Showing posts with label Week 2. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Week 2. Show all posts

Monday, January 30, 2017

Tech Tip: Canvas Notification

 Canvas Notification

I decided to do the Canvas notification tech tip for this week and found it to be difficult. I do not know if it is because my blog look differently when I am logged in and my settings preferences are different or what. I was however, able to turn on my "e-mail notification feature announcements" which was easy to locate. After going through my blog settings, etc, I realized that I will have to spend more time learning how to configure certain settings.

Sunday, January 29, 2017

Reading Notes: Part A- Ganesha

Part A: Ganesha


  • Ganesha – most worshipped deity in Hindu pantheon. Child of Shiva and Parvati. Hindu wisdom god.
  • Kartikeya – indigenous god of war and child of Shiva and Parvati
  • Siva – supreme god. “Transformer” of the universe
  • Parvati – Hindu goddess of fertility. She is the wife of the god known as Shiva


  • ·         I wonder what symbol turmeric plays in this story? I know India has many rich spices. Is it possibly related to the sun, being that both is yellow in color? Does it have something to do with Parva and her fertility powers? I found this to be very interesting.

  • ·        Super crazy (yet interesting) that Parvati was able to create a boy in the bathtub, using turmeric paste. 

  • ·       I notice that oral literature plays a big role in this story.

  • ·        Both the Greeks and Hindus belief in gods. Varuna is the Hindu god of ocean while Poseidon is the * Greek god of the ocean, yet both are so different in what they believe to be true. Fascinating!

  • ·     Bahuchara – can be related to today’s transsexuals. Who knew that this existed many years ago?!

  • ·         The story is about how different people view god in varying ways and perspectives.


 Image result for ganesha's images

(Ganesha Deity Sitting On an Ottomnan. Source: Orange Carton)
Bibliography: Seven Secrets Of Indian Calendar Art - Part A: Ganesha by Devdutt Pattanaik 

Learning Challenge: Believing In Yourself

Caption this picture
(Happiness is...Source: Cheezburger)

I chose to create this meme, because everything that we do in life begins with yourself. Your actions, the reactions and choices. If you do not have the ability to believe in yourself, how can you expect others to believe and have faith in you? 

Growth Mindset: Exploring With Memes

Caption this picture

(Kitten jumping in the air. Source: Cheezburger)

Famous Last Words; The Week In Review

The Week in Review 

It is the first time since class started, that I will be making an assessment of my progress thus far. I think that this week's reading was a bit more complicated to read, simply because of all the different links, tabs and additional information regarding the stories. Yet, it was fun and I enjoyed the fact that the story was broken up into tabs. It made it less tedious and if / when I decided to take a break, I could pick up right where I left off, without getting confused or lost. 

Since this is the only class that I am currently taking, I have to say that this weeks' writing was quite fun and I enjoyed it more than week one. We have fairly a few excellent writers in this class and it is always fascinating to see that beauty lies in the eye of the beholder - what is beautiful and different for one person, can be seen differently by another. Reading different posts every week inspires me to make my own stories enjoyable to read for others. That is what makes this class so much fun and interesting! There is no right or wrong answer on the stories and blogs that we post. It is all about finding one's creative side and writing what YOU belief to be inspiring. This class and its components truly sets one up for success and growth.

My agenda for next week, is to focus on this class and hopefully get a head start or have my homework completed by Friday, instead of procrastinating (again). I have to focus on my newborn and run our business as well, so prioritizing will play a prominent role for the upcoming week!

Tech Tip: Canvas Profile

For this week's tech tip, I decided to edit my canvas profile, so that I may become more familiar with how blogging works and all the details that it entail. Who knows - I might continue blogging after this class.

For my avatar, I chose a photo of myself to make it more interesting and personable. I also decided to list my favorite book, but did not want to list too many things, because I recently washed a movie called SNOWDEN. In this movie, they explained how the Government use social media and all types of ways to keep a 'tab' on people - quite scary!

I found the tech tip instructions and guidelines very easy, which makes it enjoyable and fun!


Image result for snowden

(Picture of Snowden movie. Source: Flickr)

Review: Week 2, Dig The Well- Be Prepared

Dig The Well- Be Prepared

The image and proverb "Dig A Well Before You Are Thirsty" stood out to me, so I looked more into it. This can be applied to many aspects of my personal life -whether it is my career, marriage or school. To me it means to prepare and be prepared for anything that may come my way. On a more deeper level (such as relationships)  it means that I have to use the tools that I have in order to strengthen ties. This can simply be done by spending more time with loved ones, etc and not waiting until something bad happens to do so. One never knows when the time might come for loved ones to pass away - seize every opportunity you get to spend time with them! 

Image result for spend as much time as you can with a loved one quote

(The importance of spending time with loved ones. Source: Flickr)

Feedback Thoughts; Input enhances Output

Feedback is quite often seen as negative, intended to break people down. It is only when we can take feedback in a positive light that one will realize the importance and benefits thereof. It is not only used for educational or work related activities but can play a vast role in one’s personal growth and development as well.

I quite often play victim to the notion of feedback. I think of it as an attack mode and it is at that point in time that I put my guard up and go in the defense mode. It makes me really sad and I paint a negative image in my mind of the person ‘attacking me’. I really enjoyed reading 5 Tips for Taking Feedback like a Champ, because it made me realize that it is totally okay and necessary for me to sometimes speak up about my feelings or things that bother me and to allow me to be honest with whomever I am dealing with. It also taught me that without feedback, I will not know how to motivate my behavior to help me enhance my self-image, allowing me to grow in a positive light. This in turn will allow me to deal more positively with certain encounters of everyday life. I am quite used to giving feedback to our employees and I always try to do it in a manner that will hopefully encourage them and make them feel valued and appreciated. Marshall Goldsmith’s article about ‘feeding forward’ resonated with me. It is important to use what one has learned about feedback to modify and improve future work related activities and I think that this can be an effective strategy to use with my employees. I think that Goldsmith’s sums it up perfectly in her article when she writes about how “Feedforward helps people envision and focus on a positive future, not a failed past” – wow!

Another article that struck me was Overcoming The Fear of Feedback . Again, the idea of fixed and growth mindsets cam into play - a snowball effect where certain aspects of life are entwined.  A reason why I do not like to give feedback is because I feel that I will make enemies or that I will really hurt a person emotionally. Again, I realized that it is not true, if done in the correct manner. I will definitely use the LATTE approach next time I have to deal with a client. Grant Wiggins' article also gave me insight as to how I can professionally give feedback in a way to help people reach their full potential.

I really enjoyed reading these articles and it is so easy to forget how important feedback truly is. It is a tool that I will hopefully never forget and use more in my everyday life encounters and activities. 




 File:Ideal feedback model.svg
(Feedback; Input enhances output. Source: Wikipedia Commons)

Wednesday, January 25, 2017

Week 2 Storytelling: Rama The Brave Warrior



There once was a two-headed dragon named Vishvam who lived in a kingdom called Shamballa. Vishvam had to endure several quarrels throughout his life to prove himself and remain in high power in his kingdom. There was only one higher than him and that was the grand Dragon Dasharatha. Vishvam had heard from the kingdom folks that his arch enemy, Zinyak was sending two of his best fighters to rip him from his throne. Zinyak appears in numerous forms, such as monsters and phantoms, or in his human form. Zinyak and his two hellions had caused Vishvam trouble before, but they had trained strenuously for the upcoming battle and Vishvam knew that he could not endure this battle alone. Therefore, he must get the help of Dasharatha to defeat the evil enemies.
Quietly enjoying his evening, Dasharatha was just about to call it a night when a loud chatter followed by a loud knock at the castle door made him stop in his tracks. Dasharatha flew over, and sputtered “Who would it be”? Looking through the tiny hole in the castle door, Dasharatha could see that it was the great Vishvam, but what could be so urgent at this time of night? After a brief conversation, Dasharatha knew that this could not be avoided. Vishvam was about to have the fight of his life and knew that without his son, Rama, Vishvam stood no chance in beating Zinyak. As much as it saddened Dasharatha, he gave permission for Rama and his other son, Lakshmana to escort Vishvam to the fight. Vishvam felt like a weight had been lifted off of his shoulders and assured Dasharatha that he would protect his two sons and would return with a victory. Off they went, deep into the forest, with chains and swords in hand. Vishvam was right, that was harder than any other battle he had fought in, and after ten long days, they had finally defeated the likings of Zinyak. After resting to regain their strength for a couple of days they could return to Shamballa and give Dasharatha the great news.
Meanwhile, back in the kingdom, the worst had happened. The fierce leader Dasharatha had grown very ill and none of the old remedies that had been used for many of years were working to rid him of this unknown disease. It was not long before Dasharatha had fallen victim and passed away without his beloved sons by his side. Word was quickly travelling from kingdom to kingdom and finally made its way to Dasharatha’s long lost son Bharata. Even though there was still bad blood between the two, Bharata knew that he must go pay respect to his father.
Upon arriving in Siddhashrama, Bharata was informed that his brothers had left for battle with Vishvam and had not yet returned. And it was for this reason that Bharata would not only hold all of the power but he would have to put his father to rest. This was devastating for Bharata, as he knew that he did not deserve this power, he had betrayed his father when he left years ago. He had no choice though. Bharata carried out his duties and then dared the forest alone to find his brothers, tell them the horrific news, and urge them to come back to the kingdom. Bharata knew that it was only fair for the eldest and most knowledgeable brother, Rama to take the place of his father and reign in power. The people of the kingdom were on their knees, praying to the gods. Dasharatha’s wives yowled with tears flowing down her face and would continue to do so for the next 10 days.
Bharata had left the kingdom and was making his way to the forest to find his brothers and Vishvam. He went from tree to tree, valley to valley, searching when he stumbled upon the forest monsters known as deathclaws. These dinosaur-like creatures can appear out of nowhere and jump on you, sucking your blood. Luckily Bharata was quick on his feet and slayed these creepy creatures with his fire powers, scorching them to death. Two days passed and there was still no sign of his brothers. He prayed to queen Ghoma, the spirit god for guidance and strength – asking her to show him the way to his brothers. She appeared to him in a cave and steered him on the correct path. He soon found his brothers in a deserted swamp and broke the bad news to them.
They made their way back in a hurry and Rama would have to go through great lengths and rituals to take over the power and reign over the kingdom. When Rama arrived back in Shamballa, the folks cheered and he was greeted by Chopra, his father’s counselor. It was Chopra that would make Rama swear to the oath of protecting the town’s people. The cheers humbled Rama, as he was the chosen one. He swore that he would exert all of his efforts to make sure that the wicked witch, known as Daedra would pay for what she had done…..poisoned his father.

Rama and Lakshmana protecting Vishvamitra

         Rama and Lakshama shooting the evil raksha. Source; Junglekey


Author's note: I based my story off of the Indian Epics, Ramayana Public Domain Edition. More specifically, I focused on the story of Vishvamitra and Rhama and Bharata.  In the original stories, Vishvamitra went to king Dasharata to ask for his sons' help in defeating rakshas. The story of  Rhama and Bharata focus on Bharata finding out that his father passed away and he had to find his brother to perform the funeral services for their father. The plot in the story is the same, but I decided to change a few things in order to give it a twist. Some of the character's names also got changed to make it a bit more interesting. A few of the character names are based off of video games. 

Tuesday, January 24, 2017

Reading Notes: Ramayana Public Domain, Part B

Bharata Returns 
Rhama & Bharata

For this reading part, I decided to take a different approach. Instead of going back and forth between the reading and the links to see what each name depicts, I wrote it down on my notes to make the story flow easier and so that I may comprehend it better.

Bharata - Rama's brother
Kaikeyi - Bharata's -  mother and Rama's step mother
Dasharatha - father
Raja - monarch
Ayodhya - City & birhplace of Rama
Maharaja - "great ruler" / king
Shatrughna - Rama's youngest brother. Lakshmana's twin brother
Manthara - maid who convinced Kaikeyi (mom) to exile her step son, Rama
Chitrakoot - town
Jabali - Dasharata's advisor who also acted as a brahmanic (priest)


* I feel hurt for Rama when he found out about his dad. It reminds me of a very bad dream. It also reminds me of my uncle who died in a motorcycle accident and his soon to be wife was on a 13hour car drive to meet him in the town where they were going to get married in. She did not know he passed away that day, until she got to his house.

* The world is full of evil people and the need for power can destroy us. The story reminds me of the series "Once Upon a Time" and "Game of Thrones".

* I can write a short introduction of the plan that Manthara (the maid) and Kaikeyi (step mom) had to exile Rama. She told him that he had to hide in the woods in order to avoid being killed by the highest spirit?

* I can also change the story where Kaikeyi secretly had another son and that is why she exiled Rama - to make the "other son" the new king. She did not know that the monarch left to get Bharata and bring him back to the castle.

* Possibly describe more in detail how Shatrughna turned into an evil two headed dragon, bird or snake (as his power) and tried to kill the maid?? Why did the brother obey Bharata when he told him not to kill the maid?? What would have happened if he did not listen?

* The dad's funeral is sad and maybe I can write a poem that was read by the two brothers during the service

* Jabali, the advisor spoke some true words - we only get one life and we must live it to the fullest.

* The fact that Rama did not listen to Jabali's advise, symbolizes how important it is to adhere to authority (his father) and the wishes he had as a king. It also comes to show that Rama had a strong bond with his brother and trusted him completely to take over the kingdom.


(The town of Chitrakuta. Source: The Sun)
Bibliography: Ramayana Public Domain Edition.