awful things. Sometimes in the eyes of jealousy, not even your family is safe. The mother, Silver-tree, definitely did not like the someone referred to her daughter as the most beautiful queen in the world. The queen took jealousy to a whole other level after hearing this. Pretty much to the point where she wished to kill her daughter. This definitely made the story very interesting. The mother tried so hard to kill her daughter, but did not succeed. I think the item that completely surprised me in the story was the second wife coming into play. It was very genius though, and worked out perfectly. The second wife had so much love for her husband and the first wife. I was pleased to find out what a nice person she was, and that she fought to keep Gold-tree alive.

(Gold-Tree and Silver-Tree)

Week 12: Reading Diary A

Since I am doing this assignment early, and in honor of St. Patrick's Day, I choose to read the Celtic Fairy Tales unit for Week 12. I love reading fairy tales, and as soon as I read the description of this particular unit, I knew I wanted to read it. This unit did seem sort of short, but nevertheless, it was a good read. The first story I really enjoyed in this unit was Connla and the Fairy Maiden. I loved the idea of the maiden being free from death and old age. The way this story is portrayed, the maiden really seems magical and mystic. The maiden definitely did not have to work very hard to impress and make her mark on Connla, the king's son. With her charm, she was able to create a longing in him that no one had ever seen before. It was only normal that the King thought that this was an evil witches doing, and turned to his druid to be rid of her. Unfortunately for them, she was able to return near the end of the story. Only she could satisfy Connla's longing, and she finally got her chance to do it. I really wonder if they ever went off to that joyful land that the maiden promised Connla, or if it was just a trick. The mystery of the story definitely keeps you thinking, even after the story is done. There are a million possibilities for how the story could have gone after the ending.

(Connla and the Fairy Maiden)

Week 11: Reading Diary B

After reading the first half of the Aesop's Fables (English) unit, I was very excited to read on. After looking over the list of chapters when I first started, I was looking forward to reading the stories in the chapter labeled Dogs. I, of course have a dog, and the idea of reading tales about dogs sounded very interesting. The second story, the Hungry Dogs, was a good read. I think the moral of the story was very interesting as well. Thinking that something in the distance is treasure could definitely lead to doom. You definitely need to know what it is you're after, and not just assume that it is something good. There are plenty of tricks out there, and you definitely need to be careful in trying to avoid them.

The second story in this chapter I really enjoyed was the Faithful House Dog. I don't know why, but just by the title, this story made me think of my own dog, Cobi. I was very excited to read on. By looking at the title, I was definitely thinking that the story had to do with a lesson of faithfulness of some sort. I was intrigued to find out how that test would pan out. After reading the story, I could only hope that my dog would be as faithful as the one in the story. He didn't try and take the bribe from the intruder, which was a very good call. He protected his owner, and by that he is very loyal. This story definitely showed a lesson of loyalty, and although it was short, it got its point across.

(Cobi)

Week 11: Reading Diary A

This week, I decided to go with what I like best and read the Aesop's Fables (English) unit. I enjoyed the other Aesop's units that I read so figured this one really wouldn't disappoint. From first glance over the stories listed, I was very excited to get to read some more stories involving animals, but was also very intrigued to see stories about gods. The first story I really enjoyed was the chapter labeled Foxes. If you read any of my earlier posts, you would have ran across that I have a fox tattoo on my upper thigh. I think foxes are really cool animals, even though I do love most animals, and I was excited to read some stories about them. All of the stories in this chapter seemed to have different themes behind them.

My favorite was probably the one about the fox and the dragon. Ever since Game of Thrones, dragons have been a bit of an obsession, so who wouldn't like to get two of their favorite things into one story. This story was a bit hard to read, but I definitely liked the rhyming. It was a good thing that their was a summary of some sort before reading the story. It definitely made it a lot easier to understand. I like how the fox was portrayed as a character with wisdom, especially since foxes are usually portrayed as such. It was funny to find out that the dragon was foolish. There is really no surprise there when taking into account how dragons guard their riches. Overall, I really enjoyed this story.

(Fox)

Week 10: Reading Diary B

After reading what I had so far, I was extremely excited to finish up Eskimo Folk Tales. I sort of think that these stories have been my favorite thus far this semester. They are fairly easy to read, plus its very interesting to read stories that have to deal with Native America. From the second half of this reading, I was very interested in The Wife Who Lied. From the name of the story, it seems like this would be relatable in the real world. The first sentence was really what hooked me in. I mean how can you not get intrigued when you see that the individual in the story came from a tribe of man-eaters.

After reading on, this story seemed almost kind of graphic, but in a good way. Sometime for me, the more graphic and horror like, the better. I couldn't believe that almost everyone was killed in the village. Those three that hid were very lucky and I guess you would say smart for not getting caught by the killers. I was also kind of taken back that those three who lived worked so hard on arrows that their bones were showing. They were definitely dedicated to the cause of getting back at their enemies. Unfortunately, I do not think they did enough work for the hut was taken and the men were killed. In addition, those women who lived were taken and forced upon new husbands. I was very surprised that the lying wife died in the end, but it does make sense. This story definitely tells others that you should not lie.

(Inuit village near Frobisher Bay, from Hall's Arctic Researches and Life Among the Esquimaux, 1865)

Week 10: Reading Diary A

For this week, I decided it would be fun to read Eskimo Folk Tales. It sounded like a fun topic, especially since who wouldn't love eskimo's. The first story that I really enjoyed reading was The Woman Who Had a Bear as a Foster-Son. The name itself interested me to begin with. I always enjoy reading about animals, a I've said time and time before. I think it was really great that the old woman took the bear in as her own. I was actually kind of surprised that the townspeople around her took so kindly to the bear; especially when he got so big that he made their children cry. Luckily after becoming too big, he had the adults to play with. It was really neat that the bear could live in unison with the townspeople and his foster mother.

The part of the story that I was sort of sad about was that the bear having to leave his home. I understood that he killed the man because the man probably tried to harm him first, but I don't necessarily think that he should have left his home. I guess the foster mother was just trying to protect him the best she could. I mean it does make sense that someone would come and try to kill the bear for revenge. This was a really cool folk tale, and probably my favorite out of all that I read so far in the Eskimo Folk Tales. I am really excited to read the second part.

(Brown bear cub head)

Week 8: Commenting Review Week

So, in all honesty, I didn't look at any of my comments until this week. After writing a post, I don't really go back to look on what people think of it. I know that that is probably not a great attitude for the class, but that's how it's been. After reading some of the comment I received, I thought that they were all very nice and had good input. I don't believe I'm making good connections with other students in this class through blogs, because all in all, I haven't really had any back and forth conversations. It's really hard to create connections through an online course. I think the comment wall is probably and really good way to fix that, but if there's no effort put in, then it kind of doesn't work. I don't really know how you could improve on this. Maybe if each student was just assigned a buddy for the entire duration of the class, instead of changing every week, students would get a better chance to connect. This would also keep feedback consistent for the storybooks and blog posts.

(Baby Bells. Personal Photo)

Week 8: Writing Review Week

I really don't know what has been my greatest writing success so far in this class. I guess it might be that I'm writing at all. I think it's really helped that I'm actually interested in what I am writing. For instance, I am very much into my storybook for this class. It's something that I feel I can actually write about, and it just makes it that much easier. As I was looking back on my old storytelling posts, I noticed that I actually didn't retell very many stories this semester. It's kind of hard to figure out what my good strategies are when I really wasn't doing the assignment. I do think some weeks it was easier than others to retell a story in my own words. It was very easy to retell stories from units that I really enjoyed, but harder for units that I didn't necessarily understand the language.

(Abandoned Pet 26. Source: deviantart)

Week 8: Reading Review Week

So, I'd like to start off by saying that I am not a very big fan of reading in general. I did though, very much enjoy the reading experiences that I've had thus far in this class. Although it may take some major effort on my part sometimes, I definitely got something out of reading every unit that I chose. I think the thing I like most about our readings is that we, as the student, get a choice of what we want to read. I read many things over the past 7 weeks, and enjoyed almost every one of what I read. In particular I was very impressed by the Aesop Winter and Aesop Jacobs units. I thought it was extremely fun to read about animals in different contexts. I always love stories with animals, and its fun that they always have lessons to go with them.

In all honestly, while reading, I have no note-taking strategies. I really just try to read through all the stories and then sort of pick what I want to write about while I'm reading. It makes it easier that I can just read the stories, and then, by memory, go back and write a blog post on what I enjoyed the most. I would definitely say that after looking back on my reading diaries they help me recall a lot. I don't have a very good memory, especially since I already forgot what I read last week. Being able to go back and click on the Reading Diary label was so much help for this week. I wouldn't be able to pick out what I read without it.

(My Fox Tattoo. Personal Photo)