This Week’s Contents

This week my classmates and I began creating a newsletter about WBL. In the newsletter we included pages such as What is Work-Based Learning?, The Importance of Safety in the Classroom and Workplace, How to Apply for an Entry-Level Job, Proper Interview Techniques, The Importance of a Resume, Why Make a Portfolio for College or Job Applications?, Digital Footprint, and our individual Student Description.

I was in charge or creating the Digital Footprint page. This page includes information about social media, a YouTube channel, a blog, a personal website, and QR codes. This topic was easiest for me because not only have I already made a blog post regarding online footprints, but also because I understand the importance of how a person should present their self on the internet.

A cover page was also built and is the opening of our newsletter. In the student description we were all made to answer questions such as “who are you?”, “what career do you wish to pursue?”, and “how will you achieve your career goals?” It is a very brief outline of each student and it includes a head shot to go with the descriptions. I am very excited to see how the whole thing turns out!

Overview of This Week

          This week my classmates and I worked on our YouTube intro videos.  We created scripts that would help us organize our thoughts while filming. The plan was to do multiple takes to get used to the camera, develop a fluent and smooth transitioning voice, and make it look as good as possible.

        I was in a group of three people.  One would hold the camera, another would be in front of the camera, and another would hold up notes for the person being filmed.  In order to make the person being filmed look as good as possible we would hold their notes as close to the camera as possible without getting the paper in the shot.  This would ensure that they wouldn’t look away from the lens. 

        I personally found this assignment to be excruciating, even though I did enjoy myself.  I am not only camera shy but have major stage fright in general.  I knew this assignment would be fun, but I dreaded my specific involvement.  The video I created included footage of stuttering, uncontrollable nervous laughing, lack of powerful voice projections, and the inability to remember my script without looking at it.  After working on it for some time, I did get more comfortable and my voice became more conversational.

Creating an Online Footprint

             Using social media can be fun and entertaining, as most of us know.  Social media can also cause a lot of problems.  Many people believe having accounts on sites like Facebook or Instagram can create conflict and drama, which is not always the case.  The most important thing to note is that it can cost you your job or hinder you from getting into a good school or career, which is also preventable.  There are not only ways to avoid standing out to a future job or college in a negative way, there are also ways of standing out in a positive way. 

            Things most people do on social media is post statuses or pictures, tag people in those statuses or pictures, and comment on other people’s things including their own.  Avoid using profound language or content when doing these things.  If someone finds that you have posted something that offends them and you know about it, you should take it down to avoid conflicts.  It doesn’t look very professional if there is a photo that you posted with a comment asking for it to be taken down and it is still up.  Lastly, do not air your dirty laundry online.  Complaining about how hard your life is or how difficult someone you know is being makes you look bad and no one wants to work with someone who they think will complain a lot.

            Ways to make you look good on social media can be to post about your accomplishments.  If you did volunteer work or attended a career related event, then post about it and share your pictures because that is going to show people how dedicated you are.  When you apply for colleges or for jobs, believe that these men and women are going to be looking you up and if the first thing they see is you involved in a great educational or career related project then it will give you a larger chance of getting in to that school or getting that job.

What Have I Learned This Week?

     

   This week I learned a lot about myself.  In class, I began filling in the first page of my personal learning/development plan.  I did some research and figured out what I needed to do to be a part of the career I want.  Most importantly, I figured out what it is that I actually want to do.  I knew I wanted to pursue a career in meteorology, which is a very different path from my focus elective, making things a little difficult.  This personal learning/development plan helped me understand how I wanted to pursue a meteorology career.  I learned that I could do my own research and teach at a university, that that particular career would require a PhD, what courses I would need to take, and what types of activities and projects I could do to improve skills that can further my career development.  

        Unfortunately, I was unable to be present for a guest speaker.  In some very helpful notes, I was able to understand a bit of what this guest speaker was talking about.  I learned from these notes that getting a good job or being at the top of a good career is a big trial and error process.  Humans need to learn from their mistakes.  Even if we don’t do well in school, can’t get into a good college, and/or start of on the wrong foot in general, we learn from our experiences.  Had we have not dealt with those experiences, perhaps we would not learn as much.  

        I also learned that doing as much as you can to fulfill your goals can prove to be very rewarding.  Things may take time but it will add up in the future.  I feel like this class is moving at a pretty rapid speed.  I suppose it being a good thing or not all depends on how well everyone is able to keep up.  I feel like we are ready to move on to the next assignment.

      

        I believe the work based learning, or WBL, course will be about how to do well in the work force. I think it will not only teach me and my fellow peers skills that will help us when trying to apply for a job or be a good employee, but also help us with life in general. This WBL course could help me to learn characteristics such as initiative, responsibility, respect, etc. 

       We’ll either be working here in the classroom or out at a placement. Some of our projects may or will include creating a YouTube channel and posting videos, making podcasts, and, obviously, blogging. In doing these projects, we could develop writing skills and comprehension, creativity, and more. WBL is not as simple as learning to work. It could very well help us to improve ourselves in everything we do. 

       A course cannot tell us how to reach the top of our career track or how to pursue our specific career goals. Only from experiences and trial and error can we learn how to do these things. This course can help us be great teachers for ourselves. By going to a placement we can have an up close view of what working in a certain field will be like, giving us experience not only for personal development but also for professional development. 

       Though I am not certain what profession I would like to pursue or even what career path I am most interested in, I am fairly certain that this WBL course can help me to figure these things out. This course could help prepare me for whatever I do, whether it is applying at Subway, working in a large corporation, or owning my own business. Regardless, this course is about how to succeed in any career.