*Ice Cream* : A season for change: A student's take on the election

*Ice Cream*: A season for change: A students take on the election

http://http://jenbrea.typepad.com/africabeat/2008/11/portrait-of-a-quintessentially-american-family.html

We are all happy that Obama won, and it is a great sign of a shift in the paradigms of world politics. This blog piece appealed to me because it adressed an important issue in my opinion, that of change. I talked of something similar in our blog, regarding xenophobia in our country(South Africa), and our university Rhodes. This is a great article because it is focused on a positive thing. If you want to read up on student having fun, check out our blog at: http://gmapjourn.blogspot.com/

through these blogger's eyes

First and foremost, I would like to say wow. This whole experience has been quite an adventure for me. Working with a group of girls and having to be the only guy there was quite a challenge for me, but I knew I was up for it. Blogging in itself is quite an intriguing genre of media. I had heard of it previously, but was not an active blogger myself, so to be afforded this opportunity to become a blogger was quite exciting…at first. This was before we got the dynamic duo of lecturers who blew my expectations for our tasks right out the window. The fact that I had to do group work was alright with me, it was just the fact that they expected so much out of us in such little time. I mean we are all not on the same computer literacy levels; as a result various alterations have had to be made to things such as submissions because of it. Most of the work we had done since the beginning of this year has been purely just written and mostly theoretical in nature; this was the first practical side albeit at the end of the course. Our topic for the blogs seemed easy enough when we first got it, “Surviving first year”, how wrong I was. Story ideas around this were actually broader then one could have imagined. This is because the first things that pop in mind are those faced by the majority of first year varsity students. Matters of the heart, mind as well as those of the liver are such. This was also the trick in terms of finding a specific blog audience because of the variety of first years not just in Rhodes, but all over the world. One then has to remember that not all first years are the same, especially here on campus; as a result the minorities are often overlooked. Things such as these had to be put into serious consideration when compiling whatever sort of presentation for the assignment that week. One of my personal highlights was having to write a profile on another person. First thing that appealed to me was that I had a second chance to do something earlier this year. It also meant that I could try out some other things I neglected to do previously. This was quite a worthwhile exercise because we weren’t confined to a first year journalism student like last time.
With all that having been said, I feel as though as a journalist, blogging opens a new platform for one to get their work seen. This is another aspect I liked about this term. My only gripe with everything has been some of the lectures and how they have been brought across to us. Some advice for future first years: ask the lecturers to have blog lectures in the Jac Labs or something on some days. I mean what is the point sometimes of having a technical lecture when you aren’t being afforded the opportunity to do it in lecture time. Other than all of that I would say that my writing has improved ever so slightly, meaning that I could still do better. I am still proud of myself and what I have done to this point. As I had mentioned before, my group was a bit on the unfavourable side for me. GMAP is the name we gave ourselves. The reasoning behind that was the first letter of each of our names. Working with the girls was quite interesting because I figured from onset that they would vote against me with most issues. For that reason I just made sure I make no wrong move to upset any one of them, but as I later found out they were all so relaxed with me, and very sweet to be around. They have also through their encouragement and criticisms contributed to my growth both as a team-member and as a writer. The other thing that I found helpful to me was some of the more theoretical lectures, because we found new ways to write, not just confined to the print media. Some of the material we covered, such as the Michael Jordan clips were quite nice. My only advice for future first years would be: request to have technical lectures (i.e. the more details blogging stuff) at the Jac Labs or something. That’s because sometimes one may hear how something is done in a lecture and when they get in front of a computer screen they blank out. Other than that and time constraints, this course has been quite fun and enjoyable.

Reflecting on Blogging

The world of blogging - the online community where anyone can sign up and share their story. I discovered this world in high school, through some friends who had opened their own sites on Xanga.com and Myspace.com. And I guess with high school being that place where finding yourself is a constant challenge, I envisioned a public sphere to speak my mind as a way to truly express what it was that I was feeling. So I entered the world of personal websites and blogs, through a Xanga and Myspace page.
And now so many years later this small branch of technology has grown into a monumental craze that almost everyone either engages in, or at least knows about. As an avid Journ1 student, I have heard a lot about the various parts of Journalism at Rhodes – television, radio, design, photojournalism and lastly new media.

The latter has been the focus of this term’s course in JMS1 and for the most part, it has been intriguing. It must be noted though, that a vast majority of students were completely thrown in the deep end and left to fight through technological intricacies on their own. However, I appreciate and applaud the enthusiasm with which our lecturers promoted their course, and do not deny that there is good potential in future Blogging courses.

The fact that a blog is a genre of media on its own, may imply that there will be ideological constraints and generic expectations; but having worked within this genre on an academic level I have become aware of the freedom that is allowed within this blog genre. Blogs are integrated into the public sphere, often on an international level, and the only boundaries that were implied were of an academic nature, demanding a standard of respect, intelligence and creative thought. However, although there is a lot of freedom in the blog genre, I think that knowing our tutors and lecturers would constantly be checking over us, inhibited a lot of truly personal thoughts.

However, there was still so much space for growth within our performances as a group and as an individual. I found it easy and fun to work within my group. Each member was always more than willing to adjust schedules and plans in order to sit and work together, but we were all equally considerate of other personal commitments too. In each tutorial we were given ample opportunity to share our thoughts on the course, discuss any technical difficulties and offer help to each other. Through these discussions we became aware of fellow students’ blogs and how they were approaching them, which allowed for each of us to learn and adapt our blog accordingly.

The theme of ‘surviving first year’ is not something that can be easily researched, which made it difficult to compile solid research if it was required in a task. But, because it is a theme that depends on personal experience it was easy to write substantial work based on what you as an individual had gone through, and what you had witnessed in other people’s lives. Though the research was limited, we were never short of sources like other first year blogs, friends’ perspectives and students from different faculties. The personal aspect of a blog meant that they could share their stories with the safety of knowing that they were not the only ones trying to survive first year.

I think in writing a blog, ethics can easily be lost to individual opinions because when you begin to share personal thoughts, one can easily lose the boundaries of ethics when the focus shifts from right and wrong to the liberation of saying what’s on your mind. Being encouraged to reflect upon personal experiences allows people to express themselves freely; the limitations of ethics curbs this freedom because each piece can not offend anyone or overstep any ethical boundaries. While this is not necessarily a negative thing, because ethical boundaries will ensure respect for human rights, it is also rather restrictive in terms of the international scale of blogging and how your posts can reach anyone in the world. If you are only writing in terms of ethics, you may not be writing honestly. However, I noticed that a lot of our blogs were able to find a balance. A lot of opinions were controversial and risky but never crossed the line to become unethical. Being aware of the diversity amongst our first years, I felt that we were able to respect everyone but still be able to write honestly.

I do not, personally, consider blogging to be journalism, but rather new media. And while I am very interested and involved in many branches of new media, I do not think that this work fully achieved its academic purpose. It was a creative way to put the theories we’ve worked with into practise but it was still a lot to take in and have to pay attention to. At times the detail and attention required to perfect the art that is blogging, was overwhelmed by other academic commitments and their demands. However, I think a lot of good times with group members were shared, and I truly believe that through the exposure to other first year experiences we were rewarded greatly with a more grounded and unprejudiced view of what we all have to tackle in a first year at university.

*Ice-Cream*: Student Veterans Face Different Challenges On Campus

*Ice-Cream*: Student Veterans Face Different Challenges On Campus

Student Veterans Face Different Challenges On Campus

Student Veterans Face Different Challenges On Campus

Posted using ShareThis

Having a taste of all the flavoured ice-cream

Reflexive piece

It is almost time for my final exams, wow it's end of the year. Time has gone past so quickly, it seems like just yesterday when I packed up my bags and came to Rhodes. It is so difficult to reflect because everything is still fresh in my mind. The year cannot end now, I have nothing to show for.

I try look at what I have done for the past nine months of the year. Firstly I think that I have pulled through a hectic year of work, deadlines, friendships and the most unbearable people and situations. Surviving first socially has not been such a huge challenge for me, because it is not my first year studying away from home, however it has not been easy academically. After taking a gap year, it was difficult getting back into studying, learning and actually doing school work. Waking in the morning and going to class has also been very challenging, but has kept me young at heart.

When I look back I must say the the first term was definitely best and everyone should definitely enjoy that time of the year. It started off with orientation week where I got to meet a lot of people with complete different backgrounds. With journalism assignment(the profiles) it helped me to ease to a new environment.

I am glad I have not fallen prey to popular groups or trying to fit in because I do believe that I am a strong willed person and with the morals I have been taught at home it is easy for me to apply these lessons and stay grounded. But I have learned that not all people are the same and can see it in some of my friends. They still have that high school mentality that you have to do certain things by compromising your standards to be liked.

There are many things I regret like not having random hook-ups, you know, just going with the flow or just drinking and dancing like there's no tomorrow because there is more to life than being serious and always worrying about doing your school work and impressing your parents. That's what I thought first term. But there is a time a place for everything, I do regret not putting enough effort into my academics and my June results evidently exposed me. But what sucks now it the fact that I do my best and it doesn't show and I ask myself if this is worth it, is it really worth my mother's money and my time and grey hair. The year is about to come to an end. Fourth term is off to a start and we are introduced to blogging as a genre in journalism. I thought that this was a great idea until we had to set up our own blog(the content and the layout), everything had to be thought out thoroughly and regularly posting blogs that is relevant to our audience. It is not easy, and it takes time and patience. Blogging according to me is something one would want to do if you have time and express yourself without being limited by genre and references.
Although I did not appreciate being limited, the criteria helps one with a clear and focused argument and it was empowering in a constructive manner. It was also difficult to meet up with my group members because doing the blog took time and effort and I was lucky enough to have competent team mates and it has worked out. Every time I had a blogging deadline, it would be frustrating and because it is part of the curriculum I had to do it and in the end, and many of us were not impressed with the journalism department for doing this to us, however I have learned enormously about blogging.

For future reference, blogging could be introduced in the first term where is a lot more time. First years also get to know one another and it would be easier then to work in groups. Lecturers should also not assume that all students are computer geniuses and we have and idea of blogging. There should be a few classes that are offered on how to start your blogs, because many students encounter problems with setting it up and posting assignments.

Overall blogging and the whole year of work overload was not as bad as students are saying. I think that it is just the stress that it is the last term and final exams are coming up, that we become frustrated. But student concerns should be taken into account and therefore making it more pleasant for future first year journalism students.

*Ice-Cream*: Tips for The infamous University favourite: The Drinking Habit

*Ice-Cream*: Tips for The infamous University favourite: The Drinking Habit
http://http://www.studential.com/articles/getarticle.asp?article=10