Final Video Project Update

            I just finished making my outline for the final video project. I am taking the same steps that I did last project where I plan everything out and then make the videos. I find this easier because once I have the layout and have an idea on what I want to do I can just make the videos and then drag and drop them right into iMovie.

            I believe that I can make this video a lot better than my midterm video. My midterm video was pretty plain and a lot could have been added to it. I am going to use the knowledge I gained from that video and put it towards this one. This means that I will add more of an introduction and a lot more of a conclusion. Also, I will add a lot more of myself in this video. In my first video I was not part of it whatsoever. I just filmed other people. My voice was not on it at all. I will change that in this video and become much more involved in this project.

            To make this video interesting for the viewers, I am going to do a show like Dr. Phil or Oprah where I take a person struggling with an aspect of their life, in my case time management, and show them how to overcome it.

            I am going to start off by showing how this person is bad at time management. Then I will bring in another kid that is good at time management and will show how he handles the situation. After this I will explain to the first kid how he can change his way of attacking time management.

            I will also add a couple commercials to this to keep the viewers interested and entertained. Hopefully I can expand on my first video and make this one a lot better.

Final Video Project

            For the final video project I am going to do time management problems with freshman.

            I believe that this is a good topic to do because it is broad and it can be explained in many ways.

            First I can talk about what students that live on campus do in their free time. It can vary from day of the week, to time of the day. I want to know if students spend most of their time studying, or other activities. I can ask the same question to commuters too because I feel like their answers will look at a totally different view of things.

            Also I can ask them how they prepare for long-term projects and regular homework. I want to know where they do their homework and how long it takes them per week to do.

            I feel as if time management is one of the most challenging things as a freshman to conquer. Once you are on your own some people may feel as if they do not have to do the work because there is no one watching over their shoulders. But also some kids may take on more responsibility when they do not have parental supervision because they feel obligated to complete assignments and stay on top of things.

            As I said before, I believe that the topic of time management can be looked at in various ways and I think that I can keep expanding on it as time goes on. The possibilities are endless and I think that it will be able to help  our class and me out with getting work done in our future.

Campus Safari #3

               The Health Center, which is also known as Granoff Hall, is located across the street from the Moore Field House. At the health center, you can get everything done that your normal doctor would do, such as a Flu shot. They can treat any sickness you have and can help prevent that sickness from returning. Also, they have free condoms for everyone to practice safe sex, which is very important. Most students around this time start to get sick, because the weather starts to change from warm to cold. It is very important to take your vitamins and get enough sleep to maintain a healthy life.

Dorm Livin'

            Here at Southern Connecticut I am a full time student that lives on campus. I live in Chase Hall and it was a no brainer for me to live on campus.

            First, I did not have a choice. Since I came here to be on the football team, I had to be a resident. Although most of the seniors live closely off campus, with the schedule that athletes have to encounter, it is almost impossible to commute from long distances.

            Even if I were not an athlete I would have been a resident. I live about an hour away from school, which I think is a perfect distance. It is way to far to commute however. The amount of money I would spend on gas would most likely be more than actually living on campus would be.

            Also, I came to college wanting to receive the full experience of college. Although I do not think Southern fulfills the full college experience, since most people leave on the weekends, I still have met some great friends that I would not have met if it were not for being a resident.

            I think that being a resident has many more advantages over being a commuter. I feel that the students will be able to get more work done if they are constantly around college. I know that if I were to go home all the time, I would find more fun things to do than my work. I would either hang out with any friends I had home, or I would find a job to try and get some spending money. With always being around college life, I feel that the students can focus more and get their work done.

            They will also be able to get help from friends that are in their class. When you commute, and you are lost in a homework assignment, you are basically going to fail that assignment, whereas the resident can ask someone else that lives on campus for help.

            I am a strong believer in living on campus and I advise everyone that is able to, to do it. Unless, of course, you live very close to the school. Then it would just be a waste of money,

Left or Right Brained

            After reading Sam, Paige, Tori, and Allison’s article on the Left and right side of the brain, I have come to the conclusion that I am left sided.

            Throughout all of the reading, everything they said about left sided I can relate to myself.

            First, the left side of the brain is generally better at math. I remember talking about this in my psychology class last year. People with stronger left sided brains usually take things step by step, which is very helpful in math. When I took calculus last year in high school, it was very important to take things step by step to solve the problem. If you did not know the concrete formula, it was almost impossible to get the answer right.

            Also, the article said that right-sided people might not be able to find the right words when giving directions or something. For me, I have always been able to give directions based on streets and routes rather than places. In some cases it might be easier to just say take a left at the McDonalds or something, but for the most part I like to give directions, and receive directions with the road names.

            Lastly, I remember learning in psychology that the opposite side of your brain controls the dominant side of your body. For instance, if you are right handed with everything you do, then you are most likely dominated by the left side of your brain. For my whole life, I have been right handed. Everything that I do in sports I have used by right hand, it just came natural to me. I remember watching home videos of the first time I threw or picked up a baseball bat, and I automatically used my right hand, without anyone telling me.

            These are the reasons why I think that I am mainly dominated by the left side of my brain.

Campus Safari #2

When we went to the library, we had to locate and find a book that would involve critical thinking in the field we are studying. I looked up a book called: The Harvard Business Review on Decision Making. I found this book fairly easy to find. The problem with the library is that there are so many books so it is difficult to sort them all. After reading through a little bit of it, I could see how this book would help me learn all about tough decisions in business. It is a book that I will definitely go back to later in the future.

Blog #2 week of 10/7: Re-choosing College

            Today in class we went over the topic of choosing colleges. I thought that this was very interesting because it is something that most people forget about when you are in college. What if you had it to do over again? This is a great question that many people should ask themselves if you do not like it here or wherever you are at.

            When I think about where I am and where I could be I wonder what could have happened if I chose not to come to Southern Connecticut State University.

            Over the past week or so I have contemplated transferring to another school. I am thinking about this because all of my friends here are transferring and the weekends here are really dead. It is a really hard decision and I think that the cons of leaving outweigh the pros.

            First off, I love the football team here. The coaches and the players are all great and I am enjoying myself on the field. I can definitely see myself playing four more years after this in a Southern Owls uniform. The location is perfect so that my parents can come down and watch a game whenever they want. This is a big thing for me. Throughout high school I always wanted to move down south because I hate winter, but being so far away from my family would be almost impossible I feel like.

            Secondly, the price I am paying to go here is very hard to get better. With football, I am fortunate enough to receive a scholarship to play. This results in me not really having to pay a lot to go here. With other schools that I would transfer to being around 30 to 40 thousand dollars, it is almost a no-brainer that I should stay here.

            Overall I think that if you are deciding whether or not you want to stay at the place you are you need to weight the pros and cons in depth to make sure you make the right choice.

Meeting with a Professor (Safari #1)

             I met with my Computer Science teacher Professor Brignola. I asked him questions about the project that we have to do in a couple weeks and about final grading for the class.

My first question was: What exactly will the group project be on and will be get to choose our groups?

            His answer: The project will be a powerpoint based on what you have learned thus far in excel and access, and how you will be able to use them in certain business situations. You can choose the groups, but who ever does not have a group will be assigned by me.

            Second question: How will the Final Grade be calculated?

            Answer: The final grade will consist of all of the Excel and Access capstones and handouts you have completed. Also the exams and project presentations will have a bigger weight for the grade.

            Room #: Mo113

            Contact through eLearning Vista

Lockouts in Sports (what interests you #1)

            The recent tough economic times has made its way to one of the biggest moneymaking businesses around- Professional Sports. A few months ago the National Football League had struggles with differences between players and owners. One of the main points was how much money the players were making. The league could not stay together. Another thing at issue was the television contracts. Football became such a large consumer of money that many networks wanted to be in charge of playing the games.

            Thankfully, the NFL reached an agreement after One hundred and thirty five days, thanks to huge contributions by owners such as Robert Kraft of the New England Patriots. I do not know how the world would be different right now if it was not for football. So many people rely on it. The cable companies get ratings, the sports stores need to sell apparel, and bars and restaurants bank of Monday night football for their sales of wings and beer.

            The lockout trend moved to a different sport. Basketball. Throughout the year experts predicted that there would be a lockout come the offseason, but no one expected, or hoped that it would be this bad. Already the commissioner David Stern cancelled the first month of the season. The NBA lockout has already lasted 125 days. The major problem, along with the NFL’s is the disagreements in trying to create a new CBA (Collective Bargaining Agreement). According to NBA.com, if the November games are not made up, both sides (players and owners) will lose $400 million between now and December 1^st. Another startling fact is that according to the Sports Business Journal the Detroit Pistons will lose 1 million dollars for every home game that is missed. So far there are 8 games cancelled. Detroit also is not the best city for revenue of basketball games. Teams such as the Celtics, Lakers, and Thunder I assume will lose a lot more money per missed game.

            Hopefully they can reach an agreement soon and get back to playing the great game of basketball at the professional level!