introduction CARS model

My topic of the differences between high school and college writing is important because knowing how to better prepare themselves many college freshman can go further in college quicker. Many college students take at least the first year to relearn their writing skills which really delay their achievement. It has been shown that the differences are mainly because of standardized testing, which inhibits the actual teaching of new topics, but sets students goal solely for passing the end of the year test. Most of the research done is done by teachers. This raises the question of whether or not all of the research that the claims are based on is biased. And I also would like to know what can be done to fix these gaps of education. This paper will deal with the various differences that high school and college writing have as well as why it is different. It will outline the differences, why the styles of writing have become different as well as goals and ideas for politicians and teachers to hopefully one day fix the problems that standardizing testing has done.

Ch 7 and 8 Quiz

My core four will be an argument of fact. In Lunsford it states "many factual arguments begin with people actively looking for a problem or working within a framework that will turn one up" (Pg 183). Because of the experiences I have had leaving high school and entering into a much vigorous college experience I began a search to find out the differences between high school and college writing. My research turned up results that showed mostly a single variable responsible for the differences – standardized testing. Another reason my last paper will be an argument of fact is because all of the research I have found has studies and surveys that bring about “hard evidence” that my argument will rely on. It is important for me to add that most of my research has been done by teachers, and this could lead to biases because they are in the field that they are researching and are part of the results of the testing. They could have already formed an answer before they started their research. In Lunsford it explains spin as a representation of a factual argument. Spin is “the only arguments offered are favorable le to one’s own side and evidence is either made to conform to this pre determined claim or wholly ignored when it doesn’t suit the party line” ( Pg 183 ). Arguments of fact tend to explain to a community new information, which can be at time controversial. My paper is controversial because if it become widely known that the testing that schools are performing on their students is no longer aiding them, but in fact hurting them, it needs to be stopped. Some parties in this argument would like to keep the testing because it helps to keep poor schools with poor grades that way and high schools that get the extra funding stay on top. My factual argument addresses also the broader question of what can be done to fix the consequences that the testing has put the students through. “ It’s especially important to have factual arguments that flesh out or correct what’s narrowly or mistakenly reported – whether by various news media, corporations, or branches of government” (Pg 180 ). Government officials still report that the testing is useful and needed, but it is very clear from the studies and surveys taken that it is bringing about the worst in its results. My paper is not an argument of definition because there is no single word or phrase that needs defining. It is widely known that tests such as the FCAT (Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test) are standardized tests because it was created to be one. If there was an argument of definition we would need to research figure out what kind of definition it was, and then how to go about making it an argument. It could not be an argument of definition because research is being done to find out not what standardized testing is, but how it affects students, teachers, and school systems.

Research Conversation

All of the authors in my research about the differences between high school and college writing are fairly in tune with the reasoning behind the differences. I think that their ideas that standardized testing is the reason for a lack of teaching in high school is a good explanation. Because teachers in high school are demanded to teach based on a rubric for their students to pass an end of the year test it keeps them from teaching analytical skills. They teach their students so they can pass, which will give their school more money. But as students enter college, where standardized testing does not exist for the purpose of government assistance students are taught to analyze texts and think freely about what is going on. Another thing the authors are talking about is what needs to change in terms of preparation in high school for college. Some feel that taking away the standardized testing will allow teachers to really teach, but then how will government money be alloted to schools? I think that the standardized testing should be deleted from the school system, but if it needs to stay it should not be something that the curriculum is based on because it is too stressful for students and holds teachers as well as students back from their full potential.

Most of the research I found is done by college professors or high school teachers. Obviously these people are biased in their ideas because they are only seeing one side, the teachers side, of this argument. I need to remember that their is a reason these tests were created to begin with, as well as look at other reasons why writing in high school and college is different such as maybe maturation among students. Maybe in high school they are just not able to comprehend the material like college students are, but then if they were taught to analyze instead of just summarize in high school then they would not be so overwhelmed in their freshman year of college with all of these new expectations. Another problem is some papers do not have solutions to the problems they find. I feel that if you are willing to do the research to find a problem you should be willing to also offer a solution.

Core 2 Running Bibliography

http://www.diigo.com/list/kelseydivita/core-2

Core 1

“Were changing the world with technology,” Bill Gates. Everywhere you look you see some sort of technology. It has become impossible to do many things without technology. For instance, writing this paper. I cannot imagine writing a one thousand word paper by hand. Technology helps us to stay connected, and continues to make our lives easier with its new innovations. This essay has been a learning experience for me; since I am a college student in a very technologically advanced world I assumed that I was very technologically advanced. But it turns out that although I may be more advanced than my parents or grandparents, among my peers I am actually less technologically advanced. I’ve decided to change this.

I’ve had a computer since I was about five or six years old. It barely did anything, just printed out long pictures of Snoopy or Woodstock with ones or zeroes. But I was one of my only friends who had one, and soon became one of the few to actually have a desktop computer. As I grew I went from using the computer to play the Lion King gaming program to e-mailing with my cousin and instant messaging with my friends. Ever since I have been playing on the computer, but that’s just it, I have only been using computers for fun. I use AIM, or go on Facebook to chat. I never have built a website or even had a blog. I used e-mail to talk to my family, but barely ever conducted anything productive through it (Please refer to the table from Selber’s Multiliteracies for a Digital Age :https://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B1OB-SyMGXREMGY2YTc0NTAtYjk3Ni00NmM4LTkyMGMtYjliYzNjM2IzYjNm&hl=en). However, other technology such as the cell phone is indispensible to me. If I leave it home I feel naked and vulnerable. It is a very debatable topic whether or not my generation is too dependent on technology, but personally I think we are not. In fact I would like to be more technologically dependent. The computer alone has changed the world immensely, and I’m scared that I am not taking advantage of it.

The World Wide Web embodies the entire universe within a tiny little space, which can be explored through single clicks. If I need to do a project on frogs I can search thousands of search engines and databases for information on frogs, as well as pictures and videos of them. For my parents, research involved tedious library searching, countless reading through information irrelevant to their project. Information is much more readily available now then it was when my parents, and grandparents were in their 20’s. I think that this easily accessible information creates an environment where younger and younger people are able to become more knowledgeable. Children are learning to read earlier through interactive computer programs, young adults are learning more of the world outside of their own horizons without actually traveling anywhere. Paul Gilster sees the internet as a revival of literacy. “I find it interesting that people worry so much about the survival of text and reading when children spend a lot of time on computers. But skeptics may discover that the Internet is providing us with a way to use language again”( http://www.namodemello.com.br/pdf/tendencias/tecnolnocurric.pdf). It is not wonder the internet and technology is important to my generation. I can stand in Africa and have a conversation with my mother who is 14,000 miles away in Florida. Unimaginable feats have been conquered thanks to technology, with medicine, communication, information access, and news broadcast. It is my opinion that we should harness this wonderful and useful technology for countless acts of good.

In the business world, technology is an asset most cannot afford to lose. My profession, hospitality management is no different. As I researched my future line of work, and the technology it uses I realized that a computer class will be in my immediate future. As a hotel manager it is very important that I know how to work computers, but as a business tool. Managers use computers to run the hotel, without it I am sure the hotel would be in chaos. Customers will be reserving their rooms online, and from that moment on their entire records are done through the computer. Their bills and even special requests will be kept through programs on the computer. I want to be able to soar above and beyond in my career, not be kept in the era of pens and paper. With all of the employees most hotels operate with it would be painstakingly slow to write out and keep track of employee time records. But with technology such as a time clock in which they can electronically clock in and out it is easily recorded how long each employee has worked and makes pay systems easier. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics “Computers are used extensively by lodging managers and their assistants to keep track of guests' bills, reservations, room assignments, meetings, and special events. In addition, computers are used to order food, beverages, and supplies, as well as to prepare reports for hotel owners and top-level managers. Many hotels also provide extensive information technology services for their guests. Managers work with computer specialists and other information technology specialists to ensure that the hotel's computer systems, Internet, and communications networks function properly,” (http://www.bls.gov/oco/ocos015.htm). In order to better prepare myself for this job I plan to soon acquire a job in this industry. With on the job training, as well as some college courses in computers and business technology I hope to be able to easily adapt to every technology I am presented during my career.

It is hard to predict the future, but judging from the innovations of the past the future looks bright and full of new technology. I plan to be very much part of this future, using as much technology as I can get my hands on. From GPS navigators, laptops, desktops, webcams, internet, and cell phones the world produces more and more ways to make our lives easier and using it would only be appropriate. I hope to be part of a leading hotel chain and maybe one day posses a hotel of my own, with the help of this technology. My aspirations are high, but I know with technology, anything is possible.

Audience Awareness

This article concerns the ability or inability of first graders to use the sociocognitive capacity to be aware of their audiences in their writing. A study was done where students would write in a Family Message Journal. In the journal they would write prompts and reactions to stories, and the teacher would not read them. They instead would take them home and a family member would read the message and then respond to it. This is good because the family member was not in the classroom so they do not know what the child is talking about, whereas the teacher does. The goal of the study is to see if first graders can actually be aware of their audience, is this identifiable across the studies and did their awareness grow over the year. The case study took four individuals that represented a group of first graders. The families were asked to respond to the children's writing everyday, even if it was not grammatically correct or even in English. The teacher prompted the children in class to remember the audience, and the families's responses also aided in learning audience awareness. The researcher used codes to pick through the children's journals and see which "moves" they used in their writing. Naming, Context, Strategy, and Response are all moves and codes that the researcher used. When the children were assigned to write a prompted persuasive letter they didn't use as many moves as when writing about a topic they chose themselves. All in all the authors claim was that first graders did in fact have some audience awareness and his study backed up his claim.

Core 1 Part 2

My future profession is, at the moment, hospitality management. I did a little research as to what a lodging manager uses technology for, and they really use it to keep the hotel up and running. For the economic side of the business, I will use computers to keep track of guest reservations, current bills, events, which guests are in which rooms, as well as employee records and paycheck systems. There is so much more that computers are also used for. I will use technology to order food and drinks for the hotel, sheets and bedding, anything really that the hotel will be needing is ordered online now. Most hotels have wireless internet, or at least an office room with a computer, internet, and printer. Being able to work and possibly fix these will be an important asset to have. I will be using programs such as excel, and word to keep track of records and write out memos and schedules. I could also use the internet to communicate with my staff, and future guests. In order for me to be successful at these tasks I could take a computer class here at UCF, but most of the training I believe will be on the job because each hotel might use different programs and have different preferences about how everything is done.