12/17/2023 0 Comments Week 12: FINALIZED AND DONE!It feels weird to say that this long lasting project is over. I had just started to get the hang of my time management and getting things done early. But now it's over! This project has been slightly stressful considering there are few guidelines to go by, and with that I also had to complete a final project along with doing work with Born a Crime. In complete honesty my blogs have been like a rant of what I have been doing though out the week. Whether that is related to Genius Hour or focused on something else. Additionally, writing these blog posts to fit the guidelines has been difficult as well. i have to write A LOT for these and start to run out of things to talk about. This week is one of those times when I cannot think of things to write about. This is because Its the final week and I have ran out of things to do. However, making the final project was a lot of fun.
Practicing the final project will continue to make its progress over Christmas Break. I am going to try to reach seven minutes and focus on my website and its research. I have a lot to show for what I did, and know that I will be successful.
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12/10/2023 1 Comment Week 11: one more left!I am so close! Only one more week to go and I have about completed my final genius hour project. I have to put the finishing touches on design and quality, but I should be done after that. When working on my project I learned how different websites are set up, and when information is presented in ways that make it seem false. After working on the jobs and university sections, people want to confuse you into thinking something is more expensive or cheaper to sway your opinion. So I made sure to check my resources and make sure that they were credible.
The easiest part of this project was being able to bring creativity and vibrant colors into my project. I tried to include different slide templates that best demonstrated and represented each aspect. For the military, I specifically found a design that included camo (green, black, and brown) and dog tags, which are the symbol of any militaristic branch. With the four-year university slides, I chose soft pastel colors because I thought they were pretty and weren't loud and bright, making the idea of going to college "less scary." When things are flashy, they can sometimes insinuate fear or emotions that are unwelcome. But pastels and soft colors make the topic calm and gentle. This may just be my preference, but I liked the colors and had reasons for them. With the other slide templates, I wanted to use a sunflower but it refused to work. I even had Mr. Barker try to help me, but it would not allow me to edit the document. So I had to use the same template twice. I was not happy about having to do that but at this point, as long as it is done, I am pleased. With the end result of this project, I am hopeful to make an A on it! I worked extremely hard and will do anything to make sure that I get a high grade on this assignment. All I really have left to do is practice and present! 12/3/2023 3 Comments week 10: two more to go!This week I have accomplished more than I needed to. I worked on everything and completed all of my research and presentations. With this, I have also ensured everything is linked properly on the home page. The military, community college, and jobs without a college education are now linked! It was difficult to focus this much and fully get everything done, but I wanted to allow for the rest of my genius hour days to be working toward the final presentation. I am hopeful to make an A on this project, as long as everything I do exceeds the requirements.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics has been helpful when researching jobs to get full information such as the salary and other components. I also found that NC Careers is a helpful website as well. However, it looks as if I have yet to do a lot of research, but finding everything and putting it together is more difficult than it looks. I didn't expect this project to be as time-consuming as it has been, which was a negative on my part. However, I have found a lot of new ideas about myself and what I want to do in the near future. With presentations coming up, I will begin to work on those and add the finishing touches to my project. I am so sad for the end to be so near! This has been a long-lasting assignment, and also a fun one! I enjoyed getting to learn a little bit about myself and having a learning experience at the same time! To-do list for the next two weeks:
11/25/2023 1 Comment week 9: Getting closer This week has been amazing! I have accomplished quite a few things in our break and plan on linking everything next week on Wednesday. I am practically almost done with everything and just need to add a few finishing touches. I feel like I am talking about the same things over and over again but this is how my project works. It has been difficult to focus on one thing at once, and that is my goal for next week and the genius hour for then. Additionally, I have found the lack of productiveness to decrease with my work when I am not stressed out. This week helped with this.
I have decided that the military and not going to college are not the greatest options for me. After reading and researching all of my options I am not fond of the idea that includes not going to college. I will at least go to community college to get a degree that way I can further my education. My main end goal for my future career is going to a university to get a masters degree or even a PhD. My dream is to become a doctor of some sort, if this means working at a hospital or working at my own private practice. I do know however that this is costly and will put me into debt without financial aid. This is why I put so much work into my academics and my athletics. Getting scholarships and grants to pay for my college is a must if I want to be able to have a top level education. I really do not want to put myself into a situation where I am not making enough to pay off my debt. But, I have researched and seen that some students have had their debt erased if they fit the requirements. I hope that my project ends up being beneficial to someone else besides myself. Any suggestions can be left on the suggestion page! 11/16/2023 1 Comment Week 8: Almost Done!This week has been eventful so far! I have had multiple tests and assignments to complete and Genius Hour has not necessarily been my top priority... But here we are! I have so far completed around 80% of my Genius Hour project and only have small minor additions to make. The biggest thing that needs to be done is to link all of my slideshows and/or information. Making it to the end of this week is a struggle but will happen. The final goal of the week is to format the "jobs without college" slideshow that demonstrates that college is always the solution to finding a high-paying job in America. It has sources from NC careers that have information about salaries, where to find them, and some businesses that are looking for someone to work their job. I also have a slideshow about the military that can best explain options as to where and how you should go about joining the military. Whether that's marines, air force, army, space force, etc. A common mistake of most people is that being in the military means you will be out on the field and have to fight in combat. But you have so many more opportunities to defend and protect our country.
In addition, you can already find the links to the four-year university slide show that is linked on the home page! Agenda for the rest of Genius Hour: -Complete all slideshows -Finish making the website look nice -Prepare for presentation at end of Genius Hour 11/8/2023 2 Comments week 7: Slideshows!My blogs are not necessarily the most interesting to read, but they keep me on track. So when trying to complete this week I have been extremely overwhelmed. I am super nervous about my test results for Antigone so Genius Hour has not been my top priority. Even writing this is making my hands shake.
Moving on. I have so far completed multiple slideshows and spreadsheet documents. With the military, it has been a struggle to understand each and every part and explain it. So when it comes to information I have specifically chosen the US. Military website to source my information from. Additional details are hard to find but I am hoping to link some outside sources to websites to anyone who might be interested. I am also thinking about adding a couple of links to virtual tours... But that is still on the drawing board. With this project, I also thought about including my health science work that is similarily structured to anyone who might be interested in that as well. Plans for this week: Week 8: Finish slideshow for military Week 9: Find sources that might relate to military Week 10: Find interesting links for Community Colleges and possibly four-year universities Week 11: Finish slideshows for jobs without college requirements Week 12: Wrap up everything and make sure I am on track. This week I am hopeful to figure out everything that I might need to do to finish this project early. If that means spending more time on it than usual, so be it. I have viewed a few other people's projects and we are about at the same pace with productivity. I am hopeful that my end result will be what I expected! At the end of all of this, my final blog will be to summarize my findings and give an estimate of what I might want to do after high school. 11/2/2023 0 Comments Week 6: Wrapping up the ExcelIntroduction:
This week so far I have completed quite a bit of work. The Excel spreadsheets for all of the sections have been completed for this project. The Military, Jobs without college experience, community colleges, and four year universities. They each have a money aspect to all of them, either earning or spending. Both will benefit you in some way but may cause your current financial standings to change. However, the community colleges have scholarships that can make the cost little to nothing. Four-year universities, on the other hand, are extremely expensive. I can see now that going to a public university is going to take a lot of work. I do not plan on applying to a private school unless I get a lot of financial aid. This can be difficult as the job that I hope to fufill will be very expensive. Needing years of schooling and lots of text books. I have a few backup things that I would consider doing such as taking the route of the community college to then take those credits to a four year, or try to get a softball scholarship (a stretch). Goals: Week 7: Finish at least ONE slideshow for one of the many topics Week 8: Finish at least ONE slideshow for one of the topics Week 9: Finish the FINAL slideshow left Week 10: Add finishing touches to slideshows Week 11: Add finishing touches to the website Week 12: Make sure EVERYTHING is done. Anything left must be completed at this point. Conclusion: I am so excited to doing this project and making a clear path for my future. In hopes of finishing this project early, I hope to be one week ahead. Completing two slideshows next week and one the next. Then for the final week of Genius Hour, I can ask questions and make sure that everything is perfect. 10/25/2023 0 Comments Week 5: Community CollegeThis week I plan on completing a slideshow and sheets document to list the top fifteen community colleges in North Carolina. This includes areas near me and some far away. What they specialize has not been taken into account, but their ratings of how the college is set up and teaches is. Throughout this the location, average tuition, and a few other things will be mentioned. The plan is to finish everything by next week for this part of the assignment. Military is still a consideration depending on the time that I have left. This project is taking a little longer than expected...
What have I done? So far I have completed a segment on four year universities in North Carolina. Due to there being so many across the United States, I stuck with North Carolina. This allows for in-state tuition to be considered instead of out-of-state tuition that varies. My findings with four year universities are that they are extremely expensive, considering they are public colleges. They are also more accepting of scholarships and financial aid. While some schools may not offer as much, a lot of the universities offer academic, athletic, and more in the scholarship columns. Students have the ability, if they work hard enough, to gain a college education at an expensive university for the price of two years at a community college. This is crucial to anyone that wants a larger degree compared to an associates degree. However, Community colleges offer financial aid AFTER their reduced prices that make their college even cheaper. For example, as I attended school through Davie County I can go to Davidson-Davie community college and get two free years of schooling. If I did not get any finacial aid from a four year, the best idea is to take the two years as transfer credits. This would make my degree of whatever I get say the four year university while I only paid for half. To do list so far: -create and finish slide show for community college -add elements that "spice" up slideshow -make sure to complete everything for this weeks Genius hour. -Find credible sources -CIte sources 10/18/2023 0 Comments Week 4: Quarter of the way done!Introduction:
YAY! I am a quarter of the way done. I have finally completed the four year university section of my project. After spending the Wednesday class period working on the slideshow and completing everything that needed to be done, I can finally say that the four year university slideshow and spreadsheet are finished! If anyone reading this has any suggestions or colleges that they would like to see, leave it in the suggestion form on my page! Goals: By next week I am hopeful to complete all of the collegiate sections along with a few documents about scholarships in Davie County. If I do this I might remove the military section because that is just something that I am not interested in. But I am still undecided. Having multiple projects this week all due on the same day is becoming difficult to manage my time. This project is allowing me to find structure and to have fun while researching. With the motivation that I can surface from myself, I think that I can finish this project a little early and leave time to add appealing looks to the rest of the article. I might add a section for myself about college sports as well but this project is still a work in progress... Suggestions: (Repeating this over and over again) I love hearing about what I can do to improve other people's learning of what they want to do after college. So if anyone would like to take advantage of the suggestions page and send me an email, I will gladly take their input to consideration. The plan for next week. -Set up research for community colleges -Create slideshows and a Google sheet for any important information. -Allow for time to put creative effects to said slideshows. -Cite sources and create a page for that. 10/15/2023 2 Comments Week 3: keeping it movingIntroduction:
This week has not been completely productive with this project. Though I have been keeping track and not procrastinating, I haven't reached the goal that I set for myself. I plan to publish all of the websites and links at the very end, so I understand that results take time. Another "excuse" is just how busy life has been. But a lot has been accomplished. Setting high goals for myself and not reaching them is expected, it's when they are reached that they become exciting. I have thought about limiting myself and getting rid of some extravagant ideas, but I will push through. This is why I named this week's blog post "Keep is moving" to show that I will not stop! However, the goal is to finish this project early and dedicate time to focusing on the website's "curb appeal" to anyone who might be interested. What have I done so far? So far I have completed a slideshow and a sheet document to lay out all of the public colleges in NC. This will make it easier for me to complete the end results that I want to achieve. Extra effort and sources are also included. I tried to make the slideshows appealing, hopefully adding to the interest of others reading. The difficulty of finding reliable resources that are not extremely wordy and have interesting information has been a challenge to include, but manageable. Conclusion: Next week the hope is to have another slideshow and a sheet document completed for the military. I am not interested in this career path at the moment, but who knows? Maybe I will be interested in it after completing my full research! I will repeat myself as it was said in the last blog post, but please leave any suggestions in the suggestions page on my website! Everything mentioned is considered! |
AuthorMy name is Abigail Lankford and I am trying to figure out my future! I understand that it's a little early to start finalizing ideas but I plan on using this project to fully grasp all of my options. I hope that anyone viewing this might find it beneficial! Archives |